Oxiteno inaugurates alkoxylation unit in Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxiteno will build a new, USD113 million alkoxylation unit in Texas to meet demands within the North American market, as per Happi.

The plant should start operating in the last quarter of 2017 and will have production capacity around 170,000 tonnes/year, according to the company. In 2012, Oxiteno acquired its first industrial plant in Texas, which serves as the foundation for the new alkoxylation expansion. The expansion is part of an ongoing strategy of investing throughout the Americas, which consists of the acquisitions of industrial plants in Mexico in 2003 and 2004, the opening of Oxiteno’s first commercial office in the US in 2007, and the addition of units in Venezuela and Uruguay, in 2007 and 2012, respectively. In addition to the new plant, the company will expand the service structure with total focus on the customer.

"We will invest in the improvement of our services, expanding our commercial and technical services team, as well as the local research and development structure," explained Oxiteno CEO Joao Parolin. "We will work more aligned and in synergy with our clients, developing solutions for the local market. The logistics structure will include distribution centers around the country to ensure the service to all regions of the US. "These actions consolidate the company in an outstanding position with broad geographic coverage, allowing better customer service in Americas."

The new unit will be fully integrated to the company?s activities in North America. With this investment, Oxiteno further expands its portfolio of surfactants and specialty chemicals and its alkoxylation technology with focus on local agrochemicals, personal care, home care and I&I, paints and coatings, and oil and gas markets, according to the company.

Oxiteno is a subsidiary of Brazilian group Ultrapar. It established an industrial presence in the US with the acquisition of a closed site in Pasadena in 2012. This site now produces amphoteric surfactants, esters and agrochemical solutions. Oxiteno also acquired American Chemical in 2012 as well as a site in Uruguay. Oxiteno began its international expansion in 2003 with the acquisition of surfactants producer Canamex in Mexico. In 2007 it made 2 more small acquisitions in Mexico and now has 3 speciality units (making surfactants and esters) in Coatzacoalcos, Guadalajara and San Juan Del Rio). In 2007 the company also bought Arch Quimica Andina in Venezuela. Oxiteno has 12 industrial sites worldwide, concentrated in S America. It claims to be one of the largest producers of ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide compounds in S America and the only producer of fatty acids in the region. In 2013 it had 2 M tonnes/y capacity and made a USD1.5 bn turnover.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemours announced that it will cut approximately 400 positions—about 5% of the company’s global workforce—as part of an ongoing effort to streamline organization and reduce costs, said Chemweek.

The headcount reduction is expected to be completed during 2016 and will save Chemours about USD50 million annually. The company expects to incur a USD45 million charge in the fourth quarter.

The company also completed the strategic review of its reactive metals solutions business and decided to stop production at its Niagara Falls, NY site by the end of December 2016. The Niagara Falls plant produces sodium and lithium, has approximately 200 employees and contractors at the site will be impacted. The closure is expected to improve pre-tax income and adjusted Ebitda by approximately USD20 million annually beginning in 2017. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the company will incur cash charges of approximately USD17 million for employee-related charges, contract termination, and removal costs.

Additional restructuring and other charges related to decommissioning and site redevelopment are expected to be in the range of USD10 million to USD15 million and will be incurred during the next two to three years.

"We continue to make significant progress executing against our five-point transformation plan by streamlining our portfolio and our organizational structure. The actions announced today will allow us to focus our resources on our core business segments, operate more efficiently, and strengthen our financial position," says Mark Vergnano, Chemours president and CEO.

Chemours also says it remains committed to its Belle, WV methylamines site and that it will take additional actions to improve the performance of its chemical solutions portfolio. Dow Chemical recently agreed to acquire Chemours' aniline facility in Beaumont, TX for approximately USD140 million in cash.

As MRC informed earlier, In October 2013, DuPont announced that it was planning to spin off its Performance Chemicals business into a new publicly traded company in mid-2015. The company filed its initial Form 10 with the SEC in December 2014 and announced that the new company would be called The Chemours Company. The spin-off to DuPont shareholders was completed on July 1, 2015 and Chemours stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on the same date. DuPont will focus on production of GMO seeds, materials for solar panels, and alternatives to fossil fuels. Chemours becomes responsible for the cleanup of 171 former DuPont sites, which DuPont says will cost between USD295 million to USD945 million.

The Chemours Company, commonly referred to as Chemours, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont. It has its corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, United States.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Chemical has made a final investment decision (FID) to increase its alpha olefins (AO) production at its chemical manufacturing site in Geismar, Louisiana, the company announced on Monday.

The expansion will make the Geismar site the largest AO producer in the world.

Shell will construct a fourth AO unit, adding 425,000 tons of annual capacity. The chemical site is used in the production of stronger and lighter polyethylene plastic for packaging and bottles, as well as engine and industrial oils and drilling fluids.

This important investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the growth potential in chemicals," said Graham van’t Hoff, executive vice president for Royal Dutch Shell’s global chemicals business. "With the investment in new, profitable facilities, Shell Chemicals is well placed to respond to increased global customer demand for linear alpha olefins. We have strong technology, advantaged ethylene feedstock from nearby Norco and Deer Park sites, and operational flexibility to allow us to respond to market conditions."

Construction of the new unit will begin in the first quarter of 2016. The new capacity brings the total AO production at Shell’s Geismar site to more than 1.3 MMtpy.

The Geismar site, with a strong track record of reliable and safe performance, also produces alcohols, ethoxylates, ethylene oxide and ethylene glycols.

The Shell Geismar complex is located next to the Mississippi River, about 20 miles south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is a stand-alone chemicals manufacturing plant, operated by Shell Chemical. In addition to Geismar, Shell produces AO at Stanlow in the UK, operated by Essar Oil on Shell’s behalf as part of an integrated oil refinery and petrochemicals site.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell completed a revamp and upgrade of its Singapore ethane cracker. The project increased production for the 800,000-tpy ethylene plant on Bukom Island by 20%. The ethylene and olefins unit is also integrated with Shell’s 500,000-bpd refinery.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Chemical has concluded an agreement with S-OIL Corp. of South Korea under which the company licenses its technologies of manufacturing polypropylene (PP) and propylene oxide (PO) to the oil refining company, as per EnergyGlobal.

S-OIL operates a refinery complex with 669 000 bpd of crude processing capacity in Ulsan, Korea, and mainly produces fuel, lube base oil and petrochemical products. In September this year, S-OIL made the final investment decision on its Residue Upgrading Complex and Olefin Downstream Complex Project to construct a 76 000 bpd high severity RFCC plant that upgrades low value residue oil to high value gasoline and propylene, and 405 000 tpy PP plant and 300 000 tpy PO plant that convert the propylene to the downstream products with target completion in 1H18.

Sumitomo Chemical’s PP production technology has a proven track record of successful operations at various locations in the world, such as the company’s Chiba Works in Japan and licensee companies overseas including its affiliates in Singapore, offering high quality products while maintaining stable plant operation over a period of time. As far as PO is concerned, the company's production technology is based on a PO only process where PO is manufactured without accompanying coproducts by recycling cumene. The cumene method, which was commercialised by Sumitomo Chemical, has a distinct advantage of achieving a high PO yield by the combined use of the company's proprietary high performance epoxidation catalyst as well as ensuring superior stability in plant operation. The technology has successfully been in operation on a commercial scale at Sumitomo Chemical’s Chiba Works and an affiliate in Saudi Arabia.

Sumitomo Chemical intends to strengthen its business competitiveness by expanding the company's portfolio of technologies through continued development of innovative technologies and at the same time will contribute to the further development of the world's petrochemical industry by deploying globally, via licensing activities, an array of its versatile technological expertise cultivated over the years.

As MRC informed before, Sumitomo Chemical permanently shut the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, in September 2015, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.

Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the polypropylene (PP) compounding assets of Zylog Plastalloys Pvt. Ltd. (Zylog) of India, said the producer in its press release.

Upon completion of the acquisition, LyondellBasell will double its automotive customer base in India and become the third largest producer of PP compounds in the country with an annual capacity of 44,000 metric tons (97 million pounds).

Earlier this year, LyondellBasell acquired SJS Plastiblends Pvt. Ltd. (SJS), a manufacturer of PP compounds located in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. The Zylog acquisition includes manufacturing sites in Sinnar, Maharashtra, and in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

"We are very optimistic about India's economic growth and rapidly expanding automotive market," said Bhavesh (Bob) Patel, CEO and chairman of the management board of LyondellBasell. "The acquisition of SJS and Zylog are part of our plan to strategically expand our footprint where it makes sense from an economic and strategic perspective. With these investments, LyondellBasell will be a leading producer of PP compounds in all major automotive growth regions of the world," he added.

LyondellBasell is the world's largest producer of PP compounds with an annual capacity of 1.2 million metric tons (2.6 billion pounds). These compounds are used to manufacture automotive parts, home appliances and other products. LyondellBasell has supplied the Indian market through imports and tolling arrangements since 2009.

India represents the fourth largest growth market for automobiles globally with 3 million new vehicles produced each year. According to IHS Inc., India's automotive market is expected to continue growing by 6 to 8 percent annually through 2021. Additionally, the World Bank has predicted India's GDP to grow at a rate of 8 percent by 2017.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2016. Until the transaction is complete, Zylog will conduct business as usual and continue to provide the same level of support, service and high quality products to its customers.

As MRC informed before, in August 2015, Argentina's state-run energy company YPF and Grupo Inversor Petroquimica S.L. accepted an offer to purchase LyondellBasell's Argentina-based, wholly-owned subsidiary Petroken. The sale is expected to close in late 2015 following Brazilian antitrust authority (CADE) approval. The transaction is valued at USD145 million on a debt and cash free basis. Based on working capital estimates as of June 30, 2015, expected cash proceeds are USD162 million. Petroken operates a 180,000 tpy polypropylene (PP) plant in Ensenada and is a leading polypropylene producer in Argentina.

LyondellBasell is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 56 sites in 19 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
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