Celanese to add Celstran production capability to Suzano, Brazil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation (CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, announced that it will expand its manufacturing capabilities at the company’s Suzano, Brazil, facility to include Celstran long fiber reinforced thermoplastics (LFRT) production, said the company in its press release.

The Celstran expansion is expected to be operational by mid-2015. This new Celstran LFRT production operation will be part of the company’s manufacturing site in Suzano where Celanese already compounds Hostaform / Celcon acetal copolymer (POM) and Celanex / Vandar thermoplastic polyester (PBT) products for customers in Brazil and Latin America.

Celanese long fiber reinforced thermoplastics, including Celstran, Factor and Compel, offer a combination of stiffness and toughness unparalleled by conventional short-fiber reinforced thermoplastics.

"Having local production of Celstran in Brazil will allow Celanese to better serve our customers by responding faster to incremental volumes and peak demands in this dynamic region," said Guert Rucker, commercial director, South America, for Celanese. "Production in Brazil will also help address our customers’ needs for value chain localization of raw materials, enabling those customers working with Celanese to receive even further tax benefits in the automotive segment via the government program Inovarauto and regional trade agreements."

The broad product line of Celstran LFRT grades are produced using a patented pultrusion process that provides the highest quality impregnation and optimal wetting of the reinforcement fibers. By using various matrix materials, including polyamide (PA), polypropylene (PP), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), PBT, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyacrylic acid (PAA), POM, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and others; and imbedding various glass-, carbon-, stainless steel- and aramid-fibers together with additives, Celanese LFRT grades can be tailored to meet many specific application requirements.

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation announced a range of detectable polymer technologies that can help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers ensure products contain components and parts that meet their material specifications.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. With sales almost equally divided between North America, Europe and Asia, the company uses the full breadth of its global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for customers and the corporation. Celanese partners with customers to solve their most critical needs while making a positive impact on its communities and the world. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Integrated energy firm Total SA is discussing the divestiture of its 22.4% interest in China-based West Pacific Petrochemical refinery with Chinese energy giant PetroChina Co Ltd., as per Plastemart.

The petrochemical plant, which can process and refine crude oil at a rate of 200,000 bpd, is being operated and managed by PetroChina.

The refinery commenced operations in 1996. At that time, it was the first and only refinery in China that was allowed to export its product. However, it incurred considerable losses after the Chinese government started levying heavy export taxes on its products.

We remind that, as MRC reported previously, in early 2014, Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, called on peers to revise projects that require tens of billions of dollars of investment as costs escalate. Total has vowed to lower capital spending even as it starts projects from Norway to Angola to increase output. Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil producer, also had pledged to rein in costs after this month issuing its first profit warning in a decade. The companies have seen expenses climb as they search for crude and gas in more remote and complex areas.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, has announced the release of its 2014 sustainability report, "Moving forward together," reported the company on its site.

The comprehensive, GRI-compliant report provides a review of the company’s sustainability strategy, progress, advancements and goals.

"Sustainability is at the heart of Eastman’s growth platform," said Godefroy Motte, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer for Eastman. "We strive to be good stewards of our company, our communities and the world. This report reflects the efforts of the men and women of Eastman embedding Sustainability in their actions to create value - now and for future generations. We have made progress on our sustainability journey, but we know our work is never complete."

As MRC wrote before, earlier this year, Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, enhanced its medical packaging portfolio with Eastalite copolyester, the company’s first opaque offering, which is styrene-free and can be a sustainable alternative to high-impact polystyrene (HIPS).

Eastman (headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA) is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - The United States on Wednesday imposed its most wide-ranging sanctions yet on Russia's economy, including Gazprombank and the Rosneft Oil Co, and other major banks and energy and defense companies, reported Reuters.

Washington has steadily escalated its financial sanctions on Russia over what it views as Moscow's interference in its neighbor Ukraine.

As MRC informed previously, Russian state oil producer Rosneft will shift its focus to new projects from acquisitions, at a time when the Russian economy is grappling with US and European sanctions, according to the company's chief financial officer.

"We are number one by size, number one by growth, number one by reserve base, number one by efficiency: we don't have to buy more", the Financial times quoted Svyatoslav Slavinsky as saying. The company was looking at developing new oil resources, from east Siberia to the Arctic Sea, and intended to start drilling along with US major ExxonMobil this summer as it looked to shore up its plans of posting a 30% jump in production by 2020, the paper quoted the chief financial officer as saying.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The world cup in South Africa may be over and all the teams have packed up and gone home but the games have left a more permanent legacy according to Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), said Arabianoilgas.

The company's Lexan and Polyethylene products have been used for the 14,000 square metres of roof covering on the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg where the final game on July 11 between Spain and The Netherlands took place.

The roof is made of SABIC Lexan PC sheet which delivers the clarity of glass without the drawbacks of weight and fragility said the company. The SABIC Lexan sheet is also carefully designed to resemble flowing water and protects up to 95,000 spectators from changing weather conditions.

SABIC’s Lexan PC sheet has also been used for the building joints of the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban as well as for roof glazing at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

And perhaps the most memorable element that anybody will remember South Africa's World Cup for - for better or for worse - is the ubiquitous vuvuzela blown by the thousands of football fans at the country's stadiums, these were produced using SABIC's HDPE products.

As MRC wrote before, Sabic Innovative Plastics will invest in a production line for Stamax-brand long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (PP) resin at its manufacturing site in Shanghai. Investment or production capacity numbers were not revealed, but the new line is expected to come on stream in H2-2015. This will be Sabic's third Stamax plant, joining existing facilities in Genk, Belgium, and Bay St. Louis, Miss., according to the statement.

SABICis a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia and the largest company in the Middle East. Sabic is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. Sabic is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
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