CompactGTL to build Kazakhstan commercial plant

MOSCOW (MRC) --CompactGTL announced Monday that its chairman Tony Hayward and Uzakbay Karabalin, the oil and gas minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, have agreed to develop and implement gas processing technologies to build the world’s first commercially-deployed small-scale GTL plant, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In furtherance of the agreement, signed at the London Stock Exchange during the Caspian Corridor Conference, CompactGTL intends to build the world’s first commercially deployed small-scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Kazakhstan.

The proposed plant is expected to bring with it significant future commercial and environmental benefits, according to project officials. Up to 820,000 cubic meters of associated gas that might otherwise be wasted will be fed through the plant every day to produce approximately 3,000 bpd of synthetic diesel. In a year, the plant is expected to monetize over 300 million cubic meters of gas.

The new GTL plant will enable Kazakhstan to create a local high technology industry that processes associated gas to produce fuels for local consumption, according to government officials.

CompactGTL, together with investors from Kazakhstan, have agreed to finance, design and build the up to 3,000 bpd GTL plant, using CompactGTL’s proven technology and plant design.

"This is a significant step forward, not just for CompactGTL, but also for the small-scale gas-to-liquids industry," said Hayward. "Kazakhstan has clearly identified the significant economic benefits a small scale GTL plant can bring."

CompactGTL says it expects to have the fully-functioning small-scale GTL plant in operation in 2017. It is expected that initial engineering will take approximately 12 months, followed by a construction period.

We remind that the largest refiner in Kazakhstan has selected technology from Honeywell's UOP for the modernization of its facility. The Pavlodar Oil Chemical Refinery (POCR) of KazMunaiGas will use a range of UOP processes and services to upgrade its facility in Northeast Kazakhstan Province, allowing it to meet Euro-5 standards aimed at reducing motor vehicle pollution.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos ChlorVinyls, one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, has announced an increase in list prices of caustic soda, reported the Switzerland-based producer on its site.

Thus, Ineos' caustic soda prices are to increase by EUR20 per dry metric tonne with effect from 1 April 2014.

As MRC informed previously, Ineos ChlorVinyls raised prices of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from 1 February 2014. Prices of pipe grade suspension PVC delivered in bulk in Europe were raised to EUR1,195/tonne, while prices of pipe grade SPVC delivered in bulk in UK/Ireland rose to GBP1,065/tonne.

Ineos ChlorVinyls is one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, a global leader in chlorine derivatives and Europe's largest PVC manufacturer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Polymers, a division of Wacker Chemie AG, has announced an increase in its prices for VINNAPAS vinyl acetate-ethylene (EVA) and VINNOL ethylene-vinyl chloride-based (EVCL) copolymer dispersions in the Americas, as per the company's statement.

Effective April 15, 2014, Wacker will implement a price increase of up to 5% per wet pound, or as customer contracts allow. This measure has been necessitated by the continued increase in raw-material cost.

The price adjustment enables Wacker Polymers to continue providing customers a wide-range of innovative quality products and comprehensive technical, sales and customer support services.

Dispersions of the VINNAPAS and VINNOL brand are applied in a broad variety of industries, ranging from adhesives, construction, nonwovens, paints and coatings to paper, carpet and textiles.

As MRC informed recently, Wacker Polymers has announced an increase in its prices for VINNAPAS EVA and VINNOL EVCL copolymer dispersions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Effective April 1, 2014, Wacker will implement a price increase of up to EUR70 per ton, or as customer contracts allow. This measure has been also necessitated by the continued increase in raw-material cost.

Wacker Polymers is a leading producer of state-of-the-art binders and polymeric additives based on polyvinyl acetate and vinyl acetate copolymers. These take the form of dispersible polymer powders, dispersions, solid resins, and solutions. They are used in construction chemicals, paints, surface coatings, adhesives and nonwovens, and in fiber composites and polymeric materials based on renewable resources. Wacker Polymers has production sites in Germany, China, South Korea and the USA, as well as a global sales network and technology centers in all major regions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, is making fire safety and sustainability a realistic and achievable goal for transportation applications with its cost-efficient, non-halogenated flame retardant solutions, reported the company on its site.

Clariant’s high-performance Exolit AP ammonium polyphosphate based and Exolit OP phosphinates based flame retardants for thermoset systems address the key challenges of modern vehicle manufacture, with its increasing trend toward lightweight structual parts.

Exolit flame retardants for unsaturated polyester and epoxy resins support the aviation, road, rail and shipping sectors in fulfilling today’s stricter flammability requirements, meeting environmental targets through the use of materials with corresponding health and environmental profiles, and in achieving greater cost-efficiency without compromising on fire protection and hazard levels. Their advantage lies in their effectiveness for composites and laminates, which enables very low concentrations to be used, while at the same time meeting stringent flammability requirements.

Available for sole use or as synergistic formulations with aluminium hydroxide (ATH), Exolit AP enables thermoset resins used in fiberglass reinforced composites to reach high flammability requirements and fire standards such as under the new EU wide railway standard EN 45545-2 for interiors.

In addition, Exolit grades can be used to formulate intumescent (gel)-coats which drastically improve the fire endurance of the whole composite part. Exolit flame retardants are suited to traditional hand lay-up process, as well as pultrusion and other advanced techniques.

For electrical markets, all Exolit products are fully compliant with current WEEE and RoHS regulations (European Directives on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances in Electric and Electronic Equipment). For thermoset systems, Exolit AP grades allow low smoke density and do not release corrosive gases.

As MRC wrote previously, last year, Clariant introduced AddWorks, its new brand for polymer additives solutions. It consists of: AddWorks, application oriented solutions specifically designed by segments of the plastics industry
AddWorks LXR, a new range of polymer additives designed to provide particular effects in a wide variety of applications.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG, the German chemical maker that turns 100 this year, expects annual operating profit to gain more than 10 percent as prices recover and the company agreed with China on polysilicon exports, said Bloomberg.

Sales will rise in the "mid single-digit range" and net income will improve, the Munich-based company said today in a statement.

Wacker agreed with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce not to sell polysilicon produced at its European plants below a minimum price in China, it said today in a separate statement. In return, the ministry will refrain from applying anti-dumping and subsidy tariffs. The stock has rebounded 46 percent since a Nov. 4 trough as prices for the solar panel material have stabilized on stronger demand.

"The agreed solution is in the best interests of both Wacker and China’s solar industry," Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Staudigl said. "We can continue supplying our high-quality material at competitive prices to our Chinese customers."

The agreement takes effect on May 1 and lasts until the end of April 2016 and the minimum import prices are based on market prices, Wacker said today. The German company and the Chinese ministry have agreed not to disclose any further details.

As MRC reported earlier, in 2013, Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for ethylene-vinyl-acetate copolymer (EVA) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 tonnes from the second reactor line increases the site's EVA-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tonnes per year. The production capacity of the site, thus, almost doubled, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC