Evonik invests in capacity expansion for ROHACELL

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Resource Efficiency will invest in a capacity expansion of its Performance Foams business at its production site in Darmstadt, Germany, said the company on its site.

The investment will increase the output of the facility by about 20% as a first step. The Group will be adding production equipment to its operations complex that manufactures products marketed under the ROHACELL brand. The expanded production capacity is expected to be operational by the second half of 2017.

"We have experienced double-digit growth of the ROHACELL brand in recent years and have indications that this success will continue. With this consistent level of growth in global demand, we see this capacity expansion as a positive and necessary step toward assuring our customers of their continued access to our innovative product – now and far into the future," said Dr. Matthias Kottenhahn, Senior Vice President of High Performance Polymers Business Line at Evonik Resource Efficiency Segment.

Evonik’s Darmstadt plant is currently producing ROHACELL foam products that are used as a core material in the construction of sandwich composites. The global market has shown steady annual growth in the use of composites as multiple industries are facing the challenge of producing products for their customers that are lighter in weight, strong and dependable, plus efficient to manufacture.

"As the trend toward composite usage continues, we are prepared to respond with the lightweight solutions available in our ROHACELL range of foam products. Whether it is an airplane, a car, a ship, a wind turbine blade, an electronic device or even a hockey stick – all can benefit from less overall weight. ROHACELL foam is an ideal solution for future advancements in these products and by expanding our capacity, we will be ready to meet the needs of this changing marketplace," noted Dr. Andreas Hoff, Vice President of Performance Foams at Resource Efficiency Segment.

ROHACELL is a rigid, structural polymethacrylimide foam used in the design and production of sandwich composites in aerospace, automotive, marine, sports equipment, electronics and medical technology. The ultra-lightweight foam provides composite part manufacturers a core material solution that can withstand high temperatures and pressures. This supports the use of quick and efficient part production, thereby lowering a manufacturer’s production time and costs.

The Darmstadt plant is the original Performance Foams production facility, with additional production locations in Mobile, Alabama, USA and Shanghai, China that provide a regional supply team to customers in both North & South America and Asia.

As MRC informed earlier, Evonik is expanding its production facilities in Birmingham (Alabama, USA) and Darmstadt (Germany). This will create additional capacity for the production of biodegradable polymers marketed globally under the brand names RESOMER and RESOMER SELECT. These poly-lactic-glycolic-acid (PLGA) copolymers are primarily used to manufacture bioresorbable medical devices and controlled-release formulations for parenteral drug delivery.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has received a five-year accreditation award for 28 of their training centers, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"This accomplishment is yet another breakthrough for Saudi Aramco in the area of education and training, and is yet another sign that the company continues to invest in the professional and vocational development of our workforce," the company said in a statement.

In early 2016, a team of 17 evaluators from the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET) in the US, including ACCET executive director William Larkin, concluded a final on-site examination of Saudi Aramco Training and Development’s (T&D) job skills, academic, and professional training centers, the Professional Engineering Development Division (PEDD), and for the first time, Drilling and Workover (D&WO).

In total, 28 training organizations were candidates for accreditation or reaccreditation.

"We are proud to maintain our longstanding accredited status for the sixth time since 1993,” said Training & Development general manager Nabil K. Al-Dabal. “During this time, we have increased the number of centers accredited from five to 28, and through collaboration, we have extended our accreditation to cover different organizations."

As MRC informed earlier, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has announced it received an amendment from Saudi Aramco for its general engineering services (GES) contract. While officials did not disclose the contract value, the five-year extension builds on the framework of the original contract signed in 2011.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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MOSCOW (MRC) --KBR, Inc. announced that its Saudi Arabian JV engineering operation, KBR-AMCDE, has signed an amendment to extend its existing General Engineering Services Plus Contract with Saudi Aramco, said the company on its site.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide front-end engineering design, detailed design, material procurement, and project management services (PMS) to support Saudi Aramco's capital programs in Saudi Arabia. This amendment will extend the contract from an initial five years for a further five years with options for additional extensions.

The contract will be executed by KBR-AMCDE using resources located within its Saudi Arabia offices and focus on the development and utilization of local talent throughout the execution phases.

"We are proud to extend our contract with Saudi Aramco and look forward to the successful execution of future projects," said Jay Ibrahim, President - Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Revenue associated with this project was undisclosed and will be booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Engineering & Construction Business Segment as purchase orders are issued under the contract.

As MRC informed earlier, British oilfield services company Petrofac and Spain's Tecnicas Reunidas are likely to win contracts to build projects for state oil giant Saudi Aramco's Uthmaniyah and Ras Tanura plants. Tecnicas Reunidas is the lowest bidder to build units for a cleaner fuels project at Ras Tanura refinery, originally estimated to cost more than USD2 B, aimed at removing sulfur from refined oil products.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has increased list and off-list selling prices for acetic acid in Europe, as per the company's press release.

The price increase is effective immediately, or as contracts allow, as follows: by EUR40/mt.

As MRC informed before, in November, 2016, Celanese raised its prices of EVA-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Vinyl acetate homopolymer and vinyl acrylic emulsions rose by up to USD0.03/wet pound effective November 15, 2016, or as contracts allow. Vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) emulsions grew by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 15, 2016, or as contracts allow. This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building and construction, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,000 employees worldwide and had 2015 net sales of USD5.7 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Petronas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to build on a 24-year partnership between the two parties in the Petronas Vocational Institution Sponsorship and Training Assistance (VISTA) program, an initiative targeted to enhance technical and vocational capabilities for Malaysian talents in the oil and gas industry, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The MoU was signed by Petronas Senior Vice President of Group Human Resource Management, Dato’ Raiha Azni Abd Rahman and MARA Deputy Director General (Education), Abd Halim Abbas.

Under the MoU, the VISTA program will be extended to include Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) Bintulu that will join the existing institutions under the program, namely IKM Sungai Petani, Kedah, IKM Tan Sri Yahaya Ahmad in Pekan, Pahang, IKM Jasin, Melaka and IKM Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.

Speaking at the event, Dato’ Raiha Azni said, “Petronas is pleased to strengthen its long-standing collaboration with MARA. Through this partnership, IKM students will be able to obtain valuable technical knowledge and training with good infrastructure.

Since the inception of VISTA in 1992, the program has benefited more than 4,000 students.

Meanwhile, on 10 November INSTEP also signed an MoU with Honeywell to continue their partnership in further strengthening the quality of training at INSTEP’s state-of-the-art Upstream and Downstream Training Plants (UDTP).
In 2015, INSTEP and Honeywell had collaborated under the partnership at the UDTP, to train a total of 34 participants from PetroVietnam Nghi Son refinery in preparation for the refinery start-up in 2017.

An enhanced eight-week international program, which is inclusive of a three-week hands-on training at the UDTP, will be introduced in 2017.

As MRC informed earlier, DuPont MECS DynaWave technology, licensed by MECS, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, has been selected by a major international oil and gas services provider for the installation of three custom-engineered scrubbing systems for sulfur dioxide removal at PRPC Refinery & Cracker Sdn. Bhd, a subsidiary of Petronas, the Malaysian National Oil Company.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
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