Formosa resumes production at its cracker in Taiwan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has resumed production at its No.1 residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC), as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant restarted on September 15, 2014. It was shut for a maintenance turnaround.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the unit has a capacity of 84,000 bpd.

As MRC informed previously, FPCC is planning to shut down its No. 1 RFCC in Taiwan for maintenance turnaround in H2 September 2014. The planned shutdown has been planned to take care of a technical glitch. Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the unit has a propylene capacity of 375,000 mt/year.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that it will increase the price of acetate tow for core grade items by 5 to 6% (FOB plant basis), reported the company on its site.

Pricing for unique and/or low volume tow items and specialty grade acetate tow items may increase by a differentiated amount. Price increases are effective January 1, 2015, or as contracts allow.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2014, Celanese Corporation announced that it would increase the price of all grades of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and Ateva vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) in September. The increase of USD0.05/pound will be effective 1 September, 2014, or as contracts allow, and was caused by market conditions.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has been ranked number one on the influential Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the third consecutive year, said the company in its press release.

The latest listing, published today, places the company first out of more than 350 companies in the Materials industry group, underlining AkzoNobel’s commitment to continuous improvement.

"We are obviously very proud to have retained first place and huge credit must go to all our employees," said AkzoNobel CEO Ton Buchner. "But first and foremost, heading the ranking means we are effectively using the DJSI to continuously improve our sustainability performance so that we are better equipped to provide solutions for the increasing needs of the planet's growing population.

"And we won't be letting up. Sustainability will remain fundamental to our strategy of connecting value creation to resource efficiency, while the DJSI process is an important management tool when it comes to better understanding the changing needs of the global marketplace and helping us to benchmark ourselves against other leading companies."

It's the ninth year running that AkzoNobel has been ranked in the top three and Buchner says the consistent performance underlines AkzoNobel’s fierce determination to effectively implement its Planet Possible strategy.

"We have to remain fully focused on further improving our performance so that we can take the next major leap forward on our journey to creating more value from fewer resources," he continued. "The more we innovate and up our game, the more capable we are of meeting our customers’ needs."

Widely regarded as the the most respected independent sustainability ranking system, the DJSI World Index benchmarks the sustainability performance of leading companies based on environmental, social and economic performance, including forward-looking indicators.

It assesses various criteria, including supply chain management, operational eco-efficiency, product stewardship, human capital development and occupational health and safety.

As MRC informed before, in October 2013 AkzoNobel finalized the EUR260 million divestment of its Building Adhesives business to Sika AG.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people. Akzo Nobel's first-quarter net profit was up 45% on lower financing costs, while revenue fell 2% because of currency losses and despite higher volumes in all of its businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's largest refiner Sinopec has struck a deal with 25 local and foreign investors, to sell a 30% stake in its retail arm, said Bloomberg.

The retail unit will be issuing new shares to the group of 25 investors, which are mostly financial companies like insurers and fund managers, to raise USD17.5bn. The company's shares fell by 6.8% on Monday in Hong Kong trade. Sinopec's retail arm operates more than 30,000 petrol stations across China.

It also owns more than 23,000 convenience stores under the Easy Joy brand, as well as oil-product pipelines and storage facilities. Local investors named in the transaction include China Life Insurance as well as Chinese white goods manufacturer Haier Electronics and internet giant Tencent.

Last month Sinopec signed a preliminary agreement with Tencent to explore introducing mobile payment systems at its petrol stations. In May this year, the company also signed an agreement with China Taiping Insurance to sell car and life insurance at its petrol stations.

In the case of Sinopec, nearly all of its retail sales come from petrol. The deal marks China's biggest privatisation programme since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec’s parent China Petrochemical Corp.agreed to sell Sinopec Oilfield Service Corp. to a Hong Kong-listed polyester maker it controls, Sinopec Yizheng Chemical Fibre Co.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR , Russia’s largest petrochemical company, said today that following the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts and assessment of the design documentation, it is proceeding with the previously announced mega ZapSibNeftekhim project at Tobolsk, Russia, said the producer in its press release.

ZapSibNeftekhim's project is designed to operate a steam cracker (by Linde AG, Germany) with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa of ethylene, around 500 ktpa of propylene and 100 ktpa of butane-butylene fraction (BBF), along with units with a total capacity to produce 1.5 mtpa of various grades of polyethylene (by INEOS, UK) and a polypropylene unit of 500 ktpa (by LyondellBasell, Netherlands).

The cracker, polyethylene and polypropylene units’ FEED has been completed. SIBUR has signed an agreement to design infrastructure and off-site facilities with NIPIgazpererabotka, Russia's leading engineering centre in the gas processing industry.

According to preliminary estimates, the total investment in ZapSibNeftekhim will amount to approximately USD9.5 billion, including the expenditure already incurred and costs budgeted for commissioning. Construction of the project is expected to be completed within five to five and a half years.

"SIBUR has a strong financial position. Over recent years, the company has delivered on ambitious projects to expand its gas processing and fractionation capacity, improve transport infrastructure reliability, and build its first large polymer production capacities, providing the basis for a smooth transition into the next stage of the project,” said Dmitry Konov, CEO.

SIBUR's projects in the Tyumen region are part of the investment agreement with the Tobolsk regional government and the Tobolsk city administration aimed at a comprehensive development of the Tobolsk production site. This agreement covered, among other projects, the construction of the Tobolsk-Polymer PP production facility, commissioned in 2013; expansion of a gas fractionation plant; and railway infrastructure development, commissioned in 2014; along with the construction of the main pipeline between Purovsky gas condensate processing plant and Tobolsk-Neftekhim. The parties provide support for the project under applicable law and the current agreement to ensure a comprehensive development of the Tobolsk production site. It has now been agreed to extend the current investment agreements for 10 years – until 2024.

The use of cutting-edge processes will ensure safety and reliability of production. Prior to the implementation of the project, SIBUR commissioned a Russian team from Environmental Resources Management, a global leader in HSE advisory services, to estimate ZapSibNeftekhim's environmental footprint. Comprehensive analysis showed that the prospective operations comply with the applicable Russian laws and environmental requirements. ZapSibNeftekhim's construction and operations will neither exceed environmental standards nor have a material adverse effect on the environment.

The facility will create new jobs, provide more tax and other payments to the budget, and contribute to the social development and quality of life in Tobolsk, SIBUR says.
MRC