Russian PM holds meeting on developments in petrochemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a meeting on the development of the chemical and petrochemical industries, said Fibre2fashion.

The meeting was held at the POLIEF production site, one of Russia’s largest polyester complexes producing feedstock for the manufacture of plastic bottles for food products.

Dmitry Medvedev inspected the POLIEF production site, which is currently expanding its polyethylene terephthalate (PET) capacities. PET is used to produce food and pharmaceutical packaging, and film. POLIEF’s current terephthalic acid (feedstock for PET production) output is 250,000 tonnes per annum, and PET output – 140,000 tonnes per annum. With the expansion of the polyester facility, PET capacities are expected to reach up to 210,000 tonnes per annum.

This project will allow POLIEF to process its own terephthalic acid into high value-added products and to replace imports in some Russian PET market segments. Despite current tightening of spreads between feedstock and finished product prices in the global PET market, the Russian market has substantial growth potential. In 2012, Russia produced about 453,000 tonnes of PET and imported 185,000 tonnes. The current consumption rate per capita of food-grade PET in Russia is 4.1 kg compared with 9.5 kg in the US.

The project is included in the list of priority projects of Bashkortostan. Today, 100% of the production equipment has been installed, and 50% of the construction work has been finished. Commercial operations are scheduled to begin in 1H2014.

POLIEF’s PET fully meets the Russian and international quality standards for food contact materials. The Pira International Certificate of Conformity authorises POLIEF to sell its products in the European market.

The Russian Prime Minister also had a look at the KhimTerra Industrial Park Project. This Project, which is being led by the Bashkortostan Development Corporation, aims to support small and medium-sized businesses and to set up new production facilities that will use POLIEF products. The opening of this Industrial Park will help boost economic growth in the Republic, raise tax revenues, and create new jobs.

SIBUR Holding is the major shareholder of POLIEF; 17.5% interest in POLIEF is held by the Bashkortostan Government.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical is in plans to shut a BTX plant for maintenance turnaround, said Apic-online.

A source in Japan informed that the plant is likely to be shut in September 2013. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a benzene capacity of 150,000 mt/year, toluene capacity of 60,000 mt/year and solvent grade Mx capacity of 30,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Sumitomo Chemical will permanently wind up the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, in or before September 2015, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.

Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wuhan Petrochemical has delayed the start-up of a new cracker, said Apic-online.

A source in China informed that the start-up has been delayed to July 15, 2013. The cracker was initially scheduled to restart on June 28, 2013.

Located in Hubei province, China, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 800,000 mt/year. Currently, Wuhan Petrochemical has an ethylene production capacity of 200,000 tonnes/year and can process 8.5m tonnes/year of crude.

Wuhan Petrochemical Engineering Design Co., Ltd. offers engineering design, supervision, consultation, and related services for oil refinery, petrochemicals, distribution, and storage of oil and gas products. The company is based in China, its parent company is Sinopec.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, one of the leading thermoplastic resin producers in the Americas and among the world’s largest biopolymer producers, announces the expansion of its portfolio of renewable products with the launch of its new line of green low-density polyethylene (LDPE), with this new product family complementing it’s already well known Green Plastics, said Bioplastic-innovation.

Annual production of the new resin will amount to approximately 30 kton and the product will be made available in the market starting in January 2014.

To ensure the production feasibility of the new line, investments were made in interconnecting plants and certain pieces of equipment in order to make possible the production of green LDPE from renewable raw materials. Two technology options can be used to ensure the production of a portfolio of resins with varying characteristics that allows for meeting a wider range of applications. LDPE is used mainly in plastic packaging and films.

Braskem has been producing on an industrial scale high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) made from renewable feedstock already since September 2010. The product is special because it is a thermoplastic resin made from sugarcane ethanol. It has properties identical to those of traditional polyethylene and, since it is derived from renewable materials, it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as the sugarcane grows.

The expansion of the line of green products reinforces the company’s commitment to creating value through the sustainable development of the industry’s production chain, its clients and society, which are increasingly seeking to adopt practices that help reduce the effects of greenhouse gases.

As MRC wrote before, Brazils’ Federal Secretary of Foreign Trade (Secex) has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of polypropylene resin from India, South Korea and South Africa, following a complaint from local petrochemical giant Braskem that it's being harmed by low-cost imports.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bemis Co. Inc. is expanding its Asia-Pacific holding with the purchase of Foshan New Changsheng Plastics Films Co. (NCS), a specialty film manufacturer in Foshan, China, said Plasticsnews.

Neenah, Wis.-based Bemis announced the deal on July 1. Details of the deal were not immediately available at the sellers’ request, but more information will be released later this month in conjunction with Bemis’s earnings statement, said Vice President and Treasurer Melanie Miller. The purchase is not expected to impact Bemis’ earnings per share guidance for 2013, according to the company.

"NCS has strong customer relationships and expertise in specialty film manufacturing for food packaging, personal care packaging, consumer electronics and specialty applications," said Henry Theisen, Bemis president and CEO in a news release. "Their newly expanded manufacturing facilities will also be capable of manufacturing film for sensitive medical device and pharmaceutical applications. With this new specialty film platform, we are well positioned to increase our market position in the Asia-Pacific region."

The NCS purchase is far from the first Chinese venture for Bemis, Miller said. "We have been producing medical device packaging out of Malaysia and Suzhou, China for many, many years," she said. In addition to holdings in New Zealand and Australia, Bemis acquired a China-based packaging converting facility in 2011. That facility was already a film customer of NCS’s, Miller said.

"That’s been a great. Before that we weren’t really in food packaging in China,” Miller said. “This is a complement to and in support of our existing Pacific operations. They produce a lot of unique films and we’re very excited about this acquisition because it’s our first film platform in the Asia-Pacific region."

As MRC wrote before, Bemis Co. is closing a plant in St. Louis Park and will close one in Minneapolis. Both facilities make flexible packaging for food under the Curwood brand, a division of Bemis. Bemis has been drifting away from the Twin Cities for decades. The company had been growing in Wisconsin, not Minnesota, and wanted to move its executives closer to its geographic center.

Bemis, founded in 1858, is North America’s largest film and sheet manufacturer with annual sales of USD5.3 billion, according to the most recent Plastics News ranking. It makes packaging for everything from diapers to grass seed to snacks, as well as pressure-sensitive packaging and sealed plastic for medical products. It has about 45 factories in North America, as well as operations in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia.
MRC