SK E&C inks USD3.6 bln deal for petrochemical project in Egypt

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Engineering and Construction Co., one of South Korea top builders, signed a multi-billion dollar deal to set up a large-scale petrochemical plant in Egypt, as per Yonhap News Agency.

The builder secured the USD3.6 billion contract for the Tahrir Petrochemical Project as part of a consortium with its German partner Linde. Private Egyptian developer Carbon Holdings placed the order.

The plant in Ain Sokhna region, lying on the western shore of the Gulf of Suez, aims to produce 1.35 million tons of ethylene and polyethylene per year. Both chemicals are used in a wide variety of industrial products ranging from paint to electrical insulation to ceramics.

Of the total, SK E&C will be responsible for the polyethylene plant worth USD900 million. Work on this plant will start late next year for completion by early 2019.

The company said besides drawing the basic design, procurement and construction, it has a stake in the so-called front and end engineering and design (FEED) aspect of the project, as well as financing.

"Comprehensive participation in design and financing means the Tahrir project marks the first time SK is entering a project in the North African country as a TSP, or total solution provider," the company said. It also said the latest order opens new horizons for the builder to compete in similar petrochemical products in such African countries as Ghana, Gabon and Uganda. Many African countries have shown interest in building up their petrochemical infrastructure as they move to industrialize their economies.

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2013, South Korea-based chemical producer SK Chemicals unveiled its plans to launch a joint venture (JV) with Japan's Teijin Chemicals for developing, producing and marketing a super-engineering plastic, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). The proposed JV will set up PPS resin production plants to manufacture 12,000 tons per year (tpy) of PPS by 2015. The companies are also considering expanding the manufacturing capacity to 20,000tpy during the second phase of the project.

South Korea's SK E&C is an engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance services organization. The company has executed a wide range of design and construction projects for the petroleum refining industry including taking a refinery plant project through all phases from design to purchasing, construction and test run. Some of its projects include implementation of full-scale refineries in Kuwait, Brazil and Ghana.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Chemical Corp., one of South Korea's leading polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride producers, said it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to build a petrochemical plant in Iraq, said Englishyonhapnews.

The LOI was signed between the company president, Bang Han-hong, and Iraq's Vice Industry Minister Mohammed Zain in Seoul. Under the joint investment deal, the South Korean company will build an ethylene cracking center and a plant to produce petrochemical products. These facilities will be part of a larger ethylene and natural gas processing complex planned to be built in southern part of Iraq.

Petrochemicals such as ethylene are key materials used in almost every modern product from cars to electronics to consumer goods. Once completed as planned in 2020-21, the complex will have facilities to produce 1 million tons of key petrochemical products per year and could attract investments worth USD4 billion, improving the industrial competitiveness of the oil-rich Middle East country, Hanwha Chemical said.

On prospects for the plant, a Hanwha representative claimed there is a growing need in the industry to become "ethylene oriented" as soaring crude oil prices are undercutting profits in conventional naphtha processing method.

"By building a plant in Iraq where base material prices are cheap, Hanwha has effectively gained a level of competitiveness enjoyed by regional rivals," he said.

The company said the Iraqi project is its second deal in the country. In 2009, it formed an alliance with Saudi partner Sipchem to set up the International Polymers Company. This venture is expected to start producing 200,000 tons of polyethylene per year starting in the first half of 2014.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Axiall Corp. says it is considering building a USD3 billion ethane cracker and chemical plant somewhere in Louisiana, said Knoe.

The Atlanta-based chemical manufacturer says it could make a decision sometime early next year. Axiall would invest USD1 billion of its own money, while an unnamed partner would put in USD2 billion.

The plant could open in 2018, creating 225 permanent jobs.

Axiall says it wants to make more of its own ethane-based chemicals instead of buying them from others.

The company currently has Louisiana plants in Lake Charles and Plaquemines. Axiall was formed earlier this year when Georgia Gulf merged with part of PPG's chemicals business.

If built, the plant would be another in a wave of chemical investments in Louisiana, driven in part by cheap and abundant natural gas.

Several companies are also expanding ethylene capacity in the US and Canada. Producers are eager to take advantage of low-cost ethane feedstock, made available through the advent of shale gas. Among them are Sasol, Dow, Nova e.t.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Teknor Apex Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Teknor Apex Company, has completed a global restructuring of TPE brands and now combines all compounds for consumer product applications under the well-known Monprene brand, as per the company's press release.

It now embraces a much broader portfolio of TPE technologies that provide a vast array of consumer values.

Thus, Asian manufacturers of consumer products now have access to a range of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounds whose unmatched versatility make it possible to enhance the appearance, utility, ergonomics, and shelf-appeal of a wide array of merchandise.

These Monprene compounds are produced at Teknor Apex facilities in Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. As part of its introduction of the expanded Monprene range, Teknor Apex has created a new logo for the Monprene brand.

Existing applications of Monprene TPEs include hand tools, infant care products, kitchen utensils, personal hygiene items, sporting goods, wheels and casters, writing instruments, soft-touch over-moldings, and many other consumer products.

As the most diversified compounder of TPEs, Teknor Apex can formulate Monprene compounds based on any of four broad polymer families: 1) styrene block copolymers, including styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), hydrogenated styrene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS), and hydrogenated styrene-isoprene/butadiene-styrene (SEEPS); 2) thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs); 3) olefinics, including blends of polypropylene or polyethylene with olefinic TPE or with olefin block copolymer (OBC); and 4) bondable TPEs that can be over-molded or coextruded with many polyolefin, styrenic, and engineering resins.

As MRC wrote previously, this summer, Teknor Apex Company introduced a new rigid vinyl compound with a specially developed UV-blocking formulation, which provides clarity for photobioreactor and other outdoor tubing, along with high gloss and toughness for weatherable profile applications.

Teknor Apex is one of the world's leading custom compounders headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA. The company produces PA compounds in the UK, the U.S.A., and Singapore. Teknor Apex is one of the world's leaders of specialty PVC compounds which are used in a wide range of applications from wire and cable to automotive, medical, consumer and industrial products. The company also produces thermoplastic elastomers, nylon, bioplastics, chemicals, specialty compounds.
MRC