Celanese mulls closure of VAM and acetic anhydride units in Spain and France

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese has informed employee delegates in Roussillon, France, and work council in Tarragona, Spain, of contemplated closures of the Roussillon acetic anhydride facility and the vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production unit in Tarragona, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Celanese announced on May 22, 2013, that it wanted to find credible buyer for both properties, with the primary focus on industrial candidates.

The company said it placed great effort in identifying credible buyers that could ensure sustainable operations, retain employees and meet the financial criteria defined by the company to ensure successful future operations of the VAM production unit in Tarragona and the acetic anhydride plant in Roussillon.

To date, no credible buyers have been identified and no offers for acquiring these facilities were made.

Therefore, Celanese said it will begin discussions concerning the possible closure of both the acetic anhydride facility in Roussillon and the VAM production unit in Tarragona. This action is initiated to safeguard the competitiveness of the Celanese acetyl business.

The need for these contemplated projects emerged from an assessment of Celanese’s overall corporate strategy, which included an assessment of the company’s global manufacturing facilities. Specifically, in support of the company’s acetyl portfolio, the manufacturing footprint strategy favors integrated production sites that provide critical economies of scale.

Celanese subsidiaries that operte these facilities expect to soon begin the consultation process with local employee representatives to mitigate the social impact of the closures to the best possible extent.

As MRC wrote before, Celanese and Mitsui & Co. have agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture for a previously announced project to produce methanol at Celanese's integrated chemical plant at Clear Lake, TX.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell third quarter 2013 earnings, on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis, were USD4.2 billion compared with USD6.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Third quarter 2013 CCS earnings excluding identified items were USD4.5 billion compared with USD6.6 billion in the third quarter of 2012.

Compared with the third quarter 2012, CCS earnings excluding identified items were impacted by significantly weaker industry refining conditions, increased Upstream operating expenses and exploration expenses, as well as production volume impacts from maintenance and asset replacement activities. Earnings also reflected the impact of the challenging operating environment in Nigeria and lower dividends from an LNG venture. This was partly offset by higher contributions from Chemicals and increased underlying Upstream production volumes, led by Integrated Gas.
Basic CCS earnings per share excluding identified items decreased by 32% versus the third quarter 2012.

Cash flow from operating activities for the third quarter 2013 was USD10.4 billion, compared with USD9.5 billion in the same quarter last year. Excluding working capital movements, cash flow from operating activities for the third quarter 2013 was USD9.9 billion, compared with USD11.7 billion in the third quarter 2012.

Capital investment for the third quarter 2013 was USD9.7 billion. Net capital investment for the quarter was USD9.4 billion.

Total dividends distributed in the quarter were USD2.8 billion, of which USD1.2 billion were settled under the Scrip Dividend Programme. During the third quarter some 45.5 million shares were bought back for cancellation for a consideration of USD1.5 billion.

As MRC informed previously, Ukraine took its first major step away from dependency on Russian gas imports when it signed a USD10 billion shale gas deal with Shell in early 2013.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, the world leader in specialty polyamides, and Addiplast, a French company specializing in the manufacture of specialty compounds, have signed an agreement whereby Arkema supplies its polyamides 10, 11 and 12 to Addiplast which will process them into technical compounds and materials, according to the company's press release.

These high added value solutions will target high performance applications, in particular, in the automotive and electronics sectors.

Through this strengthened partnership, Addiplast will develop from biosourced polyamides (Rilsan PA 11 and Hiprolon PA 6-10, PA 10-10, PA 10-12) and other specialty long chain polyamides (Rilsamid PA12, Hiprolon PA 6-12) supplied by Arkema, a new range of high-end materials and compounds for injection molding. These compounds are designed for high added value applications requiring specific performances.

Marketed under the trade names Addinyl (polyamides of fossil origin) and Addibio Renew (biosourced polymers), these solutions fulfil demanding specification requirements in terms of mechanical strength and/or chemical resistance. They will serve on the European market diversified segments, including automotive, electronics, sports and leisure, new energies and new technologies.

As MRC informed before, Arkema had developed technology to manufacture Kynar PVDF foam structures for wire and cable jacketing and insulation applications. The technology is based on the patent-pending foam concentrate Kynar Flex 2620 FC masterbatch resin.

Arkema is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc. Arkema is also the leading player in the production of specialty polyamides, being the world’s sole chemicals manufacturer to offer the entire long chain polyamides range, polyamide 12 as well as biosourced polyamides PA11 and PA10 derived from castor oil.

Addiplast has emerged both in France and in Europe as one of the leaders in the design of technical compounds and polymers derived from polyamides, polyolefins and polycarbonates. With its expertise in the design of these materials and related processes, Addiplast became a partner of Arkema in the early 2000s.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK innovation, one of the world's leading energy and petrochemical companies, and LanzaTech, a producer of low-carbon fuels and chemicals from waste gases, have announced an agreement to develop a new process technology for the production of 1,3 butadiene, a platform chemical used in many high growth industries globally, according to Plastemart.

The collaboration will accelerate the commercialization of an alternative route to butadiene, a chemical increasing in scarcity because of the shale gas boom in the United States.

An estimated USD20 billion market, butadiene is a building block in a huge range of materials including synthetic rubber used in tires, belts, hoses, seals, carpet backing and medical latex; molded plastics used in consumer appliances such as vacuum cleaners, kitchen appliances and electronic gadgets; nylon 6,6 used in textiles and engineering resins used in automotive engine components; and as a chemical intermediate for adhesives and speciality chemicals.

The move to shale gas in the United States is driving butadiene scarcity and businesses are looking for alternative sources. At the same time, rising incomes in emerging markets are increasing demand for automotive purchases, tires, engine components and other consumer goods.

The development work will be carried out at SK innovation's state of the art research centre in Dae Jon, Korea, which focuses on research and development of new technologies in energy, petrochemical, and materials industries.
It works on a wide range of research areas such as eco-friendly, premium petroleum products, asphalts, lubricants, polymers, green energy and advanced batteries.

As MRC wrote previously, Korea's top refiner SK Innovation Co. could benefit from Sinopec's decision to scrap a petrochemical plant in eastern China as it stands to enjoy higher margins. SK Innovation, along with Japan"s JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., will likely be the biggest beneficiaries of the recently cancelled plan to build a new a paraxylene plant in Ningbo. SK Innovation is estimated to have an annual production capacity of 750,000 metric tons of paraxylene under its petrochemical wing SK Global Chemical Co., being Asia's ninth-largest paraxylene producer. It is likely to jump to the fifth when a 50-50 joint plant with JX Nippon is completed in 2014. The new plant is expected to raise SK Global Chemical"s annual production of paraxylene to 1.5 million metric tons.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian producers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have had to reduce November prices for the domestic market under the pressure of a seasonal factor and lower prices in foreign markets. Contracts for PVC were concluded by Rb500-1,200/tonne lower from October, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations on Russian PVC to be shipped in November began in the second half of October. Many local converters said they managed to achieve a reduction in contract prices of Rb500-1,200/tonne from October, citing seasonal decline in demand for finished products and lower PVC prices in the United States and China.

Contracts for November shipments of Russian PVC were concluded in the range of Rb44,800-46,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, for PVC K64/67. Some converters were slow to contract resin, hoping to achieve more serious price reductions.

Supply of PVC from Russian producers was sufficient, despite a major drop in imports and a series of scheduled outages for maintenance (August-October) at all Russian plants.

A shortage of material from Russian producers was still felt in the PVC K70 market. Contract prices remained quite high and were in the range of Rb46,500-48,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC