CNPC to be part of JV to build gas chemical complex in Uzbekistan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will join UzIndoramaGazChemical, a joint venture that will build a USD2.5 bln complex to produce polyethylene at the Mubarek Gas Refinery in Uzbekistan's Kashkadarya region, according to Azernews.

CNPC had signed a memorandum to join Uzbek national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz and Singapore's Indorama Group in the joint venture.

The equity is expected to be redistributed by the end of 2013. Uzbekneftegaz and Indorama formed the joint venture on an equal footing in May 2012. The complex will have capacity to produce 500,000 tpa of polyethylene.

The project will be funded by the investors and foreign bank loans.

The Mubarek refinery, which is controlled by Uzbekneftegaz subsidiary Uzneftegazdobycha, is Uzbekistan's biggest and is capable of processing 30 bcm of gas per year. It produces gas condensate, liquefied gas and industrial sulfur.

In recent years Uzbekistan has pursued the course of deep processing of liquefied hydrocarbons and natural gas.

In 2001, Uzbekneftegaz put into operation the Shurtan gas-chemical complex on the basis of the Shurtan gas-condensate field in Kashkadarya worth USD985 million. Its design capacity is 125,000 tons of polyethylene, 100,000 tons of liquefied gas and 100,000 tons of unstable condensate per year.

Uzbekneftegaz and a consortium of Korean companies led by Kogas are implementing a project to build the Ustyurt gas-chemical complex on the basis of the Surgil field. Its capacity will allow processing 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year and produce 400,000 tons of polyethylene and 100,000 tons of polypropylene. The cost is USD4.2 billion.

Uzbekistan is among the top 10 largest gas-producing countries in the world with natural gas reserves of about 1.9 trillion cubic meters.

As MRC reported earlier, China's CNCEC, National Chemical Engineering Corporation, has recently won the tender for the construction of a chemical complex for the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production at "Navoiazot" production site, the largest manufacturer of chemical products in Uzbekistan.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's LG Chem will lower the operating rate at its 650,000 mt/year acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plant at Yeosu to 70% of capacity in October from 80% in September, reported Apic-online with reference to a company source, without providing further details.

LG Chem also plans to start operations at a new 150,000 mt/year ABS plant in Huizhou, southern China's Guangdong province, toward the end of this year or in Q1 2014, sources close to the company said earlier. The plant will be a joint venture with state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp.

As MRC informed previously, South Korean petrochemical company LG Chem is planning to build an ethylene production plant in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The project is going to be constacted in collaboration with two other Kazakh firms. The production is expected to begin in late 2016.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has announced that it has expanded its partnership with the Ravago Group, a leader in distribution, resale, compounding and recycling of plastic and elastomeric raw materials, as per Plastemart.

The two companies have combined DSM’s expertise in polyamide 6 with Ravago’s recycling know-how to develop a portfolio of glass reinforced recycled PA6 compounds.

The materials will be offered by DSM directly and distributed by Ravago Group member Resinex, which has a leading position in the plastics and rubbers distribution market across Europe and Turkey, and which is already a well-established distributor of DSM engineering plastics.

The new recycled PA6 grades, which DSM is marketing under its Akulon brand and which are available now, contain more than 50% post-consumer resin from well-identified and dependable sources. DSM is supplying grades with 30% and 35% glass fiber reinforcement.

Thanks to their inherent strength and performance profile, the grades are particularly suited to automotive under-the-bonnet applications such as air intake manifolds and engine covers, as well as furniture applications, including structural parts in office chairs.

As MRC wrote earlier, in July 2013, DSM signed distribution agreements for Engineering Plastics B.V. with Nevicolor and Nexeo Solutions to strengthen its presence in Italy. DSM entered into new agreements with two distributors for its Engineering Plastics portfolio in Italy to improve its coverage across the entire country. The move means that Italian customers (like DSM customers in other European countries) will now have a choice of distributors for their thermoplastics. The agreements with Nevicolor and Nexeo Solutions apply to the full range of DSM’s engineering plastics products.

DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics declared a force majeure for polyethylene from its HDPE II production unit at Point Comfort, Texas, as a result of unexpected operational difficulties, reported IHS Chemical Week with reference to a letter sent to customers.

Sources said Formosa's HDPE II unit was down for maintenance Friday when a flash fire injured five workers. The force majeure covers its Formolene Polyethylene HDPE II products.

Industry sources said the biggest impact will likely be on the supply of high density polyethylene blowmolding. The company is currently evaluating the impact of this event on its production capability and will provide additional information once it is assessed, according to the letter.

We remind, as MRC wrote previously, Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC) is in plans to shut a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant for maintenance turnaround. The plant is likely to be shut in September 2013 and expected to remain off-stream for around two weeks. Located in Mailiao, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of around 500,000 mt/year.

Formosa Plastics Corporation is a Taiwanese company based in Taiwan that primarily produces polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins and other intermediate plastic products.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical Company, the largest U.S. chemical producer by sales, no longer plans to sell its plastics-additives business, as per Bloomberg.

This decision was taken because the offers received from bidders were not enough.

Dow is "quite comfortable" continuing to run the additives business for cash, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Liveris said. "This is a valuable business that is currently being undervalued by buyers in the market."

Dow, based in Midland, Michigan, continues to pursue the sale of other units as outlined earlier this year, Liveris said. The plastics-additives unit was part of USD1.5 bln in proposed divestitures, along with a fumigants unit and polypropylene licensing and catalysts, announced in March.

Plastics additives, with about USD680 million in annual sales and USD80 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, is worth about USD520 million, Hassan Ahmed, a New York-based analyst at Alembic Global Advisors, said in an Aug. 5 note.

As MRC wrote previously, Dow Chemical has already divested non-core businesses worth about USD8 billion in revenue since 2009 and is targeting an increased divestiture list of nearly USD1.5 billion over the next 12 months.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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