Cereplast to supply eco friendly bioplastic resins to Ashland

EL SEGUNDO (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cereplast, Inc., a leading manufacturer of proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics, today announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Ashland Distribution, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc., to supply bioplastic resins to their global distribution business. This partnership reflects Cereplast's overall growth strategy and continued commitment to expanding the company's distribution reach in North America.

Ashland Distribution is a leading plastics and chemicals distributor in North America, and part of Ashland Inc., which posted more than $8 billion in annual revenue last year. Under the agreement, Ashland Distribution will distribute Cereplast Compostables(R) and Hybrids Resins(R) to converters and manufacturers throughout North America, to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Cereplast's bioplastic resins enable Ashland Distribution to supply its customers with bio-based materials, an environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic.

MRC

(Azom.com) -- The Chinese company Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd has opted for Arkema's PVC production processes for a 230 kT PVC Suspension production plant, a 35 kT PVC Emulsion plant, and a 6 kT Chlorinated PVC plant. As part of the cooperation agreement reached in November 2008 with Arkema, Aker Solutions will prepare the basic engineering for two of the plants initially.

" The licensing agreement concluded for three licenses confirms the remarkable quality of Arkema's PVC production processes, which makes them one of the most efficient PVC technologies in the world. Our partnership with Aker Solutions, one of the world's leading engineering and construction groups, has undoubtedly been a key element in the choice made by Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd,", states Otto Takken, Executuve Vice President of Arkema's Vinyl Products business segment.

" The choice made by Qinghai Salt Lake Industry Group Co., Ltd for Arkema's technology in combination with Aker Solutions' solid expertise in designing and delivering projects in China, is a further illustration of the successful partnership between our companies," says Johan Cnossen, SVP - Europe, Middle East and Africa for Aker Solutions' Process and Construction business.

MRCMRC Reference

Arkema.

The share in the Russian market in 2008:

PVC - 0.2%;

EVA - 1.1%.

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:

PVC - 69%;

PE - 121%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:

coating;

cable extrusion.

(plastemart) -- Rising costs have prompted Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco to relocate their planned joint venture (JV) petrochemical project from Ras Tanura to Al-Jubail. Existing infrastructure at Al Jubail adjacent to a refinery under construction by Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical (Satorp), will help control the escalating costs of construction.

The JV is being scaled down to include one cracker, rather than two.
Since the original Ras Tanura project was to be integrated with Aramco's existing Ras Tanura refinery, the relocation has also resulted in cancellation of the refinery expansion. The Satorp project, known as the Jubail Export Refinery, which will have a processing capacity of 400,000 bpd and will also produce paraxylene (PX), benzene and polymer grade propylene (PGP).

As per original estimates, the proposed Ras Tanura project was to cost about US$20 bln, but these costs have escalated as projects have become more expensive. The project is likely to start up in 2014 or 2015. With the move to Al-Jubail and change in scope, the timing is expected to slip by several months.

MRCMRC Reference

Share in the Russian market, 2008:

polyethylene - 2.5% (including LLDPE - 33.1%);

polypropylene - 0.8% (including PP-impact - 1.1%);

polystyrene - 2.6%.

Annual sales growth in Russia, recent 5 years:

polyethylene - 55%;

polypropylene - 28%;

polystyrene - 2%.

Imports by processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

sheet extrusion;

foaming.

MOSCOW (SIBUR) -- SIBUR concluded an agreement for cooperation with noncommercial Education Support Fund co-founded by Saint Petersburg State University. Within partnership associated with the 15th anniversary of SIBUR, distance education will be carried out for children from educational institutions in the regions of the Company's activities in Tolyatti, Nizhnevartovsk, Gubkinsky, Voronezh, Nizhni Novgorod, Perm, Tomsk, and Tobolsk using up-to-date capacities of video conferencing (VC).

The Fund's activity is aimed at increase in the educational information level, its quality and availability to all parties concerned. The Fund's key program "Gymnasia Union of Russia" supports video-communicated distance education of schoolchildren and teachers. Lecturers from Saint Petersburg State University, the Hermitage, the Russian Museum and educational and cultural institutions are involved in video sessions with thousands of participants.

MRC

MRC Reference

Sibur Holding is the largest Russian petrochemical group.

Shareholders:
Gazprombank (70% minus 1 share);
Gazfond (25% plus 1 share);
5% reserved for option program.

The share in the Russian market in 2008:

polyethylene - 11.1%;

polypropylene - 16% (including PP-random - 11.2%);
ABS - 5.2%;
PVC - 8.1%.

ULSAN (JoongAng Daily) -- SK Energy, the nation's biggest oil refiner, is building the world's first naphtha-cracking factory using advanced catalytic olefin, or ACO, technology, in the southeastern city of Ulsan, the company said yesterday. The factory is expected to start operating in October.

A naphtha-cracking factory produces basic petrochemical materials using naphtha refined from crude oil. The pyrolysing process in the past consumed a lot of energy as it needed high heat, up to 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit). SK Energy said it had developed the technology to use a catalyst that lowers the temperature to under 700 degrees Celsius, however.

Older technology usually produced ethylene and a small amount of propylene, for which demand is growing globally. Using the ACO technology, the plant is able to produce equal amounts of ethylene and propylene. Polyethylene, combined with ethylene, is used in making vinyl, while polyethylene mixed with propylene is used for plastic containers.

SK Energy is planning to export the technology overseas at a price of $20 million in royalty payments per plant. It already signed a strategic partnership with KBR, a United States-based petrochemical engineering company, in 2007.

The company plans to build a small factory with a 30 billion won ($25 million) budget and plans to expand its facilities. Analysts predict that several trillion won in investments will be made.

MRC