Communicator
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Eastman Longview site has been added. #eastman #longview #texas #usa #steamcracking #kbr |
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Qatar Energy is embarking on a major expansion of its petrochemicals business, signaling a transformative phase for the country’s industrial sector and its global energy ambitions. The state-owned company has announced plans to more than double its petrochemical production capacity, with significant investments in both Qatar and the United States. This expansion is centered around the construction of world-scale ethane-based crackers, designed to meet the anticipated surge in global demand for plastics and chemical products as the industry shifts toward cleaner and more efficient energy sources.
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The Long Son Petrochemical Complex (LSP), Vietnam’s first fully integrated petrochemical facility, has experienced a turbulent launch and operational trajectory since its much-anticipated commercial start-up in late 2024. This article aggregates the latest developments, contextualizes them within broader industry trends, and references previous communications that highlighted both optimism and early warning signs. Background and Launch Long Son Petrochemicals Co., Ltd., located in Ba Ria-Vung Tau and wholly owned by Thailand’s SCG Chemicals (a subsidiary of SCG Group), represents a $5.2–5.4 billion investment and is designed to produce 1.55 million tonnes of polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) annually. The complex includes a world-scale, so-called Flex Feed Cracker with a capacity of 998,000 tonnes of ethylene, 500,000 tonnes of propylene, and 101,000 tonnes of butadiene per year, using naphtha, LPG, and soon, ethane as feedstock. *Data from the Long Son Environmental Permit (in Vietnamese Language) dated August 30, 2023.
After years of construction and trial runs, LSP officially began commercial operations on September 30, 2024. The launch was heralded as a transformative step for Vietnam’s plastics and downstream manufacturing sectors, reducing reliance on imports and boosting local industry competitiveness. Operational Suspension and Financial Losses Despite the high-profile start-up, LSP suspended operations in mid-October 2024—just two weeks after commercial production began. This abrupt halt was attributed to:
SCG Chemicals reported a staggering loss of $303.6 million from LSP in 2024, with monthly expenses at the complex reaching $35.5 million—40% of which are non-cash items like depreciation. The financial drag from LSP sharply reduced SCG’s consolidated profit, even as its other businesses remained profitable. Capacity Questions and Technical Details Our prior communication raised questions about the actual cracker capacity and the interpretation of trial run figures, whereby we issued a mass balancing challenge that still awaits contributions from users of the PPPLUS Platform. Various data sources have reported diverging plant capacities for both the cracker and the downstream plants. In addition, calculated feedstock requirements to match the reported ethylene and propylene outputs are not making any sense in terms of cracker capacity. The figures we have used to generate the site's mass balance and process flow chart are taken from the Long Son Environmental Permit (in Vietnamese Language) dated August 30, 2023. During the brief operational window, initial output was reported at 74,000 tonnes—well below nameplate, reflecting the ramp-up phase and subsequent shutdown. Strategic Adjustments and Future Plans SCG has not abandoned the project. Instead, it is adapting the business model to address structural challenges:
Market and Policy Environment Vietnam’s government has signaled support for LSP’s expansion, promising to streamline procedures and facilitate stable gas imports, including ethane from the U.S.. However, the domestic market remains under pressure from competitive international polyolefin imports and subdued export demand. Summary on Key Facts and Timeline
Outlook The Long Son Petrochemical Complex exemplifies both the promise and pitfalls of mega-projects in volatile global markets. While its technical capabilities and strategic significance remain intact, the project’s near-term viability hinges on market recovery, successful feedstock diversification, and continued government support. SCG’s willingness to invest further and adapt its strategy suggests a long-term commitment, but the road to profitability remains challenging and closely watched by industry observers.
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Several assets with their respective technology and production capacity have been added.
#chloralkali #univation #unipol #olefinsplant #steamcracking #linde #pvc #thyssenkrupp ##uhde #nucera |
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The description of the Idemitsu Chiba complex has been updated.
#idemitsu #chiba ##refining #petrochemicals #steamcracking #naphthacracker #refinery #oilrefinery #japan |
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Silleno project has been modelled, with technologies and their respective capacity identified, excepted for the ethylene dimerization process. #silleno #kazakhstan #axens #alphabutol #cpchem #martech #adl #martechadl #dualloop #bimodal #univation #unipolpe #lummus #steamcracker #srt #steamcracking #gascracker #ethylene #polyethylene |
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A detailed description of the TC2C crude oil to chemical conversion process has been added. |
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The mass balance has been developed for the main processes, some downstream processes not yet covered. |
Product Technical |
Description of 1,3-butadiene has been updated. |
Product Technical |
1,2-butadiene has been added. |
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Yangzi-BASF Light Hydrocarbon Comprehensive Utilization Project with 1 million tonnes steam cracker begins construction, receives environmental impact assessment. |
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7th Sep 2024 | Source: DT New Materials, via Sohu.com |
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PetroChina Jilin Petrochemicals, manufacturing site have been added and mass balance initialized.
#steamcracking #ethylene #polyethylene #abs #rubber #crudeoil #petrochina #cnpc #jilinpetrochemical |
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Sinopec INEOS (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and manufacturing site have been added. |
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Petrochina Daqing Petrochemical has been created and its site's mass balance initialized.
#daqing #petrochina #petrochemical #massbalance #refining #crudeoil #ethylene #steamcracking #heilongjiang |
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The mass balance of Guangdong Petrochemical has been initialized with identification of crude oil imports and the addition of two technologies: Huanqiu Steam Cracking and Grace's Unipol PP with their respective capacities. |
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Huanqiu steam cracking technology has been added as a placeholder. Technology description needs to be developed. |
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SINOPEC Steam Cracking Technology has been added. |
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Existing FS1 steam cracker technology was developed inhouse by DOW, and the existing three PE trains are Dow solution process according to the Path2NetZero map. Cracker capacity is estimated based on capacity expansion indications. |
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The site has one ethane cracker and its mass balance has been determined. |
Finance |
Nova Chemicals Joffre site has been created. #canada #joffre #nova #chemicals #cracker #steamcracking #polyethylene #ethylene |
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Mass Balances of Borouge 1, Borouge 2 and Borouge 3 have been completed. Borouge 4 site's model has been initialized but will be finalized when the project comes on-stream. With each further stage, the sites are becoming more complex, as shown in the mass balance table of Borouge 3. The Mass Balances are presented as simplified block flow diagrams (Borouge 1 visual, Borouge 2 visual, Borouge 3 visual). Technologies have been identified for all assets of all three projects as shown for the Borouge 3 technology table. By clicking on the blue 'T' icons in the diagrams or on the technology name in the technology table, the corresponding technology is shown (e.g. Linde Steam Cracker) and by clicking on the green 'F' icons, the flow details for the corresponding asset are displayed. |