Global plastic additive market to register CAGR of almost 5% uptil 2022

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The market size of global plastic additive market was valued over USD 38.50 billion in 2015 and it is projected to grow with a CAGR between 4.9% and 5% during the forecast period of 2016-2022 to surpass USD55 billion by 2022, as per Plastemart.

Plastic additives are chemical added polymers which are used to enhance the end user properties of plastic.

The polymers used in the plastic are mixed with monomeric units and are not in their pure form, but are harmless. These monomers i.e monomeric units are known as plastic additives and are classified as reinforcing fibers, coupling agents, stabilizers, colorants, fillers, processing aids, flame retardants, peroxides and antistatic agents. Plastic additives majorly aim to improve the processing characteristics and properties of plastic and to enhance end user performance. Furthermore, plastic additives facilitate safe handling during the manufacturing of finished products.

Rapidly increasing usage of plastics in industrial manufacturing, construction, automotive and mechanical engineering coupled with increasing cost of natural metal are the major factors driving the growth of plastic additives market. Increasing costs of natural metals has increased preferences for plastic additives. Moreover, augmented household applications and lower cost of plastic products are likely to boost the growth of this market over the forecast period.

On the other hand, the global plastic additives market is restrained by stringent government regulation on limited usage of plastic and environmental policies. Due to introduction of bans and regulatory obligations in recent years on usage of wide range of plastic additives is likely to hamper the growth of this market over the forecast period. Going forward, consistently increasing application of plastic additives is likely to increase opportunities to the players in this market over the forecast period.

As MRC wrote previously, in late 2016, The Lanxess Rhein Chemie Additives (ADD) business unveiled the expansion its product range of hydrolysis stabilisers for plastics and polyurethanes with the addition of Stabaxol P 110, the first product in a new line of low-emission polymeric carbodiimides based on alternative raw materials.

The stabiliser is said to show very good performance when used in TPE-Es, PET, and PBT. The product is supplied in pellet form or as an easy-flowing powder. It can be easily processed as it does not have to be pre-heated in the production process, has a high softening point of 80 C and is thus easy to meter uniformly. Typical applications include monofilaments for paper machine screens, cable sheathing, engineering injection mouldings, and electronic housings.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petroleo Brasileiro SA remains undecided about the sale of some refineries, a sign Brazil's state-controlled oil company might be leaning toward forming partnerships by offering stakes in some of them, said Reuters.

The person said Boston Consulting Group Inc had been analyzing potential scenarios for the company's refining operations over the past couple of years, and recently suggested several alternatives for the unit.

One of the options is breaking down Petrobras' refining network into geographic regions and then deciding which should go up for sale, the source said. A more palatable option, the source added, would be offering stakes in specific refineries to peers like Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc .

Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras said extending partnerships in exploration and production to other business segments remained a key strategy whose main aspects are under consideration. Boston Consulting Group did not have an immediate comment.

The source requested anonymity because discussions on the matter are continuing.

The situation reflects changing fortunes at Petrobras since Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente's appointment last May. This week, Parente told investors at a Credit Suisse conference that Petrobras wanted to remain a vertically integrated oil company and had ruled out an outright sale of all refining assets.

In recent months, Petrobras has stepped up the sale of some refining assets, such as the mothballed Okinawa refinery in Japan, and tightened safety and efficiency standards in the segment. Years of domestic fuel price controls and overspending in new projects led to repeated losses in the segment, helping Petrobras amass the biggest debt burden among global oil companies.

Parente has taken to asset sales and partnerships as one way to help cut the company's USD120 billion debt and diminish capital spending commitments for the years ahead. Currently, Petrobras is the sole owner of 14 refineries in operation in Brazil.

The company has set a USD21 billion asset sale target by the end of next year so it can focus investments on giant new offshore oil fields south of Rio de Janeiro, one of the world's largest discoveries in decades.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemtura Corporation announced that at a special meeting of stockholders held today, Chemtura stockholders voted to approve and adopt the previously announced merger agreement under which LANXESS Deutschland GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of LANXESS AG, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Chemtura common stock for USD33.50 per share in cash, without interest.

Approximately 99.88% percent of the votes cast at the special meeting were in favor of the approval and adoption of the merger agreement, representing approximately 81.77% percent of Chemtura’s outstanding common stock as of December 23, 2016, the record date for the special meeting.

Craig A. Rogerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chemtura and Chairman of the Chemtura Board of Directors, said, "We are pleased that our stockholders recognize the immediate and substantial value of this compelling transaction. We thank our stockholders for their support and look forward to a bright future ahead as part of LANXESS."

Subject to satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions in the merger agreement, the transaction is expected to close in mid-2017, at which time Chemtura will cease to be traded on the NYSE and Euronext Paris.

Chemtura Corporation, with 2015 sales of USD1.7 billion, is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries announced earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter 2016 of USD770 million, or USD1.89 per share. Fourth quarter 2016 EBITDA was USD1.4 billion, said the company on its site.

The quarter included a USD29 million non-cash, pre-tax charge for the impact of a lower of cost or market (LCM) inventory adjustment (USD18 million after-tax).

Excluding the LCM adjustment, earnings from continuing operations during the fourth quarter totaled USD788 million, or USD1.94 per share, and EBITDA was USD1.4 billion. The fourth quarter also included a USD58 million lump sum pension settlement and a USD61 million non-cash, out-of-period cumulative correction.

The correction, which was not material to any reporting period, relates to taxes on our cross-currency swaps for 2014, 2015 and through the third quarter of 2016. Together, the pension settlement and the non-cash, out-of-period correction adversely impacted fourth quarter earnings by USD0.24 per share. Full year 2016 income from continuing operations was USD3.8 billion, or USD9.15 per share, and EBITDA was USD6.6 billion.

The full year included a non-cash, pre-tax LCM inventory adjustment of USD29 million (USD18 million after tax). Excluding the LCM adjustment, earnings from continuing operations for the full year totaled USD3.9 billion, or USD9.20 per share, and EBITDA was USD6.6 billion. 2016 earnings were negatively impacted due to the USD58 million pension settlement, a USD74 million non-cash, out-of-period cumulative correction relating to 2014 and 2015 for taxes on our cross currency swaps and positively impacted by an after tax gain of USD78 million on the sale of our Argentine wholly owned subsidiary, Petroken Petroquimica Ensenada S.A. (Petroken). Combined, the net effect of the pension settlement, non-cash, out-of-period tax correction and Petroken gain adversely impacted full year 2016 earnings by USD0.07 per share.

As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell announced a planned executive leadership change. After seven years with LyondellBasell, Kevin Brown, executive vice president - manufacturing and refining and a member of the company's management board, has announced he will be retiring in mid-February.

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 is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem, South Korea's leading chemicals firm has started the operation of a plant with an annual capacity of mass-producing up to 400 tons of carbon nanotubes, reported BusinessKorea.

The company expects the plant to initially produce around 100 tons this year and to be in full operation at the end of next year with an annual production of some 400 tons.

Carbon nanotubes are called "new material of dream," which has extensive industrial applications from secondary batteries to airplane bodies. It has a high level of electric conductivity like that of copper and its heat conductivity is comparable to that of diamonds, and it is 100 times stronger than steel, the company explained.

The chemical firm added that it has spent some 25 billion won (USD21.8 million) to build the plant in Yeosu city, South Jeolla Province. The city is located 455 kilometers south of Seoul.

LG Chem has now come to secure a strong cost competitiveness by developing independently the material superior more than 10 percent in purity, conductivity and strength compared to those of the competitors and establishing a system to mass produce the carbon material.

The world's carbon nanotube market is estimated to grow to 1,335 tons in 2020 from last year's estimated 824 tons. With establishment of the Yeosu plant, LG Chem ranked fourth in the global carbon nanotube industry in terms of production. Currently, China-based SUSN Sinotech is the largest carbon nanotube producer with the production capacity of 600 tons, followed by the US-based C-Nano with 500 tons and Japan-based Showa Denko with 500 tons.

Kumho and Hyosung, the other two domestic carbon nanotube makers, has a capacity of 50 tons and 20 tons, respectively.

LG Chem is expecting a 10 billion won (USD8.5 million) revenue to come from carbon nanotube sales this year. If it runs a full operation, it could reach around 40 billion won (USD34 million). The Korean chemical company is also mulling an expansion of the facility in 2019, depending on the market condition.

As MRC wrote before, in early 2016, LG Chem scratched off a project to build a petrochemical complex with an annual production capacity of over 1.6 million tons in Kazakhstan. This was because some experts suggested a possibility that chemical products such as ethylene and polyethylene will be oversupplied in the future. In 2011, LG Chemical signed a deal to build a mammoth-sized chemical complex which will be able to produce 830,000 tons of ethylene and 800,000 tons of polyethylene a year by investing a total of USD 4.2 billion with UCC, a government-run petrochemical company in Kazakhstan.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
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