Lubrizol appoints Simko as new distributor in Argentina

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lubrizol has announced that it has selected Simko S.A. as the new distributor for its thermoplastic polyurethane portfolio throughout Argentina, reported GV.

Simko distributes engineering plastics, synthetic rubbers, rubber chemicals and industrial equipment for rubber and plastic industries in Argentina. The company has warehouse and office facilities in San Martin near the Buenos Aires highway network.

The agreement includes the following product lines:

- Estane TPU products are utilised in film and sheet, extrusion, blow moulding, injection moulding, over moulding, calendaring and solution coating processes.
- Isoplast ETP products are hard and high flexural modulus polyurethane engineering resins with good chemical resistance and barrier properties.
- The Pearlbond TPU portfolio includes products for hot melt adhesives (HMA) and reactive hot melts (HMPUR), typically used in automotive interior parts, bookbinding, furniture, textile and footwear.
- Pearlstick TPU products are designed for use in the manufacture of solvent-based adhesives.

Other products that will also be distributed by Simko are: Pearlcoat TPU, Pearlthane TPU, Pearlthane ECO TPU and Carbo-Rite conductive compounds and sheet products.

As MRC informed before, in February 2016, speciality chemicals major Lubrizol Corporation announced the commencement of its USD50 million chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) compounding plant in Dahej. This was the company's first CPVC compounding plant in the country, and it claimed that it is the first such in India by any global major. The plant has a capacity to produce nearly 55,000 tonnes of compounds annually. The company invested over USD50 million (Rs325 crore) on this facility.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth. With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Shanghai Huaxi Chemical Industry Science & Technology Co. have formed a strategic partnership for hydrogen production projects in China, using Shanghai Huaxi's medium temperature shift (MTS) technology, as per Apic-online.

According to the agreement, Clariant's catalysts will be qualified and recommended for Shanghai Huaxi's MTS process licenses. Clariant will provide its ReforMax series catalysts for the reforming process, its HDMax series catalysts for the hydrodesulfurization of the feed stream, and its ShiftMax 300 catalyst for the water gas shift process.

"The deal combines Shanghai Huaxi's advanced process technology with Clariant's state-of-the-art catalysts to provide a highly efficient and economical solution for hydrogen producers," the companies said.

Shanghai Huaxi's hydrogen production technology increases production rate per unit of raw feedstock, while decreasing overall energy consumption. It also reduces manufacturing and equipment costs by simplifying MTS inlet temperature control and waste heat boiler design.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2017, Clariant announced that it had been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- North Sea Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $69 per barrel (b) in January, an increase of USD5/b from the December level, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Monthly average Brent prices have increased for seven consecutive months, and, on January 11, spot prices moved higher than USD70/b for the first time since December 2014. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices will average about USD62/b in both 2018 and 2019 compared with an average of USD54/b in 2017.

EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices to average USD4/b lower than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019. NYMEX WTI contract values for May 2018 delivery traded during the five-day period ending February 1, 2018, suggest a range of USD55/b to USD77/b encompasses the market expectation for May 2018 WTI prices at the 95% confidence level.

EIA estimates that U.S. crude oil production averaged 10.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in January, up 100,000 b/d from the December level. EIA estimates that total U.S. crude oil production averaged 9.3 million b/d in 2017 and will average 10.6 million b/d in 2018, which would mark the highest annual average U.S. crude oil production level, surpassing the previous record of 9.6 million b/d set in 1970. EIA forecasts that 2019 crude oil production will average 11.2 million b/d.

EIA estimates that global petroleum and other liquid fuels inventories declined by 0.5 million b/d in 2017. In this forecast, global inventories grow by about 0.2 million b/d in both 2018 and 2019.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA has held "positive" talks with a potential partner for the construction of a new refining unit in Rio de Janeiro state, reported Reuters with reference to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Pedro Parente.

Parente told reporters during a meeting in Rio that Petrobras, as the company is known, expects to choose the partner for the project in about three months. It will be the first time the firm will work with an investor in a refining complex in Brazil.

As MRC wrote before, in late December 2016m, Petrobras said its board had approved the sale of two petrochemical companies, Petroquimica Suape and Citepe, to Mexico's Alpek SAB de CV for USD385 million.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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MOSCOW (MRC) – Honeywell announced the launch of its first industrial cyber security center of excellence (COE) at its Middle East headquarters in Dubai, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new COE is a pioneering technology center with a safe off-process environment to test and demonstrate process control network vulnerabilities and threats, train customers with real-time attack simulations and provide advanced customer consultations.

Honeywell's first industrial cyber security center of excellence (COE) at its Middle East headquarters in Dubai.
The COE further demonstrates Honeywell’s commitment to address the industrial cyber security needs of customers in the Middle East region by leveraging globally proven expertise, technology and solutions. This investment comes in support of regional government initiatives such as the Dubai Cyber Security Strategy, aiming to strengthen cyber security defenses amidst growing digital transformation across industries. The new center will support a rapidly developing Middle East cyber security market.

“This COE is the first of its kind dedicated to developing world-class industrial cyber security expertise for our customers in the region,” said Jeff Zindel, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security. “It provides a safe, real-world environment to learn in, allowing us to innovate and augment industrial cyber security skills. The center is also a critical part of Honeywell’s network of global Cyber Security COEs dedicated to improving industrial cyber security for critical infrastructure, information technology and operational technology (IT/OT) convergence and digital transformation."

The center contains distributed control systems, a physical plant process and the latest industrial cyber security software and solutions. It includes data analytics and networking equipment capable of supporting unique training sessions, demonstrations, workshops, and cyber-attack simulations. The facility is led by a full-time operations team with deep industrial cyber security expertise and operational technology knowledge fundamental to help customers stay ahead of cyber threats.

"As threats to industrial control environments become more sophisticated, it will be crucial to train the workforce of the industry for effective cyber security implementation,” said Safdar Akhtar, business development director of Industrial Cyber Security for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Honeywell Process Solutions. “At the center, we are able to demonstrate cyber security solutions and controls in attack scenarios to show which of them are most effective at combatting various attacks."

The center was inaugurated by Jeff Zindel during a launch event that showcased the solutions within the COE, followed by a demonstration of real-time cyber-attack scenarios and the effectiveness of advanced cyber security controls.
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