Sibur to сollaborate with Gazprom Neft in production polymer road materials

(chemmonitor) -- The St. Petersburg-headquartered Russian oil and gas company Gazprom Neft and a Russian petrochemicals producer Sibur with a head office in Moscow will collaborate in the polymer road materials production and marketing.

Sibur will deliver styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymers to the facilities of Gazprom Neft. The materials are applied in the polymer-bitumen binders (PBB) manufacturing to improve the quality characteristics of the road surface and extend its service life.

Moreover, the parties are ready to carry out a joint research to develop the utilization of road materials based on polymers, in particular, to work up SBS polymers brands.
MRC

(chemweek) -- LG Chem (Seoul) has reported a 10% fall in net profits for Q3 2012 compared with the year-ago period, to won459 billion (USD416 million). Sales decreased 0.9%, to won5.8 trillion. Operating profits decreased 17%, compared with the year-ago period, to won601 billion.

The petrochemical business of LG Chem reported a 4.5% fall in Q3 sales, compared with the year-ago period, to won4.3 trillion. Operating profits in the petrochemicals business decreased 26% in the third quarter compared with the year-ago quarter, to won438 billion.

Compared to the second quarter of 2012, the petrochemicals business reported a 3.4% fall in sales but a 27% growth in operating profits, in the third quarter of 2012. The profitability improved due to stable feedstock costs and better cost position despite continued weak demand as a result of the global economic downturn, LG Chem says.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, LG Chem expects the petrochemicals business to maintain competitive sales and profitability backed by a differentiated product portfolio.

LG Chem says its overall capital expenditure for 2012 will be won2.5 trillion, and the petrochemicals segment will account for won743 billion of the total.

LG Chem Ltd. is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Its petrochem division produces polyvinyl chloride, plasticizers, specialty additives, alcohols, polyolefins, acrylic acids, rubbers, styrenics, performance polymers, engineering plastics, elastomers, conductive resins, and other chemicals.
MRC

(chemweek) -- Sabic has posted a 23% decline in third quarter net profit citing lower product prices. Net income in the quarter ended 30 September 2012 reached SR6.31 billion (USD1.68 billion) compared with net income of SR8.19 billion in the year earlier quarter. However, net income rose 19% to SR5.3 billion compared with the second quarter of this year. Gross operating profit in the third quarter was down 22% to SR 13.18 billion and income from operations was 27% lower at SR 9.84 billion. Revenues were not disclosed.

Sabic’s net income in the first nine months of this year was down 21% at SR 18.89 billion and earnings per share in the first nine months were SR6.30 compared with SR7.99 for the same period in 2011. Sabic attributes the higher net income in the third quarter compared with the second quarter to increased production volume due to improvement in operational efficiencies. The company beat analysts’ expectations with forecasts for third quarter net income averaging SR6.01 billion.

Sabic is ranked among the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The comany manufactures chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer. Among its products are propylene, paraxylene, styrene, polystyrene (PS), melamine, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl cloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester.
MRC

(hydrocarbonporcessing) -- PetroVietnam, state-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, has recently announced that it is going to construct the second oil refinery in the country. The refinery could cost USD8-10 billion, as per PetroVietnam estimations.

However, there are still issues to be resolved before work can begin. PetroVietnam Chairman Phung Dinh Thuc didn't clarify what the issues are but said the foreign investors in the project must take careful steps in the wake of difficult world economic conditions.

Plans to build the 200,000-bpd Nghi Son refinery in Thanh Hoa province by investors from Kuwait, Japan and Vietnam have been delayed several times.

"We're still in talks and haven't made a final investment decision," a spokeswoman for Idemitsu Kosan Co., one of the partners in the project, said Thursday.

Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum International each hold a 35.1% stake in the planned refinery, to be built 180 kilometers south of Hanoi, while PetroVietnam and Mitsui Chemicals own 25.1% and 4.7%, respectively. KPI is a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum.
MRC

(plastemart) -- The US, Houston-based Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. has exited its joint venture deal with Taipei, Taiwan-based Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC), seeking instead to expand hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC) manufacturing capability in Asia on a stand-alone basis.

Kraton opted not to extend the previously announced Framework Agreement with FPCC, which expired Sept. 30. The agreement had governed the formation of a proposed 50/50 joint venture to build, own and operate a 66 mln lb HSBC plant at FPCC’s petrochemical site in Mailiao, Taiwan, as MRC reported earlier this year.

The project was delayed, first by the wait for environmental permit approval, Kraton said. After the permit was finally approved in July, FPCC considered the conditions to be too restrictive and limiting on its overall operation in Mailiao. However, an Oct. 11 report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily said FPCC was going to file an appeal by Oct. 12, after the environmental protection authorities once again rejected FPCC’s proposal and indicated additional restrictions.

Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc. is a leading global producer of engineered polymers, including styrenic block copolymers (SBC). The company is the original inventor of styrenic block copolymer chemistry in the 1960s. The company has a broad portfolio of value-enhancing polymers that are used in a wide variety of applications including consumer and personal care items, adhesives and coatings, electronics, medical supplies, automotive components, and paving and roofing materials.
MRC