BASF and Markor to build Chinese butanediol and PolyTHF plants

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF and China-based Xinjiang Markor Chemical are planning to set up two joint venture (JV) companies, for the production of butanediol (BDO) and polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF), in Korla, Xinjiang Uygur, China, said Chemicals-technology.

The JV firms are considering building a new BDO plant, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes, and another facility with a capacity for 50,000 tonnes per annum of PolyTHF. These are expected to be commissioned in 2015.
BASF Intermediates division senior vice president responsible for the Asia Pacific region, Dr. Guido Voit, said: "Based on our globally leading PolyTHF technology and the strong local presence of Markor in China, we are aiming to expand our local production capacity in order to support our customers in the Chinese market with high-quality products."

"The JV firms are considering building a new BDO plant, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes."
The JV agreements are subject to further closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Markor Group vice president He Xiaorong said BASF will provide its PolyTHF technology to the joint ventures.

"Thanks to our integrated value chain, we can achieve great synergies, enabling us to serve our customers better," Xiaorong added. "We look forward to working with BASF to further expand our joint business in China."

The Germany-based chemical company manufactures PolyTHF, with an annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes at its plants in the US, Germany, Korea and China.

As MRC wrote earlier, BASF and Sinopec completed a joint feasibility study and taken the next steps in the establishment of a world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in China. The partners will also form a new 50-50 joint venture, named BASF MPCC Co. Ltd, and plan to start production at the new plant around the middle of 2015.

BASF produces BDO with an annual capacity of 535,000 tonnes at its sites in Germany, China, Japan and Malaysia, while Markor, a subsidiary of the Markor Investment Group, currently produces 160,000 tonnes per annum of BDO.
PolyTHF, which is used to make elastic spandex fibres for a variety of textiles, serves as a chemical building block for thermoplastic polyurethanes and BDO is used to produce technical plastics, polyurethanes, solvents, electronic chemicals and elastic fibres.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Dalian Petrochemical, a subsidiary of PetroChina is likely to shut a polypropylene (PP) plant for a maintenance turnaround, said Apic-online.

A source in China informed that the plant will be shut towards end-March 2013. It is expected to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Dalian, Shandong province of China, the plant has a capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote earlier, Dalian Petrochemical had to run the downstream facilities of its 10m tonne/year (200,000 bbl/day) crude distillation unit (CDU) in Dalian at reduced rates of about 60% after a fire at the unit two days ago, a company source said on Monday.

Dalian Petrochemical, in Dalian, Liaoning Province, is one of PetroChina’s main refineries with a refining capacity of 20.5m tonnes/year. The company is able to produce various products including refined oil, lubrication, wax, benzene, polypropylene (PP) and expandable polystyrene (EPS).

PetroChina is one of the largest companies in China and a key player in the country's oil and gas industries. As MRC wrote earlier, PetroChina has overtaken Exxon Mobil as the world’s biggest publicly traded producer of oil. The company announced it pumped 2.4 million barrels a day last year, surpassing Exxon by 100,000 barrels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Group Holdings S.A. has announced its trading performance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012, according to the company's press release.

Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2012 was EUR311 million, compared to EUR190 million for Q4, 2011 and EUR432 million for Q3, 2012.

Full year 2012 EBITDA was EUR1,517 million compared to EUR1,714 million for 2011. Comparative information excludes the results of the refining business, which was disposed of in July 2011.

The results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012 have been adversely impacted in the company's O&P Europe business by the closure of the Elgin gas field in the North Sea. The field was closed after the discovery of a gas leak in March 2012 and remained closed throughout 2012. The closure forced the business to utilise more expensive imported feedstocks for the gas cracker in Grangemouth, which impacted the results by EUR45m for the full year and EUR23m in the fourth quarter.

Petrochemical markets in Europe and Asia have continued to be subdued with industry sentiment remaining cautious. In contrast, business in North America has been strong with the continuing benefit of its current feedstock advantage.

Total capital expenditure for Q4, 2012 was EUR124 million. Full year 2012 capital expenditure was EUR461 million.

The Group has continued to focus on cash management and liquidity. Net debt was approximately EUR6.2 billion at the end of December 2012. Cash balances at the end of the quarter were EUR1,235 million, and availability under undrawn working capital facilities was EUR200 million. Net debt leverage was approximately 4.1 times as at the end of December 2012.

As MRC reported previously, on a prolonged economic downturn in the European market and decline in demand for PVC, INEOS ChlorVinyls, the largest producer of PVC in Europe, decided to stop production at three of its plants in January, 2013.

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 15 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 51 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries throughout the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron Europe, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), copolymer and expandable polystyrene (EPS) grades, reproted the company on its site.

Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the March contract and spot prices for the products listed below will increase as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR50/tonne;

- MAGNUM ABS resins and TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR60/tonne;

- SCONAPOR expandable polystyrene (EPS) - by EUR60/tonne.

The price increase responds to the rising costs associated with the manufacturing of polystyrene and copolymers grades in Europe.

As MRC reported earlier, Styron recently introduced several new resins for medical equipment enclosures. These materials complement Styron's portfolio for enclosures providing resins that result in an economical system cost. The new advanced resins are EMERGE PC/ABS 7700 blend, which provide a well-balanced, cost-effective solution for powered medical devices offering ignition resistance and color stability over time, and MAGNUM 2642 MED and MAGNUM 8391 MED ABS resins, which are manufactured in a continuous mass production process that offers superior lot-to-lot consistency, exceptional natural resin whiteness, and excellent processing characteristics.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Styron's technology solutions are used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, commercial transportation, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD6 billion in revenue in 2011, with 20 manufacturing sites around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tessenderlo Group, a worldwide specialty company, has announced receipt of an offer for its compounds business from Mitsubishi Chemical, a global petrochemical company already present in the compounds industry, reported the company on its site.

The intended sale comprises four production sites in France, Poland and China and one R&D site in Belgium.
This transaction is subject to merger control approval.

The present divestment project is in line with the group’s strengthened focus on specialty products and services in the areas of food, agriculture, water management and valorizing bio-residuals.

As MRC wrote previously, in the first half of 2012 Tessenderlo Group officially inaugurated its new CTS production plant in Changsu, China. The new plant is aimed to produce high-performance, thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) and slush moulding compounds for automotive applications.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation is Japan’s leading chemical company with chemistry -based
technology platforms for the development of a wide range of technologies and products in the fields of
performance products, healthcare, and industrial materials.

Tessenderlo Group is a worldwide specialty company, focused on food, agriculture, water management and on valorizing bio-residuals. Tessenderlo Group’s Compounds business unit has nearly 50 years’ experience and extensive know-how in formulation and production of thermoplastics, making it market leader in this sector. Its range of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) and PVCs has been specially formulated to provide original solutions for applications in the building, automotive, cabling and many other areas.
MRC