China enviromental ministry suspends approvals for new refining projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's environmental watchdog has suspended approvals for new oil-refining projects, after two of the country's largest refiners missed pollution targets last year, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

China National Petroleum Corp. didn't meet its chemical oxygen demand target and China Petrochemical Corp. didn't meet its nitrogen oxide target, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said in a statement on its website. The targets refer to pollution from CNPC and Sinopec's refineries.

The ministry is temporarily suspending approvals for environmental impact assessments for new refining projects and the renovation and expansion of existing refineries, it said. The approvals are needed before a project can move forward.

However, projects that aim at reducing emissions and improving fuel standards would still be reviewed, the ministry said.

COD is an indicator of water pollution, while nitrogen oxide is a metric for air pollution. Both are key environmental targets in China's current 12th five-year plan.

The environmental ministry said CNPC and Sinopec's COD fell by 0.08% and 2.6% in 2012. CNPC and Sinopec's nitrogen oxide emissions, meanwhile, grew by 3.3% and 1.3% last year, it said. CNPC's target was to reduce COD by 0.6% last year, while Sinopec's target was to keep nitrogen oxide emissions flat.

Sinopec and CNPC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

We remind that, as MRC wrote earlier, SINOPEC Wuhan Company’s ethylene project with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year produced first batch of qualified products, marking its successful commissioning and startup. The project is a pivotal project of SINOPEC in the 11th five-year-plan period and the most important project in Hubei province. The project, including 11 greenfield major production units with public utilities and supporting facilities, was built in three years with an total investment of 16.563 billion yuan. Filling in the gap of large-scale ethylene projects in central China, the project plays an important role in boosting central China's economy, achieving balanced development among different regions, upgrading SINOPEC' industrial structure and enahncing the overall capacity of petrochemical industry.

China Petrochemical Corp, which operates refineries through China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, is a fuel supplier in China.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toray Plastics (America), Inc., the only United States manufacturer of precision-performance polyester, polypropylene, metallized, and bio-based films, will begin construction in August on a second cogeneration system at its 70-acre North Kingstown, Rhode Island campus, reported Plastemart.

Cogeneration power systems allow users to operate “off the grid” and prevent the kind of electrical power outages that can occur with conventional power plants.

Toray already operates a cogeneration system that supplies continuous power to its Lumirror polyester film division, which sustains manufacturing production even during severe weather events, such as Hurricane Sandy, and enables the company to provide uninterrupted customer service.

The new system, which is expected to be operational by March 2014, will be dedicated to powering production for the Torayfan polypropylene (PP) film division and other sites around the property. It will dramatically reduce Toray’s demand on the supply of electricity to nearby Rhode Island communities, particularly during peak periods in the summer months.

In addition, the company estimates that the new system, like the current unit, will eliminate approximately 12,500 tons of CO2 per year, for a total reduction of 25,000 tons.

Toray’s sustainability initiative, begun in 2004, includes the use of solar power, zero landfill, and extensive recycling, among other features. Toray has earmarked USD22.7 million for the development of the new system, including funds from National Grid’s Energy Efficiency Program, developed in collaboration with the state of Rhode Island.

"Toray has a legacy of innovation and commitment to sustainability, as demonstrated by our product development and operations," says Rick Schloesser, President and CEO, Toray Plastics America. "Our taking action to reduce further our energy consumption and carbon footprint is good for business, people, and the environment. Our global customers value our focus on producing the highest-quality high-performance, competitively-priced OPP and PET films and our comprehensive sustainability initiative."

As MRC informed previously, last summer Toray Industries in partnership with Gevo Inc. signed an offtake agreement for renewable bio-paraxylene (bioPX) produced at Gevo's planned pilot plant. The agreement will enable Toray to carry out pilot-scale production of fully renewable, bio-based polyethylene terephthalate (fully bioPET), of its fibers and films for the first time in the world.

Toray Industries is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered around technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry. Its founding business areas were fibers and textiles, as well as plastics and chemicals. Toray Group Malaysia companies are involved in four main businesses -- polyester fibres, textiles, plastic resins and polyester films.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The current worth of the global polymer foams market (2012) is USD82.6 bln and is estimated to reach USD131.1 bln by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2013 to 2018, as per Plastemart.

The high demand across industries such as automotive, building & construction and packaging will increase the overall polymer foam consumption, as per MarketsandMarkets.

Polymer foam types are significantly penetrating their applications market. They have different characteristics as per the manufacturing and their application requirement in the end products.

The Asian market is expected to dominate with its growing demand for foams in different applications especially building & construction.

The Western European and North American markets are expected to show a rising growth in the next five years with allied industries expected to stabilize the overall business need in respective regions. Research and development is a key part of this market where manufacturing companies, associations, and end product makers infuse high investments for future advancements and technology modifications of different foam types.

Polyolefin foams are expected to penetrate the global market with the highest growth within competitive foams available in the market.

Polyurethane foams are dominant in consumption and revenue made, reasoned by its optimal cost to performance factor.

Asia-Pacific is the largest region, both in terms of volume and value, followed by Western Europe and North America. U.S., Germany, U.K., Brazil, Russia, China, and India are expected to persist as successful foam markets.

Eastern and Central European nations, emerging South-East Asian and nations that host the Olympics and other events would supplement the growth of polymer foams.

An increase in auto sales, proposals for improvement of infrastructure and rising housing market in emerging economies will drive the polymer foams market.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, in May 2013, The Lubrizol Corporation, an innovative specialty chemical company, and Trexel announced a new partnership for Lubrizol to be the preferred thermoplastic polyurethane supplier for Trexel’s MuCell microcellular foaming technology. By working together Lubrizol Engineered Polymers' sports and recreation segment and Trexel will be able to bring an encompassing value to processors from setting up a new MuCell moulding line, modifying an existing line or suggestions of which TPU grades to utilise for quality foam parts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Apache Corporation and Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation has announced they have launched a global strategic partnership to pursue joint upstream oil and gas projects, according to Apache's press release.

As the first step in this partnership, Apache will receive USD3.1 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments, in exchange for Sinopec gaining a 33% minority participation in Apache's Egypt oil and gas business.

Apache will continue to operate its Egypt upstream oil and gas business.

G. Steven Farris, chairman and chief executive officer of Apache, said: "We are pleased to launch a global partnership with Sinopec, and to welcome them into our business in Egypt. Their technical expertise complements our 20 years of experience operating in Egypt and creates an alliance that will continue to explore and deliver the tremendous hydrocarbon resources in the Western Desert. Sinopec is an ideal partner for us, and we look forward to the growth and value generation ahead for both companies through the expansion of our collaboration to other projects."

The Egypt partnership is subject to customary governmental approvals and is expected to close during the fourth quarter, with an effective date of January 1, 2013.

Net production from Apache's Egypt operations averaged 100,000 barrels of oil and 354 million cubic feet (MMcf) of natural gas per day in 2012. Apache's exploration and production operations, which are located in remote, unpopulated areas, remain unaffected by political events in the region.

Apache employs about 9,000 Egyptians through direct employment, through participation in the Khalda Petroleum Co. and Qarun Petroleum Co. operating joint ventures with Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, and through employment with oil field service and construction contractors.

As MRC informed previously, in mid-July 2013, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) officially commenced operations at its new lubricant facility in Singapore. The lubricant plant, with an initial production capacity of 100,000 tpy, is the company's first direct overseas investment.

Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Australia and Argentina.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York . Sinopec is the worlds fifth biggest company by revenue.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the business of Oxid L.P., a manufacturer and marketer of specialty urethane polyols in Houston, Texas, for an amount of up to USD75 million, according to the company's press release.

Oxid generated USD86 million of revenue in 2012.

Oxid’s polyols are a key component in the production of energy saving polyurethane insulation products that are used in residential and commercial construction. The polyols are combined with methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) – in which Huntsman’s Polyurethanes division is a leading global producer – to create polyurethane foam insulation for walls, roofs, refrigerators and many other applications.

Oxid markets its diverse product line of specialty polyols under the trademark Terol and distributes products worldwide from its manufacturing facility in Houston.

Commenting on the sale, Anthony P. Hankins, President of Huntsman’s Polyurethanes division, said: "We are very pleased with the acquisition of Oxid. In the past 18 months we have strengthened our downstream capabilities with the acquisition and establishment of new systems houses in Turkey, Russia and Indonesia; acquired a 20% stake in Nippon Aqua Co. Ltd., a Japanese spray polyurethane foam insulation company; we’ve commissioned a new, state-of-the-art MDI splitter and downstream manufacturing unit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and we’ve invested in the expansion of our worldscale MDI manufacturing facility in Geismar, Louisiana.

As MRC wrote previously, the addition of Oxid's MDI product portfolio will support Huntsman's offerings to downstream insulation markets in North America and provide new opportunities globally.

Terol is a registered trademark of Huntsman International LLC.

Oxid L.P., with headquarters in Houston, Texas, manufactures specialty chemical products for the rigid urethane industry and has produced its line of Terol polyester polyols since 1981. Its diverse product line of aromatic polyester polyols is available with a wide variety of properties to address the demanding needs of the polyurethane formulator. Oxid distributes products worldwide from its manufacturing facility in Houston.

Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging. The Company had 2012 revenues of over USD11 billion.
MRC