South Korea petrochemicals exports hit record high in 2016

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's petrochemicals exports are estimated to have reached an all-time high last year largely due to a rise in demand in their biggest export destination, China, and other newly emerged markets, said Yonhapnews.

Exports of petrochemicals produced by South Korea's four oil refiners were tallied at 445 million barrels in the first 11 months of the year, according to the data.

When figures from December are included in the tally, last year's exports of petrochemical products are estimated to have amounted to 490 million barrels, surpassing the previous record high of 477 million barrels seen in 2015.

The exports include gasoline, diesel, naphta, LPG and other oil-related products.

Their stellar performance is attributed to an increase in demand from China and other countries, especially from Southeast Asian countries, industry sources said.

Exports of petrochemicals, especially those to China, have been on a decline because of a slowdown in the world economy and the neighboring country's increased self-supply of petrochemicals.

Aided by increased exports, the country's four oil refiners -- SK Innovation Co., GS Caltex Co., S-Oil Corp. and Hyundai Oilbank Co. -- are projected to have racked up a record high operating income of 7 trillion won (USD5.79 billion) last year, on the back of rising oil prices and improved refining margin.

In the first three quarters of last year, the four companies posted an accumulated operating income of 5.68 trillion won. During the fourth quarter, they are estimated to have logged a combined operating income of 1.5 trillion won.

Their previous record operating income was 6.81 trillion won set in 2011.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor Rigid Plastics is spending tens of millions of dollars to expand a plastic packaging manufacturing site in Ohio, said Plasticsnews.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company, a division of global plastics giant Amcor Ltd., said the USD40 million investment will just about double both manufacturing and warehouse space in Bellevue.

Amcor has been in Bellevue for 30 years, and the construction will involve 126,000 square feet of new manufacturing space and 85,000 square feet of new warehouse space, the company said.

The facility makes preforms as well as injection and extrusion blow molded containers. "This is all about our continued investment in the specialty container side of our business, what we call Diversified Products. That is an area of focus for us, and this plant is basically a Diversified Products plant," said Michael Hodges, director of communications for Amcor Rigid Plastics.

Amcor, because of the company’s long and deep history in making beverage containers, views packaging for areas such as food, pharmaceuticals, household care and personal care as diversified products. The category also includes wine, spirits and beer packaging.

"I know everybody calls them something different, but that’s what we call them at this point," Hodges explained.

"During this strong period of growth for our business, we’re fortunate to be able to make this substantial investment at our Bellevue site," said Ann O’Hara, vice president and general manager for Amcor’s Diversified Products business unit, in a statement.

O’Hara indicated the site in northwest Ohio is "a strategic geographic location for Amcor" as the area also is home to many of the company’s customers in the food, healthcare and consumer segments. The conversion from glass to plastic packaging also is adding to the need for more production capacity, she said in the statement.

Considering the growth experienced by the company’s existing customer base in the region, Hodges said it made sense from both a cost and sustainability view to expand in Bellevue.

Work on the expansion already has begun, and Hodges said the company expects to be operating out of the expanded space by this summer.

Exact details regarding job growth and an economic development grant from JobsOhio, a private non-profit job creation organization, are not being revealed at this point, Hodges said. The location currently employs 148 workers.

As MRC informed earlier, Amcor’s Flexibles unit is to split its European and US business, in a move aimed at tightening the branches’ strategic focus.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay has completed the sale of its Neolor business to the Baotou Hongbo Te Technology Co., Ltd. (HBT) as its Special Chem Global Business Unit (GBU) is refocusing its activities on selective high value-added segments in the growing automotive and electronics markets, said the company on its site.

The divestment entails all of GBU Special Chem’s Neolor main equipment to produce Neolor products and the exclusive use of the specially-designed equipment. Furthermore, HBT acquires the intellectual property (IP) associated with the Neolor business and the commercial activities, as well as its marketing know-how.

Neolor is a unique range of rare earths inorganic plastic coloration pigments, that combine heat and weather resistance, UV absorption and infra-red reflection properties. The range is available in three colors - light orange, orange and red and has excellent heat stability, migration resistance and light stability; it’s the ideal solution for a variety of plastics, including polypropylene, polyamide, polycarbonate, polysulfide, ABS, ABS/ASA, ASA/PC, PC/PBT, ABS/PA and PU.

As MRC informed earlier, in the late December 2016, Solvay has completed the sale of its 70.59% stake in Solvay Indupa to Brazilian chemical group Unipar Carbocloro, following the approval earlier this month of the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE.

Solvay, with a market share 27%, is the second largest PVC manufacturer in Europe, after Kerling with 29% of the market. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with about 30,900 employees spread across 53 countries. It generated pro forma net sales of EUR12.4 bn in 2015, with 90% made from activities where it ranks among the world’s top 3 players.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company, has selected Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) to execute the turnkey contract for the "Clean Fuels" project in the Ras Tanura refinery in the east coast of Saudi Arabia, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract has a duration of 48 months until the mechanical completion of the plant. The scope of this contract includes engineering, procurement, construction and assistance with commissioning in two packages:

Package 1: Isomerization, Naphtha hydro-treatment, CCR, interconnections, flare system and buildings.
Package 2: utilities & offsites.

"The awarding of this contract highlights the position of TR in the Saudi Arabian market, proving the continued confidence placed in the company by one of its most important clients, Saudi Aramco, with which it has been working uninterruptedly since 2003, in more than 10 refining, petrochemical and gas projects," the company said in a press release.

As MRC wrote previously, in June 2016, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. were one step closer to building their first plant to process crude directly into chemicals, cutting out a link in the production chain from hydrocarbons to the finished products that go into plastics and other consumer goods. The state-owned companies signed an agreement to study such a project to be located in Saudi Arabia, they said in a statement. A joint venture is possible if the companies decide to move ahead after the study is completed by early 2017, they said. Oil companies normally refine crude into transportation fuels including gasoline and diesel and leave byproducts such as naphtha to be processed separately into chemicals.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, will present new product highlights and a range of new applications for the healthcare industry at Pharmapack 2017 in Paris, said Ineos on its site.

The focus of INEOS Styrolution’s booth at this year’s Pharmapack will be on providing complete solutions - suitable styrenic materials, compliance testing, full service HD package - for medical device manufacturers.

Alexander Silvestre, Global Director - Healthcare, is particularly excited about the company’s exhibits at this year’s Pharmapack: "I encourage customers to stop by at our booth. We will present several new solutions for the healthcare industry for the very first time. They will enable medical device manufacturers to develop new applications based on very robust regulatory compliant styrenic materials".

INEOS Styrolution’s Novodur HD ABS is the material of choice for many healthcare applications. Its good chemical resistance, flowability, surface appearance and suitability for common sterilization methods (such as gamma-radiation, E-beam, NO2, or EtO sterilization) make Novodur an attractive material for many leading medical device manufacturers.

Due to properties like outstanding transparency and impact resistance, INEOS Styrolution’s Styrolux SBC is the perfect fit for a wide range of healthcare applications from filter housings to drip chambers, lab-ware and drainage containers.

As MRC informed before, in early 2016, Styrolution announced that it had changed company names and visual identity to Ineos Styrolution to mark Ineos ownership. Despite the company changing its names, including all entities, and logo, the company will continue to operate and actively pursue business opportunities as before. Corporate structure, company organization, all financing arrangements and operative contracts with business partners are not affected by the name and logo change. They remain as is.

INEOS Styrolution is the leading, global styrenics supplier with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS standard and styrenic specialties. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, toys/sports/leisure, and packaging. In 2015, sales were at 5 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,100 people and operates 15 production sites in nine countries.
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