Pemex enters into a noncommercial agreement with Exxon Mobil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexico's state-owned oil Pemex has signed a noncommercial agreement with Exxon Mobil to share technical and scientific information of mutual interest, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Pemex said in a press release that the five-year agreement renews the two oil companies' relations in matters of cooperation.

"The goal of this agreement is to define our collaboration in the areas of investigation, scientific development, technical and human resources in exploration, drilling, production, transportation and storage of hydrocarbons," the statement said.

Pemex said the accord did not represent any type of service agreement and did not involve compensation.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, in early 2013, Mexichem announced that PEMEX's Management Board authorized the co-investment between Pemex Petroquimica and Mexichem, seeking to bring viability and generate value in the country's VCM chain.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world"s second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).

Exxon Mobil is the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, and produces in nonconventional areas like the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico on the U.S. side. Pemex is just starting exploration in the deep waters of the Mexican side of the Gulf.
MRC

BASF introduces new materials for energy-efficient and low-maintenance construction in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the largest diversified chemical company in the world, presented its innovative solutions for energy-efficient and low-maintenance construction in Russia at the trade fair MosBuild, reported the company on its site.

The company's new wide-range construction portfolio is aimed to increase energy efficiency in buildings and enhance durability and, thus, reduce repair and maintenance costs.

"In Russia, more and more emphasis is being placed on sustainable solutions. Sustainability means combining economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. These construction industry goals can only be realized with the help of innovations from chemistry," says Sergey Andreev, Head of the BASF Business Center Russia and CIS, whose responsibilities include promoting dialogue between the construction industry and BASF.

Thus, BASF introduced a whole range of innovative solutions, which includes Neopor, an advanced version of Styropor, the classic polystyrene insulation material, which contains special graphite particles that reflect thermal radiation like a mirror and reduce heat loss in the home; polyurethane applications that contribute to energy efficiency - Elastopor, Elastopir, Elastospray, and Elastopor H - rigid polyurethane foam boards for insulating roofs, walls, floors, and ceilings as well as PU sandwich elements for roofs and facades; innovative concrete admixtures - Glenium, Rheobuild and RheoMatrix - which allow concrete to reach increased energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

BASF materials also help to protect structures from weathering, which in turn reduces maintenance and repair work. Besides, the company presented durable high-performance flooring for industrial construction as well as repair mortars, solutions for structural strengthening, waterproofing and protection. In case of industrial buildings a durable cement and polymer-based grouting for precision machinery guarantee trouble-free operation.

As MRC informed previously, recently BASF has started to roll out its Master Builders Solutions brand in Asia Pacific as part of a phased launch process. The global brand is a sign for BASF's commitment to the construction industry and represents a wide range of construction chemical solutions previously sold under a variety of specialty brands.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. BASF had sales of EUR72.1 billion in 2012. The construction industry is one of BASF’s key customer industries, accounting for up to 10% of total Group sales. Sales to the construction industry in 2012 were EUR5.2 billion.
MRC

MRC news digest as of 08.04.13.

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MRC news digest as of 8 August, 2013.

1. Asiaт PET price fell again in the last week of March.

In the last week of March, quotations of Asian bottle PET for export shipments dropped again amid falling feedstocks prices and weak demand from producers of polyester fibers. This week spot quotations of bottle PET again showed a downward trend in China and Korea. Sluggish consumer activity and pressure by lower feedstocks prices forced Asian makers to make major discounts in price in order to maintain the current level of sales. According to Ukrainian converters, the price of Chinese PET, including delivery to Ukraine, was voiced at the level of USD1,443-1,475/tonne, CIF Odessa, excluding VAT, at the end of the week. Russian converters of the material reported that, given the current prices in the foreign markets, the selfcost of the material in Russia will amount to USD1,475-1,515/tonne, DAP Moscow, excluding VAT.

2. Polymir shuts LDPE production for maintenance.

The Belarusian producer Polymir shuts one of its two reactors for the production of high-density polyethylene (LDPE) for a two-week maintenace from 30 of March. The outage will affect the production of the following grades: 10803-020, 10204-003 and 12203-250. The shutdown of the second reactor for maintenance (15803-020 and 17703-010 grades) is scheduled for early September. As it was reported earlier, initially the outage for maintenance of the first reactor at Polimir was planned to start from 7 March, but the company postponed it for late March due to the frosts.

3. Domestic price of EPS in Ukraine to decline in April.

The price of the Asian and Russian EPS in Ukrainian market is expected to decline in April, while the price of Ukrainian material will remain unchanged. Market participants said that the price of Russian EPS of Alfapor grade for April will be reduced to USD2,000-2,030/tonne, FCA Perm, down USD30-60/tonne from March. The sources of the company, the largest Russian producer, also confirmed the possible cuts of export prices of EPS in future. At the moment Ukrainian, Russian and Asian EPS are offered in the market. In early March, Chinese makers due to high stock inventories reduced the price on average by USD50/tonne to USD1,950-1,980/tonne, CIF Odessa. The price of Ukrainian polystyrene in March were at UAH19,500-19,800/tonne (USD1,990-2,020/tonne, excluding VAT). Market participants agree that in April the price remain the same. According to preliminary information, Synthos, Polish supplier of EPS, also aims to reduce the price for the Ukrainian market in April. Synthos's price for March was at EUR1,570/tonne, FCA.

4. The last large-size equipment was installed at POLIEF as part of PET expansion project.

The last large-size equipment has been built up at Bashkir POLIEF (SIBUR group), one of the major PET producers and the only producer of terephthalic acid (PTA) in Russia, as part of the investment project "PETF-210". The installed unit is a crystallizer, which is part of the key equipment of the project for the expansion of PET production from 120,000 to 210,000 tonnes per year. The 40-tonne crystallizer became the last large-size equipment delivered to the facility as part of "PETF-210" project. The unit is one of the most important equipment that the licensor supplies. It is aimed for the process of solid state polycondensation of PET.

5. Imports of PET to Kazakhstan dropped by 5% in February.

In February, imports of PET granulate to Kazakhstan decreased by 5% from January. In absolute terms, the import volumes of PET fell by 300 tonnes. Overall, in February, the total import of PET to the Kazakh market made about 5,400 tonnes, while in January Kazakh companies imported about 5,700 tonnes of PET. Last month, Chinese granulate accounted for the bulk of bottle PET imports. The share of Chinese grades in the total import made more than 78%. Totally, in February, 4,260 tonnes of Chinese PET entered the Kazakh market. In January, the situation was different. South Korean PET accounted for the lion's share of imports, while the share of the Chinese material accounted for only about 49%. February volumes of PET imports from South Korea dropped significantly, which allowed to increase imports of Chinese PET. Market sources attributed this to China's favourable price level and logistical factor. Overall, imports of Korean PET made 1,100 tonnes in February, down by 2,5 times from January.

6. European producers to limit the decline in prices of polyolefins for April.

European makers plan to reduce April export prices of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) for for the CIS countries only by EUR20-30/tonne, while European contract prices of ethylene and propylene for April were agreed by EUR50-60/tonne below the March level. European PE and PP prices are falling for the second month in a row. Due to the low demand in foreign and domestic markets European makers of PE and PP were forced to cut prices in March, despite the significant increase in prices of feedstock. By the second half of March the prices of European high density polyethylene (HDPE) had been cut to EUR1,200-1,290/tonne, FCA; homopolymer propylene prices fell to EUR1,140-1,220/tonne, FCA.

7. Russian DOP for April increased by 3,000/tonne.

Prices of DOP plasticizer for April grew in the Russian market on the back of increased feedstock costs. The oncoming turnaround of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and a seasonal increase in demand give grounds to think that DOP prices will grow further. The cost of the main feedstock of dioctyl phthalate plasticizer (DOP) - diethylenglycol (DEG) and phthalic anhydride has grown in April, which resulted in increase of Russian DOP prices on average by Rb3,000/tonne to Rb70,000-72,000/tonne, including VAT, with delivery. The exception made DOP plasticizer by Gazprom neftekhim Salavat production, which was left at the rollover from March: Rb65,000-66,000/tonne, FCA Salavat, including VAT. The company plans to stop its capacities for DOP production on the turnaround from 20, April.

8. European PVC fell in value for CIS countries by EUR30/tonne.

Slash in ethylene contract prices in Europe and export PVC prices in the USA forces European producers to reduce April PVC prices for the CIS markets. The contract ethylene price in Europe for April shipments was agreed by EUR60/tonne lower than the March level, which is equivalent to a cut in the cost of PVC production by EUR30/tonne. North American makers have lowered their export PVC prices for April shipments on average by USD60-70/tonne. These factors make European producers proportionally decrease their April export prices for the CIS markets. Negotiations on European export PVC prices for April shipments started on Tuesday. Some market participants report that they managed to get a reduction of export prices by EUR30/tonne from March. Deals for April shipments of European PVC to the CIS countries were discussed in the range of EUR750-800/tonne, FCA.
MRC

YPF starts processing crude at the damaged refinery in Argentina after fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Argentina's state-run oil company YPF SA has started processing crude oil at its largest refinery, which had been offline for more than five days after being damaged by flooding and a major fire, reported The Wall Street Journal.

In a statement Sunday, YPF said its personnel are working to restart production in other areas of the refinery after flood waters were drained from the sprawling industrial complex.

As MRC reported earlier, YPF suspended operations at its La Plata refinery after a fire broke out last Tuesday night in a coking oven. Flooding that devastated the nearby city of La Plata last Tuesday also cut power to YPF's refinery, causing a serious fire at the refinery that took more than eight hours to extinguish.

The refinery accounts for almost 30% of Argentina's fuel production.

On Friday, YPF said it would take at least seven days to get the refinery running again. Starting Saturday, the company was able to start shipping fuel to gas stations using fuel stocks stored at the refinery.

YPF said 20 tanker loads of diesel and gasoline have been dispatched from the refinery so far.

Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales (YPF) is an Argentinean integrated oil and gas company. The company is the largest in its sector in Argentina. Its business is structured in six activities: exploration and production; refining and logistics; marketing, offering a range of automotive, aeronautics, naval, farming and industrial fuels; chemicals, manufacturing a variety of industrial products, including a diverse group of raw materials for chemical, industrial and agricultural activities; lubricants and YPF Gas, comprising the retail distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The Company"s majority shareholder is Repsol YPF SA.
MRC

LANXESS acquires Asian biocide specialist PCTS

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LANXESS is strengthening its product portfolio for biocides to serve the megatrend urbanization. The German specialty chemicals group has acquired Singapore-based PCTS Specialty Chemicals Pte. Ltd. for an undisclosed amount, said the company.

The transaction closes with immediate effect. Through the acquisition, LANXESS is now one of the leading suppliers of biocides for paints and coatings in the rapidly-growing Asia-Pacific region. LANXESS will gain access to a complementary portfolio of biocides and will benefit from PCTS’ highly-recognized product expertise and know-how in paints and coatings.

PCTS will be integrated into the LANXESS business unit Material Protection Products (MPP), which belongs to the company’s Performance Chemicals segment. The PCTS facility will also become the new Asia-Pacific headquarters of MPP. The business unit is already one of the world’s leading suppliers of biocides. It acquired the U.S.-based biocide company Verichem Inc. and the material protection activities of Switzerland’s Syngenta in 2011.

MPP also offers stabilizing agents for beverages and is the world’s leading manufacturer of phenolic active ingredients for disinfection. Its production sites are located in Krefeld-Uerdingen and Dormagen (Germany), Pittsburgh (USA), Jhagadia (India) and Changzhou (China).

As MRC wrote earlier, LANXESS brake ground for its new neodymium-based performance butadiene rubber (Nd-PBR) plant in Singapore today. The German specialty chemicals company is investing roughly EUR 200 million in a 140,000 metric tons per annum facility on Jurong Island. The facility will be the largest of its kind globally and will serve the growing market for "Green Tires", especially in Asia.

LANXESS has been present in Singapore since 2004 and is the home to about 380 employees. It serves as an important business and technical services hub for the company’s operations throughout Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific. Singapore is also the global headquarters to the Butyl Rubber business unit, which began the commissioning phase of its new world-scale plant on Jurong Island in the first quarter. The plant is expected to start commercial production in the third quarter of 2013. In addition, the Performance Butadiene Rubbers business unit broke ground last year for a world-scale Nd-PBR plant on Jurong Island. Ian Wood is the company’s country representative in Singapore.