Styron to double styrene butadiene rubber capacity in Schkopau, Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) – Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, announced today that it will be doubling its Solution Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SSBR) production capacity of one train, after reaching an agreement with material supplier JSR, to acquire its current production capacity rights at Styron’s world-scale rubber production hub in Schkopau, Germany, said the producer in its press-release.

SSBR is used in producing high performance tires and green tires with lower rolling resistance. Styron’s Schkopau production site currently hosts eight world-scale rubber trains that supply tire customers around the world. Prior to this agreement, JSR held the capacity rights to 50% of one of Styron’s three SSBR production trains in Schkopau.

As a result, as from April 1, 2014 Styron will have full capacity rights to this train, enabling it to increase its capabilities to serve the global tire market. As owner of the Schkopau rubber complex, Styron is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this expansion opportunity, which is strongly in line with its rubber business growth strategy, and is a cost-effective solution to meet increasing customer demands.

In today’s market, tire producers need to develop sustainable products with long life, fuel savings and safe technology. SSBR is a key enabling technology for tires with low rolling resistance combined with excellent wet grip and abrasion resistance in the tread.

As MRC informed before, Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, has presented new flooring solutions to help carpet backing and artificial grass manufacturers meet today’s market challenges.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. Styron’s technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD 5.5 billion in revenue in 2012, with 20 manufacturing sites around the world, and 2100 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft and General Electric (GE) have agreed to set up a series of joint ventures, with emphasis on expanding the science and technology cooperation between the companies, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The first phase of the partnership would involve the creation of two specialized research and training centers, with investment of up to USD400 million through 2020. One center, known as the application engineering and training center, will focus on the development of Rosneft projects through the application of the broad GE Oil & Gas portfolio of products and technologies.

The key functions of the center will include the cooperation between Rosneft and GE to build and upgrade Rosneft oil and gas projects, including concept selection and support to project front-end engineering and design (FEED) work, equipment localization initiatives for Rosneft projects, and providing training on application engineering and other technical topics to enhance capabilities of Rosneft engineers and technical managers.

The center will focus its activity on the development of gas sales solutions, including LNG and CNG, power generation solutions, production enhancement including artificial lift technologies, offshore and subsea equipment, and refining and petrochemical technologies.

The second project, known as the research and development (R&D) center, will focus on the development of joint technologies and upgrading of existing technologies of the companies.

The companies will initially contribute USD20 million in investment to the centers on a parity basis, with additional aggregate financing of USD50 million to be made by the companies upon the agreement of future, specific projects. Rosneft and GE plan to jointly invest up to USD400 million in the centers through 2020.

As MRC informed before, Rosneft and Mitsui have signed an agreement to jointly develop the massive Far East Petrochemical Company (FEPCO) project. Processing capacity of the petrochemical complex is planned at 3.4 million tpy of hydrocarbon feedstock, predominantly naphtha. The capacity of ethylene and propylene production unit is planned at 2 million tpy.

Rosneft is currently buying competitor TNK-BP in deals worth USD55 billion that will create the largest listed oil producer in the world and will hand BP a 19.8% stake in the oil giant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Samapco, a 50-50 joint venture of Sahara Petrochemical Co. and Ma'aden Petrochemicals Co., has completed the required performance tests for its new caustic soda and ethylene dichloride (EDC) plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as per GV.

The project includes a 250,000-t/y caustic soda and 300,000-t/y EDC plant, based on Uhde's technology, and is expected to start commercial operations during the second quarter of this year.

The project was originally planned to begin production during the first quarter of 2013.

In August 2013, Samapco began trial start-up operations at the facility.

As MRC informed previously, in late 2012, Sahara Petrochemicals Company announced that its affiliate Samapco had signed financing agreements for a total amount of SAR 1980.75 million (USD 528.2 million). The agreements were signed with three Saudi banks: Banque Saudi Fransi, Riyad Bank and The Saudi British Bank, to provide Islamic commercial financing for the development of Samapco's ethylene dichloride and caustic soda petrochemical project located in Jubail Industrial City. The financing is for a period of 15 years with unequal semi-annual installments commencing after the completion of the project.

Samapco is a 50:50 joint venture between Sahara Petrochemicals and Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden).

Sahara Petrochemical is involved in building and operating petrochemical projects, especially propylene, polypropylene, ethylene and mixed polyethylene industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of Westlake Chemical Corporation declared a two-for-one split of the company's common stock and increased the quarterly cash dividend on the company's common stock by 12% to USD0.252 per share on a pre-split basis, according to the company's press release.

"These actions reflect the financial strength of the company," said Albert Chao, President and CEO. "The cash dividend increase, the second in less than a year, and the stock split demonstrates the Board's continued confidence in our ability to deliver strong earnings."

The two-for-one common stock split will be accomplished by means of a stock dividend, to be distributed March 18, 2014 to stockholders of record as of February 28, 2014. Stockholders will be issued one additional share of common stock for each share held. Westlake Chemical expects that its common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on March 19, 2014.

The cash dividend is payable on March 18, 2014 to stockholders of record as of February 28, 2014, and will be paid on the pre-split shares.

As MRC wrote previously, in late August 2013, the board of directors of Westlake Chemical Corporation declared a dividend of 22.5 cents per share, an increase of 20% from the 18.75 cents per share paid in the second quarter of 2013. This was the 36th successive quarterly dividend that Westlake had declared since completing its initial public offering in August 2004.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC resin and PVC building products including pipe and specialty components, windows and fence.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, has announced two new additions to its SPRINTAN rubber range, which have been tailored to meet the evolving needs of the global tire industry, reported the company on its site.

Styron’s SPRINTAN rubber portfolio offers an array of high performance solutions to fit specific tire industry needs. The range includes rubber grades with enhanced wet grip and wear performance, as well as grades that provide a good balance between traction and rolling resistance.

The newest members of the SPRINTAN family are the SPRINTAN SLR 3402 and SLR 4502, two next generation solutions adjusted for improved low-temperature performance. SPRINTAN SLR 3402 and SLR 4502 offer the combined benefits found in existing SPRINTAN grades, namely excellent low rolling resistance, as well as other significant advantages, such as reduced stiffness at low temperatures boosting snow grip potential in winter tread application.

Both solutions can be blended with other polymers, offering customers greater flexibility.

Olivier Veron, Marketing Manager of Styron’s Rubber Business explains: "The microstructure of these new grades clearly differentiates them from our existing rubber portfolio and can be positioned as best-in-class among our products of non-oil extended grades."

As MRC reported earlier, Styron Europe GmbH and its affiliate companies in Europe have recently announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS) and copolymer grades in February, as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS), STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) by EUR40/tonne;
- MAGNUM ABS resins by EUR50/tonne;
- TYRIL SAN resins by EUR40/tonne.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. StyronпїЅs technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD 5.5 billion in revenue in 2012, with 20 manufacturing sites around the world, and 2100 employees.
MRC