PTT Global Chemical to shut its gas cracker for maintenance in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to shut its I4-No. 2 gas cracker for maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the cracker is planned to be shut in the first week of September 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the cracker has a capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, this week, PT Indo Thai Trading (ITT) launched operations as a joint venture of Indonesia's Pertamina and Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC). ITT will be responsible for the marketing and sales of all production from this complex.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belgian PVC window frames maker Deceuninck plans to raise EUR50 million (USD66 million) in a private placement of new shares to fund the purchase of Pimas in Turkey and future acquisitions, as per Reuters.

Deceuninck said on Tuesday it would issue 26.3 million shares at EUR1.90 euros apiece and that these were already allocated to investors Gramo and Sofina, which would respectively own 21.01% and 17.5% of the group after the transaction.

On Monday, the group said it would buy an 81% stake in Turkish company Pimas for USD26.5 million.

"The balance will enable Deceuninck to undertake further strategic projects and investments in a consolidating industry," Deceuninck said in a statement.

As MRC informed previously, in early 2014, Deceuninck North America, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-quality systems for windows, doors, and outdoor living, added three PVC lineal lamination lines to its existing lamination capabilities to meet consumer demand for a wider variety of color customization options.

Deceuninck NV is a Belgian designer and producer of PVC systems for windows and doors, interior, roofline & cladding and terraces. The company extrudes PVC and the single base material Twinson. Founded in 1937, with its headquarters in Hooglede-Gits, the Deceuninck Group operates in more than 75 countries and has 35 subsidiaries across Europe, North America and Asia, including the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and Turkey.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tinosorb A2B is the first UV filter to be included in the positive list (Annex VI) of the new EU Cosmetics Regulation. Therewith, BASF’s highly efficient broadband filter is also the first UV filter with particle sizes smaller than 100 nanometers approved for use in cosmetics in Europe, reported the company on its site.

"Tinosorb A2B equally protects against UVB and UVAII radiation, thereby making an important contribution to preventing skin cancer and light-induced skin aging. After a long approval process we are delighted that we are now allowed to bring the UV filter to market and that our customers can use it in sunscreen products," said Dirk Mampe, head of Business Management for Personal Care Specialties Europe.

Tinosorb A2B protects the skin against UV wavelengths ranging from 290 to 340 nanometers, thereby being t he first of a new generation of finely-ground (micronized) UV filters: It complements conventional oil-soluble UV filters by closing the current gap between UVA and UVB absorbers, thus enabling a balanced protection across the entire spectrum of solar UV radiation.

The new EU Cosmetics Regulation further stipulates that the EU Commission must be notified of all ingredients containing nanoscale material. This also applies to ingredients that have already been approved. BASF has submitted registration dossiers for all UV filters with nanoscale parts that are already available on the European market: The UV filters Z-Cote, Z-Cote HP1 and Tinosorb M are in the approval process.

As MRC wrote before, in July 2014, BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. inaugurated its new automotive coatings plant at the Shanghai Chemicail Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The expansion of its automotive coatings production capacity with an investment of around EUR50 million further strengthens BASF’s presence in China and its position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive industry.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos has announced that it is creating drilling, logistics and electricity affiliates as it restructures its operations to compete with private oil firms, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Pemex, as the company is known, said in a news release that the affiliates would provide services to "new actors in the industry," and that it would produce electricity through cogeneration - the use of heat from industrial operations to create power - and sell it on the open market.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto signed new energy laws last week designed to transform a sector that has been dominated by the government for decades. Among the changes, private and foreign oil firms can compete with Pemex in exploration and production for the first time in 76 years, and a wholesale electricity market will provide competition to state power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad.

Pemex Chief Executive Emilio Lozoya also announced the restructuring of the company's four divisions into two: the existing exploration-and-production arm, and industrial transformation, which will include the current gas, petrochemical and refining operations.

Mr. Lozoya, speaking before Pemex workers at its Mexico City headquarters, said the company would have a new board of directors by October, as established in the new energy laws, after ratification by the Senate.

Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell said Pemex would remain 100% in state hands but would be given greater powers to determine its business strategy and allot funds to projects as it sees fit. Pemex also will no longer need Finance Ministry approval for its budget, he said.

Mr. Lozoya said in an interview last week with The Wall Street Journal that restructuring Pemex to operate more like an international company is critical to its future success. Those moves will allow it to create new business opportunities and cut costs through common-sense measures like having one procurement arm instead of several.

As MRC informed previously, Mexico's national oil company Pemex will sell a 7.9% stake in Spanish oil firm Repsol, worth about 2.2 billion euros (USD3.0 billion). The sale ends a long relationship between Pemex and Repsol that had run into trouble in recent years over disagreements on policies ranging from top management to the handling of Repsol's investments in Argentina. Through this sale, Pemex will divest nearly all of its holding in Repsol, where its 9% stake has made it one of the top three shareholders.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis and Borouge, leading providers of innovative, value-creating solutions for the wire and cable industry, have announced a true step-change high voltage direct current (HVDC) innovation based on the Borlink technology platform, as per Borealis' statement.

Developed in partnership with power and automation technology leader ABB, this major HVDC innovation, supported by a unique track record of 15 years proven operational excellence and industry leadership in extruded HVDC materials, will support the further integration of renewable energies into the grid and the establishment of more interconnections among countries in major infrastructure projects around the world.

HVDC power transmission supports long-distance electricity transport without significant losses, providing higher efficiency and increased sustainability. The industry trend is clearly moving towards an increased need for higher capacity transmission at high voltage levels.

Borealis and Borouge now introduce the next generation HVDC insulation compound, Borlink LS4258DCE, which, along with the accompanying HVDC semicon Borlink LE0550DC, enables the use of extruded cable technology at significantly higher voltage and transmission levels in instances where paper cables are traditionally used.

This unique material is produced by the Borlink technology, which is a complete global package of power cable compounds and expertise with applications for high voltage (HV), including extra high voltage (EHV) and HVDC launched in 2012. Borlink LS4258DCE is an unfilled crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) compound based on the enhanced base resin technology Supercure. The compound is designed to provide higher cable production efficiency in terms of a shortened cable production cycle, enabled by a significant reduction of degassing burden and improved scorch performance. Offering proven benefits to the industry, it is produced at Borealis’ state-of-the-art high pressure production facilities in Stenungsund, Sweden, a plant recently supported by major investments.

As MRC reported earlier, Borealis had got the first drops of ethylene flowing by the end of May 2014 from a plant expansion in the emirate costing more than USD4 billion.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. The only polyethylene (PE) producer in Sweden, Borealis’ Stenungsund facilities include a PE plant, a cracker for ethylene and propylene production, and an innovation center focused on research and development for infrastructure markets.
MRC