The collapse of BP's latest asset sale has thrown the spotlight of investor pressure back on Dudley

(Arabian oil and gas) -- BP CEO Bob Dudley will be feeling the pressure as divestment program vital to easing shareholder pressure goes off the rails. The collapse of BP's latest asset sale has thrown the spotlight of investor pressure back on CEO Bob Dudley, as the company continues to lag behind its supermajor rivals in share performance.

Dudley, who declared that BP had reached a ⌠turning point after the Macondo disaster on the release of the firm's Q3 results last month, may have to re-think its plan to raise its dividend after the $7 billion sale of its Argentinean unit and followed a failed $16 billion share swap agreement with Rosneft for deepwater arctic exploration in Russia.

Fitch, a ratings agency, said: "We believe that if the company's cash position were to become more constrained in the short term, the company's most likely first response would be to postpone any increase in its dividend payments."

BP had hoped to sell its Pan American Energy unit to Bridas, which is 50% owned by China's CNOOC, as part of a divestment program aimed at footing the bill for the Macondo disaster, which it is estimated will cost the firm $40 billion.

Only last month the company announced it was stepping up its divestment program from $30 billion to $45 billion, having confirmed that $26 billion have been raised so far. The reason for the collapsed sale is unclear, with BP leaving little clue save for ⌠legal reasons and Bridas citing regulatory and legal concerns and ⌠the way BP handled the transaction.

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(ICIS) -- India will have a huge supply deficit of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) in the long-term, with scant investments being poured into these sectors, set against the country's rapidly growing consumption, an industry official said late on Wednesday.

The country's PTA deficit will increase fivefold to approximately 1.67m tonnes by 2022 from 2009, while its MEG deficit will nearly triple to around 1.15m tonnes over the same period, said Mathew George, chief manager of Indian Oil's petrochemicals export division, in an interview with ICIS. In 2009, the PTA deficit was estimated at 330,000 tonnes and the MEG deficit pegged at 387,000 tonnes.

For MEG, India's domestic production totalled 800,000 tonnes, while demand was at around 1.2m tonnes. ⌠By 2022, India's total MEG supply will only reach 1.1m tonnes, while its demand will have increased to a little over 2m tonnes, George said.

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(PlastEurope) -- Asahi Kasei Plastics North America (Fowlerville, Michigan / USA) has named Nitriflex da Amazonia (Sao Paulo / Brazil) as distributor for its plastics resins in Brazil. The portfolio of the US Japanese transplant includes PA, PP, acetals, modified polyphenylene ether (mPPE). In Manaus / Brazil, Nitriflex produces ABS, polycarbonate (PC), acrylics and custom blends.

Adding the Asahi Kasei product lines will round off the Nitriflex portfolio, enabling the company to ⌠better service our customers with optimum polymeric solutions in a number of industries," said Danny Siekierski, vice president operations at parent company Brampac (Sao Paulo). The Brazilian company also aims to advance application development for its Asian partner.

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

(Lanxess) -- Lanxess is strengthening its portfolio of biocides with the acquisition of Verichem Inc. based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a result, the German specialty chemicals company will significantly bolster its position in the U.S. material protection market and broaden its global biocide manufacturing network. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.

Lanxess will gain access to a complementary portfolio of biocides, as well as active ingredients registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are used to protect coatings, adhesives, construction materials, as well as pulp and paper. The biocides prevent the deterioration and discoloring of materials caused by microorganisms.

Verichem is a privately owned company currently employing around 20 people. It recorded sales of roughly USD 10 million in 2010. Verichem's production site is located close to Lanxess' U.S. headquarters in Pittsburgh. The transaction will close with immediate effect. Verichem will be integrated into the Lanxess business unit Material Protection Products (MPP).

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

(ICIS) -- China's linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) import trade has stalled as the sharp fall on the LLDPE futures market early on Thursday has caused uncertainty in the market outlook, industry sources said. There was no buying interest for spot cargoes after the futures plunged, but spot prices are holding up, local traders said.

Most local traders were unwilling to sell November cargoes at below $1,200/tonne (┬888/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) China because their import costs were at around $1,140-1,180/tonne CFR China, they said.

Traders sold cargoes at $1,200-1,220/tonne CFR China earlier in the week, they added.
China's LLDPE futures trade was halted early on Thursday after prices fell by 5% on concerns about the eurozone debt crisis.

⌠The sharp fall in this morning's futures prices was triggered by an external factor, so sellers in the spot market are not that bearish, a Shanghai-based PE trader said. A Zhejiang-based PE trader said it remains to be seen how the plunging futures would affect the spot market.

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC