Reliance and ONGC to team up

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-run Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with fellow Indian company Reliance Industries which could see the pair share the latter's infrastructure on the country's east coast, reported Upstreamonline.

ONGC said the agreement would help minimise its capital expenditure as well as speed up the development of its deep-water fields which lie near Reliance's.

The two companies will now carry out a nine-month joint study to work out how they could share infrastructure, identify additional requirements and firm up commercial terms.

The companies intend to enter a formal agreement following the completion of the joint study.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Reliance Industries plans to expand capacity at its refineries in the western state of Gujarat. Earlier last year, Reliance unveiled an USD18 billion investment plan for India over the next five years.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lubrizol Corp.'s LifeScience Polymers division has launched a flame-retardant thermoplastic polyurethane designed for medical applications, including wire and cable components, according to Plastemart.

The TPU is an expansion of a polymer the company introduced last year, AR-62, an extremely soft, non-plasticized material. This material can be extruded and injection molded, but also maintains a rubber feel.

To ensure it was suitable for medical applications, the TPU exhibits low smoke and toxicology. According to Ralf Hue-ther, global business manager of Lubrizol's LifeScience Polymers division, the TPU also is flame retardant with a limiting oxygen index of 30. That means it would have to be in an environment consisting of 30% oxygen for the flame to keep burning. The material contains no plasticizer, no solvents or any chemical reactions are involved in the process.

"So far we've seen potential applications for replacing materials like rubber," said Uwe Winzen, global marketing manager of Lubrizol's LifeScience Polymers division. "Now we're looking to go into applications that are a little harder. We're looking at more traditional products that wanted to have flame retardancy built into it but were not able to."

Winzen said because the material can be injection molded and extruded, it can be customized to different sizes and thickness depending on a customer's needs. Lubrizol can even mix and match hardness within the same product for customers who may want a soft shell on the inside of their products and a hard shell on the outside. Compounds can be molded together with 100% compatibility because each TPU has the same chemistry. This gives Lubrizol the ability to customize these materials to a variety of customer needs - including size, hardness and colour.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Lubrizol, an innovative specialty chemical company, is planning a four-year USD400 million global expansion of its chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) resin and compounding manufacturing sites. With continued strong global demand for the company's CPVC compounds, Lubrizol's expansion efforts will be divided into two phases.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol's advanced polymer technology delivers exceptional performance for the plumbing, fire sprinkler, industrial and other building and construction related applications. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers" high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's construction industry is being presented with yet another opportunity to innovate. The Danish company BubbleDeck, with Braskem's support, is launching in Brazil a construction system that uses plastic ellipsoids to reduce the weight of concrete slabs, which speeds up construction while reducing costs and environmental impacts, reported Braskem on its site.

The new technology is already being used by Odebrecht in the construction of the Administrative Center of the Federal District (CADF), which is being executed by a consortium formed by Odebrecht Infraestrutura and Via Engenharia. Known as BubbleDeck technology, the construction system is already in use in over 30 countries and has won various European awards for its high level of innovation and sustainability.

The system consists of polypropylene ellipsoids that are uniformly inserted between two steel reinforcement meshes. The ellipsoids are introduced to occupy the concrete zone that performs no structural functions. This means you can build slabs that are just as resistant as solid slabs, but lighter. The system offers significant savings in material, higher productivity and consequently lower environmental impacts.

"With the strong growth in Brazil's construction industry, investments are needed in new techniques that are more practical and offer good a cost-benefit tradeoff and greater eco-efficiency. The BubbleDeck construction system combines all these benefits, which is why Braskem supports and promotes this new technology in our country," said Walmir Soller, director of Braskem's polypropylene business.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Braskem, one of the leading thermoplastic resin producers in the Americas and among the world's largest biopolymer producers, has recently announced 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 itпїЅs already well known Green Plastics.

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) -- German Linde Group has boasted a solid first half of the year, with both profit and revenue growing by more than 10%, siad Upstreamonline.

The industrial gases and engineering contractor posted a 10.5% rise in group revenue to EUR8.2 billion (USD10.88 billion), while operating profit jumped 13.6% to EUR1.97 billion.

Adjusted profit attributable to shareholders was EUR660 million compared to EUR586 million for the first half of 2012.

Linde is still seeking the generate group operating profit of at least EUR5 billion in the 2016 financial year.

The major contributor to Linde revenue growth was the acquisition of US homecare company Lincare in August 2012; however, the company was also awarded a number of major projects in its engineering division. This included a USD350 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for a new gas receiving facility at Emden for Norwegian operator Gassco.

As a result of the project awards, Linde’s order intake increased significantly in the first half of this year to EUR2.8 billion – almost twice the value of new orders for the 2012 first-half.

Revenue and earnings reflected the expected progress made in individual plant construction projects, Linde added.

On 30 June, the order backlog sat at a record high of EUR5.2 billion , compared to EUR3.7 billion at the end of December.

"The high order backlog creates a good basis for a solid business performance in the engineering division over the next two years," Linde stated.

As MRC wrote before, Linde Group has formed a joint venture with chemical company JSC KuibyshevAzot to build and operate a large ammonia plant at the Togliatti site in Russia's Samara region. Both partners signed an agreement to this effect on 27 May 2013. The deal will involve a total investment volume of around EUR 275 million. Both companies have an equal stake in the newly formed venture, Linde Nitrogen Togliatti.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF increased sales by 3% in the second quarter of 2013 to just under EUR18.4 billion thanks to higher sales volumes in all segments, according to the company's report.

Income from operations (EBIT) before special items decreased by 5% to around EUR1.8 billion. In the first half of 2013, sales reached around EUR38.1 billion, surpassing the level of the previous first half by 4%. EBIT before special items increased by 3% to more than EUR4 billion.

"In light of the challenging conditions, our business performed well in the first half of 2013. Our business with crop protection products contributed substantially to sales and earnings growth. Earnings rose considerably in the Functional Materials & Solutions segment. Higher volumes in the Oil & Gas segment also boosted sales and earnings development," said Dr. Kurt Bock, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE at the company’s half-year press conference.

Based on the economic development of the first six months of 2013, the company’s estimates for the economic environment are more conservative than they were previously. BASF now forecasts the following for the global economy in 2013 (previous forecast in parentheses): Growth of gross domestic product: 2.0% (2.4%); growth in industrial production: 2.7% (3.4%); growth in chemical production: 3.1% (3.6%).

Worldwide economic growth and demand for chemicals are not expected to accelerate in the second half of 2013. An uneven development marked by economic uncertainty is anticipated. Bock: "Despite this, we still aim to exceed the 2012 levels in sales and EBIT before special items. Achieving our earnings target is significantly more challenging today than we had expected at the beginning of the year."

In the second quarter of 2013 as in the previous quarter, cash provided by operating activities amounted to around EUR2.0 billion. Thus, it totaled EUR4.0 billion in the first half of 2013, up by EUR619 million year-on-year. Net debt rose to EUR12.5 billion as of the end of the second quarter of 2013, compared with EUR11.2 billion as of December 31, 2012.

In the Chemicals segment, sales decreased by 4% in a weak environment. Sales prices declined due to lower raw material costs. Sales volumes rose slightly. Compared with the second quarter of 2012, EBIT before special items declined by EUR106 million to EUR495 million. This was mainly the result of weaker margins for caprolactam and polyamides.

As MRC wrote previously, German chemicals company BASF, a leading global manufacturer of petrochemicals, increased its sales and income from operations (EBIT) before special items in the first quarter of 2013. At EUR19.7 billion, sales exceeded the level of the previous first quarter by 5%. Sales volumes grew particularly as a result of intensified demand for crop protection products and increased volumes in the Oil & Gas segment. EBIT before special items rose by 10% to EUR2.2 billion.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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