Jurong Aromatics likely to start trial runs at Singapore complex by April

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jurong Aromatics Corporation (JAC) could start trial runs at its USD2.4 billion petrochemical complex in Singapore by April, said Businesstime.

The project includes a 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) condensate splitter and an aromatics complex and it will be mechanically complete in February, the sources said.

The company spokesman declined to comment.

The splitter, one of three to start operation in Asia this year, will tighten supply of condensate, a super light oil produced from gas fields, while adding more oil products and petrochemicals in Asia, trade sources said.

The plant will produce 1.5 million tonnes per year (tpy) of aromatics and 2.7 million tpy of petroleum products a year, JAC had said. The oil products will comprise 783,000 tpy of jet fuel, 662,000 tpy of ultra-low sulphur diesel, 647,000 tpy of naphtha, 283,000 tpy of naphtha and 195,000 tpy of fuel oil.

SK Group and Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group are the project's largest shareholders.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil officially opened its multi-billion dollar Singapore chemical plant expansion on Jurong Island, to serve growth markets in the Asia-Pacific region. The expansion included a second 1-million-t/y steam cracker, two 650,000-t/y polyethylene plants, a 450,000-t/y polypropylene plant, a 300,000-t/y specialty elastomers unit, an aromatics extraction facility to produce 340,000 t/y of benzene, and a 125,000-t/y oxo-alcohol expansion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow earned USD1.05 billion last quarter, compared with a loss of USD631 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.4% to USD14.4 billion, exceeding targets from analysts for USD14.13 billion, volumes increased 2%, said the producer in its press release.

"We generated significant earnings growth, margin expansion and return on capital improvement through Dow-specific actions that gained momentum throughout 2013," Dow CEO Andrew Liveris said in a statement.

Liveris has come under pressure in recent weeks from activist investor Dan Loeb, who has called on Dow to spin off its petrochemical business, which he said may be a "significant drag on profitability." Last week, the billionaire hedge fund giant revealed taking a USD1.3 billion stake in Dow.

Dow generated sales growth in nearly all of its operating segments during the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 13% leap in agricultural sciences and a 10% jump for coatings and infrastructure solutions.

The company said performance plastics sales increased 5% basis, while performance materials revenue was up 1%. However, Dow said feedstocks and energy revenue dropped 6% year-over-year due to a 6% decline in prices and flat volume.

As MRC wrote before, Dow Chemical plans to separate chlorine-related assets including its epoxy business as the company focuses on higher-margin activities. The chlorine assets account for as much as USD5 billion of annual revenue and include plants at 11 sites employing almost 2,000 people, Midland, Michigan-based.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Co. said that strong seed and insecticide sales, lower taxes and cost controls helped double its fourth-quarter net income, said the producer in its press release.

DuPont's agriculture business usually posts a fourth-quarter seasonal loss, but this time benefited from earlier than expected seed sales in Brazil and North America and strong demand for insecticides in Latin America. Profit in the company's electronics segment jumped on stronger demand for Solamet paste and Tedlar films in photovoltaics used for solar electricity.

DuPont also pointed to better profitability in its safety and protection business driven by more demand for Kevlar fiber used in body armor and fire-resistant Nomex material. And higher pricing and stronger demand for nutritional items such as probiotics boosted earnings in that division.

Lower prices for titanium dioxide (used for white pigments in paint and cosmetics) and refrigerants, as well as higher raw material costs, weighed on profits in the performance chemicals business. DuPont is in the process of spinning off that segment, which generates significant cash but is subject to highly volatile markets.

DuPont earned USD185 million, double the USD92 millio that it reported for the final months of 2012.

Sales rose 6% to USD7.75 billion from USD7.33 billion last year, slightly below the USD7.8 billion analysts expected. Volumes rose in all regions, including double-digit gains in Asia and Latin American markets. That offset lower local selling prices and foreign exchange fluctuations.

For the full year, DuPont earned USD4.8 billion, on sales of about USD35.7 billion, compared with 2012 net income of about USD2.8 billion, on sales of about USD34.8 billion.

According to MRC, DuPont's pure grade titanium dioxide (TiO2) was the most recognizable and popular grade in the Russian market in 2013. Total imports of DuPont's TiO2to Russia was 14,300 tonnes in 2013.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hyundai Oilbank and Lotte Chemical Corp. have established Hyundai Chemical as a new venture in the "oil refining and synthetic fiber materials business," reported GV with reference to the Korea Economic Daily.

The venture, owned 60 % by Hyundai and 40 % by Lotte, will invest up to 1.2-trillion won, with production targeted to begin in the second half of 2016 at Hyundai’s Daesan plant in South Chungcheong province.

Last year, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to build facilities for the production of 1-million t/y of mixed xylene and 1-million t/y of naphtha on the site of Hyundai’s 390,000-b/d refinery.

At that time, it was explained that Hyundai Cosmo, which is a joint venture of Cosmo Oil and Hyundai Oilbank, and Lotte would each take a portion of the mixed xylene production, while Lotte will use the naphtha as feedstock for its petrochemical operations.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2013, Eni SpA chemical subsidiary Versalis established a 50-50 joint venture with South Korean petrochemical company Lotte Chemical to target the Asian elastomers market. The joint venture is called Lotte Versalis Elastomers Co., and will be headquartered in Yeosu, South Korea. Production capaciy for the elastomers unit includes butadiene and ethylene propylene-derived products for a total capacity of about 200,000 metric tpa.

In early 2013, a major South Korean pertochemical and polymer producer, Honam Petrochemical, and one of the largest South Korean PET and PTA producer, KP Chemical, decided to merge into a new company with a new name Lotte Chemical Corporation. The newly formed company believes that this move will strengthen its position both in domestic and international markets and is in a line with Lotte Chemical's strategy to become a leading global company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Yongxing has reduced run rates at its acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plant, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that run rates at the plant have been reduced to 60% of production capacity from 70%-75% run rates earlier. The curtailment in run rates is a result of the Lunar New Year holiday in China.

Located at Ningbo, China, the plant has a production capacity of 700,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, another Chinese polymer producer Keyuan Petrochemicals has previously announced plans for a new 400,000-t/y acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant in China’s Guangxi Province. The company said it is currently going through the government approval process and design phase. Keyuan now expects the first phase of the project to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2014.
MRC