Indonesia's Chandra Asri to finalise USD800 mln downstream petrochemical project

(Plastemart) -- Chandra Asri Petrochemical (CAP), Indonesia's largest petrochemical firm in which Siam Cement Group (SCG) holds a 30% stake, is expected to finalise in H2-2012, an investment plan for both de-bottlenecking and a downstream petrochemical project that would require an estimated USD800 mln investment.

CAP's board of directors is considering whether or not the company should invest both in de-bottle-necking and downstream petrochemical production at the same time. The global petrochemical industry outlook will be taken into account before the decision is made. CAP has a naphtha cracker with a capacity of 550,000 tpa. It has two polyethylene (PE) plants, three polypropylene (PP) plants, and two styrene monomer (SM) plants. The annual production capacities of PE, PP and SM are 340,000 tons, 480,000 tons, and 320,000 tons, respectively. Investment of USD800 mln in CAP would be lower than the investment required for a new petrochemical plant, which could be as high as USD1.4 bln.

MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Energy Transfer Partners agreed to acquire independent refiner Sunoco in a USD5.3 billion deal that would greatly expand the reach of Energy Transfer's pipeline system but could also saddle the company with aging refineries.

Sunoco has been trying to sell itself since late 2011 after posting losses for much of the past two years because of high oil prices and decreasing fuel demand.

Finding a buyer for the company and its aging refineries was considered a long-shot despite Sunoco's profitable logistics and retail businesses.

Energy Transfer will gain 7,900 miles of crude oil and refined fuel pipelines from Sunoco Logistics Partners master limited partnership and give it a toe-hold in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions, increasingly productive sources of oil and natural gas.

Energy Transfer will also gain Sunoco's relatively successful chain of 4,900 gasoline stations that it could sell at a later date.
MRC

(plasticker) -- Songwon Industrial Group, a leading developer and manufacturer of polymer additives, will increase global prices of its Songnox antioxidants, Songlight and Songsorb UV Stabilizers, Songstab Acid Scavengers as well as of its range of aminic antioxidants by 8% effective on orders invoiced on or after June 1, 2012, or as contracts allow.

This price increase is necessary to recover raw material cost increases and support continued investment in reliable supply.
MRC

(textileworld) -- The first quarter of 2012 was well below the hopes and expectations of many spinners.

"We've been really disappointed in the activity for the first part of the year," said one Carolinas spinner. "There was a spike earlier in the year ≈ a very brief one ≈ that gave us hope that things were turning back around. But it was very short. Since then, orders have been very slow and very small."

A yarn broker who buys and sells in the United States and Central America said he has noticed increasing competition from Asian suppliers. "Last year, companies from China, India, Pakistan and other eastern nations were caught up in the same raw material shortages that affected us here in the Western Hemisphere," he said. "As a result, they focused more on making sure they could meet the needs of their domestic markets. Now, with raw material prices and availability back to about where they were before the spike, these companies can be more aggressive in pursuing business over here."

MRC

(Reuters) - Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant expects business to pick up in coming months as the global economy gains strength, after sluggish demand and a strong Swiss franc hit quarterly profit.

"Clariant expects further sales growth in local currencies and sustained profitability in 2012," it said on Thursday.

The chemical industry's dependence on highly cyclical machinery makers, car manufacturers and builders makes it especially vulnerable to economic downturns.

Clariant said that during the first three months of the year the cyclical parts of its business, which make products such as de-icing fluid, faced headwinds partly because of economic uncertainty in Europe. First-quarter net profit fell 84 percent to 20 million Swiss francs (USD22 million).

First-quarter sales rose 13 percent to 1.945 billion francs, compared with a forecast for 1.968 billion, boosted by Sued-Chemie. German rival BASF also saw a stronger-than-expected performance by its oil and gas unit.

MRC