Showa Denko to license VAM technology to Asian Paints

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko has decided to license its technology to produce vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) to Asian Paints Limited, a leading paint and decor company in India, said the company.

In addition, SDK will provide Asian Paints with catalysts to be used for the company’s VAM production.

In order to strengthen its petrochemicals business’s tolerance to price fluctuation and earnings stability, SDK has been striving to improve the makeup of its organic chemicals sector by expanding the lineup of high-value-added products including derivatives, and expanding business to license SDK’s technologies to produce organic chemicals. Licensing of the technology to produce VAM of this time follows the same licensing to Shenghong Refining Petrochemical (Lian Yun Gang) Co., Ltd., China, in 2019.

VAM is a colorless transparent liquid used as raw material for wide-ranging products including adhesives and synthetic resins. SDK has been producing VAM at its Oita Petrochemical Complex for more than 40 years. As a part of the licensing package of this time, SDK will provide Asian Paints with its technical know-how about safe and stable operation of the VAM plant, which SDK accumulated through operation of many years, through KBR.

In addition, SDK will provide Asian Paints with catalysts for the company’s VAM production facility. We expect SDK’s catalysts will improve performance of the Asian Paints’ new plant.

We remind, Showa Denko Materials Co Ltd announces the decision to expand its production capacity of copper-clad laminates for semiconductor package substrates by introducing a production line and additional equipment by 2025 at its Shimodate Works and Group company Showa Denko Semiconductor Materials (Taiwan) Co Ltd (SDSMT). Showa Denko Materials plans to invest approximately Yen 10 bn to meet the rapidly growing demand for semiconductor package substrates, driven by the increasing use of semiconductors for communications infrastructure supporting 5G and post-5G networks. This expansion is expected to roughly double Showa Denko Materials Group's current output capacity of the product.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko K.K. decided to increase its production capacity for VGCFTM (vapor grown carbon fiber), which is added to cathodes and anodes of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) to improve electrical conductivity, said the company.

In the LIB market, where the demand for the product is rapidly increasing, especially the demand for LIBs to be used in xEVs (electric vehicles including hybrid vehicles) is growing very rapidly. VGCFTM is an essential material for LIBs. As a result, the demand for VGCFTM is rapidly growing especially among LIB manufacturers who provide European car manufacturers with LIBs. Aiming to respond to such a rapidly growing demand, SDK has decided to increase its capacity to produce VGCFTM. SDK will start to operate the expanded VGCFTM production facilities in October 2023. The expanded facilities, which are located in Kawasaki Plant, will have a capacity to produce 400 tons of VGCFTM per year, which is 33% more than the current capacity of 300 tons per year.

Repetition of charging and discharging gradually makes it difficult for lithium ion to move about, and causes deterioration of LIBs’ performance including a decrease in changing capacity. However, application of fibriform VGCFTM to cathodes and anodes of LIBs maintains movableness of lithium ion, thereby controlling deterioration of LIBs’ performance. Since VGCFTM is a fibriform material with high dispersiveness, addition of small amount of VGCFTM increases LIBs’ capacity and extends the life of LIBs. Furthermore, since VGCFTM has high heat conductivity, it improves LIBs’ heat management by accelerating heat dissipation from electrodes. As a result of these advantages, application of VGCFTM extends LIBs’ life, and is expected to contribute to reduction of CO2 emission throughout the life cycle of LIBs.

The Showa Denko Group produces various materials for LIBs including VGCFTM; aluminum laminate film “SPALFTM 1; binder for anode PolysolTM 2; and anode materials. The Group will continue contributing to sustainable development of global society through provision of products that help energy conservation and reduction of environmental burden.

We remind, Showa Denko K.K. decided to license its technology to produce vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) to Asian Paints Limited, a leading paint and decor company in India , under a formal alliance agreement between SDK and KBR, a global engineering and technology solutions company based in the U.S.. In addition, SDK will provide Asian Paints with catalysts to be used for the company’s VAM production.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- North American polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production in November fell nearly 12.4% from October and was 11% down from a year ago, according to final data released by the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

Market sources tell S&P Global Commodity Insights that the decline shows that US PVC producers have reduced output in response to softer demand for the construction staple amid rising interest rates and high inflation.

Formosa Plastics USA conducted a turnaround at its 536,000 metric tons/year PVC unit in Baton Rouge from late October to mid-November, which would account for some of the decline, sources said.

We remind, North American chemical rail traffic fell by 7.3% year on year to 44,458 railcar loadings for the week ended 17 December – marking a 13th consecutive decline. Declines in the US and Canada more than offset an increase in Mexico. The four-week average for North American chemical rail traffic was at 45,649 railcar loadings.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft Oil Company held an Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting in the form of absentee voting on December 23, said the company.

The shareholders decided to pay interim dividends in the amount of 20.39 roubles per share, which would entail allocating 50% of the IFRS consolidated net profit attributable to Rosneft shareholders, to dividends based on results for 1H 2022. Thus, the Company will pay interim dividends in the amount of 216.1 bn roubles.

Closing date of the register for dividend payments is 12 January 2023. The Company will pay dividends to nominee shareholders and trustees no later than 26 January 2023 and to other holders registered in the register no later than 16 February 2023.

We remind, Rosneft will parnter with Indonesia to contribute USD24 B on a greenfield refinery in East Java province.
The refinery will have 14 refining units for vehicle fuels as well as seven units for petrochemicals. The purpose is to construct a facility which can process heavy crude oil and high sulfur crude oil.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican state oil company Pemex's newest refinery will reach half of its crude processing capacity in July, the national president said, marking the latest shift in timing for the project's operations, said Reuters.

The Olmeca oil refinery, being built next to the Dos Bocas port, is set to be Pemex's eighth when it comes on line. It is key to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan to make the country self-sufficient in gasoline and diesel, ending longstanding heavy dependence on imports, mainly from U.S. refiners.

Describing the construction of the refinery in his home state, Tabasco, as having happened in "world record time," Lopez Obrador said "on July 1, it will begin to process 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil."

By September 15, the day before Mexican Independence Day, it would process its full capacity of 340,000 bpd and yield 280,000 bpd of gasoline and diesel, Lopez Obrador said, posting on Twitter.

The president did not specify whether the refinery would produce gasoline or diesel before July 1 or whether the date would mark the first barrels of crude processed there.

Last July, at the Gulf Coast facility's symbolic inauguration, Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said the first barrel of fuel from Olmeca would be produced this month, December.

The president has put run Pemex at the center of his energy agenda, even as critics have questioned the economic logic of the new facility, the cost of which was initially budgeted at about USD8 B but has since ballooned to more than USD15.4 billion.

The Olmeca refinery has been one of the leftist president's signature public works projects since he took office in late 2018. He initially said it would begin producing this year.

We remind, Pemex reported its third quarter net loss narrowed to USD2.58 billion (52.0 billion pesos), but said it had suffered from increased sales costs as well as currency exchange losses as the peso weakened against the dollar.
The company posted a net loss of 52.0 billion pesos for the three months through September, compared with a loss of 77.2 billion pesos in the same period of 2021. The red ink came despite a 56.5 percent jump in revenue, to 602 billion pesos, thanks to higher energy prices and strong demand.

mrchub.com