EPS Qatar selected Ineos Technologies EPS process for its EPS plant in Qatar

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Technologies is pleased to announce that it has licensed its INEOS EPS process for the manufacture of regular and flame retardant expandable polystyrene (EPS) to EPS Qatar at a new complex to be built in the Doha region, Qatar, according to the company's press release.

The 50,000 tpa Ineos EPS plant will produce a wide range of EPS grades to cover all the applications from construction to packaging and serve the growing demand in the GCC region. The plant will feature expansion capabilities to reach 100,000 tpa in a second phase.

Peter Williams, CEO of Ineos Technologies, commented: "Ineos Technologies is proud to have been selected by EPS Qatar as its technology partner for the launching of its expandable polystyrene business. The EPS Qatar plant will be the biggest EPS unit in the MENA region."

Ihab El Zahaby, CEO of EPS Qatar, stated: "We are pleased to have selected Ineos Technologies' EPS process as an integral part of our petrochemical project. The Ineos EPS process will provide EPS Qatar with an advanced and robust EPS process with advantaged economics and broad product reach."

As MRC wrote before, in June 2013, Ineos announced its intention to close its EPS production at its Marl site in Germany, at the end of Q4 2013.

Expandable polystyrene is mainly used in the insulation of buildings.

INEOS Enterprises is a standalone business, a part of INEOS AG. INEOS Enterprises is a portfolio of ten businesses manufacturing chemical products in Northern Europe, with sales of these products to customers around the world. The Company is focused on the developing needs of customers and rapid growth through investment in new products and manufacturing facilities or by acquisition. INEOS Enterprises now employs some 800 people across sites in the UK, France, Germany.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic film maker Klockner Pentaplast Group would not confirm recent reports that the company is for sale after an earlier attempt to sell the business was unsuccessful, said Plastcsnews.

News agencies Reuters and Bloomberg reported May 28 that unnamed sources told them that Klockner majority owner Strategic Value Partners’ advisors Goldman Sachs Inc. and Jefferies Group will start sending out information on the film company in June and that tentative bids are expected in July.

Klockner spokeswoman Astrid Hoffmann-Leist stated in an email that the company has been the subject of rumors for years since it has been owned by financial investors. She said she could not comment on the potential sale reports.
The reports indicated a sale could value the German film company at about 1.5 billion billion euros (USD2.04 billion). SVP tried to sell it in autumn 2013 but the asking price was not met. Greenwich, Conn.-based hedge fund SVP acquired the company in summer 2012 from New York private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. Blackstone had acquired Klockner Pentaplast in 2007 from Cinven Partners LLP of London.

Klockner’s key markets are pharmaceutical, medical, food, beverage and cards. Its head office is in Montabaur, Germany, and its North American headquarters is in Gordonsville, Va.

For its fiscal year 2012-13 ended Sept. 30, Klockner logged net sales of 1.19 billion euros, up about 2% from the previous year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was 174 million euros, up 14 percent from 2011-12. The company employs 3,100.

Last summer Klockner revealed it is spending 45.6 million euros in global capacity expansions in 2013-14. Targeted sites are in China, Brazil, Great Britain and Portugal.

Klockner opened its first production site in China in summer of 2013 in Suzhou. It is producing shrink films for double-digit growing markets in Asia. The company has invested 22.5 million euros in the operation, which employs about 76.
In mid-May 2014 Klockner announced changes to its executive management board. Joining CEO Christian Holtmann and CFO Markus Hoelzl are Stefan Brandt in the newly created chief operating officer post and Marc Setzen as chief technology officer.

Klockner Pentaplast makes films for pharmaceutical, medical device, food, electronics, and general-purpose thermoformed packaging, as well as printing and specialty applications. The company has sales of more than USD1.4 billion, more than 3,000 employees, and 17 plants.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azeri state oil company SOCAR has signed a USD3.29 billion financing deal with 23 banks and export credit agencies for the construction of a refinery on Turkey's Aegean coast, said Reuters.

SOCAR is building the USD5.5 billion Star refinery to supply feedstock to petrochemicals maker Petkim, which will help cut Turkey's dependence on imported refined oil products. The Star plant in Aliaga on the Aegean coast is expected to have an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes, 1.6 million tonnes of which would be naphtha which could feed the Petkim plant. It will also produce diesel, jet fuel and LPG.

Around USD2.7 billion of the financing has a maturity of 18 years and the remaining USD600 million has a maturity of 15 years, Petkim said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange.

SOCAR said it would use USD2 billion of its own equity for the project but has tapped the markets for funding for the rest. It signed a USD3.46 billion engineering procurement and construction contract in May last year with a consortium comprising Tecnicas Reunidas, Saipem, GS Engineering & Construction and Itochu Corp.

Earlier this week, Petkim said it signed an agreement to buy up to 1.6 million tonnes of naphtha feedstock from the Star refinery. The company said it estimates the purchase agreement will cut its raw material costs by USD30 per tonne.

Turkey has a surplus of gasoline but is heavily dependent on imports of diesel, which are expected to rise towards 20 million tonnes annually from around 12 million last year.

Turkey's only refiner Tupras has four plants across the country with a combined oil processing capacity of 28 million tonnes.

SOCAR Turkey now is the sole owner of Star refinery after Turkish energy firm Turcas Petrol said it sold its 18.5 percent stake for USD59.39 million.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of PolyOne Corporation has declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.08 per share on the common stock outstanding, reported the company on its site.

Dividend is to be paid on July 2, 2014, to stockholders of record on June 13, 2014

As MRC informed previously, As MRC wrote previously, PolyOne Corporation has recently announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

All OnColor HC Plus colorants include formulation lock-down provisions, and are suitable for specialized pharmaceutical goods and medical devices.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 said an international tribunal ruling supports its right to acquire a 50% stake in facilities at its Sweeny refinery in Texas from Petroleos de Venezuela SA, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The International Chamber of Commerce’s Court of Arbitration upheld Phillips 66’s right to exercise a call option in 2009 and assume PdVSA’s interest in Merey Sweeny, Rich Johnson, a spokesman for the Houston-based refiner, said in an e-mail. The partnership owns a 70,000-bpd delayed coker and related facilities at the refinery.

"Certain defaults by PdVSA with respect to supply of crude oil to the Sweeny refinery triggered the right to acquire PDVSA’s 50% ownership interest," Johnson wrote.

State-owned PdVSA initiated arbitration with the ICC, claiming the exercise of the call right was invalid. A PdVSA spokesman declined to comment on the ruling.

"Since there is not a lot of crude imported into the US anymore, this decision hurts PdVSA on several fronts. First, the company loses the refinery and production, and secondly it loses the opportunity to bring crude into the refinery," Oil Outlooks and Opinions president Carl Larry said in an interview from Houston.

Caracas-based PdVSA is diversifying its oil and products export markets, company president Rafael Ramirez said this weekend during a conference in St. Petersburg, Russia. The company is now sending more exports to Asia than the US, he said.

"Even though PdVSA has the right to appeal the decision, at this point it is basically a no-win scenario for the company, since they lose the crude and product and obviously they lose the interest in the refinery. So, on all fronts it’s a big loss for PDVSA," Larry said.

The economic crisis in Venezuela, which has the world’s biggest oil reserves, has fueled three months of protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro that have left at least 42 people dead.

As MRC wrote before, Chevron Phillips Chemical and refiner Phillips 66, has finalized the sale of its Chinese polystyrene business to Grand Astor Ltd.In the deal, Chevron Phillips is selling its affiliate company Chevron Phillips Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., which owns a polystyrene plant located in Zhangjiagang, China.

Phillips 66 is an American holding company headquartered in Westchase, Houston, Texas. It debuted as an independent energy company when ConocoPhillips spun off its downstream assets and midstream assets. The company is engaged in producing natural gas liquids (NGL) and petrochemicals. The company has approximately 13,500 employees worldwide and active in more than 45 countries.Phillips 66 is ranked No. 4 on the Fortune 500 list and No. 16 on the Fortune Global 500 list as of 2013.
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