PTT plans USD20 bln Vietnam refinery and petrochemical complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Top Thai energy firm PTT Pcl said it would make a proposal to the Vietnamese government to build a USD20 billion refinery and petrochemical complex, revised down from an earlier project discussed two years ago, reported Reuters.

State-controlled PTT will meet with Vietnam's prime minister this month to present its project proposal, PTT Chief Executive Pailin Chuchottaworn told reporters.

In May 2013, the Vietnamese government approved to an oil refinery and petrochemical complex by the energy giant PTT Plc, paving the way for a detailed feasibility study within a year.

The complex has been designed to help meet Vietnam's domestic demand for oil products and boost its exports.

PTT has studied the possibilities of investing in central Vietnam for over two years. The value of the project was reduced from a previous estimate of USD28.7 billion after the Vietnamese government issued a licence for a new refinery in northern Vietnam. The planned capacity of PTT's oil refinery has been cut by 40% from an initial 660,000 barrels per day.

The project, which requires investment of about 600 billion baht (USD18.8 billion), now includes a 400,000 bpd refinery and olefins and aromatic petrochemical plants, Atikom Terbsiri, PTT senior executive vice president, said.

The construction of the refinery is scheduled to be completed by 2021, and most of products will serve domestic demand in Vietnam, Atikom added.

The petrochemical complex will have an annual production capacity of 2.9 million tonnes of olefins and 2 million tonnes of aromatic products, and most of the petrochemical products will be exported.

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) -- Albemarle Corporation has announced the successful completion of the previously announced sale of its antioxidant, ibuprofen and propofol businesses and related assets to SI Group, Inc., reported the company on its site.

The transaction includes manufacturing sites in Orangeburg, South Carolina and Jinshan, China. Certain applications and technical support capabilities located in Shanghai, China and Baton Rouge, Louisiana were also included in the transaction.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As MRC reported earlier, Albemarle and ICL have recently entered into an agreement to establish a manufacturing joint venture for the production of ICL's FR-122P polymeric flame retardant and Albemarle's GreenCrest polymeric flame retardant.

These flame retardants are designed to replace hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). HBCD has been the leading flame retardant used in expanded (EPS) and extruded (XPS) polystyrene foam applications, but is being phased out in the European Union (EU), Japan and other countries. The joint venture and its partners will own and operate a 2,400-tpy Netherlands plant, which is currently operating, and a 10,000-tpy Israel plant, which is scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, addresses the increasing consumer demand for milder, skin-friendly personal care products with the launch of its new range of multifunctional co-surfactants at in-cosmetics Asia 2014, as per the company's press release.

Offering a unique combination of excellent cleaning performance and mildness, the ingredients will open the door to inspiring new skin and hair care formulation concepts.

The highly renewable co-surfactants are extremely mild to skin, hair and scalp. They deliver pleasing sensorial effects and performance advantages as well as enable formulation concepts free of EO and sulfates. The new products are suitable for a broad field of applications, including shower & bath products, soaps, pump-foamers and shampoos, and are especially suitable for sensitive skin and baby care products.

"Clariant’s new co-surfactants bring a unique level of mildness and cleaning performance to the market which makes them ideal for all skin types, including baby skin. We are excited to give in-cosmetics Asia visitors the first opportunity to experience this innovative range, which also provides sensorial benefits and contributes to a more sustainable environment," comments Peter Klug, Strategic Innovation Project Manager, Clariant.

As MRC informed before, in late August 2014, Clariant underlined its commitment to sustainability with the launch of its EcoTain concept for the personal care sector. The company responds to the growing demand for sustainable personal care products that use natural ingredients, as consumers place increasing emphasis on health, wellness and environmental aspects.

Clariant is a Swiss speciality chemicals company. Clariant's largest business units make functional chemicals such as biocides, industrial ingredients, and detergents as well as chemicals and dyes for textiles, leather, and paper. Clariant's other segments make pigments for inks, paints, and plastics and masterbatches, which are highly concentrated additives for plastics and textiles. It is also among the leading manufacturers of de-icing agents and fire retardants, and chemicals used in the oil & gas and mining industries. Active in 150 countries on five continents, Clariant is now focusing on its fast-growing fine and specialty chemicals and on expanding operations in Asia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - European producers are trying to cap the decline in export prices of polyethylene (PE) for the CIS markets, in spite of the serious decline in the prices of feedstock. However, some companies have managed to achieve price reduction of EUR60/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

September contract price for ethylene in Europe was agreed by EUR55/tonne below the August level. However, despite this factor, many European producers intend to cap the decline in export PE prices for supply to the markets of the CIS countries by the level of EUR20/tonne. Some companies reported that they had achieved even greater reduction in PE price than the price of ethylene -by EUR60/tonne.

Negotiations for the September delivery of European PE began on Monday, and in the end of the week some companies reported that they closed all their deals for September delivery. Negotiations on prices of low density polyethylene (LDPE) were carried out in the range of EUR1,250-1,310/tonne FCA.

Some companies reported a significantly improved demand growth from the Ukrainian market. The key LDPE suppliers in the Ukrainian market are Russian and Belarusian producers. However, because of the shortage in the domestic market export prices for Russian LDPE are by EUR40-70/tonne higher than the current level of European prices.

Negotiations on European high density polyethylene (HDPE) for September delivery were carried out in the range of EUR1,170-1,230/tonne FCA.

Deals for pipe PE (black PE100) were discussed in the range of EUR1,270-1,310/tonne FCA.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian polyolefin and petrochemical group Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK, Tiszaujvaros) said that a combination of efficiency improvements, favourable exchange rates and decreasing energy prices had helped it record its highest half year operating profit since 2007 in H1 2014, said Plasteurope.

At EUR 40.8m, the figure is 102% higher than the first six months of 2013. EBITDA increased by 44% year-on-year to EUR 62.1m. Sales in euros fell by 2% year-on-year to EUR 650m.

First half polymer production volumes increased by 1.4% year-on-year, while polymer sales decreased by 0.3% with inventory volumes 9% lower at the end of the period. Overall capacity utilisation increased by 3 percentage points year-on-year to 83%. This was achieved despite a two week cleaning shutdown at the company’s olefin-1 unit and planned maintenance shutdowns at the HDPE-2 and PP-4 units carried out in the second quarter of 2014.

Looking forward, TVK CEO Zsolt Petho, said: "Market expectations show favourable outlook for the future. We are committed to continue the efficiency improvement process. We believe that, based on our achievements, we can maintain our achieved results. We expect positive operating profit in the next quarter again."

As MRC wrote before, Tisza Chemical Group (TVK) approved the basic engineering package submitted by the Lurgi/OTF consortium for a new 130,000-t/y butadiene unit to be built in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary. TVK’s MOL subsidiary last year notified the Budapest Stock Exchange of its plan to build a butadiene plant in
Tiszaujvaros, but did not disclose the plant’s capacity or a construction schedule.

Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of resulting by-products from the olefins plant.
MRC