Dow Chemical reaffirmed its near-term goal of USD 10bn in EBIDTA

(ICIS) -- Dow Chemical reaffirmed on Tuesday its near-term goal of USD 10bn in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). Dow has already achieved USD 8.6bn (EUR 6.5bn) in EBITDA for the last four quarters combined, chief executive Andrew Liveris said at Dow's investor day. ⌠We see bright spots in recession-resistant sectors such as agriculture, food packaging, energy and health and nutrition, he said.

⌠Furthermore, our diversified and well-balanced portfolio provides us with significant advantages in rapidly growing regions of the world - which continue to grow, he added.
Liveris said that Dow also has benefitted from a significant feedstock advantage in the form of liquids-rich shale gas plays in the US.

Additionally, he said, Dow has divested businesses that represented USD 8bn in revenue, but which had only single digit EBITDA margins, such as Styron and its polypropylene (PP) segment.

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(ICIS) -- US-based Dow Chemical will conduct a feasibility study for the construction of a world-scale metallocene ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) plant, the company said on Tuesday.
The study will identify potential partners and locations for the facility, Dow said. End uses for the product include automotive weather-stripping, automotive hoses and belts, building profiles, footwear soling and general rubber products.

⌠The new facility will position Dow to meet the increasing global demand for EPDM by offering high performance products that serve key automotive, building and construction and consumer markets; maintain Dow's cost-competitive position; and demonstrate the company's commitment to invest in specialty products that bring performance advantages to the marketplace, said Kim Ann Mink, general manager, Dow Elastomers.

According to Dow, the automotive industry, which is a key market for EPDM, is projected to grow by 5%/year, with growth rates of approximately 10%/year in China and south Asia.

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(ICIS) -- Shell is expected to shut its 800 KTa mixed-feed cracker at Bukom Island in Singapore as soon as at the end of this week, when its inventory of feedstocks runs out, traders said on Wednesday. The company's 500,000 bbl/day Bukom refinery, which provides naphtha feedstock to the cracker, was forced shut last week by a blaze that took 30 hours to completely extinguish.
"It might be possible the cracker will sooner or later be down," said a trader. The cracker is currently running at low operating rates, according to market sources.

Shell produces an estimated 250,000 tonnes of naphtha per month from the Bukom refinery. A fifth of the naphtha output is supplied to feed into the Bukom cracker, while Petrochemical Corp of Singapore gets 100,000 tonnes, said a market source.

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(ICIS) -- Chemical stocks continued to tumble on Tuesday as European markets fell further on fresh fears that Greece's debt problems will trigger a global economic downturn. Shares fell after eurozone finance ministers said they would delay releasing an EUR 8bn (USD 10.5bn) instalment of bailout cash to Greece to help it meet its debt obligations, following news that the country is likely to miss a budget deficit target.

The Greek government announced on Sunday that its deficit for 2011 is expected to be 8.5% of GDP, which although down from the 10.5% figure for 2010, is still above a 7.6% target set by the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Ministers said Greece must show more progress to qualify for the next tranche of rescue funds.
At 09:40 GMT, the UK's FTSE 100 was trading 2.09% down on the previous day's close, Germany's DAX had fallen by 2.80% and the CAC 40 in France was down 2.53%.

The Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Chemicals index was trading down by 3.05% at 09:48 GMT, as shares in many of Europe's major chemical companies fell.

Top European producers were hit hard - German major BASF's shares had dropped by 3.11%, Bayer had fallen by 2.44%, Dutch coatings firm AkzoNobel was down by 1.43%, and France's Arkema had fallen steeply by 8.90%.

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(Arabian oil and gas) -- Exxon Mobil Corporation's U.S. marine affiliate, SeaRiver Maritime has signed an agreement with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for the construction of two new Liberty Class tankers valued at USD 400 million, which will create more than 1,000 direct jobs.

The double hull vessels will be used to transport Alaska North Slope crude oil to U.S. West Coast destinations and will be built to include the latest navigation and communications equipment and exceed current environmental and energy efficiency standards.

⌠This project is a reminder of the importance of America's energy industry during the current challenging economic times, Andrew P. Swiger, ExxonMobil senior vice president, said at a ceremony attended by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.

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