Billionaire Mikhelson becomes Russian second-richest man

(bloomberg) -- Leonid Mikhelson, the billionaire who controls OAO Novatek (NVTK), Russia’s largest private gas producer, is poised to bump Alisher Usmanov from his perch as the country’s richest person.

The 57-year-old paid less than USD4 billion for a 57.5 percent stake in OAO Sibur Holding, eastern Europe’s largest petrochemical producer, in a series of transactions from December 2010 to the end of 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. His stake is worth about USD7 billion today, according to the index.

A decade ago, Moscow-based Sibur was a debt-laden unit of OAO Gazprom, the Russian gas exporter now half-owned by the state. Today, the closely held maker of more than 2,000 products, including gases and plastics, is preparing for an initial public offering that could add billions of dollars to Mikhelson’s fortune.

Mikhelson acquired 25 percent of Sibur from Gazprom’s former lending arm, Gazprombank, in December 2010. He bought the shares through investment company ZAO Miracle, which was then a subsidiary of his Cyprus-based Dellawood Holdings Ltd.

According to an October 2011 Dellawood financial report, Mikhelson now owns 57.5 percent of the company. His estimated cost for the additional stake in the company is based on Gazprombank’s valuation reported in December 2010, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Sibur is betting that demand for the company’s products will increase as developing economies grow. Next month, the company plans to start testing a facility that will produce 500,000 tons of polypropylene a year, with commercial output to start next year, Mikhelson said in June.

Sibur may hold an IPO within 18 months to 3 years, Mikhelson told reporters in June 2011. While now isn’t a good time for the IPO, Sibur will be ready “to quickly list the shares should the situation change in spring,” Mikhelson said in June 2012.

MRC

(Plastech) -- The environmental benefit of the use of recycled polyamide for automotive applications has been validated by a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) jointly led by leading engineering plastics developer Rhodia (member of the Solvay group), Valeo, one of the world’s top automotive suppliers and car-maker PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Rhodia, Valeo and PSA combined their savoir-faire to carry out a multi-criteria analysis on the entire life cycle of the fan and shroud assembly, an important engine cooling component for the new Peugeot 208. The part is manufactured by Valeo using recycled Technyl polyamide (PA) from Rhodia Engineering Plastics.

On average, 20 percent of a car comprises 150 to 250kg of plastic parts. Therefore the collaborative initiative between Rhodia, Valeo and PSA scientifically confirms the potential of the growing use of recycled plastics to help answer the environmental challenges facing the automotive industry.
MRC

(Plastech) -- The plastics industry is worldwide one of the most innovative sectors. The secret of its success lies in the plastics themselves. Synthetic materials or plastics (polymers) contribute greatly to fulfilling existing and future demands.

Last year, approximately 280 million tons of plastics were produced, in 1950 it was only 1.5 million. The characteristics of plastics - being extremely flexible, highly resilient and yet very light - have boosted the career of plastics in many areas of application.

One of the biggest areas for the application of synthetic materials is packaging. Composite PE/PA-materials can be used to create films of varying thickness for the packaging of foods.

Another excellent example for the use of plastics as packaging materials is the polyethylene (PET) bottle. The biggest advantage of the PET bottle in comparison to the conventional glass bottle is its significantly lower weight.

One more example: the most important fully synthetic material in heat insulation is foamed polystyrene. Most widely used is expanded polystyrene rigid foam (EPS), which can be formed into blocks, boards, and other geometrical shapes.

For years, plastics-based composite materials have been experiencing a boost in the car industry.

By the way: even though the majority of all synthetic materials is still produced from crude oil and natural gas, renewable raw materials are increasingly utilized.
MRC

(Plastemart) -- Mitsui Chemicals has shut a naphtha cracker at its Ichihara plant in Chiba. The cracker's capacity is 612,000 tpa of ethylene.

The ethylene cracker was shut due to problems with an electrical system. The company has been investigating the cause of the problem. The resuption of operation of the cracker is unspecified yet.

Mitsui Chemicals,a Japanese chemical company, is a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials. Mitsui Chemicals' innovative technologies and materials, along with products that offer new functionality, are being used in the automotive, electronics and information, life, environment and energy, and packaging industries.
MRC

(basf) -- BASF and the Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers (CRC-P) have signed a cooperation agreement to develop a new range of advanced polymers that will help farmers better manage water and nutrients in the soil.

"The CRC for Polymers brings together world-class teams comprising leading researchers from the industry, Australia’s universities and government laboratories", said Dr. Ian Dagley, CEO of the CRC-P.

An interdisciplinary team of material researchers, biologists and agricultural scientists from BASF will work together with leading research institutions in Australia. Project partners will focus on a range of polymers that optimize the growing conditions for plants in the soil. Potential products include sprays for water-repellent soils and polymers that can control the distribution of moisture in the soil. The laboratory and field trials will focus on agricultural crops.

BASF is the world leading chemical company with portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas.

MRC