Total acquitted in Iraq corruption case

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A French court has acquitted energy giant Total, its chief executive, a former minister and more than a dozen other defendants of corruption charges in connection with Iraq's oil-for-food programme, according to Aljazeera.

The court ruled on Monday that there had been no corruption, influence-peddling or misuse of assets linked with the USD64 billion (EUR50 billion) UN programme that allowed Iraq, then under crippling international sanctions, to sell limited quantities of oil to buy humanitarian supplies between 1996 and 2003.

The company, along with Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, former interior minister Charles Pasqua and more than a dozen former managers and retired diplomats, had faced graft charges.

Total and the other defendants rejected the accusations, with the company saying it acted in strict accordance with the rules of the UN programme, which was suspended following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Prosecutors had called for Total to pay the maximum fine of EUR750,000 (USD963,600).

During the trial, which took place in January and February, Total was accused of using intermediaries between 2000 and 2002 to pay surcharges for oil that ended up in the hands of Iraqi officials.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged France-based oil and gas company Total S.A. with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying USD60 million in bribes to intermediaries of an Iranian government official who then exercised his influence to help the company obtain valuable contracts to develop significant oil and gas fields in Iran.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is also a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German specialty chemicals company LANXESS has just started piling for a premium iron oxide red pigments facility in Ningbo, said LANXESS in its press release.

LANXESS is investing EUR55 million in the plant, which will have an initial capacity of 25,000 metric tons annually. With the start of the piling process, the construction work is proceeding right on schedule. New red iron oxide pigments will be introduced to the global market in the first quarter of 2015. Through its new plant, LANXESS will create 150 new, jobs in Ningbo.

At the LANXESS site in the Ningbo Chemical Park, the construction of the foundation for the future production and administrative buildings has begun. Almost 2,000 piles will be set to support the buildings' foundation. "The plant expands our global production network for inorganic pigments and enhances LANXESS’ position as a leading supplier of sustainable pigments with outstanding properties and performance. It also further complements our product portfolio and allows us to be better positioned to meet the growing market demand not only in China, but globally", said Joerg Hellwig, Head of LANXESS’ Inorganic Pigments business unit.

The company will market the new yellow shaded red pigments worldwide under the well-known brand Bayferrox. Key customers are manufacturers of paints and coatings. Furthermore, the construction and plastics industries will be supplied.

The production site is located at the Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone, which features outstanding infrastructure and logistics facilities. Ningbo is China's second largest cargo port and home to China’s largest terminal for liquid chemicals.

LANXESS already operates one of China’s largest and most modern plants for inorganic pigments in Jinshan, Shanghai. This plant has an annual capacity of 38,000 metric tons of high-quality iron oxide yellow and black pigments each year. The Jinshan site supplies beside other LANXESS facilities the LANXESS milling and blending plant in Taopu, Shanghai for the production of high grade synthetic iron oxide pigments under the brand name Bayferrox.

LANXESS Inorganic Pigments (IPG) business unit today has an annual capacity of more than 350,000 metric tons, making it the world's leading manufacturer of iron oxide and chromium oxide pigments. The IPG business unit belongs to LANXESS’ Performance Chemicals segment, which achieved total sales of EUR 2.2 billion in fiscal year 2012.

As MRC wrote before, LANXESS celebrated the opening of its first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, LANXESS subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries. A production facility for the bladders used in tire production is to be added in 2016. The overall investment volume in euros amounts to a seven-digit figure and 40 new jobs will be created at the new plant in the medium term.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 9.1 billion in 2012 and roughly 17,400 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 50 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is investing several hundred million euros in expanding its additive production sites over the next five years, said the producer.

Thanks to advanced Plastic Additives technologies, plastics can be used in under-the-hood applications in the automotive industry where they can withstand very high temperatures, creating lighter and more energy efficient engines. In building and construction, light stabilizers and flame retardants enable progressive replacement of alternative materials in roofing or glazing for instance. In agriculture, additives allow stabilizing plastic films used in greenhouses and maximizing selective plant growth.

The aforementioned additives are highly sophisticated and turn plastics into high-performance materials. That is why the additives market will continue to grow in the future. It will grow faster than the global economy because the demand for high-tech plastics is increasing at a strong rate, particularly in the growth regions. As the market leader and the only truly global supplier BASF is playing a key part in this growth.

With its broad product range, BASF is today uniquely positioned in the extraordinarily diverse additives and pigments market. BASF is the world leader in the fields of antioxidants, light stabilizers and pigments with a broad catalogue. It also supplies additional additives as diverse as antistatic, anti-scratch or flame retardant along with the appropriate application expertise. Furthermore, BASF is the only supplier to have production and R&D sites in Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle-East, and it is continuously investing there.

This means that BASF can provide security of supply, consistent quality and innovation support virtually anywhere in the world. That – along with the technical expertise which is the result of many years of pioneering and close partnership with its customers – is an important advantage that is much appreciated by the market.

The second main focus of BASF's strategy in the additives sector is to deliver on its tradition of being the innovator and pioneer. The company has the largest R&D team in the world in plastic additives and is accelerating its focus on key functionalities. Leveraging a three-digit million amount since 2009 BASF invests in research and development. BASF helps customers to meet ever changing regulatory requirements by supplying high-performance additives and developing alternatives to existing systems. Users who have to make their plastics suitable for specialty applications such as long life polycarbonate sheets and low emission polyurethanes for car seats are benefitting greatly from BASF’s advanced additive solutions.

The capacity of the production sites making HALS and NOR-HALS stabilizers, such as Pontecchio in Italy and Lampertheim in Germany, has already been greatly increased since 2011. Thanks to further investments in these sites, waste gas combustion and solvent recycling units were matched to the new capacity, making these state of the art plants the most advanced production sites in the world.

Overall, BASF is investing several hundred million euros in expanding its additive production and R&D sites over the next five years. Strengthening its presence in global growth markets and investing in additives for high-performance applications will enable BASF to meet the needs of its customers even better in the future, and maintain its position as market leader and only truly global supplier in a highly promising market.

As MRC wrote before, BASF, the Linde Group and ThyssenKrupp plan to develop an environmentally-friendly and competitive to utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) to produce syngas on an industrial scale. They aim to employ innovative process technology to use carbon dioxide as a raw material, with positive effects on climate protection.

BASF is a leading manufacturer, supplier and innovation partner of additives and pigments for the plastics industry such as ultraviolet (UV) light stabilizers, antioxidants and process stabilizers, organic and inorganic pigments, effect pigments, and other additives.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has announced that it will open a new center of excellence lab for its Oil Services business in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, building on the company’s commitment to providing innovative technologies and products to customers globally, reported the company on its site.

The lab, located in the hub of oil and gas operations in Southeast Asia, will include state-of-the-art equipment, and will feature standard and manual testing processes which model global Clariant Oil Services laboratories in North America and the U.K.

"Opening this new facility will expand Clariant’s industry-leading laboratory work and product distribution to Asia-Pacific customers in this critical region," said John Dunne, Head of Business Unit Oil & Mining Services. "Through optimizing reporting systems, protocols and local raw materials, Clariant will ensure product quality for our customers in the Asia-Pacific region."

Clariant’s facility in Malaysia will be the fourth in the region, and the first center of excellence. The lab will house formula simulation and performance testing in emulsion, flow assurance, corrosion and scale control technologies.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Clariant International and Wilmar International, a leading Asian agribusiness group, have recently received the relevant merger clearances for the establishment of their 50-50 joint venture called "the global amines company", which is now in operation. The global amines company will be the global platform for production and sales of fatty amines and selected amines derivatives. The joint venture will be headquartered in Singapore with global sales, distribution and production affiliates.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In 2011, the global polypropylene consumption was estimated at over 42.28 mln tons. The overall product consumption volume is poised to grow at a nearly 4.4% CARG in the offing and is forecast to surpass 62.38 mln tons by 2020, said Plastemart, citing GBI Research.

The plastic packaging segment is expected to make the substantial contribution to the market growth. This segment is likely to grow from around 12.79 mln tons in 2011 to more than 19.98 mln tons in 2020, propelled primarily by the flexible and food packaging sub-segments. China has established itself as a leader on the worldwide polypropylene arena.

Moreover, the demand for polypropylene from the equipment and facilities and electrical industries is expected to show robust growth and amount to above 2.98 mln tons by 2020, due to sustainable economic growth, developing industrialization and improving lifestyles. Organic plastic polypropylene segment has a healthy outlook through 2020. The Asian polypropylene market is expected to experience the upswing of demand for polypropylene in the next decade.

As MRC wrote before, the global automotive plastics consumption market revenue is expected to grow from USD21,617 mln in 2012 to USD46112 mln by 2018 at an estimated CAGR of 13.4% from 2013 to 2018. The increasing demand of passenger cars and the supply to fulfill the same in Asia-Pacific is one of the main drivers for increasing consumption of automotive plastics globally.
MRC