TPC to move to engineering design phase for Texas butadiene expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The US-based TPC Group is going to move to the next phase of engineering to produce on-purpose butadiene and expand production capacity to meet market demand, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's announcement.

The company is able to start a new phase of engineering due to successful completion of the project's preliminary engineering study to produce butadiene from a variety of sources.

The US shale gas revolution offers an abundance of natural gas liquids for feedstocks to produce butadiene, according to the company. It has also had an impact on by-product butadiene production, creating a shortage of butadiene to meet customer needs.

TPC Group anticipates that its engineering design optimization will be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2013.

TPC Group said it aims to address the structural shortage of supply due to the shift from heavier to lighter feedslates by ethylene producers. The need for a capacity expansion is driven by the growing demand for butadiene and the reduced by-product of crude butadiene available as North American ethylene producers utilize more ethane as a primary feedstock.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, TPC Group Inc. had commenced engineering to expand production capacity of polyisobutylene (PIB). The need for a capacity expansion is driven by the growing demand for HR-PIB due to upcoming changes in the technical standards for lubricating oils that favor use of HR-PIB based dispersants, as well as an increasing demand for the wide variety of other end uses, including automotive sealants and industrial lubricants. TPC has commenced engineering to expand the Company's existing capacity to meet this growing need.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, TPC Group is a leader in providing highly specialized lines of chemical products. The Company sells its products into a wide range of performance, specialty and intermediate markets, including synthetic rubber, fuels, lubricant additives, plastics and surfactants.
MRC

SAHARA Petrochemicals announces the annual consolidated financial results for 2012

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SAHARA Petrochemicals announces the annual consolidated financial results for the period ended 31 Dec 2012, said the company in its statemanent.

Net profit amounted to SR 204.45 million compared to SR 411.58 million for the previous year with a decrease of 50%.

Earnings per share (EPS) during 2012 amounted to SR.47, based on that total share count 438.8 million, compared to SR 1.35 for the period of the previous year, where average shares counted 305.8 million, as the current shares number has increased compared with the previous year due to capital increase that took place in the 4th quarter of the previous year.

Gross profit amounted to SR 53.31 million compared to 240.29 million for the previous year with a decrease of 78%.

Operating loss amounted to SR 27.80 million compared to a profit of SR 166.96 million for the last year.

The decrease of the net and gross profit of 2012 compared to 2011 is attributed mainly to the decrease of the products prices and the decrease of sales, and due to the turnaround of Al Waha plant during the 2nd quarter and a part of the 3rd quarter of 2012 as announced earlier on 12/07/1433 H corresponding 02/06/2012 G, in addition to that the profits from Saharas investment in the Saudi Ethylene and Polyethylene Company (SEPC) , an affiliate of Saharas, were negatively affected in December 2012 because of the refinancing which was announced earlier on 17/02/1434 H corresponding 30/12/2012 G.

Some items of the financial statements were reclassified this year in a different way comparing to the previous year.

As MRC wrote earlier, SAHARA Petrochemicals’ net profit surged 1,187 % to SR64.49 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to SR5.01 million for the same quarter last year, and an increase of 48% from SR43.71 million from the preceding quarter.

"SAHARA Petrochemicals" performs participation and supervises foundation and establishing several limited liability companies in Al Jubail Industrial City with the participation of Saudi and foreign companies that have the modern skills and technologies; to produce and market its chemical and petrochemical products such as propylene, polypropylene, ethylene and polyethylene.
MRC

Industries Qatar registers 5.9% rise in net profit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrochemicals and metals company Industries Qatar (IQ) posted a 5.9% rise in fourth-quarter net profit yesterday, said Gulf-daily-news.

The Gulf's second-largest chemical producer by market value behind Saudi Basic Industries, made a net profit of 1.8 billion riyals (USD494.4 million) for the fourth quarter, it said in a statement, compared with 1.7bn riyals a year earlier.

Petrochemical prices have strengthened in recent years, but worries persist over the impact of a global slowdown on industry earnings in the world's top oil exporting region.

IQ made a full-year net profit of 8.4bn riyals, compared with 7.9bn riyals in 2011, the statement said. The company's board proposed a cash dividend of 8.5 riyals a share, the statement added.

The country has also plans to spend an additional USD1bn for a transport corridor in its capital, Doha.

As MRC informed earlier, Qatar's petrochemical output will get a further boost with the formal inauguration of Qapco"s QR2.3 billion low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plant at Mesaieed on 20 November 2012. Qapco"s LDPE production will thus exceed 700,000 tpy with the company"s two existing production lines - LDPE 1 and 2 - already accounting for more than 400,000 tpy. Products from LPDE 3 will be sold under the brand name "Lotrene" through Qapco"s global marketing network.

Qatar Petroleum is a state owned petroleum company in Qatar.
The Qatar Petrochemical Company produces ethylene, low density polyethylene, and sulfur. Its facilities consist of an ethylene plant producing 525,000 tonnes per annum (tpa), two low density polyethylene (LDPE) plants with 360,000 tpa and a sulphur plant with 70,000 tpa.

MRC

Iran Petrochemical exports hit USD3.53B in 11 Months

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In the past 11 months, Iran has exported USD3.53 billion in petrochemicals, mainly liquid gas, said Shipandbunker.

Iran's petrochemical plants now produce 57 million tonnes per year, thanks to the commissioning of new projects including the Kermanshah polymer plant in Western Iran, which opened last month, according to Abdolhossein Bayat, head of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC).

With the addition of that plant, Iran's polymer output is now 6.3 million tonne per year, and polymer products account for about 80% of domestic sales, Bayat said.

At the same time, FNA also reported that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the government is reducing its dependence on oil revenues in the next budget bill and planning to diversify its revenue sources.

Iranian officials say the embargo will help the country end its dependence on oil. "Execution of the second phase of targeted subsidies plan as well as the raise of non-oil exports are some of the best ways for decreasing the oil revenues role in the country's economy," Ahmadinejad said.

Iranian officials say the Western embargo on Iranian oil will help the country end its dependence on oil revenues, according to FNA.

One Iranian legislator said in December that the country plans to reduce the role of oil revenues in the new budget to one million barrels per day (mbpd) and seek new income from other export sectors.

As MRC wrote earlier, Petrochemical production capacity in Iran is expected to reach 57 million tons (mt) by the end of 20 March 2013, as per Iranian calendar.

National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Planning and Development director Ramezan Owladi claimed that the country can achieve the target once it commissions petrochemical projects located at Kavian, Kermansheh and Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical plants.


MRC

Styron increase polycarbonate prices in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styron Europe and its affiliate companies in Europe announced price increases for all CALIBRE polycarbonate (PC) and EMERGE polycarbonate and blends products, reported the company on its official site.

Effective as of March 7, or as contract terms allow, the prices for these products will rise by EUR270/tonne.

Over the last year, the PC industry has experienced extremely low margins that are no longer sustainable. In order to restore margins to an acceptable level, Styron is increasing the price of its polycarbonate products to catch up with the recent and continuous cost increases.

As MRC wrote previously, last October, Styron announced that it was going to adopt a new pricing approach following significant shifts in supply and demand in the polystyrene (PS) market. The main reason of the new pricing approach is the closure of European PS plants, which might result in 10% reduction of active production capacity in Europe.

Styron is a leading global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, dedicated to collaborating with customers to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions. Styron's technology solutions are used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, commercial transportation, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Styron had approximately USD 6 billion in revenue in 2011, with 20 manufacturing sites around the world.
MRC