LyondellBasell announces retirement of CEO Jim Gallogly

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that Chief Executive Officer James L. Gallogly will retire from the company in early 2015, reported the company in its press release.

Gallogly will continue to serve as CEO and chairman of the LyondellBasell management board in the interim to ensure an orderly transition pending the selection of his replacement. The LyondellBasell supervisory board of directors has formed a committee to choose Gallogly's successor.

In May 2014, shareholders approved the expansion of the company's management board, chaired by Gallogly, to include Craig B. Glidden, executive vice president and chief legal officer, Karyn F. Ovelmen, executive vice president and chief financial officer, Bhavesh (Bob) V. Patel, executive vice president – Olefins & Polyolefins - EAI and Technology, Timothy D. Roberts, executive vice president – Olefins & Polyolefins – Americas, and Patrick D. Quarles, senior vice president – Intermediates and Derivatives. The management board members were elected to four-year terms to ensure continued strong leadership and executive continuity at the company.

"The entire management board has demonstrated exceptional business leadership and I am confident the transition will be seamless," Gallogly said.

"Under Jim's leadership, LyondellBasell successfully emerged from bankruptcy in record time and today is an industry leader with a very strong balance sheet and strategically positioned manufacturing facilities," said Robert G. Gwin, chairman of the LyondellBasell supervisory board. "The supervisory board is grateful to Jim for his exceptional contributions to the company. As the company moves forward, we will build on the solid foundation Jim created by continuing to focus on safety, cost control, taking maximum advantage of market opportunities and by investing in technology-driven growth," he added.

As MRC informed previously, LyondellBasell is evaluating a further expansion project at its petrochemical plant in Channelview, Texas, that would potentially add up to 550 million lb/year (250,000 tpy) of ethylene capacity. Preliminary engineering work is already underway to assess expansion feasibility. If the project proceeds, the anticipated time frame for completion would be 2017.

LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

LG Chem to shut down aromatics plant in South Korea

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean petrochemical company LG Chemical will be taking off-stream an aromatics plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the plant will be shut on October 15, 2014. It will remain off-stream till end-November 2014.

Located at Yeosu in South Korea, the plant has a benzene capacity of 240,000 mt/year, toluene capacity of 100,000 mt/year and solvent-grade MX capacity of 55,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, LG Chem is planning to build an ethylene production plant in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. The project is going to be constructed in collaboration with two other Kazakh firms. The production is expected to begin in late 2016.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

ExxonMobil suspends cooperation with Rosneft on Arctic oil project


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft and its head Igor Sechin were among the targets of the sanctions, imposed over Moscow's role in the Ukrainian conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, said Reuters.

On Saturday, Rosneft said it had made an oil discovery jointly with ExxonMobil and that the two had successfully completed drilling of a well in the Kara Sea oil province, where oil reserves are estimated to be comparable to those of Saudi Arabia.

Exxon said earlier this month that the U.S. Treasury Department had given it a short extension to wind down a rig in the Kara Sea beyond the 14 days outlined in the sanctions targeting Western cooperation in Russia's oil sector.

"Theoretically, there was a possibility to continue the work, but it was necessary to obtain a new permit," Kommersant reported, citing one of the unnamed sources. "But (ExxonMobil) failed to get it. ExxonMobil should stop work and evacuate its personnel by mid-October."

Rosneft declined to comment on the report. ExxonMobil was not immediately available for comment.

As MRC wrote before, on 17 July 2014, the United States 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. Washington has steadily escalated its financial sanctions on Russia over what it views as Moscow's interference in its neighbor Ukraine.

MRC

Wyoming Refining licenses Technip, ExxonMobil technology at new plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Badger Licensing announced that Wyoming Refining Co. has selected Badger to provide its proprietary BenzOUT technology for a 4,000-bpd grassroots plant to be built in Newcastle, Wyoming, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The unit converts benzene contained in the refinery's gasoline pool into high-octane blendstock by reacting the benzene with refinery-grade propylene.

The award includes technology license, process design, and start-up services. The project is currently in basic engineering and is scheduled for mechanical completion and startup in 2015.

"Wyoming Refining will meet MSAT II benzene regulations and gain several important benefits by choosing BenzOUT technology," said Stuart Agler, president of Badger.

"The technology will increase the octane in Wyoming Refining’s motor gasoline and does not require hydrogen," he added. "Wyoming Refining will also avoid high freight costs associated with shipping propylene by converting the propylene to high-octane gasoline blendstock."

Badger Licensing, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, is a venture of affiliates of Technip and ExxonMobil Chemical. Badger Licensing is principally engaged in marketing, licensing and developing technologies for ethylbenzene, styrene monomer, cumene and bisphenol A, in addition to BenzOUT technology.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil Chemical announced that it will build facilities to manufacture premium halobutyl rubber and Escorez hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin at its recently-expanded petrochemical complex in Singapore. Engineering and procurement activities have begun, with construction expected to begin in the second half of 2014 and completion anticipated in 2017.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Romanian company opens new factory for PVC window profiles after EUR5 mln investment

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Romanian company Electric Plus, headquartered in Bacau, recently finalized a EUR 5 million investment into a new factory that produces PVC window profile systems under the brand Barrier, said Romania-insider.

The new production line can make 700 windows each day and has 200 employees that operate it.

The company also produces PVC profile doors and will also start producing insulating glass next year.

Electric Plus is distributing its Barrier products in Romania, via a network of over 300 partners, but is also exporting PVC windows to Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. It also plans to enter the markets in Great Britain, Netherlands and Spain.

Electric Plus increased its turnover from EUR 2.8 million in 2010 to EUR 13.3 million in 2013 and made a net profit of EUR 595,000, according to data from the Finance Ministry. The company had 289 employees in 2013.
MRC