Orissa High Court may lift restriction on construction of a water intake system

(Plastemart) -- Orissa High Court may lift the restriction imposed on construction of a water intake system on Mahanadi river in Cuttack for Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)'s Paradip refinery project, subject to a proposal by IOCL to invest a substantial amount on peripheral development, when the petition filed by it for modification of order imposing the restriction is taken up on October 19. The bench has hinted that it expected IOCL to take up peripheral development in the form of dredging of Mahanadi river around the land mass where the construction work was undertaken for the water intake system, increasing the capacity of the reservoir of barrage at Jobra and strengthening the river embankment along Ring Road. The court further expected "supply of drinking water from the intake well for Cuttack city through the public health department".

Construction work of the intake system had stopped since July 30. The high court had imposed restrictions on it on July 29 in an interim order. The IOCL had filed a petition for lifting the restrictions stating that water was one of the main utilities and essential for commissioning of the refinery project as per schedule in March 2012.

The intake system is required to be completed and commissioned by September 2011 so as to carry out trial running and commissioning in next two months to be in readiness to supply water to the refinery project by November 2011.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- PolyOne Corp. acquired ColorMatrix for USD 486 million in a move the company says will not only accelerate its specialization strategy, but also expand its geographic presence in Asia and Brazil, while creating an entry point into Russia. Likening the move to its 2008 acquisition of custom elastomer supplier GLS, Stephen D. Newlin, PolyOne's chairman, president and CEO, called the purchase of ColorMatrix, which had sales of USD 196.8 million for the year ended in June, a "game-changer."

ColorMatrix, which itself acquired custom silicone firm Gayson in April, is a supplier of specialty additives, liquid colorant and dosing technologies. Within packaging, its products are used to increase product shelf life, preserve taste and improve recyclability. In fluoropolymers, it supplies colorant and specialty additives that provide lubricity, high-level heat insulation, static dissipation and x-ray opaqueness. ColorMatrix's Gayson acquisition provided custom color dispersions used in silicone processing for a range of medical, consumer and automotive applications.

MRC

(MRC) -- In August PET granulate imports to Ukraine dropped by 8.5 KT and made nearly 18 KT. In general, the summer period proved to be quite successful for the Ukrainian converters, as the demand for preforms, on average, increased by 5%, according to MRC DataScope.

By the end of the season, business activity traditionally slows down, which directly affects imports of the material. Nevertheless, following the summer results, PET consumption in the Ukrainian market slightly grew and made 56.5 KT, compared to 54 KT in 2010. With autumn coming, demand for PET bottles reduced under the pressure of a seasonal factor. In September, a further decline in PET granulate imports is expected. Actual feedstock inventories of trade companies also reduce need in feedstock purchases in the foreign markets.

PET supplies from China and the UAE fell nearly by twice. In August, supplies from China's Jiangsu Sanfangxiang decreased ten times down and made 500 tons. Shanghai Hengyi Polyester and Zhejiang Wankai also reduced granulate shipments to Ukraine.Their total imports made nearly 3 KT. At the same time, as per MRC analyst Igor Grischenko, South Korean producers Daewoo and Samsung Total resumed their supplies in August.


MRC

(ICIS) -- Chemical companies must raise their efforts to promote a positive image of the industry and highlight the importance of chemistry, European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) delegates were told on Monday. In his opening address, EPCA president Tom Crotty urged a record 2,500 delegates at the 45th annual EPCA meeting to emphasise the important contribution of the chemical industry and endeavour to raise public awareness.

⌠Nothing in our modern world could exist without the ingenuity of chemists and chemical engineers. So why don't people celebrate this? I think to a degree we've only got ourselves to blame, said Crotty, a board member of Switzerland-headquartered INEOS.


The theme of the event was that more than 95% of the products used in everyday life rely on the chemical industry, whether it is in food, clothing, healthcare, transportation, communication, education or entertainment, he said.


MRC

(Arabian oil and gas) -- Saudi Kayan Petrochemical has started the commercial production at its petrochemical complex in Jubail Industrial City. The company said that main plants have started production, including the olefins plant, which produces 1.478m t/y of ethyelen and 630 KTa of propylene, in addition to an aromatics plan with a capacity of 109 KTa of benzene.

In addition, the company also started the commercial production of the 350 KTa polypropylene plant, 400 KTa polyethylene plant and the 260 KTa polycarbonate plant.

Mutlaq Hamad Al-Morished, chairman of Saudi Kayan and vice president of SABIC, corporate finance, said that the financial impact of the start of the commercial production will appear in the fourth quarter's financial results.

MRC