LyondellBasell opens chemical research center in Houston

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the major petrochemical global producers and the world's largest maker of polypropylene, has announced the opening of the 70,000-square-foot Houston Technology Center to develop process technologies and chemical catalysts for its Intermediates and Derivatives business, reported the company on its site.

Research and development activities at the facility will focus on improving catalyst and process technologies to reduce manufacturing costs, improve yields, and lower capital costs of new construction for LyondellBasell's global chemicals business. Proprietary technologies supported at the site include propylene oxide, butanediol and derivatives, glycols and glycol ethers, acetyls, olefins and solvents.

Manufacturing plants supported by the center include three Houston-area facilities in Channelview, Bayport and La Porte, Texas, as well as Botlek and Maasvlakte, Netherlands, Fos-sur-Mer, France, and a joint venture in Ningbo, China.

The center will employ approximately 80 people, 22 of whom relocated from the company's former facility near Philadelphia, with the balance hired locally. The new facility is adjacent to the company's largest US manufacturing complex in Channelview, east of Houston.

"The Houston Technology Center will support research to improve our current processes and catalysts and provide the capability to develop further technology enhancements in support of LyondellBasell's intermediate and derivatives business," said Massimo Covezzi, senior vice president of Research and Development.

LyondellBasell is among the industry leaders in chemicals and polymers technology. The company has more than 5,000 patents and patent applications worldwide covering manufacturing processes, products and catalysts.

Other LyondellBasell R&D centers include Cincinnati, Ohio, which focuses on polyolefin product application and development in North America; Frankfurt, Germany, focused on polyethylene and metallocene catalysts; and Ferrara, Italy, focusing on polypropylene and Ziegler-Natta catalysts.

As MRC wrote previously, LyondellBasell will raise its ethylene capacity in North America by 18% in coming years through several debottlenecking projects. Locations where ethylene capacity will be expanded include crackers in Corpus Christi, La Porte and Channelview, Texas, according to the company. The projects are scheduled to be finished in 2014 and 2015. Besides, ZapSibNeftekhim L.L.C, a fully owned subsidiary of SIBUR, decided to select the Spheripol process technology from LyondellBasell for a new 500 KT per year single-line polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Tobolsk, Russia Federation and OAO Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the largest petrochemical company in Russia, has selected the company's Spheripol process technology for a new 400 KT per year single-line polypropylene (PP) plant to be built in Nizhnekamsk, Russia Federation.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 58 sites in 18 countries. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

HDPE imports to Russia increased by 21% in January - September 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) - Stable work of Russian producers and weakening demand in the domestic market reduced imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) to Russia by 21% in January-September of this year, according to MRC report DataScope.

HDPE imports of HDPE to Russia fell to 230,000 tonnes in the first nine months of this year compared to 290,000 tonnes in the same period in 2012.
Stable work of Russian producers (Stavrolen stood idle because of an accident in October 2012; long-time maintenance works at Gazprom neftekhim Salavat) and a decrease in demand in certain sectors of consumption (production of pipes, cables and wires) have greatly reduced the dependence of the Russian market from imports.

The structure of imports by sector consumption in the first nine months was as follows. Imports of pipe HDPE fell to 57,000 tonnes against 83,000 tonnes year on year. Major market participants said weak demand for finished plastic pipes (due to the reduced investment in infrastructure) and stronger supply of polyethylene from Russian producers have resulted in imports decline.

External supplies of film and blow moulding HDPE totalled about 37,400 tonnes and 27,600 tonnes, respectively, against 76,600 tonnes and 36,100 tonnes in the previous year.

At the same time, imports of extrusion (for the coatings of large diameter steel pipes) and injection moulding HDPE increased to 57,300 tonnes and 40,000 tonnes in the first nine months of this year, against 45,900 tonnes and 36,100 tonnes respectively, a year earlier.

MRC

PP imports to Russia dropped by 22% in January-September 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The launch of two new plants in Omsk and Tobolsk has reduced the dependence of the Russian polypropylene (PP) market from imports. Imports of propylene polymers fell by 22% in January-September 2013, according to MRC DataScope.


The start-up of the two new plants in Omsk and Tobolsk with the annual capacity of 180,000 tonnes and 500,000 tonnes, respectively (without launching the propane dehydrogenation unit), this year has reduced the dependence of the Russian market from imports. Imports of propylene polymers in the first nine months of 2013 dropped to 162,700 tonnes from 209,500 tonnes a year earlier. Homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) and statistical copolymer of polypropylene (PP-random) accounted for the main decrease in imports.

In the structure of supply by PP grades, the situation was, as follows:

Imports of homopolymer PP in January-September 2013 dropped to 64,300 tonnes from 110,100 tonnes in 2012. Imports of homopolymer PP fell from all regions, with Europe accounting for the largest decrease in PP shipments.


Import of block copolymers of propylene (PP-impact) in the first nine months of the year reached about 43,000 tonnes, while a year earlier it was 38,200 tonnes. Imports of PP-impact for the production of pressure pipes and PP compositions (PP compound) for the automotive industry grew significanlty.

Imports of PP-random decreased by 24% to around 27,300 tonnes. Reduced imports were registeres in all consumption sectors, injection moulding and pipe grades of PP-random accounted for the largest decrease.

Import of other copolymers of propylene in January-September 2013 totalled about 28,000 tonnes.

MRC

Rosneft should should pay only market price for remaining shares of TNK-BP - Putin

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has dealt a potential blow to minority shareholders in TNK-BP after saying state oil giant Rosneft should only pay market rate to buy them out, reported Upstreamonline.

Rosneft said in late September it was intent on buying the remaining shares in compatriot oil producer TNK-BP that it did not acquire following its USD55 billion purchase of shares from UK supermajor and a consortium of Russian businessmen.

Rosneft president Igor Sechin indicated that the company would be willing to pay a premium of between 20% and 30% for the remaining shares, totalling around 5% of TNK-BP.

The oil behemoth set a price of 67 Russian rubles (USD2.06) per ordinary share and 55 rubles per preferred share.

Speaking at the opening of a Rosneft refinery in the Black Sea port city of Tuapse, Putin said: "The valuation and payouts should be carried out for those who wish to sell not at peak levels but today's market price.

"That should be the basis. No one should be deceived or robbed,” Reuters quoted the president as saying.

As MRC informed previously, in June, Rosneft said it could buy the minority stakes but would be paying less than the takeover price. Sechin has held talks in recent weeks with the minority shareholders, who had indicated earlier this year they could go to court over the issue.
MRC

INEOS ACAS Update 15 October 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS was extremely disappointed at the lack of progress at Monday's ACAS meeting following Unite's refusal to engage in any discussions about protecting North Sea oil flows and fuels for Scotland, reported the company on its site.

The company was also extremely disappointed that the Unite delegation insisted on including Stephen Deans, who is himself the subject of the dispute, in its list of attendees. It is completely inappropriate that Mr Deans should be part of these talks.

Nonetheless, INEOS is determined to do all it can to ensure these discussions have a positive outcome and of the talks.

Calum MacLean Grangemouth Petrochemicals (UK) Chairman who will lead today's talks at ACAS, said, "We came to ACAS in good faith and remain determined to resolve the issues facing us if at all possible. Unfortunately, Unite seems determined to insist on one rule for union officials and one rule for everyone else which is completely unacceptable to the company. It also seems determined to ignore the fact that a strike could destroy Grangemouth and cause significant damage to the whole of Scotland."

As MRC wrote previously, Ineos has invited the Unite union for talks in a bid to prevent workers at Ineos’s Grangemouth, United Kingdom operations from going on 48-hour strike on 20 October. These talks are intended to find a way to resolve the dispute over Stephen Deans, an employee representative on the site and to prevent strike action planned by the union. Ineos said it has started the process of taking the plants down in anticipation of the strike.

Ineos is considering closing its Grangemouth facility in what has been described by union representatives as a "shocking" attempt to browbeat the work. Company chairman Jim Ratcliffe described the plant as "expensive", citing "old-fashioned pensions" as a being a prime cause for concern. He was quoted as saying: "To have a future, it needs cheap feedstocks and a sensible cost structure. If we can’t resolve those issues it would need to shut down."

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC