Styron announces executive leadership team

MIDLAND (Styron) -- Styron has announced the company's executive leadership team, following its sale from The Dow Chemical Company to Bain Capital Partners on June 17, 2010. The leadership announcement was made by Chris Pappas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Styron.

In addition to a number former Dow executives moving into Styron executive roles, Curtis Shaw has been named Executive Vice President and General Counsel.

Prior to joining Styron, Shaw most recently was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Celanese Corporation. Shaw brings to Styron a 35-year career as an accomplished corporate lawyer with extensive experience in the global chemicals and materials industry. He also held senior legal counsel roles in Olin Corporation, Occidental Chemical Corporation, NYNEX Corporation and Charter Communications. Shaw received a J.D. Degree from Columbia University School of Law in 1973, and B.A. Degree with honors in Economics from Trinity College in 1970.

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(DSM) -- DSM Engineering Plastics and RESINEX have entered into a distribution agreement, to join forces in the market development and sales of DSM Engineering Plastics resins in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia.

The move, which is effective from 1 July 2010, is designed to strengthen the position of DSM Engineering Plastics in Eastern Europe. As such, this agreement is in line with DSM's corporate strategy to focus on new and emerging markets - as defined in Vision 2010, the corporate blueprint for future development of the company.

MRC

MOSCOW (SIBUR) - SIBUR nonjudicially solved difficulties with former owner of Biaksplen Group - Vladimir Borodavkin. Company's claims were about the value of 50% stake of Biaksplen that had been purchased by SIBUR before.

The company is satisfied with achieved compromise regarding the decrease of deal value. Both sides do not have complaints to each other.

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Sibur Holding is the largest Russian petrochemical group.

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

(Vedomosti) - Chevron will acquire about 30% in the joint project on Western Black Sea shelf developing with Rosneft, said the source close to the Russian company. Investments into geological survey are going to amount to $1 bln. The first stage of the project will be financed by Chevron, said Igor Sechin, Russian Deputy Prime Minister. If the prospecting is successfull, total expenses might exceed RUB 1 trillion ($ 32 bln. according to the current Central Bank exchange rate).

MRC

Comparing with 2008, growth of capacities dropped by 63%. MRC analysts do not regard this figure as critically small for the market as the equipment, capacity of which exceeds current PE consumption nearly 2 times, had already been installed in the market during the last decade.

At year-end, 331 PE processing lines were installed in that sector. The pipe extrusion sector demonstrated the highest growth of capacities (+92 kt/year) in 2009, despite the fall of pipe-grade HDPE consumption by 32% according to the results of the year. That sector is followed by the film extrusion (+57 kt/year) and cable extrusion (+28 kt/year) sectors. Converters in these three sectors are likely quite optimistic about r Probably, in these three sectors exactly the converters are optimistic about their business outlooks for the next 2-3 years.

MRC

For more detailed analysis of processing capacities and polyethylene consumption in the context of sectors, markets and types of finished goods of each converter is available in ⌠Polyethylene - 2010 Annual report.