UBS upgraded its share rating for German LANXESS

(ICIS) -- UBS upgraded its share rating for Germany-based chemicals group LANXESS to ⌠neutral from ⌠sell, based on expectations that demand for high-performance tyres will grow, the investment bank said on Tuesday. ⌠We believe high-performance-efficiency tyre take-up will gather momentum from next year, driven by EU labelling, Switzerland-based UBS said.

In August LANXESS said that it expects the US, China and Brazil to introduce regulations on tyre labelling within the next two to three years that will boost the earnings of high-performance synthetic-rubber producers.

UBS said that the price of butadiene, which strongly correlates to the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of LANXESS' Performance Polymers division, is likely to remain high because of tight supply driven by low levels of additional naphtha capacity.


MRC

(ICIS) -- The downward pressure on the prices of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin in Asia still remains because of the continuing weak demand in the key Chinese market, traders and producers said on Tuesday.

⌠The uncertainty about the US and eurozone economies has dampened demand for Asian exports and consequently consumption of ABS has also weakened, said a trader in Hong Kong. The weak economic outlook in the US and the ongoing debt crisis in the eurozone reduced orders for finished goods flowing to Chinese factories this year.

Spot ABS prices dipped below USD 2,200/tonne (EUR 1,562/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) China in late August, from around USD 2,270/tonne CFR China in the early part of the month. However, the lower prices failed to attract buyers who mostly kept to the sidelines.

MRC

(Arabian oil and gas) -- ADMA OPCO's Satah Al Razboot (SARB) full field development has been approved by ADNOC to proceed with high priority in order to start production by early 2016, according to the offshore production company's annual review.

The SARB Project Team was formed under the sponsorship of ADMA-OPCO's CEO Ali Al Jarwan, and the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) was awarded in 2010.

The annual report reveals the target was to complete the FEED activities by April 2011. The developed scheme is based on building two artificial islands for drilling instead of the conventional Wellhead Towers approach and directs the well fluid through subsea pipelines to a new facility to be installed on Zirku Island for processing, storage and export of the SARB production of 100 MBD of crude oil. An option to export crude through Jabbel Al Dhanna is being studied. This facility will also handle the Umm Lulu production of 105 MBD in addition to the Gas and Water Injection requirement for SARB Field.

ADNOC is scheduled to complete the artificial islands construction by end 2012. The layout of the falcon shaped islands has been finalized and an optimum well location for drilling and SIMOPS has been identified. The current plan is to drill 44 wells from SARB 1 and 42 wells from SARB 2.

MRC

(Ineos) -- INEOS Technologies confirmed it had licensed its Innovene PP Process for the manufacture of homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers to the Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yanan Energy and Chemical Company Limited in Shaanxi, China. The 300 KTA Innovene PP plant will produce a wide range of polypropylene products to serve the growing demand in China.

Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Technologies, commented: "INEOS Technologies is proud of the fact that Yanchang Petroleum Group Co. has again chosen INEOS technology platform for development of its polypropylene business. In 2009 Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Group chose Innovene PP and Innovene S for its expansion of their Yulin site.

MRC

(CNA) -- The Taiwan-based Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) is not considering investing in a petrochemical venture in the Gulei Development Zone in southern China's Fujian Province, a senior executive with the group said Monday.

According to Hong Fu-yuan, president of group subsidiary Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corp., the conglomerate will maintain its focus on its styrene acrylonitrile plant in Ningbo, Zejiang Province, and is not thinking about joining a reported petrochemical venture initiated by Taiwanese investors in Gulei.

It was reported earlier by local media that Taiwanese petrochemical companies have sought investment destinations outside the country after a plan to build a petrochemical complex along the coast of Changhua County was abandoned over environmental concerns.

MRC