Rexam is open to offers for its personal care plastic packaging business

(Plasteurope) -- Global consumer packaging company Rexam (London/UK) is open to offers for its personal care plastic packaging business. Divestment is one of the options under consideration, according to an interim management statement dated 17 November, following continuing weak performance. Earlier in the year the company said sales in the healthcare business were down 3.7%, with turnover in personal care static. Overall, the plastic packaging business is not performing to expectations, principally because of lower volumes and despite the cost actions that have been taken to protect profitability.


The weakness in plastic packaging has been offset by results in the beverage cans business, which are slightly ahead of plan. Outside Russia, where can sales have been soft, Rexam managed to grow volumes in Europe. In the US there was strong growth in specialty cans and the business is said to be on track to deliver profits ahead of 2010. Trading improved in South America, too, despite slower market growth.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Trade funding tightens for Iran polymers

(ICIS) -- Trade financing has tightened for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) going in and out of Iran, after fresh waves of US-led international sanctions hit the Middle Eastern country, industry players said on Wednesday.


Middle Eastern and Asian players are facing difficulties settling trades with their Iranian counterparts amid growing pressures to isolate Iran over its suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapons programme. UK and Canada have also announced plans to impose further sanctions on Iran.


The US named Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern this week, prompting financial institutions to take extra care in their dealings with the country.


South Korean banks, which used to act as a middle man for transactions involving the import and export of Iranian cargoes, are now being restricted from handling tri-party transactions, market sources said. Settlements should now only be directly between South Korea and Iran, thereby firmly shutting the South Korea route in trading of polymer cargoes for northeast Asian and Middle Eastern players, trader said. Some of these players have switched to selling through traders based in Dubai, UAE, but there are signs that this route, too, will close, they said.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Amerind Petroleum to establish a new refinery complex

(Plastemart) -- Amerind Petroleum Pvt. Ltd. has inked an MOU with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish an INR 12,000 crore refinery complex near Visakhapatnam in the PCPIR, BL reported. The company plans to relocate an existing US refinery.


Amerind has a technical collaboration with the American Industrial Corporation- a consortium of 14 US companies, to set up a petroleum refinery with initial capacity of 7.5 mln tpa of crude (150,000 bpd). To be set up on a turnkey basis by AIC, in phase I, it is proposed to relocate an existing running refinery acquired for INR 2,525 crore (about US$ 505 mln). In phase II, this would be expanded to 15 mln ton along with the setting up of INR 8.611 crore petrochemical complex.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

ExxonMobil may face Iraq sanctions

(Arabian oil and gas) -- Iraq's Oil Ministry is being kept waiting by Exxon for an explanation of their decision to breach Baghdad's blacklist policy by taking up six exploration agreements with the Kurdish Regional Government.


The Ministry has so far sent four letters to Exxon asking for an explanation without response, according to a Reuters report, despite one being signed by Nouri Al-Maliki, the Prime Minister, and another by Abdul Karim al-Luaibi, the Oil Minister.


Exxon - which has not provided any public comment on the deals since they were disclosed by the KRG's Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami on 12 November - may have put its field development contract at the supergiant West Qurna phase 1 field at risk by making the deals. Baghdad says contracts signed with the KRG are void because they give oil companies a proprietary interest in the region's oil, contrary to the Iraqi constitution, something the KRG hotly disputes.


Abdul Mahdy al-Ameedi, head of the Oil Ministry's petroleum contracts and licensing directorate, told Dow Jones Newswires that Exxon may be replaced at West Qurna 1 by Shell, which holds a minority (15%) interest in the development contract and is the operator of the Majnoon field.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Lanxess pioneering high-performance rubber for Green Tires in Japan and South

(Lanxess) -- Lanxess will be underlining its status as a premium supplier of high-performance rubber to the tire industry at its first-ever Rubber Days in Japan and South Korea this week. The world's largest synthetic rubber company is a key supplier of Nd-PBR and SSBR rubbers to leading tire manufacturers from both countries. Both products are essential in the production of Green Tires' that are more fuel efficient, safer and durable than standard tires.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC