Sinopec in Canadian LNG export talks

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese Sinopec is reportedly in talks on a site for a potential liquefied natural gas export terminal in British Columbia, said Upstreamonline.

Rich Coleman, in a conference call with reporters, said the Chinese company had explored numerous sites in the province and had also entered partnership discussions with another company.

"All we know at this point in time is they've entered discussions on a site with another partner," Reuters cited Coleman as saying.

"We don't have the details of those discussions. We just know they are here seriously looking for an opportunity."

Coleman declined to name the partner or identify sites where the parties were looking. Sinopec owns significant natural gas properties in two of Canada's most prominent shale-gas fields that, once developed, could feed into Pacific Coast LNG plants, according to Reuters.

A Sinopec spokesperson based in Beijing was not immediately available for comment.

Asia's largest refiner joins a growing list of major global energy players, including Shell, C Chevron and Petronas, all racing to build the facilities to ship cheap Canadian gas to Asian markets.

Coleman also noted that talks with companies on the province's new natural gas export tax would continue for about month longer than previous expected, though he expects to have the details of the tax nailed down by year end.

As MRC wrote before, 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. 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.

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) -- A static dissipative polymer blends specifically designed for medical devices and equipment has been introduced by Foster Ltd, as per Plastemart.

These blends use a non-migratory, polyether block amide (PEBA) polymer additive that retains continuous antistatic properties and cannot be wiped off with medical cleaning agents.

Dissipation of static electricity is critical to avoid damage to electronic circuitry and reduce particle build-up on medical devices and surrounding surfaces. New devices, such as vascular imaging catheters, utilize highly sensitive electronics for enhanced diagnosis and treatment.

As a leading provider of specialty compounds for medical devices, Foster recognizes the need for static dissipation in emerging devices and offers these USP Class VI complaint blends for use in regulated applications.

The PEBA polymer additive used in Foster’s static dissipative blends, disperses throughout the entire base polymer. This unique polymer additive can be compounded into other polymers with compatible melting temperatures, including thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

As MRC wrote before, the value of the global medical polymer market is set to rise by more than half in the next five years, boosted by an ageing population and developing markets. The market is estimated to grow from USUSD2.3 bln to over USUSD3.5 bln, a rise of more than 52%, between now and 2018.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom Neft, the St. Petersburg-headquartered Russian oil and gas company, and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) have signed a framework agreement setting out the terms of Gazprom Neft’s acquisition of a 49% interest in Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co., reported GV with reference to operator of Vietnam’s Dung Quat refinery.

The two companies are currently in negotiations on financial terms of the acquisition. PetroVietnam has announced plans to reduce its 100% shareholding in the subsidiary to help finance a modernization and expansion project.

The 6.5-million-t/y refinery, the only refinery currently operating in Vietnam, is to be expanded to a capacity of 10-million t/y. Gazprom Neft noted that its contribution to the modernization project will be proportional to its stake.

The refinery also supplies propylene feedstock to Binh Son’s 150,000-t/y polypropylene plant at Dung Quat.

As MRC wrote previously, this summer, Gazprom Neft signed an agreement with France-based Total to form a joint venture to produce and sell modified bitumen and bitumen emulsions on the Russian market. Each partner will have a 50% stake in the joint venture, which will build a special production facility at Gazprom Neft's Moscow oil refinery. The facility will have a capacity of 60,000 tonnes of polymer modified bitumens and 7,000 tonnes of bitumen emulsions per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, has officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform, according to the company's statement.

The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.

This new plant, which represented a USD30 million investment, is located in Arkema’s Changshu manufacturing complex, the company’s largest manufacturing complex worldwide.

"The full startup of this new facility is an important event for our customers in the Asia Pacific region," said Richard Jenkins, Global Group President of Arkema Coating Resins.

The plant produces a range of emulsion polymers used as binders for architectural coatings, building and construction products, adhesives and specialty coatings. The products include Encor acrylic and styrene acrylic latexes; SNAP nano-acrylic polymers; Celocor opaque polymers; and Encor Flex elastomeric latexes.

In addition to the waterborne products produced in the new plant, the company markets a comprehensive line of coatings raw materials, including solvent-borne resins, powder coating resins, and additives.

The new facility features state-of-the-art automation capabilities, and is adjacent to the company’s new research and development center, opened in fall 2013.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR6.4 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of PET chips to Kazakhstan increased by 2% in three quarters of 2013, compared to the same period last year, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.
Total imports of PET chips to Kazakhstan was 419,000 tonnes in January-September 2013. Kazakh importers increased purchases of Chinese PET chips, having reduced their procurement in South Korea. This trend was seen this year in all CIS countries because of the price advantage of Chinese material.

Kazakh importers said despite the price fluctuations over the year, export prices of Chinese PET chips were cheaper by about USD20-50/tonne, in addition, it was taken into account their logistical advantage. Total imports of Chinese PET chips to Kazakhstan increased by 6,100 tonnes to 31,500 tonnes in January-September 2013. Imports of Korean PET chips decreased by 3,900 tonnes to 10,300 tonnes in January-September 2013.

MRC