Westlake Chemical to shut ethylene unit for maintenance and expansion

(plastemart) -- Westlake Chemical Corp announced plans to perform planned maintenance and an expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit at its complex in Lake Charles, LA in the first quarter of 2013.

This expansion will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 230-240 mlnlbs annually in support of the Company's ethylene integration strategy. The unit is expected to be down approximately 50 days for the work to be completed.

Westlake Chemical is a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls (PVC), polymers (PE) and fabricated products.
MRC

(plastemart) -- Egyptian Propylene and Polypropylene Company (EPPC) is exploring various means to raise upto USD450 mln to invest in expanding capacity of its propylene and polypropylene complex at Port Said. Capacity is planned to be expanded by 25% from 400,000 tpa to 510,000 tpa within two years, the company's chairman told Zawya.

New investors will be invited to subscribe to the company's shares in order to raise the paid-up capital, in order to fund the expansion. The company mulls issue of new shares to expand the shareholder base or issue rights shares to existing shareholders.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- BP said on Friday that it aims to stay in Russia for decades to come and could use some of the proceeds from the potential sale of its stake in joint venture TNK-BP to increase its holding in Russian oil giant Rosneft.

BP said it wanted to continue its investments in Russia regardless of whether it sells its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft or to the group of Soviet-born billionaires who own the other half of the joint venture.

The comments illustrate the UK-based energy company’s desire to retain a significant presence in oil-rich Russia, despite a plan to exit the turbulent, yet highly profitable TNK-BP joint venture.

BP’s commitment to Russia follows a meeting Tuesday involving Mr. Dudley, BP chairman Carl Henric Svanberg, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"If we're successful at selling our stake, we’d be interested in buying a share in Rosneft," a BP spokesman said. BP already owns 1.3% of Rosneft.

"We are pleased with BP's decision to reinvest part of the funds from the sale of its stake in TNK-BP in new projects in Russia, including in Rosneft shares," Mr. Sechin said earlier Friday, according to a report by Russian news agency Interfax.

Mr. Sechin added that Rosneft could raise the cash to acquire BP’s stake in TNK-BP on capital markets. Rosneft could pay $10 billion to $15 billion in cash for BP’s stake in the joint-venture and the rest in shares, resulting in BP acquiring at least a 12.5% stake of Rosneft, as MRC reported last week.

The BP spokesman said that talks on the sale of its share of TNK-BP are continuing and it isn't definite that Rosneft will be the buyer or how a final deal might look.
MRC

(GV) -- GS Caltex announced on Friday that it had broke ground for a polymer compounds plant in the southern part of the country. The plant to be built in Jinju, 434 kilometers south of Seoul, is slated to start commercial operations in 2015 with an annual production capacity of 120,000 tonnes, the company said in a press release.

The company's Czech polymer compound plant that will annually produce 30,000 tonnes of polymer compounds is scheduled to be completed in October. GS Caltex currently has two polymer compounds plants in China with a combined annual production capacity of 86,000 tonnes.

GS Caltex said it has been providing polymer compounds to local and foreign companies, including Samsung Electronics Co., Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. The company plans to expand its supply of polymer compounds to European car makers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz after the completion of its Czech plant.

GS Caltex is South Korea's second-largest oil refiner. GS Caltex provides more than one-third of Korea’s oil needs and exports over 50% of its products.
MRC

(plastech) -- Amcor Rigid Plastics, the world’s leading producer of rigid plastic packaging, has designed and produced a proprietary series of lightweight polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for McCormick Distilling Co. Inc., a Weston, Mo.-based manufacturer and distributor of premium spirits.

The custom PET containers in 50ml, 750ml, 1L, and 1.75L sizes helped McCormick successfully launch its new brand Montego Bay Coconut Rum - in a distinctive and eye-catching package.

The bottle was designed to be rigid in order to mimic the look, strength, and robust feel of glass. At the same time, the lightweight PET container delivers significant sustainability advantages, resulting in reduced shipping and transportation costs. The containers are one-sixth the weight of glass bottles, unbreakable, less wasteful, and recyclable.

The recent national roll-out of Montego Bay Coconut Rum across 43 states has been highly successful with the new package, according to Vic Morrison, McCormick’s vice president of marketing.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
MRC