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2010-06-02 Xinhua

Chinese firms buy Canadian copper mine

China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Holdings have completed a $679 million acquisition of Canadian Corriente Resources Inc in China's second-largest overseas copper mine takeover.

CRCC-Tongguan Investment (Canada) Co, a 50-50 joint venture established by the two Chinese companies, gained 96.7 percent of all Corriente shares on a fully diluted basis, Tongling said in a statement to Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The acquisition would allow the firms to gain mining rights to Corriente's main assets of 17 deposits in the copper belt in southeast Ecuador. Copper reserves in the four main mining regions total around 11.54 million tons. Media reports said the reserves could bring a cash flow of 150 billion yuan ($21.96 billion).

Corriente Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based resource development and exploration company specializing in copper and copper-gold opportunities. The company's main focus is its 100% owned Corriente Copper Belt in Ecuador. Corriente has completed a feasibility study on an initial starter operation at its Mirador copper-gold deposit. Corriente looks to expand operations at Mirador past the starter project and from other locations in the Corriente Copper Belt.

2010-6-12 CCR　

Heyuan Chemical Builds PP and MEG Projects in Ningbo

Ningbo Heyuan Chemical Co Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Tiansheng Holding Group Co Ltd, held a great groundbreaking ceremony on June 9th to build units of 300 000 t/a polypropylene (PP) and 500 000 t/a mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) at Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone, Zhejiang province of eastern China.
The two units are designed to cover a land of 50 hectares together. With a total investment of RMB5.83 billion, they are scheduled for startup in June 2012.
Zhejiang Tiansheng Holding Group Co Ltd, headquartered in Keqiao, Shaoxing of Zhejiang province, is a large private enterprise group engaged in the manufacture of chemical fibers, fabrics, dying/printing, textile and other business. It owns a total asset of RMB7.5 billion, 1.2 million square meters of land and 4 100 workforces. The group can annually produce 800 000 tons of chemical fiber, 210 million meters of chemical fiber fabrics, as well as other fabrics.
Heyuan project will help to complete the production chain in the Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone.

Zhejiang Tiansheng Holding Group Co Ltd 　浙江天聖控股集團

Located in the Shaoxing county of Zhejiang province, our company is a large-sized comprehensive group, specializing in weaving and dyeing, the production of chemical fibers and the development of real estate. We were established in 1996 and become a company nominated as a prime development base for synthetic fabrics by the National Textile Products Development Center of China.

We have total assets of USD 200,000,000 and staff of more than 5,000. Within the group there are several companies, which are Shaoxing County Qing Fang Cheng New Synthetic Fiber Co., Ltd, Shaoxing Ronghao Textile Co., Ltd, Shaoxing Jiecaifang Dyeing Co., Ltd, Zhejiang Yifeng Textile Co., Ltd, Shaoxing Yongjian Real Estate Development Co., Ltd and Shaoxing Tianjie Trading Co., Ltd.

2010/6/16 Shanghai

Ningbo Heyuan Kicks off PP & MEG Projects in NCIZ

On June 9 2010, Ningbo Heyuan Chemical Company held an inauguration ceremony for the PP & MEG projects in Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone (NCIZ), Zhenhai, Ningbo , Zhejiang Province.寧波市鎮海の寧波化学工業区

With total investment of RMB 5.83 billion, Heyuan will build capacities of 300kt/a PP and 500kt/a MEG. It is designed to occupy an area of 500,000 square meters and use outsourced methanol as raw material to produce ethylene and propylene. It is proposed to use DMTO process developed by Dalian Institute of Chemistry and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (DICP-CAS　中国科学院大連化学物理研究所) and SINOPEC Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Company (LPEC洛陽石化工程公司). Produced ethylene will be used in mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) production by the conventional process route via ethylene oxide.

According to the analysis of ASIACHEM Consulting, by outsourcing methanol and produce PP and MEG in NCIZ, Heyuan will have two advantages: firstly, the good logistic condition of NCIZ for methanol shipping and storage; secondly, the huge local market volume for PP and PET products and enriched experience of chemical fibers production & marketing owned by the parent company, Tiansheng Group, which guarantees the product distribution channel.

This project needs 1.8Mt/a methanol as feedstock, and most of which will be sourced from overseas. Therefore how to secure the low cost and large quantity of methanol supply will be the key factor of competitiveness in the future.

Founded in March 2010, Ningbo Heyuan Chemical is invested by Zhejiang Tiansheng Holding Group and registered in NCIZ with the capital around RMB 5.8 billion. Tiansheng Group is a private firm based in Shaoxing City , Zhejiang Province, which main business covers chemical fiber and textile manufacturing, dyeing, and real estate.

In 2009, China net import of PP was 4.12 Mt and MEG was 5.82 Mt.

なお、寧波化学工業区にはシノペック鎮海煉油化工の年産100万トンのエチレンコンプレックスが本年4月に稼動している。
同社は年産30万トンのPPと65万トンのMEGプラントを持っている。

2010/6/12 CCR　

Methanol Factory Came on Stream in Qaidam Basin

Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co Ltd started up a 600 000 t/a natural gas to methanol unit in the first week of June in Qaidam Cyclic Economy Demonstration Area of Qinghai province青海省. The construction was started on January 6th, 2007 with a total investment of RMB2.1 billion. When full operation, it will consume 700 cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 666 700 tons of commodity methanol at standard of GB338-92 of (OM232k) AA grade.
A railway has been constructed on May 21st to deliver methanol from the methanol factory.

2007/1/16

Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co. Ltd selects Johnson Matthey Catalysts and Davy Process Technology to supply Methanol Technology and Catalysts

Johnson Matthey Catalysts (JM) and Davy Process Technology (DPT) are pleased to announce they have entered into contracts for a methanol technology licence, basic engineering design and catalysts with Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co., Ltd for their new methanol project.
The project will use JM/DPT advanced steam reforming technology, methanol synthesis technology and catalysts for the production of 2000 tons per day of methanol from natural gas.  The methanol plant will be built at a new production facility at Geermu City in Qinghai Province, China. The basic engineering of the plant is currently being performed by DPT and the detailed engineering of the plant will be performed by Chengda Engineering Corporation of China.

2010-6-12 CCR

Dagu Chem to Produce HPPO

Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co Ltd (Dagu Chem 天津大沽) disclosed that it started operation of a 1 500 t/a pilot unit that produces propylene oxide from hydrogen peroxide (HPPO). Commercial product is expected to enter the market at the end of 2010.
This is China's first HPPO unit with the technology patented by Chinese firm. More over Dagu Chem is constructing a 10 000 t/a commercial HPPO unit. Its current 100 000 t/a propylene oxide unit was imported from Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals, Inc.

天津大沽化工（Tianjin Dagu Chemical） は天津渤海化工（Bohai Chemical）の子会社で、塩ビチェーンとPOおよびPO誘導品を事業化している。

天津大沽は数年前からSM、ABS等への進出を画策していたが、本年初めにSINOPECの天津エチレン計画（100万トン）へ参画することを決定した。
能力は、SM 500千トン、ABS 400千トンだが、ABSについては、原料 ANの調達が未定のためSMを先行する。

2007/8/23　天津大沽化工、天津でＳＭ 500千トンプラント建設

Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd. was founded in 1939, which is a large-scaled integrated chlorine-soda manufacturing enterprise produces caustic soda, PVC resin, pesticide, epoxypropane, synthetic hydrochloric acid, liquid chlorine and special-shaped plastics of doors and windows processing on the basis of electrolyzing sodium chloride.
Tianjin Dagu Chemical Co., Ltd. is situated in Tanggu district of Tianjin, which covers 2,820,000 m2 west to Tianjin Port, TEDA, Tianjin Port Bonded Location. Near the Jing-Jin-Tang, Tang-Jin, Jin-Bin Freeway and Tianjin International Airport.

2010/6/28　上海発

ChemChina starts up TiO2 project in Shandong

On Jun. 20, 2010, Jinan Yuxing Chemical (裕興化学) - a subsidiary of ChemChina started up its first stage TiO2 project in Jinan Chemical Industry Park (JCIP), Jinan済南市, Shandong Province.
　　　　中国化工集団公司（ChemChina）の藍星グループの子会社

With total investment of RMB 1.5 billion, the first stage project of ChemChina has TiO2 capacity 100 kt/a, and it also includes a 300 kt/a H2SO4 project as the sulfuric acid route will be used in the TiO2 production.
（酸化チタン製法には硫酸法と塩素法があるが、同社は硫酸法を採用している。）

Yuixing Chemical had 30 kt/a TiO2 capacity in the Jinan City, but the plant had been closed by the end of 2009 and relocated to the new site - JCIP for the environmental reason.

Also, ChemChina is planning the second stage TiO2 project in the same site, which has designed capacity of 200 kt/a. After it starts up, ChemChina will have total capacity of 300 kt/a and become the largest TiO2 production base in China.

ーーー
Also in Shandong, Dupont has planned a world scale TiO2 project, but it is not going smoothly for the environmental reason. In Nov. 2005, Dupont signed an agreement with the local government to build a world scale TiO2 project in Economic Development Zone of Dongying City東営市.
It would have an initial capacity of 200 kt/a.
The project has got the Environmental Evaluation approval from government, and it is expected to start up in 2010. But up to now, there is not updated information for the project start construction.

デュポンは裕興化学と異なり、塩素法を採用しており、液体廃棄物は地下深くに注入している。
同社の立地は大慶油田に次ぐ中国第 2の油田の勝利油田の近くにあり、液体廃棄物が漏れ出すのではないかとの懸念が出ている。環境を理由にしているが、デュポン進出で影響を受ける中国のメーカーの反対も背景にある模様。

デュポンでは50年近く、この方法（underground injection 技術、Deepwell法ともよばれる）で処理しており、なんら問題を起こしていないとしている。
液体廃棄物は地下深く注入されて自然の地層のなかに分散され、自然の化学反応で無害になるとしている。
http://www2.dupont.com/Media_Center/en_US/position_statements/dongying_project.html

China produced 1.05 Mt TiO2 in 2009. China imported 244.8 kt and exported 103.6 kt TiO2 in the same year.

2010/7 CCR

PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical completed construction of para-xylene/aromatic hydrocarbon integration unit

On June 30th PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical Company completed construction of a 1 million t/a para-xylene/aromatic hydrocarbon integration unit, representing that the world's largest aromatic hydrocarbon unit enters the stage of trial production.
With a total investment of RMB3.7 billion, this unit integrates eight production facilities. UOP's two technologies are used.

2010/7 CCR

Zhonghao Methanol Plant Began Production

The 600 000 t/a natural gas to methanol plant of Qinghai Zhonghao Natural Gas Chemical Co Ltd (Zhonghao) came on stream at the end of June at Kunlun Economic Development Zone, Germu of Qinghai province, representing that the total methanol capacity in Germu region reached one million t/a. Natural gas the new plant needed will be supplied by the Qinghai oilfield of PetroChina Company Limited. Zhonghao started to construct the RMB2.1 billion plant on January 6th, 2007. Davy Process Technologies' low pressure synthetic technology is used in the plant.

PetroChina's Germu Refinery has built a 100 000 t/a natural gas to methanol plant in 1999 and a 300 000 t/a methanol plant in 2006.  

2010/7/23 Shanghai　

PetroChina Urumqi Starts up PX project in Xinjiang

On Jul. 19, 2010, PetroChina Urumqi Petrochemical Company (PetroChina Urumqi) started up its large scale PX project in Urumqi , Xinjiang.

With total investment around RMB 3.8 billion, the project includes PX capacity of 930,000 t/a and benzene capacity of 320,000 t/a. Originally, it was scheduled to start up come on-stream in 2008. But later, it was delayed.

経営陣は供給過剰を理由に操業開始を出来るだけ遅らせることを主張し、地元の景気刺激と雇用のため早期操業開始を主張する地元政府と争っていた。

UOP technology is selected by this project. Feedstock would be sourced from the company's own refinery at the same site. The PX products will mainly supply to the China market and the rest will supply the local and Middle Asia market.

After the new project startup, PetroChina Urumqi PX capacity reached 1 Mt/a, benzene capacity of 330 kt/a. Currently, PetroChina Urumqi has existing crude processing capacity of 6 Mt/a, ammonia capacity of 630 kt/a, urea capacity of 1.1 Mt/a and PTA 75 kt/a.

PetroChina Urumqi company was planned a 1.5 million t/a PTA project, but up to now, the project is shelved. Now, the company is planned to expanded the refining capacity to 10 Mt/a from the current 6 Mt/a.

China imported 3.7 Mt and exported 333 kt PX in 2009, and imported 3.4 Mt and exported 448 kt PX in 2008.

2010/8/2 Shanghai

ERTISA Phenol-Acetone project got approval from NDRC

On Jul. 30, 2010, NDRC official announced the approval of ERTISA's phenol-acetone project in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP).

With total investment of USD 130 million, the project has designed capacity of 250 000 t/a phenol and 150 000 t/a acetone. It will be invested solely by Spain's ERTISA Chemical - a subsidiary of CEPSA. The project got environmental approval in 2008, it was originally expected to start up by 2009, but it delayed by the global financial crisis in H2 2008.

The project will get technology license from Sunoco/UOP to produce phenol/acetone through the cumene route. In the initial stage, cumene feedstock will be sourced from overseas market, particularly from S. Korea and Japan. The output is will provide the PC units of Bayer in SCIP. Bayer operates 200 kt/a PC plant now (2 lines of a 100 kt/a).

In 2008, Bayer MaterialScience signed an acetone and phenol supply agreement with Spanish producer Ertisa.   http://www.icis.com/Articles/2008/06/19/9133949/bayer-signs-supply-agreement-with-spanish-ertisa.html  

Phenol and acetone are used to produce bisphenol A (BPA), a base product for plastics created by Bayer. Exact tonnage volumes agreed upon were not provided. 

The acetone and phenol will be delivered via a pipeline and by rail from a site in Antwerp, Belgium (Tank terminal named LBC-CEPSA Tank Terminals Antwerpen) to Bayer MaterialScience's BPA processing facilities in Europe.
(Uerdingen, Germany 330kta and Antwerp, Belgium 240kta)
The facilities in Map Ta Phut, Thailand(270kta), and Shanghai, China(200kta), will be supplied by sea, Bayer said.

After the phenol-acetone complex start up in SCIP, ERTISA will supply feedstock to the Bayer plant.

* Bayer has a plant in Baytown, USA (260kta→350kta) and total capacity is 1,300 kta.

* In SCIP, Bayer has BPA plant (200kta).

2008/8/19　スペインのCEPSA、上海でフェノール/アセトン生産を計画

According to the planning, in the future, the cumene feedstock will be supplied by the proposed 1 Mt/a ethylene cracker and a 10 Mt/a refinery in SCIP, which will be jointly invested by Sinopec and SCIP Development Company. But the ethylene and refinery is still waiting approval from NDRC.

ERTISA is a wholly owned company by CEPSA, is the sole Spanish manufacturer of phenol, acetone, methylamines and derivatives. CEPSA is integrated petrochemical company, whose business including petroleum exploration and production, refining, transport and marketing of petroleum derivatives, and manufacture of plastics, synthetic fibres, etc.

Ertisa is one of the largest phenol and acetone sellers in Europe, producing a total of 600,000 tonnes/year of phenol and 370,000 tonnes/year of acetone at a site in Huelva, Spain.

---
Besides, Sinopec-Mitsui Chemical Co., Ltd (Sinopec-Mitsui) operates a 124 kt/a phenol and a 76 kt/a acetone and a 162.4 kt/a cumene facilities in SCIP. It is self-supplying feedstock for the operating 120 kt/a BPA of Sinopec-Mitsui in the same site. Also, Sinopec-Mitsui has planned another 250 kt/a phenol and 150 kt/a acetone in SCIP.

Originally, Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Company has two phenol/acetone complexes, the old one (60 kt/a) is located in Gaoqiao, and the new one (200 kt/a) is located in SCIP. Later, the new one in SCIP is transferred to the jv of Sinopec-Mitsui.

Also, Ineos has shifted the planned world scale phenol/acetone project to Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP) from the previous proposed in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province. The projects will produce 400 kt/a phenol and 250 kt/a acetone as well as 550 kt/a cumene. It is expected to set up joint venture between Ineos Phenol and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical, but there is not detailed information disclosed.

1. 所在地	上海市・上海化学工業区
2. 出資比率	50：50
3. 生産能力	フェノール 　アセトン 　BPA 今回新設 　25万トン 　15万トン 　 既設（上海中石化三井化工） 　 　 　12万トン 既設（上海中石化高橋分公司） 　12.5万トン 　 7.5万トン 　 合計 　37.5万トン 　22.5万トン 　12万トン
4. 新プラントプロセス	三井化学技術
5. 営業運転開始時期	2013年第2四半期

BPAは帝人化成に供給
　　立地：浙江省嘉興市
　　能力：PC 100千トン(60千トン）

2009/11/4 　三井化学、シノペックとの合弁事業の基本合意

Also, Ineos has shifted the planned world scale phenol/acetone project to Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP) from the previous proposed in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu Province. The projects will produce 400 kt/a phenol and 250 kt/a acetone as well as 550 kt/a cumene. It is expected to set up joint venture between Ineos Phenol and Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical, but there is not detailed information disclosed.

2010/1/7 　INEOSとシノペック、南京にフェノールJV設立を検討

2010/8/11 　上海　

BPとシノペック揚子石化、南京で酢酸の生産開始

BPとシノペック揚子石化は8月5日、南京化学工業パーク（NCIP）で酢酸の生産を開始した。

13.9億人民元を投じたもので、BPとシノペック揚子石化の50/50JVのBP YPC Acetyls Company (Nanjing) Ltd. (BYACO)が運営する。能力は年産50万トンで、BP Amoco がモンサント技術を基に開発したCativa 法を使用する。

2007年に建設を開始し、当初は2009年の生産開始の予定であったが、原料COの供給の遅れで遅延していた。

2008年7月に揚子石化はNCIPで天然ガスベースの合成ガス工場の建設を開始した。
Technipの天然ガス変性技術と Air Productsの深冷分離技術を使用して、CO 年産250千トン、水素36.8千トンを生産し、2009年下期にCOを酢酸原料として供給する計画であった。
しかし、このプラントは本年7月末にようやくオンスペックとなった。

BYACO では酢酸は中国の国内市場で販売する。

BP と Sinopec揚子石化 は重慶にも両社のJVのYangtze River Acetyls Company (YARACO) を持つ。
1995年にBP 51%、Sinopec 44%、地元 5%のJVでYARACOを設立、当初能力は15万トンであったが、現在は35万トンで、このほか8万トンのエステルも生産している。

両社は2008年に65万トンの酢酸の新工場建設の覚書に調印した。2011年に生産開始の予定で、完成後の能力は100万トンになる。

南京のNCIPではセラニーズがワールドクラスの酢酸工場を操業している。
自社のAO Plus法を使用するもので、第一期60万トンは2007年にスタート、第二期60万トンが2009年に完成、現在能力は120万トンとなっている。

中国の2009年の酢酸生産量は312万トンで、298千トンを輸入し、65千トンを輸出している。

2010/8/18 Shanghai

Jialong Petrochemical started up PTA in Fujian  

In early Aug. 2010, the local government announced that the Shishi Jialong Petrochemical Fiber Co., Ltd (石獅佳龍石化紡織) has started up the PTA project and entered the trial operation period in Shishi (石獅), Fujian Province.  

With total investment of RMB 2.238 billion, the project has PTA capacity of 600 kt/a. Using Invista process, the PX feedstock will mainly sourced from Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited (FJREP) - the jv invested by Fujian Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco with shares of 50:25:25. Fujian Petrochemical Company is a 50:50 jv between Sinopec and Fujian Provincial Government.

The PTA product will provide to the local PET fiber producers in Fujian.  

The Jialong PTA project was approved by NDRC in 2006 and was listed in the petrochemical stimulus package in 2009, and was completed constrction in Q1 2010.   In Feb. 2009, China government approved a petrochemical stimulus package, which aims to support the petrochemical industry revival and redevelopment during the global economic downturn. At that time, the Jialong PTA project was included named as ”Shishi 600 kt/a PTA project”.  

Jialong Pertrochemical home page says as follows :
Jialong Pertrochemical Fiber(Shishi) Co.,Ltd is the biggest joint-stock company since the establishment of Jialong Group.Now Jia Long Group decides to select Shi Hu industrial zone in Shi Shi city and take up an area of 50.2 hectares.The auxiliary facility is complete in the district;the gross investment of the first stage of the project is 2.238 billion yuan.
This project will divide into three parts, the first and the second stage is PTA production line, and the third stage is PX production line.
After this project is built and put into production,it will be a world-class manufacturing enterprise with basic raw materials(PTA) of chemical fiber, the product will alleviate demand of  chemical fiber industry both Fujian Province and even domestic.

In early Aug. 2010, the Jialong Petrochemical Company disclosed the preliminary planning in Shishi, Fujian.
According to the company, the 600 kt/a PTA project is the first stage, and the proposed 1.1 Mt/a PTA is the second stage. The second is expected to start up in the next 2-3 years. Then the Jialong Petrochemical will have total PTA capacity of 1.7 Mt/a in Shishi, Fujian.   

Jialong Petrochemical is a subsidiary of Jialong Group - a Beijing based private firm with diversified business including petrochemicals, hotels and real estate.  

China imported 5.08 Mt and exported 1.2 kt PTA in 2009, and imported 4.98 Mt and exported 8.9 kt PTA in 2008.  

2010/8/24 CCR

Adisseo Started Methionine Project

On August 2nd, Bluestar Adisseo Nanjing Company Limited held a groundbreaking ceremony for its 140 000 t/a methionine project in the Nanjing Chemical Industry Park, Jiangsu province. Construction expenditure was RMB3.3 billion, according to the EIA report filed on December 8th, 2009. The plant is expected to be on line in the second semester of 2012.

2010/8/24 CCR

Yankuang Adds 100 000 T/A Acetic Anhydride Production

Lunan Chemical Fertilizer Factory of Yankuang Group announced on August 2nd the completion and startup of a 100 000 t/a acetic anhydride project at its existing factory site in Mushi town, Tengzhou, Shandong province. It is the largest of its kind in China. Wet commissioning for the main equipment had been done on June 26th. The investment was US$1.1 billion and construction was started on May 25th, 2009.

2010/8/24 CCR

CNSG Launches PVC Project in Delingha

China National Salt Industry Corporation (CNSG) held a ceremony on August 3rd to announce the official opening of CNSG Qinghai Chlor-alkali Chemical Company Limited and to begin construction of a 400 000 t/a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) project in the Delingha Industrial Park in Haixi of Qinghai province. The new company will invest RMB5.785 billion in the project that includes units of 360 000 t/a ionic membrane caustic soda, 400 000 t/a PVC, 640 000 t/a calcium.............

2010/8/24 CCR

Zhonggu Breaks Ground 600 000 T/A Chlor-Alkali Project

Inner Mongolia Zhonggu Mining Industry Company Limited (Zhonggu) held in early July a groundbreaking ceremony for a chlor-alkali project at Mengxi Industry Zone, Erdos, Inner Mongolia. Zhonggu was a joint venture between Guangdong Hongdaxingye Group and its controlling subsidiary Inner Mongolia Wuhai Chemical Company Limited. The construction will be proceeded in two phases. Total investment will be RMB12 billion. The project will have a total capacities of 600 000 t/a polyvinyl chloride resin, 600 000 t/a caustic soda, 2 million t/a semi coke, 1 million t/a calcium carbide, 1.5 million t/a cement, 200 000 t/a chlorobenzene, 200 000 t/a sodium formate. The new plant is expected to add 5 000 jobs.   

2010/8/24 CCR

Zhongtai to Start up Chlor-Alkali Project  

Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co Ltd announces on August 10th that it has completed main equipment installation for its phase two project including a 360 000 t/a polyvinyl chloride unit and a 300 000 t/a caustic soda unit at the end of July and will start up in December this year.

Sept 08, 2010

Keyuan Petrochemicals Starts Construction on New 70,000 Ton SBS Production Facility; Expect to Generate $110 million of Sales in 2012

Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc.寧波科元塑膠有限公司, a leading independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products in China, announced that on September 1st, Keyuan commenced construction of its first Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene ("SBS") production facility in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, which will be adjacent to its current production facility.
SBS is commonly used in soles of shoes, tire treads and other products that require a hard rubber to remain sturdy for a long time due to its durability. The new SBS facility is expected to add 70,000 metric tons to Keyuan's production capacity by the end of 2011 with an estimated cost of $17.5 million in capital expenditures. The current estimated schedule of the SBS facility is as follows:
"Due to rising demand for SBS from products consumers as well as basic materials and industrial customers, there is a shortage of SBS in China" stated Chungfeng Tao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keyuan. "Once we complete construction of our new SBS facility, Keyuan will be one of the leading producers of SBS in China."
China's current production capacity of SBS is approximately 600,000 metric tons per year while domestic demand is projected to reach 750,000 metric tons in 2010, resulting in China importing a substantial percentage of its needs from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the U.S. Demand for SBS in China is expected to grow 6%-7% per year for the next several years. Average selling price is expected to be approximately $2,000 in 2012. The supply shortage and value- added nature of SBS provides healthy margins for the few domestic producers.
Keyuan expects to generate net profit margins of 10% for the SBS it produces once it reaches normal production levels. The new facility is anticipated to achieve 80% utilization rate in 2012, the first full year of production, and generate approximately $110 million of sales and $10 million to $11 million of net income.

About Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc.
Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc., established in 2007 and operating through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Keyuan Plastics, Co. Ltd., is located in Ningbo, China and is a leading independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products. Having commenced production in October 2009, Keyuan's operations include an annual petrochemical manufacturing capacity of 550,000 MT of a variety of petrochemical products, with facilities for the storage and loading of raw materials and finished goods, and a technology that supports the manufacturing process with low raw material costs and high utilization and yields. In order to meet increasing market demand, Keyuan plans to expand its manufacturing capacity to include a SBS production facility, additional storage capacity, a raw material pre-treatment facility, and an asphalt production facility.

Jan 26, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX)

Keyuan Petrochemicals Commences Commercial Production for Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene

Keyuan Petrochemicals, an independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products in China, announced that one of its production lines for Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene has commenced commercial production after trial production and testing in the fourth quarter of 2011.

According to a release, the Company began construction of its new 70,000 ton Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene production facility in September 2010 and completed construction in September 2011. After several trials and adjustments, one Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene production line began commercial production in December 2011. The company produced and sold approximately 2,733 MT and 2,623 MT of Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene in the fourth quarter, respectively.

"We are pleased with the initial results from our new SBS production lines," said Chunfeng Tao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keyuan Petrochemicals. "We have shipped products to 20 customers and are in active discussions with several more. With solid demand for SBS in China and abroad, we expect to quickly ramp production and sales throughout this year."
　

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Jan. 25, 2011

Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. Receives Patent for Ethylene and Propylene Production

Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc., a leading merchant manufacturer of various petrochemical products in China, today announced that it has received approval for a patent related to the Company's proprietary production process, called MEP (Multiple Ethylene Propylene). MEP is an exclusive and leading technology used in Keyuan's existing production process.

Through the ingenuity of its CEO Chungfeng Tao, Keyuan has developed this proprietary production process that improves the manufacturing efficiency and flexibility for a wide range of petrochemicals. The utility model patent received, #ZL-2010-2-0191523.6, applies to a processing technology used in the production of ethylene and propylene. This technology allows the Company to use lower grade feedstock (such as heavy oil) instead of Naphtha, a higher grade feedstock commonly used in other existing petrochemical production processes. It also allows the Company to improve the yield and utilization rate of its production line, resulting in a 15% cost savings.

"We are proud to receive this patent for our proprietary production process," stated Chungfeng Tao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keyuan. "It demonstrates our commitment to technology advancement. Keyuan's ability to shift feedstock from the commonly used Naphtha to heavy oil is the Company's key competitive advantage. This advantage is reflected in both lower raw material costs and higher production efficiency. MEP technology allows more efficient use of natural resources and solves the existing feedstock sourcing problem in petrochemical industry due to the scarcity of Naphtha. With our ongoing research and development efforts, we will remain at the forefront of innovation in our industry."

2010/9/14 Shanghai　　　　　　　ブログ

PetroChina Started up Refinery in Qinzhou, Guangxi

On Sep. 9, 2010, PetroChina started up its new refinery in Qinzhou, Guangxi.

With total investment of RMB 15.3 billion, the project is located at the Econimic Development Zone of Qinzhou Port. It has crude processing capacity of 10 million t/a, also includes refining facilities jetties and other utilities.

The refinery is operated by PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical Co., a whole subsidiary of PetroChina. Crude oil feedstock is sourced from overseas, particularly from Sudan, where PetroChina has some stakes of oil resources and it can secure the supply of crude oil. Products will include gasoline, diesel, LPG, PP, aromatics etc. The output is aimed to supply the Southeast China market.

According to the industrial source, PetroChina Guangxi Petrochemical can supply 8.3 Mt/a refined oil products (gasoline, diesel, LPG) and 900 kt/a chemicals (PP and BTX) to the market. Before the refinery startup, PetroChina has completed the chemical projects construction. And the detailed products and capacities are PP 200kt/a, Benzene 100 kt/a, Toluene 100 kt/a and Xylene 500 kt/a.

The refinery project was approved by NDRC and started construction in 2007, it takes nearing 3 years to complete the construction. Formerly, the refinery is proposed as a 70:30 jv between PetroChina and Sinopec. But later, Sinopec withdrawed from the project and had focused on its solo invested project - a 8 Mt/a refinery project in Beihai, Guangxi - which is under construction and expected to start up in 2012.

2010/9 CCR　

Baling Constructs SM Project

Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Company シノペック巴陵石油化学started construction of a 120 000 t/a styrene monomer (SM) project on August 11th at its Yueyang site, in Hunan province. 湖南省岳陽市雲溪區
The project that is designed to use ethylbenzene as raw material will be competed in July 2011. Total investment was RMB496 million.

2010/9 CCR

Tianjin Bohua to Construct Propylene Project

Tianjin Bohua Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of Tianjin Bohai Chemical Industry Group, started to design a 600 000 t/a propane to propylene project recently. The company plans to spend RMB3.48 billion in the construction and complete it in September 2012. The designing contract was awarded to Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Company and the technology is licensed from Lummus. The factory will be China's biggest of its kind.

Aug 11 2010

Tianjin Bohua Petrochemical has awarded the contract to build a new propylene plant at Tianjin in China to Lummus.

The propane dehydrogenation plant will have a capacity of 600,000 t/y. It will be China's first such facility and the largest in the world when it begins operations, expected in 2012.

The plant will use Lummus' Catofin dehydrogenation process. This continuous process uses fixed bed reactors with a catalyst and can achieve onstream efficiencies of 98%. The cyclic reactor sequence is entirely computer controlled. The process can also be used to produce isobutylene, and six such plants are currently in operation around the world. Several propane dehydrogenation plants are currently under construction.

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010 　

Chevron, Sinopec may join in shale gas deal

Major US oil company Chevron Corp and China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) may join forces to explore and develop shale gas in southwestern China at the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing an unnamed source.

Chevron has identified a gas block near Guiyang, in Guizhou province, close to an area that BP and Sinopec Group are exploring, the paper said.

John Watson, Chevron's chairman and chief executive, also told the Journal that the company is talking with Sinopec about cooperating on shale gas in China, but he did not give a timetable.

Gareth Johnstone, the Singapore-based spokesman for Chevron, confirmed the news to Bloomberg by e-mail today, but did not elaborate beyond that.

Sinopec Group said it aims to have the capacity to produce 2.5 billion cubic meters of unconventional gas annually by the end of 2015, including shale gas and coalbed methane, according to the paper.

Sinopec will prioritize shale gas exploration and development over other unconventional gas resources, the paper said, quoting Sinopec's general manager Su Shulin.

2010-09-17 China Daily

BYD to buy into Tibet lithium producer

BYD Co will buy 18 percent of the Tibet Xigaze Zhabuye Lithium High-Tech Co for 201.2 million yuan ($30 million), the Oriental Morning Post reported Friday.

The Shenzhen-based battery and auto maker will buy the stake from Tibet Mineral Development Co Ltd and its major shareholder.

Tibet Mineral Development Co., Ltd. is engaged in the exploration and collection of ferrous metal mine. The Company is involved in the exploration and sale of chromite, the processing and sale of ferrochrome and the exploration of copper, lithium and boron. The Company’s main products include chromite chromium iron, copper, chromic salt and lithium salt, among others. The Company operates its business in domestic markets. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had six subsidiaries.

February 3, 2010
Reported by Chinese news agency, Xinhua, mining company Tibet Mineral Development focus on developing lithium mining project in Salt Lake. Lithium mining project is estimated to have reserves of lithium carbonate to reach 2.4 million tons. The company plans to produce lithium carbonate in the first phase of 5,000 tons and the second phase of lithium production can reach 20,000 tons.

Tibetan mining company Mineral Development has hopes of becoming the largest lithium producer in China and became the main platform for restructuring the mining industry in Tibet.

Tibet Mineral Development Co is a mining company that has a 40 percent stake in mining company Shengyuan Mining Group Corporation. Mining company has several exploration projects of mining mineral resources.

Lithium mining project development is expected to provide support to the development of industrial and mining sectors in China. Development of the mining company hopes to be mining lithium mining company Mineral Tibet became the largest lithium producer in the world.

Tibet Mineral also will sell an additional 4 percent of Zhabuye to Tibet Jinhao Investment Co Ltd. It still would hold 50.72 percent of Zhabuye after the equity transfer.

Tibet Mineral said in a statement Thursday that the transaction is to introduce a strategic investor for Zhabuye, its subsidiary, which lost 13.3 million yuan in the first half of this year.

Zhabuye is a mining company that produces lithium, boron, potassium, and gold, according to the Oriental Morning Post. It also owns 20-year exclusive mining rights over the biggest lithium mine in China, which ranks third in the world, according to Friday's Shanghai Securities News.

BYD, 10 percent owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is a leading developer of cars that use lithium batteries. The purchase in the lithium miner will enhance its strength in battery businesses.

The world's exploitable lithium reserves totals only 4 million tons, the Oriental Morning Post said, citing an earlier report from Hamburg Institute of International Economics.

中国はチベット自治区がリチウムの産地で、中国最大のリチウム生産を誇る扎布耶（Chabyer ザブイェ）塩湖では昨年、生産拡張工事を決めた。投資総額は10億8400万元で、拡張工事終了後には、年産能力は、リチウム2万トン、酸化リチウム 5000トン、金属リチウム500トン、高純度リチウム200トン、リチウム材30トン、リチウム化合物490トンとなるという。

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2010-05-07 chinaview

Tibet Mineral Development Company plans additional share issues for 1.5 bln yuan

Tibet Mineral Development Company plans to issue 68.7 million extra A-shares to designated ten principal shareholders at a purchase price of 21.89 yuan per share for 1.5 billion yuan (219.73 million U.S. dollars).

The proceeds from the additional share issues will be used for the development of the company's lithium resources and construction of copper mine, according to an announcement made by the company on Friday.

The Shenzhen-listed company intends to use 964 million yuan of the raised fund to develop the Tibet Zabuye Lithium Technologies Co., Ltd.'s projects for technical transformation and further development.

The Tibet Zabuye Lithium Technologies Company, a major subsidiary of Tibet Mineral Development Co.,Ltd., has ceased its operation for many years due to heavy debts.

Zabuye Salt Lake, located at Zhongba County, southwestern Tibet, ranks first in China in terms of lithium reserves and is contracted to the company for 20 years.

The Tibet Mineral Development Company said that the first phase of Zabuye project, which went into operation in September of 2004, is designed to have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons of lithium carbonate products.

However, the project could not reach the designed capacity for various reasons, including fund shortages. With further development, the company will achieve an annual production capacity of 8,000 tons of lithium carbonate products.

The company will also invest in the expansion of the Tinggong Copper Mine in Nyemo County, Tibet's capital of Lhasa, and undertake the electrolytic copper project to turn out 5,000 tons annually, according to the announcement.

Statistics show that chromite mine has contributed the lion's share of revenue to the company's total earnings, 69.62 percent of the total in 2009. Lithium and copper mines currently make an insignificant contribution to the company.

2010/9/24 Shanghai　

China Huadian to Invest Coal to Aromatics Project in Shaanxi

In Mid Sep. 2010, Shaanxi Provincial government released that China Huadian Group 中国華電集団 has planned a Coal to Aromatics (CTA) project in Shaanxi and the pre-feasibility study report has been assessed by an expert panel.

Huadian's CTA project will be located in Yuheng (楡��) Coal Chemical Park, Yulin, Shaanxi Province. Firstly, a pilot capacity is around 300 kt/a - will be completed and then the large scale industrial project will be launched. With proposed total investment of RMB 28.5 billion, the project will include 3 Mt/a coal based methanol and 1 Mt aromatics by methanol to aromatics (MTA) route. Huadian will use Fluidized bed Methanol to Aromatics (FMTA) technology sourced from Tsinghua University　精華大学, and Hualu Engineering Company will participate in the pilot and industrial project as the contractor.

Huadian is one of the largest power generation companies in China. As a wholly state-owned enterprise, China Huadian was established in 2002 with registered capital of RMB 12 billion.

ASIACHEM considers that in the coal-rich China western region, the Coal-to-Aromatics will be more competitive if integrate with coal-to-MEG in the same coal chemical park, as the downstream PTA and PET chain can be developed. On the one hand, coal gasification, air separation and other utilities can be shared in the same park, which will be more cost effective then an isolated project; on the other hand, compared with the liquid aromatics and MEG, the solid PET products will be more convenient to transport.

According to ASIACHEM Consulting, the MTA developers in China mainly include Tsinghua University and 中国科学院山西石炭化学研究所 (Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences：ICC-CAS). Currently, methanol is overcapacity in China, so the coal chemical investors are paying more attention to novel methanol derivatives, including both MTA and methanol to olefins (MTO).

For MTO, Shenhua Baotou has started up the Coal to Olefins project in Baotou Inner Mongolia with 1.8 Mt/a methanol integrated 300 kt/a PE and 300 kt/a PP respectively. Both Shenhua Ningmei and Datang are preparing for the trial run of Methanol to Propylene (MTP) project respectively, these two MTP project are expected to commissioned in Q4 2010.

　　2010/7/23　神華包頭石炭化学、秋に中国最初の石炭からのポリオレフィン生産をスタート

2010/9/26 Shanghai 　　　ブログ

PetroChina and Rosneft to jointly invest refinery in Tianjin

On Sep. 21, 2010, PetroChina and Rosneft held a ground breaking ceremony for their jv refinery project in Nangang (南港) Industrial Zone, Tianjin.

With total estimated investment around RMB 30 billion, the jv will have refining capacity of 13 Mt/a. It will be operated by Chinese-Russian Eastern Petrochemical Company (Eastern Petrochemical) which was set up in 2007 - a 51:49 jv between PetroChina and Rosneft.

The project will include 13 Mt/a of atmospheric and vacuum distillation, 2.7 Mt/a of continuous reforming, 4 Mt/a of residue hydrogenation, and other units also including aromatics and propylene with disclosed capacities. According to industrial sources, the proposed refinery is planned to be completed in 2015 and it will produce refined oil products 10.5 Mt/a and which will mainly supply to China market.

Russia will secure about 70% of crude oil supply at market prices for the jv refinery, while the other rest of 30% crude oil for the refinery will be supplied from Asia.

Also in Tianjin, Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company has 5.5 Mt/a refining capacity, and Sinopec-SABIC Petrochemical has 10 Mt/a refining capacity. After the refinery project of Eastern Petrochemical startup, the total refining capacity will reach 28.5 Mt/a in Tianjin.

Rosneft is the state controlled oil company in Russia. In 2009, the company produced 108 million ton curde oil (796 million barrels). PetroChina produced 141 million ton crude oil in 2009.

Xinhua 2010-09-28

China's Chinalco to invest 10b yuan in rare earth sector

The Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco), the country's top mining company, said Monday it has signed an agreement to assume a major stake in the Jiangxi Rare Earth and Rare Metals Tungsten Group (JXTC) for 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).

Chinalco, keen to become one of the world's leading rare earth companies, will help JXTC develop rare earth resources in the next three to five years, according to the agreement, which was signed on Sept 26 at the Expo Central China 2010.

The Nanchang-based JXTC is China's largest tungsten producer and maintains rare earth resource deposits in Jiangxi province. 江西省南昌

The agreement came after China's announcement early this month that it would encourage mergers and acquisitions in the rare earth sector to quicken industry consolidation. According to media reports, the government planned to cut the number of rare earth firms from the current 90 to 20 by 2015.

China is the world's largest rare earth producer, supplying more than 90 percent of the global demand.

JXTC has 37 wholly and majority owned subsidiary enterprises with total asset more than RMB 8.6 billion. JXTC is focusing on tungsten, while integrated various non-ferrous metals mining, ore dressing, smelting/refining, trading and equipment manufacturing. 

2010/10/10 Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation and CNOOC Limited Announce Eagle Ford  Shale Project Cooperation Agreement 

Chesapeake Energy Corporation ("Chesapeake") and CNOOC Limited today announced the execution of an agreement whereby CNOOC International Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, will purchase a 33.3% undivided interest in Chesapeake's 600,000 net oil and natural gas leasehold acres in the Eagle Ford Shale project in South Texas. The consideration for the sale will be $1.08 billion in cash at closing, subject to adjustment. In addition, CNOOC Limited has agreed to fund 75% of Chesapeake's share of drilling and completion costs until an additional $1.08 billion has been paid, which Chesapeake expects to occur by year-end 2012. Closing of the transaction is anticipated in the 2010 fourth quarter.

Reliance Industries は6月24日、米国のPioneer Natural Resources CompanyとJVを設立し、PioneerのEagle Ford Shaleの45%を取得すると発表した。

2010/7/3　Reliacne Industries、Pioneer Natural Resources と組んでテキサスのShale を開発

As operator of the project, Chesapeake will conduct all leasing, drilling, completion, operations and marketing activities for the project. Over the next several decades, the companies plan to develop net unrisked unproved resource potential up to 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (after deducting an assumed average royalty burden of 25%). Chesapeake is currently utilizing 10 operated rigs to develop its Eagle Ford leasehold and with the additional capital from CNOOC Limited, anticipates increasing its drilling activity to approximately 12 operated rigs by year-end 2010, approximately 31 rigs by year-end 2011 and approximately 40 rigs by year-end 2012. Approximately 900 wells are expected to be drilled by year-end 2012. Currently Chesapeake has 10 horizontal Eagle Ford wells in production with initial production rates of up to 1,160 barrels of oil and 0.4 mmcf of natural gas per day in the oil window and 4.0 mmcf of natural gas and 1,200 barrels of oil per day in the wet gas window. Chesapeake anticipates the project will reach its peak production of 400,000-500,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the next decade.

The assets are located principally in the counties of Webb, Dimmit, LaSalle, Zavala, Frio and McMullen, and are located primarily in the oil window (~85%) and the wet gas window (~15%) of the Eagle Ford Shale and in the dry gas window of the Pearsall Shale. CNOOC Limited will have the option to acquire its 33.3% share of any additional acreage acquired by Chesapeake in the area and also the option to participate with Chesapeake for a 33.3% interest in midstream infrastructure related to production established from the assets.

Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are very pleased to announce our fifth industry shale development transaction and for it to include CNOOC Limited, China's largest producer of offshore oil and natural gas and one of the largest independent oil and gas companies in the world. This transaction will provide the capital necessary to accelerate drilling of this large domestic oil and natural gas resource, resulting in a reduction of our country's oil imports over time, the creation of thousands of high-paying jobs in the U.S. and in the payment of very significant local, state and federal taxes. In addition, Chesapeake's embedded safety culture and integrated environmental protection strategies will be adopted to safeguard personnel and the surface and subsurface environment. Moreover, this project will advance the efforts of both the U.S. and China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate commercial opportunities for the development of shale gas resources in China, furthering the objectives of the U.S. - China Shale Gas Resource Initiative announced by the White House on November 17, 2009.

"When completed, this transaction will successfully accomplish another component of Chesapeake's strategic and financial plan outlined in May 2010 designed to increase shareholder value. This brings the combined proceeds from our shale development ventures, including upfront cash payments and drilling carries, since 2008 to approximately $13 billion. Chesapeake has continued to maintain a majority position in each of the five major projects subject to development arrangements ranging from 67% to 80%. The implied pre-development value of Chesapeake's retained interest in those shale ventures is approximately $37 billion based on the valuations in the sale transactions."

2010/10/13　上海　

神華寧夏、メタノールからプロピレンの生産をスタート

神華寧夏石炭グループは10月4日、寧夏回族自治区銀川市の寧東エネルギー化学基地でメタノールからのプロピレン（ＭＴＰ）計画の操業を開始、99.69%の純度のオンスペックのプロピレンを生産した。

これは世界最初のMTPの商業生産となる。

178億人民元を投じたもので、ポリマーグレードのプロピレン50万トンと、副産品としてガソリン、LPGを生産する。

建設は2008年4月に始まり、本年10月にメカニカルコンプリーションとなった。9月初めから試運転を行っていた。

年産52万トンのPPプラントを建設中で、これは間もなくスタートする。

隣接して年産167万トンのメタノールプラントを建設中で、ガス化設備は第4四半期に完成する。現在は神華寧夏の既存設備からメタノールを供給している。
年末には石炭からPPまでの一貫生産体制が完成する。

このコンプレックスは以下の各社の技術を使用している。

1. Air separation Air Liquide
2. Gasification GSP pulverized coal gasification process（微粉かっ炭の加圧ガス化） by Siemens
3. Syngas cleaning rectisol process （硫化水素ガス除去）by Lurgi
4. Methanol synthesis -- Lurgi
5. MTP -- Lurgi
6. PP polymerization -- ABB-Lummus gaseous phase PP process

ASIACHEMによれば、これは中国で2010年にスタートする石炭からのオレフィン製造の３つの計画の１つ。

8月に神華包頭石炭化学が内蒙古自治区の包頭で、180万トンの石炭ベースのメタノール、60万トンのメタノールベースのオレフィン、30万トンのPE、30万トンのPPをスタートさせた。
　　2010/7/23　神華包頭石炭化学、秋に中国最初の石炭からのポリオレフィン生産をスタート

更に年末までに大唐国際発電がMTPとPP 46万トンをスタートさせる。

ーーー

なお、神華包頭などのMTO(Methanol-to-Olefin)はSAPO 34ベースの触媒を使用し、3トンのメタノールから0.5トンのエチレンと0.5トンのプロピレン、及び少量のC4を生産する。
UOP、中国科学院大連化学物理研究所（DICP-CAS）、Sinopec、ExxonMobilなどが開発している。

これに対し、MTP（Methanol-to-Propyrene)はZSM-5 ベースの触媒を使用し、3トンのメタノールから0.9トンのプロピレンと、副産品としてガソリン、LPGを生産する。
Lurgiが開発している。

2010/11/16　Shanghai

中海石油化学、海南島で新しいメタノール工場の試運転開始

中国海洋石油有限公司（CNOOC）の子会社の中海石油化学（China BlueChem）は11月14日、海南省東方市で新しいメタノール工場の試運転を開始した。

Davy メタノール合成法を使用し、10億人民元を投じたもので、天然ガスを原料にし、能力は年産80万トン。2008年11月に建設を開始した。

原料の天然ガスはCNOOCの南シナ海のLedong ガス田から供給を受ける。2009年にCNOOCにガス田から同社のエネルギー・化学基地である東方市までのパイプラインが完成した。パイプラインは陸上の68kmと海底の105km。

海南島ではCNOOCはもう一つのメタノール工場を持っている。CNOOCと香港のラミネート会社、KingBoard Chemical (建滔化工集団)の60/40の合弁会社CNOOC KingBoardが2006年第3四半期に東方市に年産60万トンのメタノールの商業生産を開始した。ルルギ技術を採用、CNOOCの東方市近辺のガス田からの天然ガスを原料としている。

2007/8/20　中国のCNOOC子会社が生分解性プラスチック製造

第2工場の完成で、CNOOCの東方市でのメタノール能力は140万トンになる。

中海石油化学は中国最大級の肥料会社で、海南島東方市に2系列のプラントを有しており、アンモニア 75万トン、尿素 132万トン、複合肥料 5万トンを生産している。

同社は2006年3月に内蒙古の 天野化工（Tianye Chemical） の株式の90%を買収し、CNOOC Tianye とした。
同社は天然ガスベースのアンモニア 30万トン、尿素52万トンとメタノール20万トンのプラントを有している。

ASIACHEMによれば、CNOOC Tianyeはまた、年産6万トンのPOM と石炭ベースのアンモニア（35万トン）・尿素（60万トン）プラントを建設している。アンモニア・尿素は華東理工大学が開発した粉状石炭ガス化技術を使用する。POMは間もなく、アンモニア・尿素は2012年に完成する予定。

2010/5/25　雲天化集団、重慶でPOM増設、年産6万トンに

2010/12/20 　上海

漢邦（江陰）石化、年産60万トンのPTAの生産開始

12月10日、漢邦（江陰）石化 Hangbang (Jiangyin) Petrochemical Companyが江蘇省江陰市でPTAの生産を開始した。

27.7億人民元を投じたもので、年産能力は60万トン。
2006年に国家発展改革委員会(NDRC)の承認を受け、2007年に建設を開始した。
PTAの技術はInvistaから導入した。原料PXは海外市場から輸入する。

漢邦（江陰）石化は澄星グループ(Chengxing Group)が85%、香港の漢邦石化（Hanbang  Petrochemical） が15%出資する。

澄星グループは江陰市に本拠を置く化学会社で、燐酸系化学品、ポリエステル、肥料を生産する中国最大の燐酸のメーカーの一つで、液体化学品の物流の大手でもある。

年間総合生産能力は50万トンを超え、主な製品は黄リン、リン酸、ナトリウムトリポリ燐酸(STPP)、第二リン酸カルシウム(DCP)、ポリリン酸、ピ ロリン酸ナトリウム、ヘキサメタリン酸ソーダ(SHMP)、二リン酸カリウム、炭酸カルシウムとその他の金属ナトリウム、カルシウムとリン酸二カリウム等。

澄星グループは江陰市に30万トンのPETプラントを持っている。
DupontのNG3 PET技術を導入したもので、現在は原料のPTAを市場で購入している。
今後は漢邦（江陰）石化はPTAを澄星に供給し、残りは外販する。

このPTA計画は2009年の政府の石油化学景気刺激策に含まれている。

石油化学景気刺激策にはPTAでは他に、佳龍投資/新疆華凌 Jialong Investment/Xinjiang Hualingの福建省泉州市石獅地区での60万トン計画と、東方希望の重慶市フ陵区の60万トン計画が含まれているが、前者は2010年8月、後者は2009年末に生産を開始している。

なお、江陰市では Dragon Group と大手PETメーカー三房巷グループSanfangxiang Groupとの50/50のJV 海倫化学(Hailun Chemical)が2005年に60万トンPTAプラントの建設を開始したが、資金問題などで棚上げとなっていた。
2010年第2四半期に銀行から融資を受け、現在建設中で、2011年上期に完成する見込みとなっている。

中国は2009年にネットで、508万トンのPTA、337万トンのPXを輸入している。

2010/12/24 Platts 　　　　　　　　　　　　

Far Eastern, Sinopec Yizheng to build 1 mil mt/year PTA plant in China

Taiwan's Far Eastern Group (遠東集團),will build a new 1 million mt/year purified terephthalic plant at Yangzhou, Jiangsu province江蘇省揚州市, at a cost of Yuan 3.8 billion ($573 million) in a joint venture with China's Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre 儀征化繊, a company source said Friday.

Construction was likely to begin soon as both companies had got the necessary approvals from local government, the source said. The plant is expected to be completed within two years.

Far Eastern will hold a 60% stake in the plant and Sinopec Yizheng, 40%.

Far Eastern is also involved in a new 700,000 mt/year PET plant at Pudong, Shanghai, also slated for completion by 2012, which will receive PTA feedstock from the new Yangzhou plant, the source said. The PET plant, however, is still awaiting approval from the authorities.

Sinopec Yizheng has two PTA lines at its existing plant at Jiangsu, one with a capacity of 350,000 mt/year and the other, 630,000 mt/year.

The Far Eastern group owns a PET bottle grade chips plant at Pudong, Shanghai that is capable of producing 1.16 million mt/year.

儀征は揚州市に位置する県級市

2011/2/22　

The 3rd Asia Methanol & Derivatives Conference will be held in Sanya, China

In 2010, China imported methanol 5.19 Mt and produced methanol 15.74 Mt, the apparent consumption reached 20.92 Mt. Production and apparent consumption increased by 3.2 Mt comparing with 2009. ASIACHEM’s data show that China's methanol capacity has reached 38 Mt by the end of 2010; while the operating rate of total methanol industry is still less than 50%.

中国のメタノール需給推移　（単位：千トン）

In December 2010, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the result of methanol anti-dumping from Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand, but did not levy the temporary anti-dumping duties. China’s methanol producers, particularly the independent ones are difficult as the overcapacity and depressed market prices. To develop the competitive methanol derivatives, and then to enhance profitability becomes more significant.

3rd Asia Methanol & Derivatives Conference will be held in March 30 to April 1, 2011 in Sanya三亜市, Hainan Province, China. The upcoming event will focus on Industrial Policies & its Impacts on Methanol & Derivatives; Cost Competitiveness of Diversified Feedstock based Methanol Production; China's Methanol Capacity: Problems & Solutions; Methanol to Gasoline and Methanol to Olefins (MTO/MTP) Update; Innovative Technologies & Industrial Progress of Methanol Derivatives; Methanol Fuel & its Applications Prospect; and Industrial Park Planning and Storage & Transportation.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.chinacoalchem.com/events/2011MEOH/AsiaMeOH2011.pdf

2011/2/27 Shanghai　

Wison to strengthen syngas business

In Mid Feb. 2011, Wison Engineering Ltd. (Wison) and Shell Global Solutions International B.V. (Shell) announced that they have signed an agreement on joint development of a new generation and low-cost “hybrid” gasification technology demonstration plant in China.

According to Shell, the “hybrid” technology, known as “dry-feed, bottom-water quench,” will allow processing for a wider range of coal feedstock, and offer a simplified design at lower cost. This co-operation plays on Shell’s expertise in gasification and energy technologies, as well as Wison’s strong experience in project design and engineering. The hybrid gasifiers is expected to further expand the market for syngas into the chemicals, hydrogen and fertilizer industries.

In Nanjing Chemical Industry Park (NCIP), Wison (Nanjing) Clean Energy Co., Ltd uses GE coal water slurry gasification technology to produce syngas, hydrogen, and methanol for the downstream users, which includes Celanese, YPC-BASF, and BlueStar, as well as Ling Tian (Nanjing) Fine Chemical ? a 50:50 jv between Taminco and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical.

ASIACHEM studies show that comparing with the traditional Shell Coal gasification process (SCGP) - with waste heat boiler, the new process design with bottom-water quench technology will significantly reduce investment in gasification plant. Once be commercialized, it will enhance the cost competitiveness of syngas and coal chemical products.

On Feb. 9, 2011, Wison and Celanese signed a MOU for the feedstock supply of Celanese proposed 400 kt/a industrial ethanol in NCIP. In the future, the syngas demand in NCIP will be futher increased and Wison will expand the capacities.

Wison’s capacities in NCIP (as of Dec. 2010)
　　CO 600kt/a
　　Syngas 11 000 Nm3/h
　　Hydrogen 210 000 Nm3/h
　　Methanol 200 kt/a

2011/3/24　Shanghai

Sinopec-KPC Complex gets final approval from NDRC

On Mar. 16, 2011, the official website of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced that the Sinopec-KPC jv Complex project has got the final approval from NDRC in Mar. 2011, which is jointly invested by Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) and to be located in Donghai Island, Zhanjiang, Guangdong province.

The jv project has been planned for five years and was previously suspended due to environmental concerns. And the site has been relocated to Zhanjiang from former proposed Nansha district, Guangzhou.In May 2010, the project had already get the prelimilary from NDRC.  

With total investment around RMB 60 billion, the complex will include a refinery with crude processing capacity of 15 Mt/a, and 1 Mt/a ethylene cracker as well as derivatives like PE, PP, Aromatics, MEG etc.
Kuwait will supply all the crude oil for the jv complex and which is expected to start up in 2013.  
Sinopec and KPC will hold 50% stakes in the proposed jv.
And KPC planned to sell part of its 50% stake to international partners, which including Dow Chemical and BP. Shell had talked with KPC for investing the jv but give it up latter. Up to now, the financial details for investemnt is not disclosed yet.  
Besides the 15 Mt/a refinery and 1 Mt/a ethylene cracker, other main derivatives including:  
PE 460 kt/a
PP 750 kt/a
BTX 710 kt/a
MEG 400 kt/a
EO 38 kt/a
EVA 200 kt/a
Butadiene 150 kt/a

2011/3/28 Shanghai　

China’s MEG import will be over 7 Mt in 2011

In 2010, Influenced by factors including prosperity of textile industry and roaring prices of cotton, the consumption of fiber in China greatly increased and trend of thriving production and marketing appeared.

Due to the roaring prices of polyester products, polyester industrial players expanded production or start new projects driven by the high profits. In 2010, there is 4.09 Mt/a new PET capacity started up in China. The development of polyester industry brought the sustained growth in consumption of Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG). According to the data from ASIACHEM Consulting, in 2010, the output of PET of China was 22.67 Mt and the consumption of MEG was 7.71 Mt.
（It is estimated that the MEG production should be around 2.5 Mt and the total consumption is around 9.14 Mt. Besides the PET consumption, the other uses of MEG is about 1.43 Mt in 2010.)

Besides, according to the statistics of China Association of Automobile Manufacture (CAAM), China produced and sold more than 18 million automobiles in 2010. The demand automobiles used antifreeze was increased.

ASIACHEM’s latest data shows that from Jul. 2010 to Mar. 2011, the world oil price has rebounded to 100 $/b from the 70 $/b; meanwhile, the domestic MEG price (east China market) has hiked to around 1515 $/t from 910 $/t. Also in 2010, driven by the expansion of PET production, the MEG import increased to 6.64 Mt in 2010 from the 5.82 Mt in 2009, showing a growth of 14% year on year.

The production of MEG in China, however, is mainly concentrated in large-scale petrochemical enterprises and traditional technological process adopted is ethylene to ethylene oxide than to MEG. The growth of capacity is limited by the large-scale ethylene complex integrated with MEG unit.

According to the data from ASIACHEM, by the end of 2010, China’s total MEG capacity is around 4 Mt/a, which including the 150 kt/a Coal to MEG capacity of Tongliao GEM Chemical. In 2011, there is not new added petrochemical route based MEG capacity. And the new added coal based MEG capacity is 50 kt/a only, which is invested by Hualu-Hengsheng and is expected to start up in H2 2011.

And in 2011, the new added PET capacity is expected to be 4.7 Mt/a. By the end of 2011, China’s total PET capacity will reach 33.5 Mt/a. If we estimate that the operating rate of Chinese polyester industry in 2011 is 75%, the output will be 25.12 Mt and the consumption of MEG will be 8.54 Mt. For automobiles, if the total sales are still keeping over 16 Mt, then the total automobile-owned in China will further drive the consumption of antifreeze used MEG.

At the beginning of 2010, ASIACHEM estimated that there is 7.05 Mt supply shortage of MEG in China in 2012. Currently, however, according to the demand from expansion of PET and increase of automobile antifreeze, while domestic petrochemical route or coal based MEG capacity is still stable, that situation will emerge earlier than the previous estimate. China’s MEG import will over 7 Mt in 2011.

2011-04-06 Reuters

Minmetals bids for Australian miner

The Chinese company offers $6.5 billion to secure supplies of copper and other metals

Minmetals Resources Ltd 五鉱集団, China's biggest metals trading company, on Monday offered $6.5 billion to buy Equinox Minerals Ltd, chasing Equinox's copper assets in Zambia and Saudi Arabia.

Equinox currently operates the Lumwana Mine in Zambia and is constructing the Jabal Sayid Project in Saudi Arabia.
Equinox also holds a number of exploration tenements in both Zambia and Saudi Arabia.

China, which accounts for 40 percent of the world's demand for copper, is on a mining-acquisition spree as prices for the red metal hover near record highs.

Minmetals, which owns mining operations in Australia and Asia, said it will offer C$7 ($7.22) for each share for Equinox, a 23 percent premium to Equinox's close in Toronto last Friday of C$5.71.

It will be China's fourth-biggest outbound merger and acquisition deal, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Equinox's Australian shares surged 29 percent to a record A$7.35 ($7.59), topping the value of the Minmetals' offer on expectations a rival bid may emerge.

"It's game on now," said Ausbil Dexia Chief Executive Paul Xiradis, a shareholder in Equinox. "They'll be looking to defend their turf and it may entice another party to come in as well, looking for quality assets such as those held by Equinox."

"It fits into a strategy of building a leading international diversified base-metals upstream business," Minmetals Chief Executive Andrew Michelmore told a news conference in Hong Kong on Monday.

"It certainly fits in with the strategy in terms of growing the base-metal size, particularly in terms of copper," said Michelmore, adding Minmetals would be the world's 14th largest copper producer after the deal, from its current rank of 30th.

The offer is conditional on Equinox dropping a C$4.7 billion ($4.8 billion) bid for Canada's Lundin Mining, which has been the subject of a separate takeover tussle between Equinox and Inmet Mining Corp.

Investors said it was possible that rival bidders may emerge for Sydney- and Toronto-listed Equinox, but said they may be deterred by Minmetals' financing power.

While Minmetals has a market value of just $2.5 billion, the metals trading company said its bid was being funded with credit from Chinese banks and equity investments by Chinese institutions.

"Ultimately no one wants to get into a bidding war with Chinese-related parties, given that Chinese companies are perceived to have a lower cost of capital relative to Western companies," said Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital.

Minmetals was finalizing a loan of around $5 billion to back its bid, Thomson Reuters publication Basis Point reported on Monday. The banks approached include Bank of China and China Development Bank, sources with knowledge of the matter said. European and Japanese banks have also been in talks with the borrower, they added.

China, and to a lesser degree India, have been scouring the globe to secure resources to fuel their fast-growing economies. Chinese banks have lent African nations billions of dollars and committed to fund major infrastructure projects as they push for access to copper, iron ore, and other resources.

Surging global demand for copper, plus the high cost and long lead time to bring new resources to production, have fueled expectations of more takeover activity and a prolonged bull run in the metal.

London Metal Exchange copper touched a record high of $10,190 a ton in February, and on Monday stood at $9,350. It has risen some 120 percent in the past two years.

Investors said Minmetal's offer premium was reasonable but not necessarily high enough, as Equinox's shares had declined in recent weeks on concerns about the Lundin deal.

"I will describe it as a realistic offer but not a knock-out bid," said James Bruce, portfolio manager at Perpetual, which recently sold its Equinox shares.

"It's a cleverly timed bid by Minmetals. We thought Equinox were paying too much for Lundin and were taking on too much debt in that deal."

This will be Minmetals' second major acquisition after it bought Minerals and Metals Group (MMG) for $1.85 billion from State-owned parent, China Minmetals Non-Ferrous Metals Group, late last year. It is already planning a new share issue of $1 billion to part-fund the MMG deal.

Equinox said in a statement that its board will meet to consider the Minmetals bid. It has not yet made a recommendation to shareholders to accept or reject the bid.

A source familiar with Equinox said the Minmetals approach caught the company by surprise. Equinox executives are currently in Canada marketing the Lundin offer, which the latter's board has urged shareholders to reject.

The deal marks the latest in a string of Australian mining takeovers involving Michelmore of Minmetals, who has been criticized by some disgruntled investors for his track record on mergers and acquisitions.

He was at the helm of WMC Ltd in 2005 when it was sold to BHP Billiton for $6 billion, a sale seen as too cheap after nickel prices rocketed shortly after the deal was completed.

Michelmore then went to work for the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska for two years, before returning to Australia to head the zinc miner Zinifex, which merged with Oxiana to form OZ Minerals.

A year later, the global financial crisis sank OZ under a debt pile, clearing the way for Minmetals to buy most of its assets for $1.4 billion.

2011/4/19 Shanghai

China Government Regulates the Coal Chemical Industry

On Apr. 12, 2011, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) the top economic planner in China - publicly released a document (No. 635, 2011); to further regulate the development of coal chemical industry.

According to the document, currently, there are some issues in coal chemical development. So, it is necessary to regulate the coal chemical industry, which includes 4 aspects:

1. To keep the industrial entry strictly. Particularly, the coking, carbide projects will be limited, and the out-of-date capacity will be phased out, and for ammonia and methanol capacities, will conduct the capacity replacement for a particular region, it is necessary to shut off the small plants if where new big projects are planned.

2. The following kinds of projects are forbidden to construct:
　　coal based methanol to olefins with olefins capacity of 500 kt/a and below;
　　coal based methanol with capacity of 1 Mt/a and below;
　　coal based DME with capacity of 1 Mt/a and below;
　　coal to liquids with liquid fuel capacity of 1 Mt/a and below;
　　coal to SNG with capacity of 2 billion Nm3/a and below;
　　coal to MEG with capacity of 200 kt/a and below.

　　Other coal conversion projects which large than the above standard, must be approved by NDRC.

3. To strengthen the allocation of resources, and actively promote energy assessment and environmental impact assessment.

4. The implementation of administrative accountability.

Also, the coal chemical demonstrations are required by the document of NDRC. NDRC and NEA (National Energy Administration) are editing the < Planning of Coal Conversion Demonstrations > and <Coal Chemical Policies>, which will includes six points:

1. During 2011-2015, the key tasks are the construction of modern coal chemical upgrading demonstration projects.

2. To keep the balance of coal supply and demand; and strictly regulate the coal chemical projects with high water consumption be constructed in the water shortage areas.

3. The coal chemical industry development needs to be controlled in the coal net import areas. The new demonstration should be combined with the phase out of out-of-date coal chemical plants, and it is prior if there is not increase of total coal consumption in the same area.

4. To improve the conversion efficiency. The total life cycle energy conversion efficiency should be considered. The coal price must be calculated as the market price. The CO2 emission and capturing should be considered and the new demonstration should have the capability of reducing CO2 emission largely.

5. The demonstration projects should in line with the petrochemical layout and the coal chemical park should be built, which also should be located in.

6. In principal, one company should conduct one demonstration project only; and the areas where with good coal and water resources also should control the total amounts of demonstration projects.

---

April 14 2011

China tightens controls on coal-to-chemical projects on risks
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2011/04/14/9452038/china-tightens-controls-on-coal-to-chemical-projects-on-risks.html

China is implementing stricter controls on proliferating coal-to-chemical projects since the nascent technology has yet to fully evolve, industry sources and analysts said on Thursday.

None of the major projects approved have successfully started commercial operations in the country, they said.

“High pollution and technology hurdles are [the] biggest challenges. Due to immature processing technology, some plants could not even be stated up after being built,” said Xiao Hui, an analyst at Shenzhen-based broker China Huatai United Securities.

“That’s why all such projects are increasingly difficult and time-costing to get permits,” Xiao said.

On Tuesday, China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), set the minimum scale for coal-to-chemical projects that will be considered.

NDRC also centralised approval of these projects, stripping local governments of such power.

A coal-based olefin plant must at least have a 500,000 tonne/year capacity, while a 1m tonne/year limit is set for coal-to-methanol, coal-to-methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and coal-to-liquids facilities.

For coal-to-natural gas projects, the capacity must be at least 2bn cubic metres/year, while a coal-to-monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant must at least have a 200,000 tonne/year capacity, according to NDRC.

The stricter rules are aimed at ensuring efficient use of coal resources, as well as curbing methanol overcapacities, industry sources said. China's total coal reserves as at end-2009 stood at 5,570bn tonnes, based on official data.

“To limit coal chemicals is a good thing, at least for the methanol industry. There’s heavy excess of methanol capacity,” said Xiao at Huatai United Securities.

China has a surplus of methanol even though plants are operating at just half of their capacities. Producing methanol from coal is currently a money-losing venture, industry experts said.

Meanwhile, adopting the technology of extracting petrochemicals from the cheapest fossil fuel available also poses environmental risks, which may endanger China’s commitment towards cutting its greenhouse gas emissions target, industry sources said.

“Currently, only coal-to-methanol has [a] relatively mature technology. Plants [that convert] methanol to chemicals like olefin and MEG [and others] suffered unstable operation and quality problems on products,” said an official from Shenhua Group, China’s biggest coal producer.

The group’s own 600,000 tonne/year methanol-to-olefins plant in Inner Mongolia has yet to start commercial operation, according to the source.

Shenhua has another project - a joint venture project with US’ Dow Chemical- in Yulin, Shaanxi province, which is pending NDRC approval, said the source.

The project, which hopes to produce 3m tonnes/year of methanol to yield 1.2m tonnes/year of olefin, meets the government’s requirement on project scale, the source said.

The partners are planning to kick off construction within the year if the government allowed them to proceed with the project.

“We see that the government’s stance is turning harder. So, there’s possibility that our projects will be rejected,” said the source from Shenhua Group.

2011-05-24 China Daily

Unprecedented power shortages expected

China is likely to face the most severe power shortage in its history this summer, with the electricity shortfall increasing to at least 30 gigawatts (gW) and estimated to peak at 40 gW, officials said.

Power shutdowns reached serious levels in some regions from January to April this year, and some power generation capacity has been shut down because of coal shortages, according to the Xinhua News Agency, citing Tan Rongyao, supervisor of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Tan said the daily maximum power shutdown has reached 9.8 gW, equivalent to the generation capacity of the whole of Chongqing municipality.

Larger areas will suffer power shortages this year than in previous years, and the effect will be more dramatic, said Xue Jing, director of the statistics department of the China Electricity Council (CEC).

She said that if thermal power plant construction is reduced in the coming years because of the ongoing losses, the discrepancy between the power supply and demand will become sharper during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015).

According to Chinese media, the National Development and Reform Commission will soon raise the on-grid prices by 0.02 yuan (0.003 cent) a kilowatt-hour in Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces because of the serious power shortages in the areas, but Li Dawei, a CEC official, said he has not been officially informed about it.

Many analysts said the rising coal price is the main cause of the power shortage and the government should lower coal prices and raise on-grid electricity prices to solve the problem.

"The government regulates the prices of coal only for power generation, but not all types of coal. So the coal companies cut back on or stop selling thermal coal to the power plants because of the low price. As a result, some plants have difficulty purchasing coal for power production," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.

Lin said the current power shortage is different from previous ones, which resulted from inadequate power generation capacity. The solution to that is simple: Build more power plants. But this power shortage comes at a time when the country has enough generation capacity, pointing to a contradiction between the market-oriented coal pricing mechanism and State-controlled electricity pricing system.

「人民網日本語版」2011年5月31日

中国　「ビスフェノールA」含む哺乳瓶の輸入・販売を禁止へ

　中国の6部門・委員会はこのほど通知を発表し、化学物質「ビスフェノールA（bisphenol A）」を含む哺乳瓶の生産を6月1日より禁止し、「ビスフェノールA」を含む哺乳瓶の輸入と販売を9月1日より禁止することを明らかにした。新京報が31日に伝えた。

　「ビスフェノールA」はポリカーボネート、エポキシ樹脂など様々な高分子材料の原料であり、これらの高分子材料は化学製品、食品の包装資材・容器などに幅広く使用されている。

　 「ビスフェノールA」は加熱すると食物や飲料の中に溶出し、人の代謝や幼児の発育・免疫力に影響を与えるだけでなく、発がん性も示唆されることから、 EU（欧州連合）は今年3月1日より「ビスフェノールA」を含む哺乳瓶の生産を禁止し、6月より「ビスフェノールA」を含む哺乳瓶のEU加盟国への輸入を 禁止することを明らかにしている。

　中国は今年6月1日よりポリカーボネート製哺乳びん及び、「ビスフェノールA」を含むその他の哺乳瓶 の生産を禁止し、9月1日よりポリカーボネート製哺乳びん及び、「ビスフェノールA」を含むその他の哺乳瓶の輸入と販売を禁止する。哺乳瓶の回収はメー カーと輸入企業が担当する。

　なお、哺乳瓶以外の食品包装資材、容器、塗料に「ビスフェノールA」を使用することは許可されるが、その量は食品安全に関する国家基準の定める規定量を守らなければならない。

＊日本の厚生労働省は、本件の問題点、各国の状況について、「ビスフェノールAについてのQ＆A」で説明している。

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/iyaku/kigu/topics/080707-1.html

May 31, 2011 (Xinhua via COMTEX)

China bans production of polycarbonate baby bottles

China began to ban production of baby bottles made of polycarbonate or containing Bisphenol A (BPA) on June 1, the country's quality watch dog said.
Agencies of quality and technology supervision at all levels should withdraw and cancel the certificates of polycarbonate baby bottle producers, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in an online statement.
The announcement was made according to the ban released by six ministries including Ministry of Health, the statement said.
Baby bottle producers should recall the products made of polycarbonate or containing Bisphenol A in line with the ban and are not allowed to use recalled products to make plastic packages, containers and tools, it said.
Local quality watchdogs should strengthen the supervision, investigate and penalize violators, it said.
Polycarbonate is a thermoplastics that has many applications, while Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical widely used to make hard, polycarbonate plastics, such as baby bottles.
Traces of BPA can be released from plastic containers into the food they carry if these containers are heated at high temperatures. They may lead to early sexual development of children and could cause cancer, according to health experts.

AQSIQ issued a notice on June 1 this year, the ban on the production of polycarbonate infant bottles containing bisphenol A and other feeding bottles for infants and young children at all levels quality and technical supervision departments will be withdrawn according to the law and to cancel the production of polycarbonate infant feeding bottles license.
General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection

this notice is other six departments under the Ministry of Health, “on the Prohibition of bisphenol A baby bottles for infants and young children notice” made. AQSIQ announcement that manufacturers must follow the Ministry of Health announced the requirements of 6 departments, responsible for the recall of infant feeding bottles and other polycarbonate containing bisphenol A, infant feeding bottles, is strictly prohibited to use plastic as a food product recall packaging, containers, tools, raw materials and other products. Enterprise shall report to the local product recall in writing quality and technology supervision department.

Notice requirements, quality and technology supervision departments at all levels should strengthen supervision and law enforcement, and strengthen supervision and inspection of related enterprises, investigate and punish acts of illegal production, relevant, and should be promptly reported to local authorities AQSIQ.

　

---

2011年2月26日　

EU　ビスフェノールA（BPA）を含む哺乳瓶の製造・販売禁止へ

　ビスフェノールA（BPA）を含む哺乳瓶のEU域内での製造の禁止が来週から実施される。EU市場での販売とEU域内への輸入も、1月に採択され たEU指令により、6月1日から禁止される。EU市場でこれを販売している企業は自主的に回収、他の製品への切り替えを進めている。これは2011年には 完了する見込みだ。

　デンマークは2010年3月、3歳以下の子供向け食品に接触するプラスチック材料の製造においてBPAを使用することを、一時的に禁止した。2010年7月には、フランスもBPAを含む哺乳瓶の製造、輸入、輸出、販売を一時的に禁止した。

　欧州委員会は2010年9月、デンマークの措置の根拠の評価を欧州食品安全機関（EFSA）に諮問した。答えは、体重１kg・一日当たり摂取量が 0.05�rまでなら安全で、全人口グループの摂取量はこれより少ないから問題ないとしたが、幼児への影響については問題が残り、一層のデータが利用できる ようになるまで用心すべきとした。

A ban prohibiting the manufacture in the European Union of baby bottles containing Bisphenol A (BPA) substance enters into force next week, on March 1. BPA is widely used in the production of plastic baby bottles. The ban is foreseen in an EU directive (2011/8/EU) adopted in late January which also cover, on June 1, the placing on the market and import into the EU of baby bottles containing BPA. Meanwhile, the industry is voluntarily withdrawing from the market baby bottles containing BPA and replacing them with safer products. This voluntary action is expected to be completed by mid 2011. Member States now have to communicate to the Commission the national legal measures they take to comply with the provisions of the directive.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/229&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

June 29, 2011 rubberworld.com

寧波科元塑膠のSSBR計画

寧波科元塑膠（Keyuan Petrochemicals）はこのたび、杭州中策ゴム(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber) と提携し、共同でSolution SBR計画を遂行することで合意した。

杭州中策ゴムはR&Dに強みを持つタイヤメーカーで、両社のR&Dが協力し、数年内にSSBRの技術を確立する。
技術確立後に、寧波科元が現在建設中のSBS（スチレン・ブタジエン・スチレン）の設備でSSBRを製造する。
技術と製品の権利は両社が共有する。

杭州中策はゴム履帯、自転車タイヤ、自動車タイヤ、コンベヤーベルト、Vベルト、ゴムホース等を生産している。
1997年に福山ゴムと技術提携した。

寧波科元塑膠は寧波市の寧波港青峙化工区にあり、以下の製品を生産している。（　）は建設中、単位：千トン

BTX	345
MTBE&Others	40
LPG	77.5
SM	36
Propylene	51.5
Asphalt	(300)
SBS	( 70)

Keyuan Petrochemicals and Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber to cooperate on SSBR

Keyuan Petrochemicals a leading merchant manufacturer of various petrochemical products in China, announced that Keyuan and Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber have formally agreed to jointly develop commercial applications for solution polymerization styrene butadiene rubber. “This agreement is another example of our ongoing commitment to develop new products using our innovative technologies,” began Chungfeng Tao, chairman and chief executive officer of Keyuan. “Hangzhou Zhongce is a proven leader in tire production with strong R&D capabilities. Sales of car tires worldwide were $140 billion in 2010, which is the largest user of SSBR today, especially for high gear radials. By engaging early in this technology, we expect to gain an advantage by developing commercial applications for SSBR in new markets and capitalizing on a significant growth opportunity.” Keyuan is working with researchers from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company Limited to develop SSBR over the next several years. The companies will share the rights to products and technologies developed from this cooperation. Upon successful development of SSBR, Keyuan will be able to produce this new product using the same facility of styrene-butadiene-styrene that is currently under construction.

  Hangzhou Rubber Factory of Hangzhou Rubber Group Company (Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber 杭州中策), founded in 1958, is one of the core factories of Hangzhou Rubber Group Company. It once was a state-owned enterprise. At present, our products include rubber crawler, bicycle tyre, solid tire, rubber conveyer belt, V-belt, and all types of rubber hose. Among these products, rubber crawler, solid tire, V-belt, hydraulic hose and color hose are exported to the overseas market in huge volume. Our products have achieved good prestige with excellent quality and competitive price.
We started the wide-range technology cooperation with Fukuyama Rubber Co., Ltd. (Japan) in 1997. Japanese advanced technology of rubber crawler production has been introduced to our factory. We maintain good relationships with some world famous companies, such as Yanmar, Komatsu and Kubota. In order to bring our management to the international level, we started the "5S" campaign, which is originated from Japanese enterprises.

寧波科元塑膠有限公司 Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc., is a leading independent manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals in China. We are located in Qingshi Chemical Park, Ningbo, Zhejiang with over 300 employees and have current annual petrochemical refining capacity of 550,000 metric tons. We currently manufacture and sell five categories of petrochemical products including BTX aromatics, propylene, styrene, MTBE and other chemicals.

Expansion Project 　　　Projected Capacity (MT)　　 Expected Completion Date
SBS Production Facility　　　70,000　　　　　　　　　　　End of Q3 2011
Storage Facility　　　　　　　100,000　　　　　　　　　　　End of Q4 2011
Raw Materials Pre-treatment Facility　N/A　　　　　　　　End of Q1 2012
Asphalt Production Facility　300,000　　　　　　　　　　　End of Q2 2012

JULY 07, 2011 東亜日報

中国、エコ政策を理由に外資企業の移転を要求


中国は１０年程前から自国企業の育成のため、外国人投資企業への差別待遇を始めた。ここに来て、環境汚染などを理由に外資企業が奥地へ追いやられるケースが増えている。認められているのは無公害先端技術部門の企業ぐらいだ。恐ろしく成長した中国が随所で経済力を誇示しているわけだ。

●環境汚染企業は出ていけ

錦湖（クムホ）タイヤは、２年間に渡り中国南京市ともめている。南京市が錦湖タイヤを含む管内の１７３の企業を「３高２低（高汚染、高エネルギー消費、高温室ガスの排出、低効率、低生産）」企業に指定し、他地域へ移転するか生産を中断するよう通告してきたためだ。南京市は１２年までの工場移転を要求しているが、錦湖タイヤは１４年までの段階的な移転を主張し、交渉中だ。

錦湖タイヤが南京に工場を建設した１９９０年代中盤、南京市は海外企業の誘致に精を出していた。錦湖タイヤも税制特典、工場敷地の買い入れの際の価格折衷、変電所など付帯施設の建築などの恩恵を受けた。しかし今や南京市は、エコ政策を理由に錦湖タイヤのような重化学企業の工場移転を要求している。

エコ政策は、中国中央政府の基本的な政策基調だ。中国政府は、００年代序盤から環境汚染産業の制限、環境への管理監督の強化に乗り出し、排水、大気汚染など汚染物排出業種に対し、工場の移転を要求し始めた。繊維、染色工場は早くから移転を要求され、０５〜０６年前後には広州、青島など、中国沿岸地域から中西部や内陸へ既に移転を終えた。

最近になって、環境制裁はさらに厳しくなっているようだ。錦湖タイヤのように地方政府の財政に影響する大きい会社にまで工場移転を要求するところからもその厳しさが伺える。

2011年7月6日

中国、0.25％利上げ　インフレ抑制へ今年３回目

　中国人民銀行（中央銀行）は６日、金融機関の預金と貸し出しの基準金利（期間１年）をそれぞれ0.25％幅引き上げると発表した。７日から実施する。利上げは４月６日以来今年３回目、昨秋からの引き締め局面で５回目。

　物価高による生活苦で暴動が起きる事態になっており、インフレ抑制の姿勢をいっそう鮮明にする。

　基準金利は貸し出しが6.56％、預金が3.50％になる。中国の消費者物価指数の上昇率は５月まで３カ月連続で前年同月比５％を超え、６月は６％を突 破する見通し。中国の食卓に重要な豚肉の値段が各地で過去最高を更新する物価上昇の勢いは強く、金融の引き締めでブレーキをかける。

現在のところ、6月、7月の物価情勢は基本的にはっきりしてい る。最近、ブタ肉価格が季節的要因に反して値上がりし、物価上昇を推進する主なパワーとなっている。南部地域で日照りや洪水が発生し、野菜の生産量が減少 したことにより、野菜価格の低下傾向にストップがかかっている。また(前回の価格上昇が今回の指数に影響する)残存効果が6月の消費者物価指数（CPI）に与えた影響は3.8ポイントで通年で最も大きく、これにより6月のCPI上昇率は過去最高を更新する見込みだ。

中国人民銀行（中央銀行）は6月14日、預金準備率を50ベーシスポイント引き上げた。預金準備率の引き上げは年初から6度目。今回の引き上げで預金準備率は過去最高の21.5％となる。

預金準備率の引き上げは、昨年１０月以降では９度目。

2011/7/11　Shanghai

Bohai starts construction for its Propylene Project in Tianjin

In late June 2011, Tianjin Bohua Petrochemical Company 天津渤海化工集団- a subsidiary of Bohai Chemical Industry Group (Bohai) started construction for its new propylene project by the propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology in Binhai New District, Tianjin.

With total investment of RMB 3.75 billion, the project will have designed propylene capacity of 600 kt/a. The PDH technology is licensed by CB&I Lummus and the catalyst will be supplied by Sud-Chemie. The project will use overseas import propane feedstock, it is expected to start up by June 2013.

製品のプロピレンは同社と関係会社のオクタノール、エピクロルヒドリン、アクリル酸、酸化プロピレンの原料として使用され、一部は外販される。ポリプロピレンの生産の計画はない。

酸化プロピレンについては、子会社でPVCを生産する天津大沽化工が年産10万トンのプラントと、独自技術の過酸化水素法酸化プロピレン（HPPO）の年産1,500トンのパイロットプラントを持っている。パイロットプラントは昨年10月から操業している。

なお、天津渤海化工は天津のSinopec-SABIC天津石化と原料供給計画を締結し、SM（60万トン）とABS（第１期２０万トン）を生産している。

In June 2010, Tianjin Bohai and Marubeni Corporation have concluded a strategic partnership agreement, to cooperate the project strategy in Tianjin in the future. Via the opportunity of this strategic partnership agreement, Marubeni planned to take the priority for handling its raw materials, products, and projects with the proposal and introduction of licensers and oversea project partners to Tianjin Bohai. Marubeni also plans to develop the domestic demand in China, and take further approach to China market.

As one of the largest local chemical companies, Tianjin Bohai is owned by Tianjin Municipal Government. Its main business covers inorganic chemicals and petrochemicals.

Project owner: Tianjin Bohai Petrochemical
Location: Binhai New District, Tianjin
Process: Lummus’ PDH process using Sud-Chemie’s CATOFIN catalyst
Capacity: 600 kt/a
Production: Propylene