Westlake Chemical opens Singapore office amid globalization strategy

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Westlake Chemical has opened an office in Singapore this week, the US-based petrochemicals and polymers firm said, seeking to increase its global presence.

The official opening ceremony for the office was attended by Westlake chairman James Chao and other company officials. "We are excited to open this new office in Singapore to serve as a platform for our greater Asian and global strategy, Mr. Chao said.

⌠Our company has a strong historical presence in the region and this office will further strengthen our operations and our ability to compete on a global basis."

The office will be led by Mr. David Chao, director of business development in Asia for Westlake. It will focus on nurturing existing and historical relationships and seeking new opportunities for growth and expansion in the region, the company said.

Westlake's range of products includes ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin and PVC building products including PVC pipe, windows and fence.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- A consortium of Toyo Engineering and Egypt's state-run ENPPI has won a USD600 million contract to build a 460,000 tpy ethylene plant and a 20,000 tpy butadiene extraction plant as part of Ethydco's petrochemical complex to be established in Alexandria, Egypt.

This will be Toyo's second ethylene plant in Egypt after 300,000 tpy ethylene plant was completed in 2001 for Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co. (SIDPEC), the company said.

Toyo and ENPPI, based on the advanced ethylene technology of Lummus Technology of US, will execute the EPC and commissioning under a lump-sum turnkey contract.

Toyo will lead the entire project execution, undertaking project management, basic engineering, a part of detailed engineering, and procurement of key equipment, it said.

ENPPI will be in charge of joint project management, detailed engineering and procurement of other equipment and materials. The plant is scheduled for start-up in early 2015.

Reflecting growing demand for petrochemical products under economic growth in the country, the Egyptian Government in 2001 announced a 20-year petrochemicals master plan to develop the industry under the sponsorship and supervision of the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Co. (Echem).

MRC

(ttjonline) -- Pfleiderer AG, the holding company of panels manufacturer Pfleiderer is preparing to file for insolvency after a court hearing went against it.

The company had made an appeal at the Higher Regional Court, Frankfurt, against an earlier court decision in favour of some creditors and shareholders, who were opposed to elements of the company's restructuring plans.
The court decision means the resolutions adopted on debt-laden Pfleiderer's restructuring plans cannot now be implemented as planned. Restructuring implementation had been a prerequisite for the agreed waiver of claims by the company's creditors and the capital injection by investors.

"Therefore, a financial restructuring of Pfleiderer AG is not possible as planned," it said. "In accordance with the law, the management board of Pfleiderer AG is now preparing to file an application for insolvency for Pfleiderer AG."
The company said an insolvency move would have "no direct effect" on operational subsidiaries, as Pfleiderer AG (as parent company) was "purely an investment holding company".
In the event of Pfleiderer AG's insolvency, the company would implement key measures of the restructuring plan by way of an insolvency restructuring procedure as debtor in possession.

MRC

(lukoil) -- LUKOIL is conducting energetic repair and maintenance operations to cure the effects of the fire outbreak which took place in mid-December of 2011 at the ethylene production unit of the Stavrolen petrochemical complex.

It was expected that the ethylene production unit could resume its operations by April 1, 2012 at the latest, provided that the required equipment was manufactured and delivered in due time.

However, in view of the fact that part of the damaged equipment can be manufactured only abroad due to its unique nature and technical complexity, the repair and maintenance operations schedule has been extended.

The imported equipment is expected to be delivered in July of 2012. The equipment manufactured within Russia will be delivered to the complex from April to May of 2012. It is expected to take about two weeks to install, test and start the long-lead equipment.

Meanwhile, on March 11, 2012, the complex resumed polypropylene production at the polypropylene unit which processes the propylene manufactured by the Karpatneftekhim (LUKOIL subsidiary) and a number of other Russian companies.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Shell hopes to get back in the global polyethylene (PE) market through its planned petrochemical complex near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company said on Wednesday.

"We're not entirely out of the PE business, but we're out of it in a reasonable way. We have to get back into it," said Ben van Beurden, executive vice president of Shell Chemicals. "We're very clear about that."

Earlier this month, Shell unveiled the Pittsburgh site where it will process ethane from the abundant natural gas produced in the nearby Marcellus Shale region. The accompanying ethylene cracker would be the first built in the US since 2000.

In that announcement, Shell said it was considering PE and monoethylene glycol (MEG) units to help meet rising demand in the North American market. On Wednesday, van Beurden was even more forward with the company's strategy. "You have to ask yourself what would make the most sense," he said.

In the big picture, van Beurden said Shell is eyeing a larger global presence in the polyethylene market. "Look at how petrochemicals have grown over past 20 years," he said. "It's doubled in terms of demand. There are plenty of forecasts that say it will double again in next 20 years, and there are a lot of fundamental drivers to make that come true. "PE will have to play a role in that, considering 60% of world's ethylene production will end up in polyethylene."
MRC