Iranian NPC boosts investments in petrochemical projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iran’s National Petrochemical Co. (NPC) plans to increase its investments in the country’s petrochemical projects in order to accelerate their progress, reported GV with reference to Fars News Agency, quoting NPC Deputy Head Mohammad Hassan Peyvandi.

The company is legally permitted to have a 20% share in petrochemical investments, but this can increase to 49% in under developed regions.

NPC is prioritizing funding for projects that are at least 60% complete, he said. These include the Takht-Jamshid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) unit, the second phases of the Kavian and Karoun petrochemical plants, the West Ethylene Pipeline and petrochemical projects in the provinces of Lorestan, Kurdistan, Illam, Mahabad and Hamedan.

As MRC reported previously, Iran's petrochemical industries earned approximately USD9.19bln from exporting petrochemical products to the international markets in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2013-January 20, 2014).
MRC

Lukoil said to seek international loan as Russian sanctions bite

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OAO Lukoil (LKOD) is seeking a loan from international banks, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, said Bloomberg.

Russia’s second-largest oil producer asked lenders for a pre-export finance facility denominated in dollars, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak about it. While the company is among five Russian energy firms targeted in sanctions imposed by the U.S. last month, the penalties on Moscow-based Lukoil don’t restrict its access to financial services, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Lukoil is seeking to raise funds as U.S. and European sanctions targeting specific businesses stifles lending to all borrowers. Loans to Russian companies slumped to the lowest in five years in the third quarter after the U.S. and European Union started broadening penalties in July to restrict some companies from accessing international capital markets.

Officials at Lukoil weren’t immediately available to comment on the loan when contacted by phone.

Companies face USD54.7 billion of debt repayments due in the next three months, according to data from the Bank of Russia. Moscow-based Lukoil has USD900 million of bonds maturing next month, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Russian nuclear exporter Techsnabexport JSC’s plan to raise USD500 million was scaled back to USD150 million by international lenders even though it isn’t among companies targeted by sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday.

Swiss energy trader Vitol Group’s plan to raise USD2 billion to buy oil from state-owned producer OAO Rosneft was thwarted after the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer by volume was slapped with U.S. penalties on July 16.

The expanded sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Sept. 12 prohibit Lukoil from exporting goods, services or technology in support of exploration or production for Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale oil projects.
MRC

Weakening of rouble reduced PET imports in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) - The devaluation of the rouble against the dollar (40Rb=1USD) made Russian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) more attractive, compared with imported material, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Prices for PET in Asia have been falling almost all the third quarter. Prices for PET in Asian have decreased from USD1,360/tonne FOB to USD1,200/tonne FOB over the period from 1,July to mid September. Export prices for Asian PET in Q3 have decreased by 11.8%.

At the same time exchange rate of the Russian rouble compared with the dollar dropped by 17.6% - from 34Rb=1USD to 40Rb=1USD.

Spot prices for Russian PET are heard now in the range of Rb60,500-63,000/tonne FCA, including VAT.

Prices for Asian PET, which arrived in the market in the late September, were at Rb67,000-69,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
Given the current rate of 1USD=40Rb, prices for Chinese bottle grade PET, which arrives in the late November, will be in the range of Rb64,500-68,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.


Seasonal factor also contributes to the switching to Russian PET. However, despite the attractive prices, converters do not need the additional inventories. According to MRC analyst Igor Grishchenko, Russian PET producers, who use imported feedstock (PTA and MEG), are working with a negative margins now. Prices for feedstock in foreign markets are in dollars and euros. Rouble devaluation has increased in the third quarter, resulting in a bigger costs for PET production. At the same time prices for Russian PET practically remained steady, some companies even reduced PET chips prices.

MRC

Batory Foods and Celanese announce distribution agreement for Qorus sweetener system

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Batory Foods, a leading distributor of high-quality ingredients for US food manufacturers, has reached an agreement with Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, as a select distributor of the new Qorus sweetener system, reported Celanese in its press release.

Developed by Celanese, Qorus balances flavor and sweetness while masking off notes. This empowers manufacturers to develop low- and no-calorie foods and beverages that taste as authentic as their full-calorie counterparts.

"This is not just another high-intensity sweetener," said Tom Tang, product manager, Batory Foods. "It's a complete sweetener solution that propels the development of no- and low-calorie products into the future. Qorus changes the game for formulators, who can now innovate in this space with fewer limitations."

Typically, product developers sacrifice taste for caloric reduction. With Qorus, however, Batory customers can deliver the delight of uncompromising sweetness - without the calories of sugar. Qorus significantly reduces the bitter aftertaste of traditional no- or low-calorie sweeteners and increases sweetness perception. The optimizer inside the Qorus sweetener system does not add its own taste.

Qorus functions in a variety of processing conditions and is designed for no- and low-calorie carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, flavored waters, energy and juice-based drinks, dairy products, cocktails and many more applications.

The distribution partnership with Celanese also allows manufacturers to leverage Batory's strength as a single-source ingredients provider. Customers that may have otherwise purchased flavorings or masking agents from different vendors can turn to Batory for a complete sweetener solution.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Celanese Corporation had announced that it would increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow.

Founded in 1979, Batory Foods is a leading national ingredients distributor, offering manufacturers the industry's largest portfolio of high-quality food and fine ingredients.

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

BASF and Colorcon cooperate on Kollicoat IR for ready-to-use pharmaceutical coating solutions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colorcon, Inc. and BASF, the world's petrochemical major, have announced their cooperation for using immediate release coating polymer Kollicoat IR for Colorcon’s fully formulated ready-to-use coatings.

Colorcon will expand their PVA-based product portfolio by offering customers an alternative efficient and convenient solution for the immediate release coating of pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.

"With this new ready-to-use coating option formulators can benefit from both the coating performance of Kollicoat IR and Colorcon’s worldwide unique, customized services”, said Daniele Piergentili, Vice President Global Marketing Pharma Ingredients at BASF.

Adding Kollicoat IR as an alternative for use in targeted Opadry complete film coating systems expands the cooperation between Colorcon and BASF.

Kollicoat IR, an ethylene glycol and vinyl alcohol graft copolymer, is BASF’s highly versatile and safe-in-use instant release coating polymer. This polymer enables processing at low temperatures and high solids content while delivering targeted coating results.

As MRC informed before, in September 2014, BASF announced the start-up of a new butadiene extraction plant at its Verbund site in Antwerp, Belgium. The plant has an annual production capacity of 155,000 metric tons.

Colorcon is a world leader in the development, supply and technical support of formulated film coating systems, modified release technologies, and functional excipients for the pharmaceutical industry.

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.
MRC