German investor buys stake in blow molding equipment maker Kautex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Germany-based investment company Capiton AG has purchased Steadfast Capital GmbH's stake in blow molding machinery company Kautex Maschinenbau GmbH for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

In April 2007, Berlin-based Steadfast Capital acquired its stake in Kautex from turnaround fund Adcuram AG. "During the last six years Kautex successfully expanded its position as global market leader for high-end extrusion blow molding machines," a Steadfast Capital press release stated. "With a strong presence in fast growing economies, especially in Asia, the development of new application areas and new types of machinery, Kautex is not only able to demonstrate a strong financial performance but is also developing new growth markets."

Headquartered in Bonn, Kautex is a global manufacturer of extrusion blow molding machines used for the production of industrial and packaging articles. A key application of Kautex machines is the production of plastic fuel tanks for passenger cars, according to Steadfast. The business was founded in 1935.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Apache has completed its previously-announced transaction with Chevron to build and operate the Kitimat LNG project and develop world-class natural gas resources at the Liard and Horn River basins in British Columbia, Canada, according Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Chevron and Apache each have become a 50% owners of the Kitimat LNG plant, the Pacific Trail Pipelines and 644,000 gross undeveloped acres in the Horn River and Liard basins.

After a brief transition period, Chevron will assume operatorship of the LNG plant and the pipeline. Apache Canada increased its ownership in the LNG plant and pipeline from 40% and will operate the upstream assets. Apache's net proceeds from the transaction were USD405 million.

Current plans call for two liquefaction trains, each with expected capacity of 5 million tpy of LNG (about 750 million cubic feet of gas per day). Kitimat LNG has received all significant environmental approvals and a 20-year export license from the Canadian federal government.

As MRC informed earlier, in September, 2011, Chevron Corp had launched its USD 28.4bn Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, seeking to tap into growing Asian demand with its second LNG export project in the country. Apache Corp, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), Royal Dutch Shell, and Kyushu Electric are all equity participants in Wheatstone, and hold 13%, 7%, 6.4% and 1.83%, respectively while Chevron holds the rest.

Besides, Chevron Exploration & Production Lietuva, a registered company in Lithuania, has submitted an application to participate in the international competition for the exploration of shale gas in Lithuania.

Moreover, Chevron is going to develop shale gas deposits in Ukraine. In May 2012, the winners of a sharing agreement for gas exploration in Oleskaya (Lviv region) and Yuzovsky (Donetsk and Kharkiv region) areas became Chevron and Shell, respectively.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xylene splitter, a xylene separation tower used to produce aromatics, has been installed by the Jurong Aromatic Corporation (JAC) in Jurong Island, the petrochemical hub of Singapore, as per Fibretofashion.

The splitter weighing 1,147 tonnes is 108m tall and has a diameter of 8m. On completion of the Jurong Aromatic plant in early 2014, the plant is expected to produce 800,000 tpa of paraxylene, which will be supplied to textile manufacturers.

The xylene splitter was installed by the company as part of its USD 2.4 billion Jurong aromatic project in the island. The project was scheduled to start its operations by August 2011 but was delayed due to financial crisis.

As MRC reported earlier, after a three-year delay caused by the credit squeeze during the global financial crisis, Jurong Aromatics' new petrochemicals project in Singapore was finally launched with strong support from Korea. The project involves development of a condensate splitter and aromatics facility on Jurong Island, with production capacity of 1.5 mln tpa aromatics and 2.5 mln tonnes of fuel.

The major investors of the project are Korea’s SK Group, with a 30% stake, Chinese polyester maker Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group, which holds 25%, Glencore International with a 10% share in the project, Arovin and Shefford Investments (equity investment houses based in India) with about 10% stake each, 5% stake held by the Economic Development Board of Singapore and the balance 10% is held by other minority shareholders based across the region.

Paraxylene is an aromatic hydrocarbon used for manufacturing purified terephthalic acid (PTA).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont, the US Chemical giant, has announced that its Cedar Creek site in Fayetteville will close by November, according to Fayobserver.

DuPont Teijin Films US LP plans to consolidate production of internal PET polymer for its U.S. business at its Hopewell manufacturing site in Chester, Va. The Cedar Creek site will end PET polymer production by the middle of this year, the company said, and the 50-acre site will close by November 30.

The polyester chips made in Cumberland County are used in polyester films that can be found in products including panel displays, diabetes test strips and bar codes, Hubble said.

The Cedar Creek site opened in 1967 as a nylon plant. It has been subdivided and changed hands and functions over the years. DuPont currently occupies about 25% of it.

DuPont Teijin Films is a global joint venture partnership between E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. and Japan's Teijin Corp. DuPont Teijin Films makes a range of polyester films for markets including electronics, packaging, safety, health and protection, digital imaging and industrial applications.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, earlier this year DuPont Co. struck a deal to sell its car paint business to Washington-based investment firm Carlyle Group LP for USD4.9 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009. DuPont manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. The company was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The fresh sanctions imposed by the Bulgarian Government on the recycling companies have evoked widespread criticism and protests. The Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) has gone to the extent of writing an open letter to the President and other government officials to voice their protest, said Plasticsinfomart.

The new law insists that the companies with office buildings must either enter into a contract with a licensed recycling firm in recycling their wastes or depend on the municipal recycling system wherever the number of inhabitants exceeds 5000. The law in enforced with effect from 2013 onwards. The fines charged for not complying with the law can be as high as Euro 5000.

The BIA highlights that there exists practical difficulties in implementing the law in all regions of the country. A large number of small to medium sized companies operating in the market will face the heat. The smaller players may be compelled to quit business. Moreover it may discourage foreign potential investors from setting up new business in the country.

The law as such has no clarity, as per BIA. It may lead to corruption and malpractices. BIA has requested the Government to re-look the new sanctions taking into consideration, the worse economic situation prevailing in the country.

As MRC wrote earlier, the polymer wastes makes about 12% of all the household wastes in Russia. During one year, the country produces nearly 800,000 tonnes of plastic wastes, the bulk of which is stored in landfills and only 10% is recycled.
MRC