LG Chem plans an ethylene project in Kazakhstan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean petrochemical company LG Chem is planning to build an ethylene production plant in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, according to GV.

The project is going to be constacted in collaboration with two other Kazakh firms. The production is expected to begin in late 2016.

Project financing and the selection of a company responsible for engineering, procurement and construction are currently in the works, according to Park Jin-soo, chief executive officer of LG Chem.

LG projects that the plant will manufacture up to 800,000 tonnes of ethylene a year by injecting a USD4.2 billion investment into the complex.

As MRC informed earlier, South Korean petrochemical conglomerate LG Group will invest W3500 billion (USD3.3 billion) in its petrochemical business in the current year. The part of the allocated funds will be invested into expansion of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and styrene-butadiene rubber production capacities of LG Chem's affiliate.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Purac announces that it now offers PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) resins to companies interested in exploring the benefits of high performance bioplastics, reported the company in its press release.

To accelerate further the market introduction of this next generation PLA, Purac decided to offer a range of specially developed high performance resins to the market.

Purac offers these samples to brand owners, converters and compounders for easier evaluation of the performance benefits of PURALACT Lactide based PLA.

The global shift towards a biobased economy has placed pressure on plastic producers to seek alternatives to their oil based plastic products. As MRC informed earlier, PLA now offers the possibility to replace PS, PP and ABS in those applications where heat resistance is a key requirement. Purac’s solutions for high performance PLA for the injection molding and thermoforming industries unlock bioplastic potential for high temperature applications, such as microwavable food packaging and hot beverage cups, and also for durable applications in a range of high end markets, such as automotive, carpet, clothing and consumer electronics and appliances.

Purac is a leading company in lactic acid based bioplastics and the worldwide market leader in lactic acid, lactic acid derivatives and lactides. Company's products have a wide range of applications in many different industries. The main markets are food, pharmaceuticals, medical, cosmetics, animal feed and the technical and chemical industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Alpek, the petrochemicals arm of Mexican conglomerate Alfa, reported net income of USD30mn in the fourth quarter of 2012, down 60% year-on-year from USD76mn, said Bnamericas.

Results were impacted by a 12% decrease in operating income, a USD3mn foreign exchange loss versus a USD19mn gain a year ago, and USD15mn of one-time financing fees related to debt prepayments, Alpek said in a statement.
For the full year net income dropped 17% to USD277mn from USD332mn in 2011.

Ebitda in Q4 fell 15% year-on-year to USD141mn due to lower caprolactam margins in the plastics and chemicals business. Low Asian PTA and PET margins were partially offset by the competitiveness of the company's North American operations. Last year Ebitda fell 6% to USD728mn.

Fourth quarter sales declined 3% to USD1.67bn as a 4% decrease in polyester revenues more than offset a 2% increase in plastics and chemicals sales. Both segments were impacted by lower prices resulting from a decline in oil and petrochemical feedstock prices. In 2012 sales dropped 1% to USD7.28bn as polyester sales were flat and plastics and chemicals fell 5%.

Capex for the quarter was USD40mn, half of which went to toward the construction of a cogeneration plant at the company's PTA-PET complex in Cosoleacaque, Veracruz. For the year, capex totaled USD119mn, with USD53mn invested in the cogen plant.

Net debt at the end-2012 amounted to USD616mn, down by 48% or USD572mn from the same time a year ago. Gross debt declined 22% last year.

Alfa also owns Nemak (aluminum auto components), Sigma (refrigerated foods) and Alestra (telecommunications).

As MRC wrote earlier, Mexican industrial conglomerate ALFA, S.A.B. de C.V. has completed purchase of 3 South Carolina petrochemical plants from Eastman Chemical Company for about USD600 mln. One of the plants produces PTA and the other two produce PET with an annual capacity of 1.27 mln tons.

Alfa is a Mexican conglomerate composed of four business groups: Alpek (petrochemicals), Nemak (aluminum components), Sigma Alimentos (foods) and Alestra (electronics and telecommunications).
Alfa is the world's leading manufacturer of high-tech aluminum engine heads and blocks through its subsidiary Nemak. It is one of the world's largest producers of PTA, a petrochemical product, and has an outstanding position in the market for other petrochemicals in Mexico.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- With effect from Feb 11, 2013, Haldia Petrochem, the second largest petrochemical company in India, has announced the price revisions for PE.

There are no changes in basic prices of PE. Locational adjustment (LA) and Stock Point Prices has been revised on account of corresponding freight change.

For PP: basic prices of all grades except F103 have been rolled over. Basic price of F103 have been reduced by Rs 1500 / MT.

Locational adjustments & Stock point prices have been revised to accommodate changes in freight.

As MRC reported earlier, HPL suffers Rs 50-60 crore of cash loss every month and desperately needs non-interest bearing funds to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore. HPL has defaulted on working capital loan. In March 2012, HPL was in similar situation and was about to be reported to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) but the board then had approved conversion of a part of HPL"s loan into equity and that saved the day for HPL. HPL"s net worth should be more than Rs 1,200 crore to save it from reporting to BIFR. As per the latest financial statement, its net worth is around Rs 900 crore.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., often referred to as HPL, is the second largest petrochemical company in India with a total capacity equivalent to 7, 00,000 TPA of ethylene. The factory complex is located 125 km from Kolkata, at Haldia, in the Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. Haldia has played the role of a catalyst in emergence of more than 500 downstream processing industries in West Bengal with a capacity to process more than 3,50,000 TPA of polymers, among which are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The injection moulding machine manufacturer Sumitomo Demag Plastics, with its head office in Schwaig near Nuremberg, has introduced two further injection moulding machines with clamping forces of 1,600 and 10,000 kN for customers' testing, according to Packagingeurope.

In both plants, a specially equipped Application Centre is used for customer trials, machine acceptances and performance tests, but also for internal tests, presentations and for adding larger production cells.

Since the close of 2012, the stock of trial machines in Schwaig has now been expanded by the addition of a Systec multi 160, a hydraulic multi-component machine with 1,600 kN and a Systec 1000 and a hydraulic machine with a clamping force of 10,000 kN. This means that mould and operating tests can now be carried out on a wide range of machines in the 1- and 2-component range at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. As well as injection moulding machines, customers also have access to tempering devices, conveyor belts, dryers, hoses with Hasco couplings and clamping claws as needed.

As MRC wrote earlier, in late 2012, Sumitomo Demag Plastics presented a hybrid El-Exis SP high-speed machine. The new machine is IntElect 100-340 with 1,000 kN clamping force, producing the 130 ml containers made of polypropylene (PP) in a 2-cavity mould from Rouxel S.A.

Sumitomo Demag Plastics Machinery is a specialist company for the manufacturing of injection moulding machines for plastics processing. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag together with its Japanese parent group ranks among the leading companies in this industry worldwide. At 5 production locations in Germany, Japan and China more than 3,000 employees develop and manufacture a range of all-electric, hybrid and hydraulic injection moulding machines
with clamping forces ranging from 180 kN to 40,000 kN.
MRC