Samsung interested in upgrade of chemical complex in Azerbaijan

(ABC) -- Azerikimya, a sub-company of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) keeps on consultations with leading companies around the world. The SOCAR informs that the representatives of Samsung Engineering, one of the world's leading producers of ethylene, polyethylene, butadiene, held talks with the Azerikimya's management and claimed of an interest in participation in the upcoming modernization of the SOCAR sub-company's chemical enterprises. The sides agreed to continue consultations on the issue.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- China is expected to form an annual coal-to-olefin production capacity of 10 mln tons by 2020, at a required investment outlay of 250 billion yuan (US$37 billion).

China has included coal chemicals in the Twelfth Five-Year Program development plan, promising to steadily promote coal chemical projects in the 2011-2015 period.

Newly built capacities in this year include 8.6 mln tons of methanol; 1.48 mln tons of coal-to-liquid and 1.55 mln tons of coal-to-olefin.

MRC

(PRW) -- PolyBlend UK, a plastics manufacturing business formed following a management buyout just over a year ago, has bought its trading premises after securing funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The company has purchased the 27,000sq/ft property on Everite Way in Widnes from US-based Polyone, the previous owners of the business. The site houses PolyBlend's manufacturing, warehouse and office facilities.

The business, which manufactures PVC plastisols, also distributes polymer additives, including resins and inks. Its products are used in a wide range of market sectors, including automotive, flooring, coated fabrics and dip moulding.

PolyBlend currently employs 21 staff and has a turnover of 9.5m pounds - a figure which has increased significantly since the MBO team took over.

MRC

(PRW) -- Spanish oil and chemicals group Cepsa has signed an initial agreement to acquire the Artenius San Roque PET plant of leading European polymer producer La Seda de Barcelona. But the takeover deal is still subject certain conditions, among them the successful conclusion of workforce restructuring at San Roque's Cadiz site by Barcelona, Spain-based La Seda.

Earlier this year, La Seda revealed it had received three separate bids to buy the San Roque plant, which has a PET resins capacity of 175,000tpa. Operations at the southern Spanish facility have been suspended since September 2008. Up to then, Cepsa Quimica was the San Roque's main raw materials supplier.

Last year, the group threatened to shut down the plant altogether if it could not reach agreement to reduce its labour, raw materials and energy costs. San Roque plant should be back on stream early next year following a successful take over, according to Cepsa.

The deal marks another step in La Seda's disposal of a number of non strategic operations, part of the group's ongoing restructuring programme approved by its shareholders back in December 2009. The acquisition will expand the polyester value chain of Madrid-based Cepsa group's petrochemicals business Cepsa Quimica.

MRC

(PRW) -- KraussMaffei Berstorff, a subsidiary of the KraussMaffei group, is supplying a system for continuous production of PUR-insulated pipe to Russia-based Technopark.

Technopark, a plastic pipe producer headquartered in St. Petersburg, will use the system to make pipes for district heating systems. The pipes are made of crosslinked polyurethane with polyurethane foam insulation and a PE outer sheath.

⌠The current drive to reduce energy consumption, including capturing off-heat, and to exploit geothermal energy sources and biogas can be expected to produce strong growth in demand for production systems to make insulated pipe, Michael Hofhus, manager of the pipe product group at KraussMaffei Berstorff, said in a statement.

These pipes are cheap to lay and the number of joints required is reduced, says KraussMaffei. Problems such as leakage and thermal bridging are virtually eliminated, adds the firm.

MRC