Naushad Jamani named Senior Vice President Olefins and Feedstock of NOVA Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals Corporation has announced that Naushad Jamani has been named Senior Vice President Olefins and Feedstock, effective January 1, 2015, replacing Grant Thomson who will be retiring at the end of the year, according to the company's press release.

Mr. Jamani will become a member of the NOVA Chemicals Management Board.

"The Board of Directors is pleased to be able to continue the strong leadership that NOVA Chemicals has shown in feedstocks with the appointment of Mr. Jamani," stated His Excellency Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, NOVA Chemicals Chairman and IPIC Managing Director. "We thank Mr. Thomson for his positive contributions to NOVA."

Mr. Jamani has nearly 35 years at NOVA Chemicals with roles in various engineering and commercial segments of the business. He is currently responsible for the acquisition of all feedstock for the Corunna, Ontario facility as well as sales and marketing of all NOVA Chemicals olefins products. Over his career, he has been centrally involved in the transformation of the Corunna cracker from its original 100% naphtha feedstock slate into its current ability to utilize up to 100% natural gas liquid and the interim steps along the way.

The NOVA Chemicals Board of Directors continues the search for a permanent CEO.

As MRC reported earlier, Canada's Nova Chemicals remains on target for a late-2015 startup for its Polyethylene 1 expansion project in Alberta, expected to add at least 950 million lbs/year of linear low density (LLDPE) production the plant.

Nova Chemical is one of the largest world's petrochemical companies, a manufacturer of polyethylene, styrene polymers, monomers, and many other related products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has achieved a special mention in the Best Process Innovation category of the ICIS Innovation Awards 2014 for its Heat Generating Material (HGM) concept, proven to significantly improve the efficiency of CATOFIN on-purpose olefin production units, reported the company on its site.

The ICIS judges selected HGM for particular recognition because of its step-change contribution to feedstock utilization efficiency through increasing olefin selectivity and yield by several percent. The new concept reduces the carbon emissions of a typical CATOFIN unit by several 10’000t of CO2 per year. CATOFIN technology based on Clariant’s Houdry catalysts creates a reliable and less complex production process for on-purpose olefins production with efficient energy consumption. Licensed through CB&I is the CATOFIN technology currently used in more than 30 propane and butane dehydrogenation plants around the world.

Metal oxide-based HGM is loaded into the catalyst bed of the dehydrogenation plant. It is oxidised and reduced during the process. This reaction produces heat inside the catalyst bed where it drives the dehydrogenation reaction. It significantly reduces the amount of heat that needs to be supplied and also establishes a more favorable catalyst bed temperature profile. This increases olefin selectivity and consequently the yield, while also saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions.

Several Catofin units utilizing HGM have gone on-stream since 2011, all confirming the advantages of the HGM technology at full commercial scale.

"Shale gas development is creating significant need for on-purpose olefin production, and with HGM we are offering step change improvements to the efficient CATOFIN technology. Several percentage of olefin yield improvement for CATOFIN plants translate into tremendous economic benefit. Further competitive advantages for our customer are brought through sustainability aspects of energy consumption and CO2 emission reduction," said Stefan Heuser, Head of BU Catalysts at Clariant.

As MRC informed previously, in July 2014, CB&I and Clariant announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business. Based at Clariant’s largest US production hub, the new facility will combine innovative catalysts jointly developed by both companies with high-capacity output.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Williams Companies Inc. reported third-quarter 2014 net income attributable to Williams of USD1.678 billion or USD2.22 per share, compared with net income of USD141 million, or USD0.20 per share for third-quarter 2013, said Nasdaq.

The USD1.537 billion increase in net income during third-quarter 2014 was primarily the result of a USD2.522 billion pre-tax non-cash re-measurement gain related to the consolidation of its previous equity-method investment in Access Midstream Partners as of July 1, 2014.

Adjusted income from continuing operations for third-quarter 2014 was USD110 million, or USd0.15 per share, compared with USD130 million, or USD0.19 per share for third-quarter 2013. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of USD0.19 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The decrease in adjusted income for the quarter was driven by USD86 million higher net interest expense, including interest associated with debt at Access Midstream Partners, and USD28 million lower NGL margins, partially offset by the segment results of our now consolidated Access Midstream Partners business and growth in Williams Partners' fee-based revenues.

The company expects dramatically higher results for Williams Partners in the fourth quarter and 2015.

As MRC wrote before, Williams Olefins in August 2014 restated its ethylene force majeure allocation, reducing its August sales allocation from 25% to 0%. In mid-June 2013, Williams Olefins declared force majeure on ethylene supplies out of its Geismar, Louisiana, olefins complex that was impacted by an explosion and fire.

Williams is one of North America"s largest natural gas gatherers and processors. Williams also has a growing midstream business in Canada focused on processing oil sands off-gas into NGLs and olefins. It also has a domestic olefins business that provides customers in the petrochemical industry with a full suite of products and services.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Swiss specialty chemicals maker Clariant AG reported that its third-quarter net income was 59 million Swiss francs, compared to a loss of 204 million francs in the same quarter last year, said the producer in its press-release.

Net income from continuing operations dropped to 58 million francs from last year's 129 million francs. The decrease was entirely caused by higher tax charges compared to the year-ago period and a one-time gain from the joint venture transaction with Wilmar in the previous year.

EBIT declined to 122 million francs from 147 million francs in the previous year.

But, quarterly sales rose 4% to 1.507 billion francs from 1.443 billion francs last year. Sales from continuing operations rose 8% in local currencies.

For the full-year 2014, Clariant expects around mid single-digit sales growth in local currencies and an EBITDA margin before exceptional items above full-year 2013.

Clariant confirmed its mid-term target of achieving a position in the top tier of the specialty chemicals industry.This corresponds to an EBITDA margin before exceptional items in the range of 16 % to 19 % and a return on invested capital (ROIC) above the peer group average in 2015 and beyond.

As MRC wrote before, CB&I and Clariant announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The plant is part of a long-term strategic partnership between Clariant’s catalysts business and CB&I’s Lummus Novolen Technology business.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Life sciences and material sciences company Royal DSM has confirmed that the polymerisation plant it announced earlier this year will be built in Augusta, Georgia, and will manufacture high viscous Akulon polyamide 6 polymer for film grades used in flexible food packaging and other segments, as per Plastics in Packaging.

The US plant will be built next to DSM Engineering Plastics' existing facility, which currently makes medium viscous grades of Akulon and Novamid polyamide 6 polymers for a wide variety of industries.

"DSM Engineering Plastics’ decision to locate its newest plant in Georgia speaks to our position as a global leader in the advanced manufacturing industry," said Chris Carr, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Richard Pieters, president of DSM Engineering Plastics Americas, said: "The Augusta location will offer all logistic modalities to our customers in the Americas and leverage the scale of our existing polymer operations."

The plant will be DSM’s first polymerisation plant for high viscosity grades in North America for Akulon polyamide 6s. In addition to Akulon and Novamid 6 and 6,66 polyamides, DSM serves customers with a range of specialty high performance engineering plastics including Arnitel TPC copolyester, Arnite PBT and PET polyesters, Stanyl high performance polyamide 46 and 4T, and our bio-based engineering plastics EcoPaXX polyamide 410 and Arnitel Eco copolyester.

Construction of the plant is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2015 with completion targeted for mid-2016.

As MRC reported earlier, last October, Royal DSM signed a partnership agreement with long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) specialist Plasticomp (Winona, Minnesota / USA) to develop bio-based LFT composite materials based on DSM’s "EcoPaXX" polyamide 4.10. The lightweight materials, which include compounds reinforced with glass fiber as well as carbon fiber, will be targeted at automotive and other performance-driven markets.

Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
MRC