PETRONAS and Evonik sign letter of intention for project in Rapid

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PETRONAS and Evonik Industries AG have signed a Letter of Intent to jointly embark on the development of production facilities of specialty chemicals within PETRONAS’ Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang, Johor, said PETRONAS in its statement.

Under the LOI, the two parties will endeavour to form a partnership to jointly own, develop, construct and operate facilities for the production of hydrogen peroxide, C4 co-monomer and oxo-products within RAPID.

The plants are expected to have the capacity to produce 250,000 metric tons of hydrogen peroxide, 220,000 metric tons of isononanol (INA) and 110,000 metric tons of 1-butene annually. The hydrogen peroxide will be used on site to produce propylene oxide by the licensed, eco-friendly HPPO process Evonik had jointly developed with ThyssenKrupp Uhde. These projects are expected to come on stream in 2016.

The partnership is expected to strengthen PETRONAS’ position as a key downstream petrochemical player in the region. Evonik is one of the world's largest producers of hydrogen peroxide and C4-based products with production facilities in Europe, North America, South America, New Zealand, Asia, South Africa and Indonesia.

As MRC wrote earlier, PETRONAS and BASF said Monday they have scrapped a proposed joint venture to develop a specialty chemicals production facility in Malaysia.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy.

PETRONAS is Malaysia’s national oil and gas company wholly-owned by the Government of Malaysia. Together with its subsidiaries and associated companies, PETRONAS, a Fortune Global 500 company, has fully integrated oil and gas operations in a broad spectrum of the oil and gas value-chain.

PETRONAS strives to contribute to the well-being of the people and nations wherever it operates by developing and adding value to oil and gas resources in a manner that carefully balances commercial, environmental and social considerations.

MRC

Mexichem and Pemex approved JV to produce VCM

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexichem announces that PEMEX's Management Board authorized the co-investment between Pemex Petroquimica and Mexichem, seeking to bring viability and generate value in the country's VCM chain, said Mexichem in it statement.

The board of Mexico's Pemex approved on Wednesday a venture between the oil monopoly and conglomerate Mexichem to produce vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), a chemical used to make plastic pipes, resins and paints.

Pemex's go-ahead for the venture, first announced in 2011, follows months of uncertainty about future of the deal. Mexichem has still to sign off on the project, valued at about USD500 million.

Pemex said that Mexichem would contribute an undetermined cash amount to upgrade Pemex's Pajaritos petrochemical facilities in the city of Coatzacoalcos, in the Gulf state of Veracruz.

The plant will continue to be staffed by Pemex workers.

Mexichem had given up on the venture with Pemex in November, citing long delays, and said it planned instead to focus on the extraction and sale of its own products and to pursue opportunities to produce VCM.


MRC

SABIC shows good results in Q4, but decline over the full-year of 2012

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, Saudi petrochemical major, has announced fourth quarter net profits of 5.83 billion riyals (USD1.55 bln), an 11.3% increase compared to 2011, reported Bloomberg.

Despite the quartely increase, the company said 2012 net income had dropped by 15.5% to 24.72 billion riyals (USD6.59 billion) from 29.24 billion riyals the year before.

A statement attributed the increase in the fourth-quarter net to "higher sales volumes and sales prices for certain products." The decrease in yearly earnings was due to "higher costs of sales and lower sale prices for certain products, despite higher sales and production volumes and reduction in financial charges."

Sabic is ranked among the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The comany manufactures chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer. Among its products are propylene, paraxylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer. Sabic's venture capital arm is looking for opportunities in the U.S., Europe and China to buy stakes in start-up companies that can turn shale gas into petrochemicals, as MRC reported earlier. Formed last November, the Netherlands-based business is negotiating 30 to 40 deals and is looking especially at technologies that use different feedstocks.
MRC

Reliance Industries to invest into petrochem expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries (RIL) will invest over Rs 100,000 crore in expansion of its petrochemical capacities and adding value to its refining business, according to Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, reported Plastemart.

RIL’s performance has improved in the fourth quarter of 2012 with margin expansion in petrochemicals and record earnings in the refining business. Thus, the company decided to invest in its petrochemical and refining business. We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, Reliance Industries plans to expand capacity at its refineries in the western state of Gujarat.

"These investments will secure a significant change in RIL’s earning capacity on commissioning of these projects. It will also provide employment opportunity for thousands of young Indians and support India’s economic growth," said Mukesh D. Ambani.

Besides, RIL intends to buy BP’s petrochemical plant in Malaysia. RIL has expressed interest in BP’s 610,000 tpa purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant in Malaysia.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

Lubrizol factory struggles to stop foul gas leak

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At approximately 8 a.m. local time on Monday, January 21, Lubrizol Corporation, a leading global supplier of fuel and lubricant additives for transportation and industrial applications, detected instability with a batch of one of the products at the plant in Rouen, France, said Lubrizol in its press release.

The resulting unpleasant smell is caused by mercaptan, which is a non-toxic compound at the quantities involved. This is the same substance commonly used to give natural gas a detectable smell. Neutralizing the mercaptan smell is a slow process, and the unpleasant smell can linger until the process is complete.

The company expressed a deep regret for any inconvenience. Plant operations have been temporarily suspended, and company's teams continue to work in close cooperation with local authorities to stop the smell as quickly as possible.

French Ecology Minister Delphine Batho said there was no health risk after she visited the factory in the northern city of Rouen in Normandy, said BBC.

Thousands of people, from as far away as Paris and London, have complained of nausea and headaches.

The gas is mercaptan, an additive to natural gas said to be harmless.

Authorities will investigate what caused the link and whether the company should be held responsible, the ecology minister said.

he Lubrizol Corporation, is a specialty chemical company that produces and supplies technologies, which are designed to improve the quality and performance of products in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets.

Headquartered in Wickliffe, Ohio, United States, Lubrizol is divided into two distinct segments, the Lubrizol Additives division and the Lubrizol Advanced Materials segment.

MRC