Sasol, INEOS approve construction of new Texas polyethylene facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol Chemicals North America and INEOS Olefins & Polymers announced Monday that they have reached final investment decision to form a joint venture to build a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in La Porte, Texas, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 50/50 joint venture will produce 470,000 tpy of bimodal HDPE using Innovene S process technology licensed from INEOS Technologies.

The ethylene required for the production of the HDPE will be supplied by Sasol and INEOS in proportion to their respective ownership positions.

"This project will expand Sasol's presence in the global chemical market and complement our North American growth strategy," said Fleetwood Grobler, Sasol's group executive for global chemicals. "Its location offers several benefits, including access to US Gulf Coast infrastructure and proximity to our current and proposed ethane cracker and derivatives complex in Southwest Louisiana."

INEOS will operate the HDPE plant at its Battleground manufacturing complex in La Porte. Plant start-up is expected in the 2016 calendar year.

"This investment will allow INEOS to meet our customer's needs for additional bimodal products," said Dennis Seith, CEO of INEOS Olefins & Polymers. "It also supports INEOS's strategy to invest and to capture synergies on our major sites."

The definitive agreements are in the process of being finalized, and all relevant permits have been obtained. Because the plant will be debt financed, the investment decision is conditional on achieving financial close.

Sasol and INEOS announced their intention to form this joint venture in July 2013.

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 15 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 51 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries throughout the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, Kringlan Composites and other industry partners are working to further advance the development of the world’s first thermoplastic composite wheel, said Compositesworld.

This ground breaking innovation leverages SABIC’s proprietary ULTEM resin and Kringlan’s proprietary three-dimensional composite design capabilities to create a material solution that can be used to replace traditional materials, such as metal and aluminum alloy, helping reduce weight and emissions and potentially save manufacturing costs across industries from aerospace to automotive, and consumer goods.

"This ongoing collaboration with Kringlan is an excellent example of how we identify innovative companies with unique technology to collaborate on developing industry for the benefit of the downstream industries that we serve," said Thierry Materne, Vice President, Technology & Innovation for SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business. He adds that compared to other thermoplastic materials, ULTEM offers superior strength at high temperatures, dimensional stability and chemical resistance.

To advance the wheel’s development, Kringlan and SABIC have been working on a prototype for a German automotive manufacturer. This innovative and lightweight wheel will be strong, light, stunning in design and offers a more sustainable solution through . Not only can emissions associated with the vehicle’s use phase be reduced, the wheel can also be manufactured with less environmental impact compared to conventional processes and it offers full system recyclability.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in Ukraine decreased by 4% in January-April 2014, compared with the same period a year earlier, according MRC DataScope report.

Total EPS imports to Ukraine were 5,500 tonnes in the first four months of the year. Ukraine's EPS imports were 2,500 tonnes in May.

Demand for polystyrene (PS) remains strong in Ukraine, despite the significant price rise (up about 40% from 1, January 2014), fuelled by the hryvnya devaluation and the unstable political situation in the East of Ukraine.

Traders and converters reported a sharp shortage of EPS in April.

The key supplier of EPS to Ukraine is SIBUR. Converters said they did not manage to cover the EPS shortage fully by the Russian material. SIBUR could not satisfy the export needs because of the strong demand for EPS in Russia.

In this regard, the Ukrainian companies increased their purchases in other foreign markets. EPS supplies from China and Poland are expected to increase in May and June.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) in Ukraine decreased by 31% in the first four months of this year on the back of economic recession and the hryvnya devaluation, according to MRC DataScope.

April PP imports to Ukraine were 8,700 tonnes, which were almost equal the the March level of 8,800 tonnes. Total Ukraine's PP imports fell to 32,100 tonnes in January - April 2014, compared with 46,400 tonnes in the same period of 2013. The economic downturn and the subsequent weakening of the hryvnya played a decisive role in the weakening demand for polypropylene at the local converters.

Structure of PP imports over the reported period was as follows. April imports of homopolymer PP to Ukraine decreased to 6,400 tonnes, compared with 7,000 tonnes in March because of the reduction of supplies from the Middle Eastern producers. Total imports of homopolymer PP to Ukraine decreased by one third to 24,400 tonnes in the first four months of this year.

April imports of PP block copolymer increased to 1,200 tonnes. Ukraine's imports of PP block copolymers were 3,800 tonnes in the first four months of 2014, compared with 4,500 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.

Imports of PP random copolymers to Ukraine were about 774 tonnes in April. Total imports of PP random copolymer to Ukraine reduced to 2,900 tonnes in January - April of this year, compared with 3,900 tonnes in the same period a year earlier because of weakening demand in the sector of injection moulding and pressure pipes. At the same time, demand for BOPP films increased in the local market.

Imports for other polymers of propylene over the reported period decreased to 1,000 tonnes, from 1,600 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OAO SIBUR Holding, an integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company, published its operational and financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2014 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), said the conpany in its press release.

Producer's revenue increased by 20.9% to RR 80,002 million in Q1 2014, compared to RR 66,184 million in the first quarter of 2013. The energy product group delivered strong performance on higher sales volumes. Producer's revenue from sales of energy products increased by 42.4% year-on-year to RR 49,622 million from RR 34,846 million in 2013. SIBUR substantially expanded its trading activities for LPG and naphtha with the launch of Ust-Luga transshipment facility.

In the first quarter of 2014, the companie's revenue from sales of basic polymers increased by 47.8% year-on-year to RR 7,396 million from RR 5,004 million in the first quarter of 2013. The increase was primarily attributable to higher PP sales volumes following the launch of Tobolsk-Polymer plant the second half of 2013.

This was partially offset by declining revenue from sales of synthetic rubbers, intermediates & other chemicals and processing services. The producer's synthetic rubber business remained under significant pressure on the back of persistent market price correction for our synthetic rubber grades. An unscheduled shutdown at our steam cracker in Kstovo resulted in a decrease in production of certain intermediates and the respective decline in revenue from sales of intermediates & other chemicals. Following the deconsolidation of OOO Yugragazpererabotka as of 12 March 2013, the company did not consolidate its revenue until March 2014, when we gained full control over OOO Yugragazpererabotka, which resulted in a decrease in sales of processing services in the first quarter of 2014.

The producer's EBITDA for the period amounted to RR 22,569 million, a year-on-year growth by 10.1% from RR 20,505 million in the first quarter of 2013. Our EBITDA margin totaled 28.2% compared to 31.0% reported a year earlier. The year-on-year increase in EBITDA was primarily attributable to the completion of large-scale investment projects, such as Tobolsk-Polymer plant, the biggest polypropylene production facility in Russia. The EBITDA was positively affected by the foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

The companie's profit for the first quarter of 2014 increased four times to RR 56,774 million from RR 15,634 million a year earlier. The increase was primarily attributable to non-cash gain on consolidation of Yugragazpererabotka and the revaluation of SIBUR’s share in the JV accounted for at historical cost before the transaction.

In the first quarter of 2014, our capital expenditures decreased by 36.4% to RR 13,682 million in the first quarter of 2014 from RR 21,507 million a year earlier, resulting from completion of several large-scale projects in feedstock & energy and petrochemicals segments.

In the first quarter of 2014, SIBUR made a payment of the first tranche for the acquisition of RN-Holding’s 49% stake in OOO Yugragazpererabotka in the amount of RR 20,547 million.

SIBUR is a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company, which operate RussiaпїЅs largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are the leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.
MRC