Calcutta High Court dismisses all appeals in dispute over Haldia Petrochemical disinvestment

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A division bench of the Calcutta High Court dismissed all appeals of the West Bengal government, WBIDC and Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd over a dispute between them and The Chatterjee Group regarding 155 mln shares of the ailing petrochemical company, as per Plastemart.

The division bench dismissed the appeals and observed that as the Supreme Court held that the trial court order in this regard was just and proper, all the appeals against it had become infructuous.

The trial court of Justice I P Mukerji had earlier restrained the state government from dealing with the disputed 155 million shares of HPL and transfer of the shares to any third party. Challenging this, the state government, WBIDC and HPL, which is at present under the management control of the state, moved the appeal court.

The division bench had directed that the instant process of disinvestment in HPL may continue, but no final decision can be taken without the leave of the court.

As MRC wrote earlier, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) had bid for the shares of HPL which the state wanted to disinvest.

TCG moved the Supreme Court against this order and on November one, the apex court held that the trial court order restraining the state government from taking any step for disinvestment of HPL's 155 million shares was proper. The Supreme Court had also observed that the high court would hear the suit in this regard. The Supreme Court had passed an order of status quo for three weeks on November 1. On November 22, TCG moved a petition before the trial court of Justice I P Mukerji and obtained an interim order of status quo, extending the order of the apex court, regarding disinvestment of HPL shares. TCG argued that as the Supreme Court observed that the high court would hear the case, it had no option but to move the trial court.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd is a modern naphtha based petrochemical complex at Haldia, 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) -- German compounder Polymer-Chemie has expanded the PVC product range and capacity at its Russian subsidiary Polymer-Chemie Rus in Russia’s Tula region, reported K-Zeitung.

The company installed a new extrusion line to produce rigid PVC granules at its plant in Tula.

This EUR12m facility with a capacity of around 28,000 tpa has been producing PVC dryblend compounds since its inauguration with one line in April 2011.

Polymer-Chemie’s latest project is part of an ongoing expansion programme for the site which already serves the CIS countries, including the Russian market.

The company later plans is to complete its Russian product portfolio at the Tula plant, adding capacity for soft PVC compounds in a future expansion stage.

In 2011, Polymer-Chemie Rus was expecting to raise its overall investment in its production unit to around EUR40m, eventually increasing the capacity to 120,000 tpa.

Polymer-Chemie is an independent, privately owned company serving as a link between polymer manufacturers and the plastics processing industry. Polymer-Chemie modifies and compounds polymers, develops customer-specific solutions and keeps adapting its product portfolio to the latest market requirements.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia-based Sabic has officially opened the company’s state-of-the-art SABIC Technology Center (STC) in Shanghai, China in a ceremony which marks another significant milestone for SABIC in China, as per the company's press release.

The center, built with an initial investment of USD 100 million, is one of 17 SABIC global R&D centers of excellence.

The 60,000 sqm state-of-the-art complex houses close to 500 employees including 170 application development and materials technologists. In addition, it also serves as the new Greater China head office for all Shanghai-based employees including R&D and supporting functions.

"SABIC is a company grounded in developing material solutions and has innovation, ingenuity and collaboration at its core, helping us to achieve a deeper understanding of our customers and their business. SABIC is committed to being an inclusive growth partner in the markets we operate in," said Mohamed Al-Mady, Vice Chairman and CEO, SABIC.

The new STC in Shanghai will be leading the development for portable consumer electronics, working closely with OEMs across the globe. It will also focus on developing next-generation innovative technologies and solutions to help the company's customers address some of the most pressing issues in China and the region across major industry sectors including construction, clean energy, electrics and electronics, medical devices, transportation. The overall R&D focus at the STC in Shanghai will be on meeting the needs of our customers in the Greater China and North East Asia.

The center significantly enhance SABIC’s R&D footprint in Asia, building on the existing infrastructure of its application centers - one in Moka, Japan, and the other in Sungnam, South Korea.

As MRC wrote previously, last Friday, SABIC opened its new USD100 million technology center in Bengaluru, India. The technology center will house 300 scientists, whose roles are to carry out research into new platforms for next-generation materials across industry sectors such as construction, clean energy, electronics, medical devices and transportation.

Sabic is ranked among the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The comany manufactures chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. Among its products are propylene, paraxylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) is discussing the purchase of a minor stake in Kitimat liquefied natural-gas (LNG) project with US energy firm Apache Corp, as per Plastemart.

Details relating to the purchase have not been disclosed. Moreover, Sinopec’s management has not sanctioned the investment yet. However, a source revealed that Sinopec’s stake investment will be utilized to fund the LNG project.

The Kitimat LNG development includes undeveloped shale assets covering roughly 644,000 acres of land, pipelines and a processing plant of LNG. Apache owns 50% of the project whereas Chevron Corporation holds the rest.

Sinopec has been exploring expansion and acquisition opportunities offshore and abroad to reduce its exposure to mature domestic markets. However, competition from domestic and international peers, as well as the possibility of time-consuming government deregulation and internal company restructuring, make near-term progress difficult.

As MRC informed earlier, Chinese Sinopec is reportedly in talks on a site for a potential liquefied natural gas export terminal in British Columbia.

Sinopec owns significant natural gas properties in two of Canada's most prominent shale-gas fields that, once developed, could feed into Pacific Coast LNG plants. Asia's largest refiner joins a growing list of major global energy players, including Shell, Chevron and Petronas, all racing to build the facilities to ship cheap Canadian gas to Asian markets.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York . Sinopec is the worlds fifth biggest company by revenue.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- There are big changes in the global PVC marketplace with shale gas providing cheap feedstock in the USA and opening up the export markets, mergers and acquisitions occurring in the European PVC compounding industry, and growth in production in China and Russia, as per Plastemart.

Flexible PVC compounders are still assessing the range of plasticisers on offer as replacements for DEHP, from bio-based chemicals to higher phthalates. Galata Chemicals is offering renewably-sourced plasticisers that enhance the effect of biocides. There are also new bio-based plasticisers from Proviron and there will be a review of plasticisers and the future from Perstorp. Also in this area, Metabolix has studied the beneficial effects of incorporating PHA in PVC to add toughness, plasticisation and better processing performance. To combat bacteria Lonza has developed new antimicrobial technology for flexible vinyl.

There are vital industries depending on reliable materials, particularly the medical device manufacturers. The Dutch blood bank, Sanquin, has conducted research on the potential replacements for DEHP and the effects of the replacement material on the stability of red blood cells and platelets. In pharmaceutical applications fake products are a global issue so Klockner Pentaplast has developed anti-counterfeiting technology for PVC films and Polysecure sells additives for the same purpose.

For rigid materials with outdoor applications appearance is a priority and this depends on the right combination of colorants and stabilisers: BASF has looked at the combinations of additives and colours required for successful PVC products.

There are new opacifying pigments for profiles from FP Pigments in Finland, while Huntsman Pigments has developed pigments that enhance reflectance and transmittance of infrared wavelengths. The issue of photo-pinking will be highlighted by Akdeniz Kimya with a focus on the correct selection of stabilisers to prevent this issue from arising.

Dow has shown that adding rubber particles to profile formulations improves the rheology and mechanical properties and Chemson has reviewed the global trends in stabilisation of profiles, where change has been driven by increasing chemical regulation, particularly governing the types of metal stabilisers that are permitted. This makes legacy products a potential issue in the re-use of recyclate. Sustainability and recycling considerations are now significant factors in formulations.

The profile industry is making great strides in recovery of used windows with companies like Veka leading the way. Foaming technology can reduce the weight and material use in a product and Arkema has invested in developing new processing aids for foams. The mixing of a compound is critical to performance and Coperion has reviewed the latest trends in twin-screw technology, while Farrel Pomini has developed compact processors as an energy-efficient alternative.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, North America’s PVC suppliers have seen growth in export sales, offsetting stagnation in the domestic market. Domestic PVC processors were impacted by the recession, leading to barely 55-65% operating rates of pipe and siding companies. The North American PVC field also stands to benefit from increasing development of shale gas in the region, which can be used to make PVC feedstock ethylene. Even without expanding, US PVC has the advantage in cash costs. US PVC makers "can make PVC here and ship it to any other part of world and be competitive," Brien said. "I definitely think there will be more (North American PVC) expansions announced sooner than later."
MRC