Chang Chun to shut acetic acid plant in Taiwan for turnaround

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chang Chun Petrochemical is in plans to take its acetic acid plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate in Taiwan informed that the plant is planned to be taken off-line in May 2017. The exact duration of the planned maintenance could not be ascertained.

Located in Mailiao, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

The company also operates another acetic acid plant at the same site with a production capacity of 460,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in May 2015, Chang Chun Chemical, a subsidiary of Chang Chun Plastics Co., started up the second plant of bishphenol A in Jiangsu (China) with the capacity of 135,000 tonnes per year.

Chang Chun Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was started in 1964. It currently owns land in Mao-Li and DaFa, total about 114 acres. There are more than 800 employees working in this company. Its major products include polyvinyl alcohol, glacial acetic acid, butyl acetate, formalin, hexamine, hydrogen peroxide, ultra-purity electronic grade hydrogen peroxide, epoxidized soya bean oil, copper foil, antioxidants, melamine... etc. Products are supplied to chemical, textile, coating, resin, semi-conductor, pharmaceutical, electronic, paper, and plastic industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko (SDK) will terminate the production of Bionolle biodegradable polyester resin by the end of December 2016 and will discontinue sale of the product by the end of December 2017, as per Apic-online.

SDK noted that it is "difficult for the company to continue production and sale of biodegradable plastic, since there has been no sign of improvement in the harsh market environment for biodegradable plastics business because of the delay in permeation of environmental regulations on plastic shopping bags and a fall in market prices of biodegradable plastics."

The company, as part of its medium-term business plan, will continue to focus on accelerating the expansion of its functional chemicals business.

As MRC reported previously, in August 2016, Showa Denko K.K., JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. (JX), and LyondellBasell Group reached final agreement concerning the sale and purchase of LyondellBasell’s shares in SunAllomer Ltd. (SunAllomer), a joint venture (JV) company among the three parties for the development, production and sale of polypropylene (PP) and PP-based advanced material.

Showa Denko K.K. is mainly engaged in the petrochemical business. The Petrochemical segment manufactures and sells olefin, organic chemicals and others. The Chemical Product segment supplies chemicals, industrial gases, special gas and functional drug for semiconductors, functional high molecular materials, among others.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As of today, expenditures within the implementation of the SOCAR Polymer project, which envisages the construction of plants in Azerbaijan on the production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), amounted to USD340 million, Farid Jafarov, general manager of SOCAR Polymer, told reporters in Sumgait.

Jafarov said that the work on construction of the PP plant continues in line with the schedule.

"Currently, the engineering work at the plant for the production of polypropylene has been completed by 95%, purchases - by 90%, and construction work - by almost 30%," said Jafarov. "The project is planned to the completed in the first quarter of 2018."

"As for the high density polyethylene plant, we are even ahead of the schedule by 3-4%, he noted it will be completed in mid-summer 2018 and the production will start.

He said also that Russia’s Gazprombank JSC allocated about USD230 million out of the bank’s USD489-million loan for the project.

Total cost of the SOCAR polymer project is USD750 million. The project is being implemented in the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park (SCIP) of Azerbaijan.

At the initial stage, production capacity will be 120,000 tons of polyethylene (PE) and 180,000 tons of PP. The total capacity could reach 570,000 tons by 2021.

Thirty percent of the plant’s output will be sent to domestic market, while 70% - for export to Turkey, Europe and CIS countries, according to project estimates.

As MRC reported earlier, OCAR’s Polymer investment project, which is first of its nature and scale implemented for the last 40 years in Azerbaijan’s downstream oil and gas industry, will make USD10-11 billion of revenues during the plant’s lifetime. Some 30 percent of this sum will be the net profit of the company. In the meantime, cooperate taxes and property taxes worth USD800 million and value added tax worth USD700 million will be paid to the government.

SOCAR is involved in exploring oil and gas fields, producing, processing, and transporting oil, gas, and gas condensate, marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, as well as, supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan. Three production divisions, one oil refinery and one gas processing plant, a deep water platform fabrication yard, two trusts, one institution, and 23 subdivisions are operating as corporate entities under SOCAR.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of the industrial coatings business of German chemicals company BASF by AkzoNobel of the Netherlands, according to RISI Technology Channels.

BASF's industrial coatings business develops, manufactures and sells various industrial coating products. AkzoNobel is a global manufacturer of a wide range of paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Both companies manufacture and supply industrial coatings, which are applied to various substrates to improve surface properties, including appearance, adhesion, corrosion resistance and scratch resistance. Their activities overlap in particular in the area of coil coatings, applied to aluminium or steel where they have a relatively strong combined market position.
However, the Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, because the merged entity will continue to face strong competition from other suppliers present on these markets. Although the companies are the leading suppliers of coil coating paint systems for domestic appliances, a number of well-established or expanding suppliers remain active in the market and customers are large sophisticated buyers.

As MRC wrote before, in February 2016, AkzoNobel said it is in discussions with BASF to acquire BASF’s industrial coatings business.

AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry is a global leader in the manufacturing and supply of specialty surfactants, synthetic and bio-polymer additives and specialty polymers. AkzoNobel currently employs more than 7,400 people in China.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The AzeriKimya Production Union of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has signed two contracts with Technip Italy Nov. 5, as part of the project for modernization and reconstruction of the ethylene-polyethylene plant in Sumgayit, said Azernews.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract envisages work on the design, supplies, construction, setup, testing and commissioning of new facilities, equipment and infrastructure.

The AzeriKimya Production Union has also signed a contract for the provision of consulting services in project management (PMC) with SOCAR-KBR.

In March 2016, the AzeriKimya Production Union signed a contract with Technip Italy on conducting detailed designing and providing services to support supplies as part of the project for reconstruction of the ethylene-polyethylene plant in Sumgait.

During the signing ceremony, SOCAR's President Rovnag Abdullayev noted that processing installations will be modernized and the new ones will be constructed as part of the plant's reconstruction.

This will make it possible to increase the production facilities at Azerikimya, ensure the supply of raw materials to polyethylene and polypropylene production installations and to meet the demand in the country, he said.

It will also increase the country's export potential, enhance the security of the technological process and the quality of raw materials and finished products, noted the SOCAR president.

SOCAR Polymer is a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). The entity was formed at the end of 2013 to run investments at the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park, a production park which intends to become a chemical hub in central Asia.
MRC