Clariant releases ColorForward Interiors 2016: new materials appeal to broader fiber audience

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has released ColorForward Interiors 2016, the third annual trend and color forecasting guide for the fiber and textile market, reported the company in its press release.

This year's edition was expanded to reach a wider range of textile yarn and filament producers, including those serving the carpeting, upholstery, automotive, and interior decoration sectors. This unique creative tool from Clariant ColorWorks defines four trends that can be expected to attract consumer attention in the next few years and creates a color palette that can help marketers tap into the emotions behind those cultural currents.

For the first time, the ColorForward Interiors portfolio includes not only pompons made of polypropylene (PP) and polyamide (PA) fibers, but also "wrap cards" with polyester fiber samples. The polyester fibers are produced as air-textured yarn (ATY), which is also commonly known by the old DuPont trademark, Taslan. ATY yarn is commonly used in the automotive industry and also in furniture upholstery and clothing. The pompons are made from bulk continuous filaments (BCF) to create a texture that is favored for carpeting made in Europe, the Middle East and North America. All fibers in ColorForward Interiors 2016 are dope dyed or spin dyed using Clariant masterbatches (color concentrates) to impart color to the yarn.

"Each year we have released ColorForward Interiors, we have received valuable feedback about how we can enhance the value for our customers," explains Francis Baud, Global Head of Marketing - Fibers for Clariant Masterbatches. "By adding wrap cards with polyester yarn, we are now able to show our colors in a form that will be very familiar to a broad spectrum of fabric producers, designers and interior decorators. At the same time, we have retained the pompons, which are very popular in the carpet industry."

As MRC informed earlier, in September 2014, Clariant announced that it had signed a purchase agreement with VitaPac, a Chinese specialist for healthcare packaging. The owner-led company with 80 employees is based in Hong Kong with a production site in Dongguan, China. It had consolidated sales of about CHF 4.0 million in 2013 (USD4.2 million).

Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited and custom color and additive products with production of more than 10,000 color matches which are completed each year. With more than 50 manufacturing plants around the world, Clariant
Masterbatches products, technology and service deliver competitive advantages that foster long-term customer relationships.
MRC

Equate emerges as best plastic producer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Equate Petrochemical, Kuwait’s first international petrochemical joint-venture, has won the Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Assn.’s award for best plastic products and processes, according to GV.

It recognizes Equate’s development of the attributes of a grade of linear low density polyethylene (LDPE) to enhance clarity and reduce the blocking properties.

As MRC wrote before, in line with The Dow Chemical Company's prior announcement of its intention to rationalize its investments in certain joint ventures, Dow will reconfigure and reduce its equity base in the MEGlobal and Greater Equate joint ventures, including The Kuwait Olefins Company (TKOC) and The Kuwait Styrene Company (TKSC), through a divestment of a portion of the company’s interests in these ventures.

Dow expects such transaction(s) to be completed by mid-2015. While Dow will retain a substantial stake in these long-term partnerships, this effort will open opportunities for new investment in these successful and growing enterprises. Dow remains committed to maximizing the overall value of both MEGlobal and the Greater Equate joint ventures to further enhance their already demonstrated strong value and performance.

Established in 1995, Equate Petrochemical Company is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
MRC

Sinopec Zhenhai to take off-stream HDPE/LLDPE plant in China for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Zhenhai is in plans to shut a high density polyethylene (HDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) swing plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to be shut in April 2015. It is expected to remain off-stream for around two months.

Located at Ningbo in China, the plant has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Top Asian refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) has recently denied reported plans of a merger with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) or China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). It was reported earlier that the Chinese government was considering a merger of its state-owned oil and gas companies to cut costs and streamline operations.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

Braskem to sign revised naphtha contract with Petrobras

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's Braskem SA , Latin America's largest petrochemical company, said it had agreed to a revised naphtha supply contract with shareholder Petrobras, staving off a threatened shutdown of its Brazilian plants, said Reuters.

The contract with Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, extends the supply agreement until Aug. 31, 2015, Braskem said in a statement sent to reporters by email.

It also said the revised contract will use a price retroactive to March 1, when the new agreement is expected to be signed. Without a contract, many of its Brazilian plastics and chemicals plants will have to shut down, chief executive Carlos Fadigas said earlier this month.

Braskem's Brazilian operations have been suffering in the face of a corruption scandal at Petrobras and because its Brazilian plants must pay more for feedstock such as natural gas and naphtha than their foreign competitors or their own plants in the United States.

Petrobras owns 36 percent of Braskem, but the company is controlled by Brazil's Odebrecht Group, which also provides construction and engineering and other services to Petrobras. Odebrecht has been implicated along with about 20 other construction engineering and energy companies in a giant contract fixing, bribery and political kick-back scheme, according to Brazilian police and prosecutors.

Petrobras has stopped paying or signing new contracts with many of these construction companies. Getting a new agreement has proved difficult by the Feb 4 resignation of nearly all of Petrobras' senior executives and the company's efforts to deliver audited 2015 accounts delayed by auditors' concerns about the impact of corruption on the value of Petrobras assets.

As MRC wrote before, Braskem seems keen to drop plans to build the Comperj petrochemical complex in Rio de Janeiro state and is instead exploring a doubling of capacity at its existing gas-based cracker there to over 1 mln tpa.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
MRC

PTTGC studying feasibility of building U.S. shale gas-based ethane cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is conducting a feasibility study for an ethane cracker in the U.S. that would be based on shale gas from the Marcellus basin in the U.S., according to local reports quoting Chief Executive Supattanapong Punmeechaow, said Apic-online.

The company is currently considering three sites that would have easy access to the Marcellus basin for the USD4.5-billion project, which is expected to produce 1-million t/y of ethylene.

A decision on the location is anticipated by the end of March. Following site selection and completion of the feasibility study, Supattanapong said the company will spend another year working out project details.

PTTGC is seeking a strategic partner for the project and is reported to be in talks with a Japanese firm.

As MRC wrote before, PTT Global Chemical has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to SK Engineering and Construction and PTT Maintenance and Engineering for a debottlenecking project that will increase aromatics capacity by 16% to about 1.2-million t/y at its Aromatics II complex in Rayong, Thailand. The approximately USD128.8-million project will increase paraxylene capacity to 770,000 t/y from 655,000 t/y, benzene capacity to 390,000 t/y from 355,000 t/y and will add 20,000 t/y of orthoxylene capacity. Completion of the expansion is scheduled for the end of 2015.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year. PTTGC is 49% owned by state-controlled parent PTT Pcl, and uses ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the gas plant as feedstock for its I4-2 olefins plant.
MRC