Mitsui Chemicals and Sinopec launch world-scale EPT rubber venture in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals and China Petroleum & Chemical have announced the startup of one of the world’s largest EPT (ethylene-propylene-dieneterpolymer) plant for a single train under their joint venture, Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Elastomers, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

EPT, which has superior resistance to heat and cold, UV rays, and chemicals, in addition to good electric insulation and other exceptional properties, is widely used in automotive parts (glass run channel, weatherstripsponge, etc.), electric cables, and other industrial materials.

With the rapid growth of the Chinese automotive industry and expansion of its social infrastructure (railways, etc.), the demand for EPT has increased significantly.

Commencement of full scale commercial operation of the plant will provide the Chinese market with superior quality, performance-driven functional materials backed by extensive technical services.

The joint venture’s EPT plant will stably supply superior quality EPT to meet the growing needs in the Chinese market.

As MRC informed before, last yeat, as part of a fundamental company's strategy Mitsui Chemicals and Prime Polymer, dedicated Japanese maker of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), intensified an ongoing collaboration by increasing polypropylene (PP) production in the United States to meet growing demands of the automotive materials sector.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
MRC

Loan of USD420 mln allocated for SOCAR Polymer project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The SOCAR company (The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic) and the Russian GazpromBank have signed a Collection of basic conditions for a loan of USD420 million for the SOCAR POLYMER project, implemented in Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, as per Plastemart.

The SOCAR POLYMER project comprises of a 200,000 tpa polypropylene and a 120,000 tpa of polyethylene plant.
The loan has been allocated to the Azerbaijani company for ten years and Gazprombank will not demand any guarantees for this loan. Gazprombank has also opened a credit limit for SOCAR of USD2 bln.

As MRC wrote before, Azerbaijan is planning to commission rigs for the production of polypropylene (PP) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) on the territory of Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park in 2016-2017.

SOCAR is keen on expanding operations in the retail oil products market abroad, and is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in the domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
MRC

Gulf petchem production hits new high

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Despite challenges, the petrochemical and chemical production in the Gulf region surged to more than 140 million metric tonnes (MT) during 2013, reported TradeArabia with reference to an industry expert.

"The global sales revenue of petrochemicals and chemicals was over USD4.1 trillion, of which more than two per cent belonged to Gulf countries," stated Mohammad Husain, the president and CEO of Equate Petrochemical Company, Kuwait’s first international petrochemical joint-venture.

Husain said the challenges were mainly feedstock shortage, market instability, infrastructure insufficiency and port congestions, in addition to lack of qualified human resources.

"Overcoming these challenges, through sustainability-based innovation and integration, is an utmost priority for GPCA which groups over 200 companies from around the world," he added.

Husain, who is also a GPCA board member, said: "While in 2013, the Gulf had a 7% of the global petrochemical and chemical production, its total production capacity is expected to top 225 million metric tons in the next years."

Husain said that Equate’s total production capacities, from plants owned and operated by it, exceed 5 million MT, including ethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene glycol, heavy aromatics, benzene, styrene monomer and paraxylene.

As MRC informed before, EQUATE Petrochemical Company said that Gulf petrochemical investments will exceed USD 250 billion by 2015.

Euate is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Equate is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), styrene monomer, ethylene glycol and palaxylene, which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
MRC

Chevron Phillips Chemical completes Sweeny ethylene expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical has announced completion of an ethylene expansion at its Sweeny complex in Old Ocean, Texas, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With the addition of a tenth furnace to ethylene unit 33 at the Sweeny complex, the expansion is expected to increase annual production by 200 million pounds.

Construction on the expansion began in 2013.

"This represents the next increment of expansion to our ethylene business," said Dave Smith, olefins and natural gas liquids vice president for Chevron Phillips Chemical.

"We're building toward the startup of the US Gulf Coast petrochemicals project in 2017 and supporting incremental growth of our olefins derivative businesses," he added.

Chevron Phillips Chemical's US Gulf Coast project ncludes the construction of an ethane cracker at the company's Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas, and two polyethylene units in Old Ocean, Texas, near the Sweeny complex.

The Sweeny complex is one of the world's largest single-site ethylene facilities and is now capable of producing roughly 12 million lb/day of ethylene, or 4.3 billion lb/year.

As MRC informed previously, in July 2014, Chevron Phillips Chemical received approval from its board of directors and obtained an environmental permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to expand normal alpha olefins (NAO) production capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. This investment will provide an additional 100,000 tpy of capacity. Construction completion is anticipated in July, 2015.

Chevron Phillips Chemica, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US, is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
MRC

Olin to partially close Quebec chemical plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Olin Corp. announced Friday that it will permanently close part of its Becancour, Quebec, chemical plant that had already been shut down since June, said the company in its press-release.

The Clayton-based maker of chemicals and ammunition, which also owns 9 chemical plants in the U.S., said the move would reduce the Canadian plant's chlor alkali capacity by 185,000 tons.

As a result of the closure, Olin said it will take an additional USD10 milllion in pretax restructuring charges, due to asset write-offs, employee costs and contract terminations, in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Those charges were not included in Olin's fourth-quarter guidance issued on Oct. 23, when it said earnings would be in a range of 20 cents to 25 cents a share, according to the company.

As of the end of 2013, Olin was the fourth largest chlor alkali producer, measured by production capacity, in North America, according to the company.

As MRC wrote before, Olin Corp. reported a 63% decline in profit for the third quarter 2014 from last year, reflecting lower sales at all three of its segment. Sales for the quarter declined 11% to USD593.6 million from USD670.7 million last year.

Olin Corporation manufactures chemicals and ammunition products. The Company manufactures and sells chlorine, caustic soda, sodium hydrosulfite, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, sodium chlorate, bleach products, and potassium hydroxide. Olin also manufactures products that include sporting ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and industrial cartridges.
MRC