BASF increases prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world petrochemical major, has increased its selling prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe, according to the company's statement.

Prices for the following products will be increased with immediate effect, or as existing contracts permit: 1,4 butanediol (BDO) - by EUR60/tonne, tetrahydrofuran (THF) - by EUR80/tonne, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PolyTHF) - by EUR80/tonne.

The price adjustment ensures that BASF can continue to offer quality products and services to its customers.

As MRC reported earlier, in early December, BASF already announced an inrease of selling prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe. Prices for the following products rose, as follows: 1,4 butanediol (BDO) - by EUR50/tonne, tetrahydrofuran (THF) - by EUR70/tonne, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PolyTHF) - by EUR70/tonne.

BDO and its derivatives are used for producing engineering plastics, polyurethanes, solvents and elastic spandex fibers.

THF is a high-quality intermediate that serves, for example, as a specialty solvent in the production of pharmaceuticals.

PolyTHF, a registered trade mark of BASF Group in many countries, is used to make elastic spandex fibers for a large variety of textiles, including underwear, outerwear, sportswear and swimsuits. It also serves as a chemical building block for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), which are used to make hoses, films and cable sheathing. Other applications include thermoplastic polyetheresters, polyetheramides and cast elastomers for the production of wheels for skateboards and inline skates.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. As for BDO and BDO-equivalents, BASF currently manufactures these products at its sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Geismar, Louisiana; Chiba, Japan; Kuantan, Malaysia; and Caojing, China, and has an annual capacity of 535,000 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invista, a world leader in fibers, resins and chemical intermediates, has started construction of a 150,000 tpa polyamide (PA) 66 plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in China, as per Plastemart.

The company is also constructing a hexamethylene diamine (HMD) monomer plant there. The polymer and monomer plants are expected to start up in 2015.

In addition to the HMD and polymer plants, Invista has plans for a future, 300,000-ton adiponitrile (ADN) facility.

Once completed, Invista's new facilities will be among the most energy-efficient nylon intermediates sites in the world and will employ Invista's most advanced technologies for ADN, HMD and polymer production.

The overall investment in these plants will exceed USD1 billion, which will be the largest capital investment undertaken by Invista to date.

"China is one of the most important regions for our growth strategy," said Jeff Gentry, Invista's chairman and chief executive officer, "We have seen significant growth in the region in recent years, and we plan to continue to bring our latest innovative technologies here."

As MRC informed previously, in early 2013, Invista Technologies and Arzeda Corp., an emerging Seattle-based biotechnology company, entered into strategic partneship for the development of new technologies to enable novel bio-derived processes.

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- British oil major BP has appointed former TNK-BP senior manager David Campbell as president of BP Russia, said Upstreamonline.

Campbell is to begin the new role immediately and will report directly to chief executive Bob Dudley.

A spokesperson for BP told Upstream that as well as replacing American Richard Scott Sloan as president of BP Russia, the new role for Campbell would also take in the former Moscow functions of the senior vice president for Iraq and Russia, a job most recently held by Michael Townsend.

Campbell is to be BP’s representative as shareholder to Rosneft, of which the British oil major is the second largest shareholder since last year’s USD61 billion acquisition of TNK-BP by the Moscow-headquartered state oil giant.

He will also spearhead efforts to diversify BP’s co-operation with Rosneft in areas such as potential new joint ventures and technological partnerships. The spokesperson said new roles for Sloan and Townsend had yet to announced.

Dudley said that Campbell "has significant experience of working in Russia and will play a central role in shaping BP’s future and activities in one of the world’s most important oil & gas regions".

Campbell has 30 years’ experience with BP, most recently as head of the group chief executive’s office in London. The Briton has previously held a range of senior management roles in upstream, including chief operating officer of BP’s Iraq operations and other posts in Alaska, Mexico and the North Sea.

Between 2003 and 2007, Campbell was based in Russia as a senior member of TNK-BP’s upstream leadership team that was then led by Dudley.

He has also held senior roles in trading and in the company’s corporate centre.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Chemical announced the opening of its world-scale manufacturing facility that will enable the company to produce up to 50,000 tpy of SpectraSyn Elite metallocene polyalphaolefin (mPAO) synthetic lubricant base stocks, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new plant is located at the company's integrated refining and chemical complex in Baytown, Texas. At its peak, the Baytown synthetic base stocks plant project, which began in 2011, employed over 700 construction-related workers.

"Our new Baytown manufacturing plant marks another significant milestone in ExxonMobil Chemical’s history of technology leadership in advanced synthetic base stock innovation," said Russ Green, ExxonMobil Chemical vice president for its global synthetics business.

"This substantial investment extends our commitment to providing customers with a reliable, global base stock supply to help them achieve their goals. Since the introduction of our Esterex esters nearly 50 years ago, we have applied synthetic base stock technology to help our customers meet changing market needs and increasing demands on lubricants."

Developed using a proprietary metallocene catalyst process, SpectraSyn Elite mPAO base stocks are scientifically engineered to offer improved performance characteristics versus conventional PAO base stocks. These attributes include higher viscosity index, improved shear stability and enhanced low-temperature properties. SpectraSyn Elite mPAO can help formulators manufacture automotive and industrial finished lubricants that offer greater durability, enhanced energy efficiency and extended drain intervals.

"At ExxonMobil Chemical, we believe that innovative lubricants start with using high-performing synthetic base stocks, such as SpectraSyn Elite mPAO," said Green. "That’s why we have invested in new technology and production capacity at our Baytown chemical complex to support the expected long-term global growth of synthetic automotive and industrial lubricants."

We remind that ExxonMobil Chemical announced that it will build facilities to manufacture premium halobutyl rubber and Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin at its recently-expanded petrochemical complex in Singapore.
Engineering and procurement activities have begun, with construction expected to begin in the second half of 2014 and completion anticipated in 2017.

ExxonMobil Chemical is among the world’s largest synthetic base stocks providers, offering a wide selection of advanced synthetic base stock fluids, including SpectraSyn and SpectraSyn Plus PAOs, Synesstic alkylated naphthalene and Esterex ester fluids. ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The US ethylene market could have six new world-scale steam crackers online by 2017-2019, said Plastemart, citing Dow Chemical's Jim Fitterling.

Speaking at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference, Fitterling announced expansions for the energy industry -- as many as 120 projects worth USD100 billion in investment -- have outpaced all projections.

Companies are placing bets that the energy revolution is real. Other companies planning to build steam crackers include Axiall, ChevronPhillips Chemical, ExxonMobil Chemical, Formosa Plastics, Shell Chemical, Occidental/Mexichem, Odebrecht, Shell and Shin-Etsu.

"We have 10 new ethane crackers announced, eight of them in the US Gulf Coast region," Fitterling said, adding that six of the 10 are past the feasibility phase. "Announced doesn't mean built, but it's still an indication of what companies think of the investment thesis."

If all projects -- greenfield as well as expansions/debottlenecks -- are realized, US ethylene production could grow as much as 12-14 million mt/year by 2020. That translates into an increase of nearly 50% from today's production levels.

Fitterling also said the investments surge in petrochemicals may have been underestimated over the past two to three years. Over 120 new energy-related projects have been announced in North America, with nearly USD100 billion to be invested in these projects. More than one-third of the announced projects will be located in Texas and Louisiana.

Such a capacity ramp-up could set the US on the pathway to soon being a net exporter of petrochemicals, according to Fitterling.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC