Pertamina to shut aromatics plant for maintenance in Indonesia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina is in plans to shut an aromatics plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia informed that the plant is planned to be shut in end-September 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 40 days.

Located in Cilacap, Indonesia, the plant has a PX capacity of 270,000 mt/year and benzene capacity of 110,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, last June, Pertamina signed an agreement to purchase petrochemical products from Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical. The agreement serves as a pre-marketing strategy for Pertamina and PTT’s joint Indonesian petrochemical business. Under the agreement, PTT will deliver at least 5,000 tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene products each month to Pertamina for sale in Indonesia.

Pertamina and PTT already have a joint venture agreement to build a petrochemical facility with an annual production capacity of 1 million tonnes. The output from the facility will comprise of ethylene and polypropylene as well as polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride. There are no details on the facility itself.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

Essar and BASF mull USD2 bln petrochemical JV

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a bid to revive its diversification plan, India’s Essar Industries is in talks with Germany's BASF, the largest chemicals player in the world, for a petrochemicals joint venture, as per Plastemart.

The diversification plan had been put on hold for long, because of global factors and the company's high debt burden. Essar's refinery currently has a 20 mln tpa capacity and is capable of refining a diverse range of crude. The total project cost is expected to be USD2 bln, inclusive of debt and equity. Both sides are still to sign a definitive agreement. SBI Caps, the investment banking arm of the country's largest lender, is working as an advisor and is currently preparing a detailed project appraisal and financial feasibility report.

Essar is one of the most indebted business groups in India Inc. with over USD14 billion of net debt at the end of the last financial year as per a Credit Suisse report - a fallout of its rapid expansion in steel, power and oil refining in the past decade. In FY'14, the net debt of Essar Oil alone stood at Rs 17,410 crore with a very high net debt to equity ratio of 7.1. Essar also has a liability of Rs 6149 crore of sales tax on account of a Supreme Court ruling that it was not entitled to a tax holiday on its refinery. Consequently the company is not keen to commit to new capex just yet.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF 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. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. Second-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), adjusted for one-off items, rose 12.1% to 2.05 billion euros (USD2.76 billion).
MRC

Hohhot PC restarts PP line in China after maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hohhot PC has restarted a polypropylene (PP) line following maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the line restarted on July 26, 2014. It was shut on July 10, 2014.

Located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region of China, the line has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Sinopec Sabic Tianjin shut its PP plant for maintenance turnaround on May 7, 2014. It remained off-stream for around one month. Located in Tianjin city, China, the plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

Besides, last December Oriental Energy announced its plans to start a new polypropylene (PP) plant in mid 2014. Located in Zhangjiagang, China, the plant will have a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

Linde net profit slips

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German industrial gas company Linde said second-quarter net profit was hit by adverse exchange-rate effects and competitive U.S. government healthcare tenders, but confirmed its outlook for the full year, as per The Wall Street Journal.

Second-quarter net profit was down 2.3% on the year to EUR334 million (USD448.9 million) from EUR342 million. This figure was slightly above analysts' expectations of EUR316 million.

Revenue declined slightly to EUR4.17 billion, in line with expectations. Linde said lower prices in the U.S. due to the introduction of competitive government tenders damped revenue and earnings.

The company maintained its 2014 guidance, despite currency headwinds that will continue to weigh on growth and profitability.

"We have proved our stability, although reported growth was again hampered by unfavorable exchange-rate effects," said Wolfgang Buchele, Linde's chief executive.

For the first half, revenue of the most important segment, industrial gases, declined 2.8% to nearly EUR6.83 billion. The engineering segment fared better with revenue rising 14% to EUR1.42 billion in the first half.

The company didn't offer any new information on its Russian business activities and the possible effects of sanctions. Linde's projects in the region include plans to build two hydrogen plants in Tartarstan, managing sites for the Russian petrochemical company SIBUR, and a joint venture in Samara for an ammonia plant.

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 62,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide.
MRC

Court of Milan rules against Invista PET barrier bottle patent

MOSCOW (MRC) -- M&G Chemicals, part of the Mossi Ghisolfi Group (M&G), announces that the Court of Milan has confirmed its ruling against Invista Technologies declaring in a first instance the nullity of the Italian counterpart of Invista’s patent relevant to barrier resin products, said the producer at its press release.

The Court of Milan also condemned Invista to pay all damages caused to M&G through the acts of unfair competition, ordering the immediate payment of 70.000,00 Euros prior to the final evaluation of such damages incurred by M&G.

In addition Invista was condemned to pay the relevant legal costs and fees in the amount of 50.000,00 Euros as well as the costs of the Expert appointed by the Court.

According to Marco Ghisolfi, President and CEO of M&G Chemicals, M&G Chemicals welcomes the decision of the Court of Milan as it confirms M&G Chemicals’ original position that Invista had no valid rights within this patent and no valid rights to limit M&G’s fair commercial activity on the barrier resin market.

Last year, Invista Performance Technologies has acquired from La Seda de Barcelona SA intellectual property relating to its leading purified terephthalic acid (PTA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and related process technologies, including the full rights to exclusively license the technologies in the region comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Invista is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. The company’s advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used to produce clothing, carpet, car parts and countless other everyday products. Headquartered in the United States, INVISTA operates in more than 20 countries and has about 10,000 employees.
MRC