Qatar Petroleum and Shell not to pursue Al Karaana petrochemicals project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum and Shell have decided not to proceed with the proposed Al Karaana petrochemicals project, and to stop further work on the project, reported Shell on its site.

The decision came after a careful and thorough evaluation of commercial quotations from EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) bidders, which showed high capital costs rendering it commercially unfeasible, particularly in the current economic climate prevailing in the energy industry.

The Al Karaana project was initiated with a Heads of Agreement (HOA) between QP and Shell in December 2011, and envisioned the construction of a new world-scale petrochemicals complex in the Ras Laffan Industrial City north of Qatar. The complex was to be operated as a stand-alone QP-Shell joint venture (80% QP, 20% Shell).

QP and Shell’s existing partnerships include Pearl GTL - the world’s largest integrated gas-to-liquids plant located at Ras Laffan, which has boosted Qatar’s position as the world’s GTL capital. The partnerships also include Qatargas 4 -an integrated Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) asset- in addition to joint downstream and upstream investments in Singapore and Brazil.

As MRC informed previously, in 2013, Royal Dutch Shell took a final investment decision tol increase production capacity at its Singapore petrochemical plant to meet demand for specialized materials used in the automotive and furniture industries. The upgrade will increase the plant's capacity to produce polyols - industrial chemicals used to make high-quality foams - by more than 100,000 metric tpy to 360,000 tpy. The project was expected to be completed in 2014.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in Specialty Chemicals, shows its support for greater sustainability across the industrial, decorative and automotive applications by introducing new products and advanced solutions for the global paint and coatings community at the European Coatings Show 2015 in Germany, as per the company's press release.

Making its debut for the point-of-sale market, Clariant will present its new patented 24-canister dispenser machine designed for use in professional paint stores and typical POS retail environments. The simultaneous color dispenser relies on a unique Clariant piston pump technology and is available with up to 24 canisters of 3- or 6-liter size.

"Sustainability - the key to long-term success for us and our customers - fuels Clariant’s innovation pipeline. We are committed to creating value for all stakeholders by addressing the trend to manufacture sustainable, economic and energy-saving products without compromising on innovation in color and performance," comments Joachim F. Kruger, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs.

As MRC wrote before, Clariant has recently signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 50% shares of Companhia Brasileira de Bentonita (CBB) from Geosol, a world leader in analytical services for mineral exploration.

We also remind that last year, CB&I and Clariant announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, was on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- New York city Mayor Bill announced that all plastic-foam containers and packaging will be banned from New York City as of July 1, 2015, as per Time.

Restaurants, stores and manufacturers will no longer be allowed to possess, sell or offer items made with expanded polystyrene (EPS).

The ban on Styrofoam stems from a law passed in December 2013 that gave officials a year to determine whether EPS could be recycled in a safe, environmental effective and economically feasible matter. According to the mayor's office, the Department of Sanitation determined it cannot.

The law allows for a six-month grace period, meaning no bans can be imposed until Jan. 1, 2016. In the meantime, New York City government will be conducting outreach and education programs.

As MRC informed previously, in October 2014, The American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), one of the key opposition groups which has cast the bill as job killer and cash-grab by grocers groups, plans to take the matter to the voters themselves this November.

Much like the 11th hour retooling of the bill that got it through the state legislature, Brown waited until the last possible day to sign the measure into law. Under the new law, single-use plastic bags will be prohibited as of July 1, 2015, and Californians will pay a minimum of 10 cents for each reusable plastic or recycled paper bag at grocery stores. In 2016, the ban will extend to pharmacies and liquor stores.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global polyurethane dispersions market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2012 to 2018, according to Business Standard, citing Transparency Market Research’s (TMR) new report.

As per the report, the global polyurethane dispersions market will report a market value worth USD1.18 billion by 2018.

The global polyurethane dispersions market is primarily driven by the growth of the textile finishing industry, and higher production of synthetic leather. Polyurethane dispersions refer to high solid dispersions of polyurethane polymers in water. These are mostly used for manufacturing polyurethane coatings and adhesives that contain low levels of organic compounds that are volatile which exhibit superior coating and excellent adhesion properties for metals, wood, rubber, textiles, plastics, and other miscellaneous high performance substrates.

Polyurethane dispersions ensure polyurethane-like-performance, however, with added advantages like the absence of toxic and volatile organic compounds, elimination of odour, and the absence of harmful monomers. They possess high degree of toughness and are generally used in adhesives, sealants, and coatings.

In terms of consumption, the global polyurethane dispersions market is dominated by the segment for adhesives and coatings. Owing to rising demand for synthetic leather from industries like that of interiors, furniture, and automobile, it is anticipated that the synthetic leather production segment will witness robust growth in the forthcoming years.

Regionally, the global polyurethane dispersions market is categorised into Europe, the Asia Pacific, North America, South America, and Rest of the World. In the year 2012, the global polyurethane dispersions market was led by the Asia Pacific with a share of almost 37%. The Asia Pacific was followed by Europe which accounted for almost 29 percent of the total market share in the overall polyurethane dispersions market. "It is expected that the Asia Pacific will retain its leading position in the years to come both in terms of revenue and production. The Asia Pacific polyurethane dispersions market is driven by greater production and consumption of polyurethane dispersions in the emerging economies of China and India," said TMR in a press release.

As MRC wrote before, Alpek and BASF have signed agreements concerning the EPS (expandable polystyrene) and PU (polyurethane) business activities of their Polioles joint venture in Mexico, and BASF’s EPS business in North and South America, excluding BASF’s Neopor (grey EPS) business. Alpek will acquire all of Polioles’ EPS business activities, including its EPS production site in Altamira, Mexico. In parallel, BASF will acquire Polioles’ PU business activities, including selected assets in its Lerma facility as well as all marketing and selling rights for PU systems, isocyanates and polyols.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fluor has started construction activities on a new delayed coker unit for ExxonMobil at its Antwerp refinery in Belgium, said the companies in their press-release.

Construction on the project, which will expand the refinery’s production capabilities, formally kicked off at a recent groundbreaking ceremony.

Fluor’s responsibilities span the project’s life cycle and include design, engineering, procurement, module fabrication, transportation, installation and construction.

Fluor is responsible for the new delayed coker unit that will convert heavy, higher sulfur residual oils into transportation fuel products such as marine gasoil and diesel fuel.

"Fluor will provide our full suite of engineering, procurement and construction services on this lump-sum refinery expansion project for the European downstream market," said Taco de Haan, president of Fluor’s energy and chemicals business for the Europe, Africa and the Middle East region.

"We are applying our modular execution and construction innovations in order to deliver schedule and capital efficiencies through an integrated solution to ExxonMobil," he added.

Engineering and design work for the project began in June 2014 and is being led by Fluor’s office in the Netherlands. Fluor booked the project into backlog for an undisclosed value earlier in 2014.

As MRC wrote before, a joint venture of Fluor and Technip was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) management contract by Malaysia's Petronas for its Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project located in Pengerang, Johor.
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