SIBUR to produce up to 50,000 tpy of hexene at Nizhnemkamskneftekhim

SIBUR will build a facility to produce up to 50,000 tonnes of hexene per year at the Nizhnemkamskneftekhim petrochemical plant's olefins complex, SIBUR head Mikhail Karisalov said at a petrochemical forum in Kazan, said the company.

"Development of the technology and its piloting have been successful, and a decision was made to build this facility using in-house technology at Nizhnemkamskneftekhim," he said.

"This covers 125-130% of SIBUR's immediate demand, and what we used to buy in the UK and Germany. We expect to start pilot operation of this capacity within 18-20 months, and have it in our portfolio as a product from the end of 2024," Karisalov said.

Hexene is used to produce polymers. It is not currently produced in the former USSR, including in Russia, Karisalov said.

We remind, SIBUR has partnered with the global engineering company Technip Energies to licence out its technology for producing 1-hexene, a co-monomer used to make LLDPE and HDPE. The technology, known as HEXSIB, was developed by NIOST – one of SIBUR’s main R&D centres. 1-Hexene can be used to make LLDPE and HDPE and is an essential component of speciality polyethylene grades that offer premium quality and boast much better properties than commodity grades. For example, 1-hexene helps reduce the amount of plastic used in each end product and lower the environmental footprint by providing the same barrier properties to a thinner film.

SIBUR Holding is the leader of the petrochemical industry in Russia and one of the world's largest companies in the sector with more than 23,000 employees. Over the past 10 years, SIBUR has implemented a number of large-scale investment projects worth about 1 trillion rubles.

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The company Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of Sibur) and the special economic zone (SEZ) Alabuga signed an agreement on the creation of an industrial park in the city of Nizhnekamsk with a possible investment of about 1.3 trillion rubles, said the company.

Within the framework of the Tatarstan Oil and Gas Chemical Forum, the agreement on the conduct of industrial and production activities on the territory of the newly created Ethylene 600 industrial park was signed in the presence of President Rustem Minnikhanov and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the General Assembly. Director of Sibur PJSC Mikhail Karisalov.

Within the framework of the agreement, it is expected that Alabuga SEZ will provide the industrial park and its residents with infrastructure for the development of existing and import substitution industries, and the SEZ investments for park infrastructure will amount to approximately 169. billion rubles, its area is about 2 thousand hectares.

It is assumed that the projects of Nizhnekamskneftekhim will become anchors for the new economic development zone, and the range of products produced by the enterprise opens up wide opportunities for the development of production in the relevant sectors, and there are no actual costs for delivery. raw materials for park residents can significantly increase the competitiveness of their products.

“Across Sibur, Alabuga and potential participants in the new industrial park received the best long-term partner for growth in the Russian Federation. According to preliminary estimates, Sibur’s investments, our infrastructure costs and third-party capital, the total of the project can reach about 1.3 trillion rubles ” said Timur Shagivaleev, Managing Director of Alabuga SEZ.

“Today’s agreements have become another stage in the implementation of the agreement signed between Sibur and the Republic of Tatarstan a little less than a year ago, which separately determines a number of obligations regarding investment projects. Today, the development of infrastructure is very important. For medium-tonnage chemistry and its derivatives, this There is a great deal of such projects and Alabuga has significant experience in building world-class infrastructure and we are sure it will help unlock it,” added Igor Klimov, Managing Director of Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

We remind, that Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC (NKNKH, part of SIBUR) has created a stock of catalysts and special chemicals for its production. The company uses various actions to ensure supplies: for some items, the company purchased large volumes of catalysts and special chemicals for warehouses in advance, and a lot of work is being done to select and homologate analogues.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest producers of synthetic rubbers in the world and plastics in Russia.

SIBUR Holding is the leader of the petrochemical industry in Russia and one of the world's largest companies in the sector with more than 23,000 employees. Over the past 10 years, SIBUR has implemented a number of large-scale investment projects worth about 1 trillion rubles.
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The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a USD14.25 MM judgment against ExxonMobil Corp for pollution from its Baytown, Texas, refining and petrochemical complex, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The judgment stems from a U.S. Clean Air Act lawsuit brought by two environmental groups, Environment Texas and the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter. This is Exxon’s second appeal of a Houston U.S. district court’s ruling that Exxon was responsible for repeated releases of pollution from the refinery and chemical plants in Baytown.

Exxon stipulated the Baytown complex had 16,286 days of violations between October 2005 and September 2013, which included multiple simultaneous violations. “While we respect the court’s opinion, we disagree with the decision,” said Exxon spokeswoman Julie King. “We have acted responsibly and in accordance with regulatory requirements. We are reviewing the decision and considering next steps."

Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, called on Exxon to accept the repeated decisions in the case against the company.

"After 13 years of litigation – including a three-week trial, two appeals, two remands of the case to the trial court for additional findings, and three appellate decisions against them – it is long past time for Exxon to accept responsibility and finally pay what it owes to the public for years of illegal, toxic pollution,” Metzger said.

The case was brought by the two groups under a provision of the Clean Air Act that allows citizens to sue when government agencies have failed to prevent pollution.

As per MRC, Exxon Mobil is in the process of transitioning its 30% stake in a Russian oil development "to another party," according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Exxon Mobil announced in March its withdrawal from the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project due to the situation around Ukraine. In the same month, the company announced the recall of its American employees employed in oil and gas projects in Russia.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
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Funds advised by SK Capital Partners, and Edgewater Capital Partners private investment firms focused on the specialty materials and specialty chemicals sectors, announced having entered into exclusive negotiations following submission of their binding offer to acquire the scintillation and photonic crystals business of Saint-Gobain, S.A., said the companies.

SK Capital will lead the investment with Edgewater acting as a meaningful minority shareholder with Board involvement. “We are incredibly excited to partner with the Saint-Gobain Crystals team as we embark on the next phase of the Company’s growth”

Headquartered in Hiram, Ohio with global facilities in the United States, France, and India, Saint-Gobain Crystals is recognized as a worldwide technology leader and provider of single scintillation crystals for radiation detection applications, as well as sapphire and garnet substrates for photonics and power electronics applications. The Company differentiates itself with deep R&D capabilities and expertise in crystal growth, packaging, and integration, as well as unique intellectual property supported by a portfolio of 174 patents. Saint-Gobain Crystals is fully vertically integrated with crystal purification, growth, cutting & finishing, packaging, and electronics integration capabilities.

SK Capital, Edgewater and Saint-Gobain are collaborating on a seamless transaction plan to enable the Company to continue serving its global customer base, employees and stakeholders. The definitive agreement between Saint-Gobain, SK Capital and Edgewater will be able to be finalized following completion of customary employee consultations within the Saint-Gobain group. The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of certain regulatory authorities and should be effective before the end of the year.

We remind, SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC), a joint venture between SABIC and SK Geo Centric, has announced plans to expand the capacity of its plant in the South Korean city of Ulsan to produce advanced material solutions.
The expansion, which is due to come on stream in the second quarter of 2024, targets applications in solar panels, vehicles, footwear, and flexible packaging.
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PPG has announced that Rebecca Liebert, Executive VP, will leave the company to explore an external opportunity, effective Sept. 16, 2022, said the company.

Rebecca’s new global executive opportunity, which will be announced soon, is a true testament to her strong leadership capabilities and speaks highly of the top talent that has been developed and nurtured at PPG.

“Her proven experience has been extremely valuable as we’ve navigated through the last several years of unprecedented challenges in the world and within our businesses," said Michael McGarry, PPG chairman and CEO.

We remind, PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.
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