LUKOIL made advance payment of USD 1 bln under USD 1.5 bln loan

(LUKOIL) -- Today LUKOIL Finance Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of OAO LUKOIL) has made a partial advance payment under the 1.5 billion unsecured club facility (the ⌠Facility) arranged in August 2010, with the maturity of 1 year. The Facility was guaranteed by OAO LUKOIL.

The advance payment of USD 1 billion was made with the proceeds obtained from the eurobonds issue in November, 2010.

The Facility was arranged by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UfJ, Ltd., Citibank, N.A., London branch, ING Bank N.V., London branch, NATIXIS, The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V., WESTLB AG, London branch. Citibank International PLC acted as an agent for the transaction.

MRC

(European Plastics News) -- Italian blow molding machinery maker Siapi has worked with Pepsico International on development of a new one-way bulk water container that will be introduced in the Middle-East market early next year.

Developed for Pepsico's Aquafina water brand, the new container has a capacity of 17.5-litres and weighs 340g. The use of one-way containers in the bulk water market is a relatively new but growing trend, according to Siapi.

Siapi said the new container will be produced using an EA2S all-electric stretch blow molding machine.

MRC

(PRW) -- Italian bioplastics producer Novamont and German bioplastics technology company BIOP Biopolymer Technologies have reached a settlement agreement in a seven-year patent dispute.

The dispute dates back to 2003, when Novamont sued BIOP alleging that the German firm's Biopar biopolymer manufacturing process infringed three of its European patents. BIOP responded by filing nullity claims and last year obtained a ruling of invalidity from the Munich patent court on one of the patents involved - EP0327505.

The agreement between the two companies does not restrict BIOP from marketing its Biopar production technologies.

Originally set up to manufacture bioplastics, BIOP changed its strategy to licensing its Biopar technology to third parties last year. The company claims that its bi-continuous-phase technology allows production of a range of potato-starch based polymer blends that can be used in place of PE in applications such as bags and wrap.

MRC

(PRW) -- Axion Polymers has won another accolade for its Axpoly PS13 post-consumer recycled polystyrene - scooping the Sustainable Technology Award at the 2010 IChemE Awards.

The category recognises the project or process that best demonstrates innovation in waste reduction, recycling, reuse or the lengthening of product lifecycles.

In June, Axion became the UK's first polymer producer to gain a certified Carbon Footprint label for Axpoly, which is used to produce coat hangers, office trays and horticultural pots.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Evonik posted a third-quarter net profit of ┬260m ($356m), up 55% year on year, amid strong sales, the Germany-based specialty chemicals maker said on Monday.

Sales during the July-September period rose 24% year on year to ┬4.09bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 18% to ┬744m, Evonik said in a statement.

Stronger global demand, a substantial improvement in capacity utilisation and higher efficiency at production plants raised earnings considerably for Evonik's chemicals business during the January-September period, the company said.

Evonik's Performance Polymers Business Unit manufactures monomers, polymers and sheet materials. These products are based on methacrylate chemistry, specialty polyamides and other high-performance polymers such as PEEK. With its three business lines, Acrylic Monomers, Acrylic Polymers and High Performance Polymers, the business unit achieved sales of about ┬1.1 billion in 2009.

MRC