Gazprom neftekhim Salavat resumed HDPE production

MOSCOW (MRC) - Gazprom neftekhim Salavat has resumed high density polyethylene (HDPE) production following the scheduled maintenance works, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Yesterday, on 14, August, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat started commissioning works for the resumption of HDPE production following a month long turnaround, which began on 15, July.

The producer resumed its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production earlier, on 1, August following scheduled maintenances.

JSC Gazprom neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia's major petrochemical complexes. The history of the Company dated back to 1948 when the construction of Industrial Complex №18 began in the area of the village of Bolshoi Allaguvat (Sterlitamak Region). Initially it was designed as gasoline and diesel fuel production by hydrogenation of coal and fuel oil.

The first batches of high density polyethylene were produced by the company in March 2010. Production of high density polyethylene by suspension method is one of the priority projects of the company. The estimated capacity of HDPE production at the plant is 120,000 tonnes/year, with the possibility to expand to 200,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

SP Chemicals shuts VCM plant for maintenance in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SP Chemicals is in plans to shut its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant for maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the unit is likely to be shut on August 18, 2014. It is expected to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Jiangsu province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, SP Chemicals conducted almost a month-long turnaround at its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant in September 2013. The plant was shut on September 3, 2013, and resumed operations in late September. Located in Jiangsu, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

SP Chemicals, a Singapore-based company is one of the largest ion-membrane chlor-alkali producer and aniline producer in China. The company's products include: aniline, caustic soda, chlorine, chlorobenzene, nitrochlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). SP Chemicals plans to invest approximately RMB1.1 billion in facilities for the production of styrene monomer, an intermediate raw chemical used in making polystyrene plastics, protective coatings, polyesters and resins.
MRC

BASF Venture Capital invests EUR1 million in UK-based technology provider SmartKem

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF Venture Capital has invested EUR1 million in the technology company SmartKem, based in St. Asaph, Wales, as per BASF's press release.

The total investment of the financing round was EUR3 million. Further investors with equal terms were Octopus Investments and Entrepreneurs Fund.

SmartKem is a leader in research and development of high performance organic semiconductor inks. These inks are used in printed thin film transistors (TFTs), which drive unbreakable and fully flexible electronics, for example leading-edge flexible OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) displays.

"The future belongs to flexible displays. First flexible smartphones are already in the market. Customers will benefit from a lot of useful lightweight, fully flexible and rollable electronics products based on organic TFTs. Our investment in SmartKem and our extensive Joint Development Program will take us a great step forward in bringing this future-oriented technology faster to the market," said Dirk Nachtigal, Managing Director, BASF Venture Capital.

Steve Kelly, CEO of SmartKem, added: "Groundbreaking advances in material technology will drive the future of printed and flexible electronics. We are happy to join forces in research and development with BASF to progress smart chemistry for the new generation of flexible displays and circuits, which will address future market needs."

As MRC informed before, by acquiring a majority stake in InnovationLab GmbH in May 2014, Merck and BASF, the world's largest petrochemical producer, are increasing their involvement in order to continue the successful scientific work of the Heidelberg-based research and transfer platform for organic electronics in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.

SmartKem is a leading supplier of high performance organic semiconductor inks for the manufacture of printed TFTs. SmartKem’s inks can be processed on flexible and lightweight plastic substrates to enable rugged and truly flexible electronics.

BASF Venture Capital GmbH was established in 2001 as a wholly owned subsidiary of BASF New Business GmbH, Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the aim of exploring new growth potentials based on investment in startup companies and funds.

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. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

Polish refiner Lotos looks to expand via share sale

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Grupa Lotos SA, Poland’s second-biggest refiner, plans to raise about 1 billion zloty (USD318 million) from a share sale this year to fund expansion, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Gdansk, Poland-based company plans to sell as many as 55 million new shares to current shareholders, it said in a regulatory statement. That accounts for 42% of its current 129.9 million outstanding shares.

"We plan to spend all proceeds from the share sale on future investments," deputy CEO Mariusz Machajewski said in an e-mailed statement.

Lotos is seeking to boost upstream investments locally and beyond the country’s border by developing existing sites and purchasing licenses to increase oil production to about 1.2 million tons by 2016 from 0.5 million tons now. It wants to buy a Norwegian offshore oil field, it said in February, and is also planning by the end of this year to decide on building a 12 billion-zloty petrochemical plant with Grupa Azoty SA.

"The share sale was expected, but is to happen earlier than planned," said Wojciech Kozlowski, a Warsaw-based analyst at Espirito Santo Investment Bank. "Lotos has many investments plans, but the lack of detailed presentation of the share sale goals is negative."

As MRC wrote before, in December 2013, Grupa LOTOS S.A. and Grupa Azoty S.A. signed an agreement on the future formation of a special purpose vehicle to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on the construction of a new petrochemical complex, in the vicinity of both LOTOS and Grupa Azoty's existing installations. The project’s value is estimated at approximately PLN 12bn, making it the largest investment in the Polish industrial sector in recent years.

Grupa LOTOS is one of the largest companies in Poland. It is an oil company operating both in Poland and abroad, whose business consists in the extraction and processing of crude oil, as well as wholesale and retail sale of high-quality petroleum products. Apart from Grupa LOTOS, which manages the refinery in Gdansk, the LOTOS Group currently comprises 15 other companies operating under the LOTOS name. One of them is based in Lithuania and another one in Norway.
MRC

Axiall reports Q2 2014 results

MOSOCW (MRC) -- The company reported net sales of USD1,236.9 million for the second quarter of 2014, compared to net sales of USD1,272.8 million reported for the second quarter of 2013, as per the company's press release.

The company reported net income attributable to Axiall of USD27.2 million, or USD0.38 diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2014, compared to net income attributable to Axiall of USD72.8 million, or USD1.03 diluted earnings per share, for the second quarter of 2013.

The company reported adjusted net income of USD33.5 million and adjusted earnings per share of USD0.48 for the second quarter of 2014, compared to adjusted net income of USD84.0 million and adjusted earnings per share of USD1.19 for the second quarter of 2013.

The company reported adjusted EBITDA of USD128.1 million for the second quarter of 2014, compared to adjusted EBITDA of USD197.9 million for the second quarter of the prior year.

"Our second-quarter results were primarily impacted by lower ECU values and the unplanned outage at our PHH VCM facility," President and CEO Paul Carrico said. "In our Building Products segment, we experienced a normal seasonal increase in sales volumes but continued to see weaker Canadian sales and the impact of a weaker Canadian dollar during the period. Additionally, our Aromatics results are lower than the second quarter of 2013 due to lower operating rates and lower margins.

"Our top priority remains the safe, reliable operation of our plants, and we have taken clear steps to reinforce operational excellence throughout our organization," Carrico said.

In the Chlorovinyls segment, second-quarter 2014 net sales were USD777.9 million compared to USD801.8 million during the second quarter of 2013. The 3% decrease was principally due to substantially lower ECU pricing and lower sales volumes due to the PHH VCM facility outage which began in December 2013, partially offset by higher PVC pricing.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2013, Axiall Corp. said it is considering building a USD3 billion ethane cracker and chemical plant somewhere in Louisiana. The Atlanta-based chemical manufacturer would invest USD1 billion of its own money, while an unnamed partner would put in USD2 billion. The plant could open in 2018, creating 225 permanent jobs.

Axiall Corporation is a leading integrated chemicals and building products company. Axiall, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has manufacturing facilities located throughout North America and in Asia to provide industry-leading materials and services to customers.
MRC