Solvay and INEOS obtain European Commission clearance for creation of INOVYN joint venture

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay and INEOS received final approval today from the European Commission to form their 50/50 Chlorvinyls Joint Venture, to be known as INOVYN, said the companies.

This follows Commission approval of International Chemical Investors Group’s (ICIG) acquisition of the remedy business that is being divested by INEOS as a condition of clearance.

INEOS and Solvay will now make final preparations to close their agreement and to form INOVYN on 1 July 2015.

"We are delighted to have achieved this very important milestone and to be able to move forward with INOVYN. The Joint Venture will bring together the strengths of the respective chlorvinyls activities of INEOS and Solvay to create a world scale business that will be better able to serve its customers and rapidly respond to changing European markets," comments Chris Tane, CEO INEOS ChlorVinyls and future CEO of INOVYN.

"The formation of INOVYN is a major step in the reshaping of Solvay’s portfolio and business profile," says Karim Hajjar, Chief Financial Officer and member of Solvay’s Executive Committee. "INOVYN will be a highly competitive and solid player, securing the long-term prospects of our customers and the employees who will become part of the Joint Venture."

To be headquartered in London, INOVYN will have pro-forma sales of more than EUR3 billion, with assets across 18 sites in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Governance of INOVYN will be shared between INEOS and Solvay, with equal representation on the Supervisory Board. Day to day management of the business will be led by an Executive Team consisting of Chris Tane as CEO, Mike Maher as CFO and Julie Taylorson as Procurement Director (all currently INEOS) and Filipe Constant as Business Director, Jean Michel Mesland as Operations Director and Otto Grolig as General Counsel (from Solvay).

As MRC informed earlier, the European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the European Union, cleared the joint venture deal in May 2014, stipulating that the two groups had to divest certain assets to allay competition concerns.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers – fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co. (Echem) is studying the feasibility of projects to produce propylene and bio-based ethanol, according to GV with reference to Daily News Egypt.

The propylene project, for which the study is expected to be completed by the end of this year, would require an investment of about USD 2-billion, said Echem Vice President Hussien Ismail. Details on proposed capacity and location were not given.

Echem is also studying a project that would convert rice straw into 50,000 t/y of ethanol at a cost of approximately USD 200-million to USD 300-million. The company is in negotiations with Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture to coordinate the supply of rice with farmers.

Ismail noted that Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Co., in which it holds a 20% interest, is on schedule to complete a 460,000-t/y ethylene plant at Alexandria this year. The USD 1.9-billion project includes the production of 400,000 t/y of polyethylene and 20,000 t/y of butadiene.

As MRC reported earlier, last year, Egypt proposed three petrochemical projects to the UAE for a total investment of USD540 mln. The projects included establishing a factory to produce bio-ethanol from molasses, the output of which would reach 100,000 tons of molasses annually, with investment in the project totaling USD250 mln. The project would be implemented in the next fiscal year (FY), according to the ministry’s plan.

Another proposal focused on building a plant for production of bio-ethanol from rice straw, with annual capacity of 100,000 tons of rice straw. The investment in this project would be USD240 mln and would be implemented through the FY 2016-2017.

The third project would increase polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production, used in making pipes, with the target implantation date as FY 2016-2017. Close to 40,000 would be produced annually, while the investment in the project is estimated at USD50 mln.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Eight western European companies are keen to invest in Iran's USD2.8 billion Siraf oil refinery project, said Reuters, citing an Iranian official.

Iran - OPEC's fifth-largest crude producer - has huge oil and gas reserves but lacks refining capacity, leaving it heavily reliant on imports. Western sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its disputed nuclear programme have also deprived the country of industry technology.

Iran and six countries reached an interim agreement in negotiations on Tehran's nuclear programme in early April and are working towards a final deal by the end of this month that could see sanctions lifted.

The Siraf refinery project will have a processing capacity of 480,000 barrels per day and will be completed in 38 months, or just over three years. Eight processing plants would be built by private companies, using their own funds.

Iran's oil sales have dropped to around 1 million bpd as a result of sanctions. But exports of condensates - a light oil used to make gasoline and petrochemicals - pumped out of the South Pars Gas field have surged because they can go to buyers permitted under U.S. sanctions to buy Iranian crude.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said Iran's sales of condensate doubled in 2014 to about 200,000 bpd and contributed to total Iranian oil shipments in April of about 1.3 million bpd. But Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Iran would no longer export gas condensates - which are refined into higher-value products - once the refineries start operating.

The Siraf refinery will have the capacity to produce more than 270,000 bpd of naphtha, 140,000 bpd of gasoil, 30,000 bpd of liquefied petroleum gas and 40,000 bpd of kerosene. Around 60 percent of Siraf's gas condensate would be turned into higher-value naphtha, which is used to produce plastic-based products.

The Middle East is being transformed into a major refining hub with other Gulf countries such as Kuwait boosting capacity partly to reduce reliance on imports.

Saudi Arabia targets 8-10 million bpd of refined products in coming years from more than 5 million bpd now at home and abroad.

As MRC reported earlier, Iran is reportedly planning to commission three new petrochemical plants by March 2016 at Mahabad, Kordestan and Lorest. These facilities are located along the West Ethylene Pipeline in West Azerbaijan, Kordestan and Lorestan provinces, as per energy-business-review.com. The projects are expected to increase Iran's low and high density polyethylene production by around 900,000 tons.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer MaterialScience successfully commissioned a second line for the production of Desmopan TPUs in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu India, as per GV.

The extension of the production facility was recently inaugurated by Ajay Durrani, Managing Director and Senior Country Representative - Indian SubContinent, Bayer MaterialScience Pvt. Ltd. and Marius Wirtz, Global Head of TPU Business at Bayer MaterialScience. With the investment, the annual capacity of the Cuddalore site will increase to 6,000 t from its current capacity of 2,500 t.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Ajay Durrani said, "The investment in Cuddalore is a testament to the confidence that the company has in the country. Bayer MaterialScience is now even better positioned to meet the strong global and local demand for TPU."

Marius Wirtz said, "Desmopan sales continue to grow unabated in (what is) one of the world’s fastest growing TPU markets." Wirtz also noted that this is also an occasion to celebrate over 10 years of accident-free operations at the Cuddalore site.

Juergen Haettig, Head of Application Development EMEA region highlighted the new TPU solutions from Bayer MaterialScience which included high-transparent grades, C3 ether-based grades, high modulus grades, solutions for additive manufacturing and TPUs made from greenhouse gas and biobased raw materials.

As MRC informed previously, in December 2014, Bayer MaterialScience successfully concluded a major capital expenditure project in Germany. The company brought an ultra-efficient and resource-conserving world-scale plant for the production of the chemical TDI, a main component in high-quality foams, on stream at its site in Dormagen, located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Including infrastructure and supplier costs, total capital expenditure at Chempark Dormagen amounts to more than EUR 400 million. The site is to become Bayer MaterialScience’s European center for TDI production. Under construction for 30 months, the new plant replaces a smaller production unit for toluene diisocyanate (TDI). The chemical is used in the production of flexible polyurethane foams, which is used to produce many everyday articles including mattresses, car seats and upholstered furniture.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (GPPC) is likely to shut its styrene monomer (SM) plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is likely to be shut in November 2015. It is planned to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, earlier, GPPC shut its SM plant for maintenance on February 15, 2014. It remained off-stream till March 11, 2014. Located at Tashe in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.

Besides, Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s largest refining and petrochemical companies, shut its SM plant for maintenance turnaround in April 2014. It remained off-stream for around one month. Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.
MRC