Oxea increasing plastisizer capacity in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxea, part of Oman Oil Group, says it is planning to increase its European capacity for its Oxsoft GPO dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) by 50,000 metric tons by the end of 2015, said Plasticsnews.

DOTP is a general-purpose plasticizer used in a wide range of applications such as construction, automotive and flooring.

Oxea says it has signed an agreement with a third party in order to establish joint production of DOTP.
"The European market for phthalate-free plasticizers is growing rapidly. As a replacement mainly for dioctyl phthalate and diisononyl phthalate, DOTP is benefiting particularly from this development and our capacities need to be planned correspondingly," said Oxea’s project leader, Christian Boehmer.

We remind, Oman Oil Company (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, concluded the acquisition of Oxea which was announced in October 2013. With the acquisition, OOC aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of Oxo intermediates and Oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. Oxea, based in Oberhausen, Germany, 1,400 people worldwide and had annual sales of 1.5 billion euros (USD2.06 billion) last year.


MRC

US chemical sector eyes 30% growth over decade

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical and other US chemical makers will boost output capacity 30% in a decade as they invest billions of dollars in factories to take advantage of low-cost shale gas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The producers are adding 105 million metric tons of capacity by 2024, led by ethylene and methanol units on the Gulf Coast, Russell Heinen, a senior director at the firm, said in his presentation at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference in Houston. Growth will peak in 2017 with the addition of 23 million tons of capacity.

Gas prices that have dropped by half in a decade in the US are allowing producers to process liquids such as ethane into chemicals at a lower cost than other regions of the world. Dow is spending about USD4 billion to expand output in Texas and Louisiana.

"Companies are placing bets that the energy revolution is real and sustainable," Jim Fitterling, Dow’s executive vice president of feedstocks, performance chemicals and supply, said at the conference.

The cost advantage, combined with expanded production, will result in a five-fold increase in US earnings from ethylene, the world’s most used chemical and a key ingredient in plastics, Dave Witte, senior vice president at IHS, said in a presentation. Ethylene earnings will rise to USD31.6 billion in 2018 from USD6.9 billion a decade earlier, he said.

Lower energy costs are also attracting other industries to invest in the US, which will help consume some of the new chemical production. Still, exports will need to increase to keep US chemical markets balanced, Witte said.

US capital spending on chemical factories will peak in 2016 at USD14 billion, four times current levels, IHS’s Heinen said in his presentation distributed at the conference. Project costs will increase about 4%/year through 2020, led by a 5.2% annual increase in labor costs, Heinen said.

Global chemical capacity additions, led by Chinese coal-based production, will peak at USD120 billion this year and then decline as US construction ramps up, he said.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. The company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC

BASF increases prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the world petrochemical major, has increased its selling prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe, according to the company's statement.

Prices for the following products will be increased with immediate effect, or as existing contracts permit: 1,4 butanediol (BDO) - by EUR60/tonne, tetrahydrofuran (THF) - by EUR80/tonne, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PolyTHF) - by EUR80/tonne.

The price adjustment ensures that BASF can continue to offer quality products and services to its customers.

As MRC reported earlier, in early December, BASF already announced an inrease of selling prices for butanediol and derivatives in Europe. Prices for the following products rose, as follows: 1,4 butanediol (BDO) - by EUR50/tonne, tetrahydrofuran (THF) - by EUR70/tonne, polytetramethylene ether glycol (PolyTHF) - by EUR70/tonne.

BDO and its derivatives are used for producing engineering plastics, polyurethanes, solvents and elastic spandex fibers.

THF is a high-quality intermediate that serves, for example, as a specialty solvent in the production of pharmaceuticals.

PolyTHF, a registered trade mark of BASF Group in many countries, is used to make elastic spandex fibers for a large variety of textiles, including underwear, outerwear, sportswear and swimsuits. It also serves as a chemical building block for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), which are used to make hoses, films and cable sheathing. Other applications include thermoplastic polyetheresters, polyetheramides and cast elastomers for the production of wheels for skateboards and inline skates.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. As for BDO and BDO-equivalents, BASF currently manufactures these products at its sites in Ludwigshafen, Germany; Geismar, Louisiana; Chiba, Japan; Kuantan, Malaysia; and Caojing, China, and has an annual capacity of 535,000 tonnes.
MRC

Invista starts construction of polyamide 66 plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invista, a world leader in fibers, resins and chemical intermediates, has started construction of a 150,000 tpa polyamide (PA) 66 plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in China, as per Plastemart.

The company is also constructing a hexamethylene diamine (HMD) monomer plant there. The polymer and monomer plants are expected to start up in 2015.

In addition to the HMD and polymer plants, Invista has plans for a future, 300,000-ton adiponitrile (ADN) facility.

Once completed, Invista's new facilities will be among the most energy-efficient nylon intermediates sites in the world and will employ Invista's most advanced technologies for ADN, HMD and polymer production.

The overall investment in these plants will exceed USD1 billion, which will be the largest capital investment undertaken by Invista to date.

"China is one of the most important regions for our growth strategy," said Jeff Gentry, Invista's chairman and chief executive officer, "We have seen significant growth in the region in recent years, and we plan to continue to bring our latest innovative technologies here."

As MRC informed previously, in early 2013, Invista Technologies and Arzeda Corp., an emerging Seattle-based biotechnology company, entered into strategic partneship for the development of new technologies to enable novel bio-derived processes.

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries.
MRC

Campbell appointed BP Russia president

MOSCOW (MRC) -- British oil major BP has appointed former TNK-BP senior manager David Campbell as president of BP Russia, said Upstreamonline.

Campbell is to begin the new role immediately and will report directly to chief executive Bob Dudley.

A spokesperson for BP told Upstream that as well as replacing American Richard Scott Sloan as president of BP Russia, the new role for Campbell would also take in the former Moscow functions of the senior vice president for Iraq and Russia, a job most recently held by Michael Townsend.

Campbell is to be BP’s representative as shareholder to Rosneft, of which the British oil major is the second largest shareholder since last year’s USD61 billion acquisition of TNK-BP by the Moscow-headquartered state oil giant.

He will also spearhead efforts to diversify BP’s co-operation with Rosneft in areas such as potential new joint ventures and technological partnerships. The spokesperson said new roles for Sloan and Townsend had yet to announced.

Dudley said that Campbell "has significant experience of working in Russia and will play a central role in shaping BP’s future and activities in one of the world’s most important oil & gas regions".

Campbell has 30 years’ experience with BP, most recently as head of the group chief executive’s office in London. The Briton has previously held a range of senior management roles in upstream, including chief operating officer of BP’s Iraq operations and other posts in Alaska, Mexico and the North Sea.

Between 2003 and 2007, Campbell was based in Russia as a senior member of TNK-BP’s upstream leadership team that was then led by Dudley.

He has also held senior roles in trading and in the company’s corporate centre.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC