Hanwha Chemical inks letter of intent to build factory in Iraq

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

Saint-Gobain sells fiber cement business, plans focus on vinyl siding

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cie. de Saint-Gobain is selling its U.S.-based fiber cement siding business to Plycem USA Inc., a subsidiary of Elementia SA de CV of Mexico, said Plasticsnews.

The business changing hands is part of Saint-Gobain's exterior products line for the construction sector. It manufactures and sells fiber cement siding, trim and accessory products for the U.S. and Canadian residential and commercial building markets. The business employs almost 250 and has three U.S. production sites in Roaring River, N.C.; Terre Haute, Ind.; and White City, Ore.

With the pending divestiture, Saint-Gobain will focus on its vinyl and polymer shake siding cladding businesses. The sale is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2014, subject to standard closing conditions.

As MRC wrote before, Westlake Chemical has agreed to acquire the PVC pipe and fittings unit of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's CertainTeed Corp. for USD175 million. CertainTeed's pipe and foundation group produces PVC pipe and fittings for municipalities, water wells, mining, agriculture and irrigation.

Elementia is a Mexican consortium of industrial and construction companies that offer fiber cement, cement, concrete, polyethylene, styrene, polypropylene and copper applications. Elementia has four divisions — metals, building systems, plastics, and cement — and a presence in more than 40 countries with about 5,000 distribution centers.

Saint-Gobain, which claims to be the world leader in the habitat and construction markets, designs, manufactures and distributes building materials. Sales in 2012 totaled 43.2 billion euros (USD59 billion) for the company, which operates in 64 countries and has nearly 193,000 employees.

MRC

Axiall considers La. for USD3 billion ethane plant

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

Teknor Apex restructures thermoplastic elastomer compounds range

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

PetroChina Sichuan refinery and petrochemical complex ready for trial run after repeated delays

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina's USD6 bln refinery and petrochemical complex in Southwest China will be ready for trial production in weeks, more than a year later than originally touted due to repeated delays, as per officials in Reuters.

The start-up of the 200,000 barrels-per-day Sichuan facility is being closely watched as it is the first major refinery in China's landlocked southwest and will process crude from the remote Xinjiang region, as well as from Russia and Kazakhstan.

It will also be one of the two major new refineries the world's second's largest oil consumer is expected to bring online in 2014. The other is the 240,000-bpd Quanzhou refinery, with investment by state-run Sinochem Corp.

Quanzhou, in the southeastern province of Fujian, is expected to start in the first quarter of 2014, delayed from an original timeline of mid-2013.

Sichuan refinery was last expected to start trial production in late October, according to company officials. That was after several delays including one as local residents expressed concerns over safety following an earthquake in Sichuan in April.

The Sichuan plant has an affiliated petrochemical complex including an 800,000 tonne-per-year ethylene unit, which produces feedstock for making plastics and textiles. Officials did not specify if the petrochemical plant would start operating at the same time.

Tighter government scrutiny and growing public awareness of environmental and safety standards have over the past few years contributed to a slowing in China's refinery expansions, following more rapid development since the mid-1990s.

Plans for a USD13 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in east China - a joint investment by PetroChina, Royal Dutch Shell and Qatar Petroleum, have stalled over finding a suitable site.

As MRC reported before, this summer, Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies and The Dow Chemical announced that PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina selected LP Oxo technology to produce 2-ethylhexanol, normal butanol and iso butyraldehyde in its major petrochemical complex in Jieyang, Guangdong, China. The new LP Oxo unit, with a capacity of 85,000 metric tons of 2-ethylhexanol, 235,000 metric tons of normal butanol and 33,000 metric tons of iso-butyraldehyde on a yearly basis, will adopt JM Davy and Dow's LP Oxo SELECTOR 10 Technology with advanced liquid phase hydrogenation which features a high conversion of propylene to alcohols, low capital investment and easy operation.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC