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.
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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

Mitsui Chem restructuring operations as part of mid-term business plan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals said it is restructuring its organization as part of the company's effort to accelerate business strategy, new business and product creation strategy, and business support strategy in its 2014 mid-term business plan, said Chemicals-Technology.

As part of the restructuring, the Fine & Performance Chemicals Division and the Licensing Division, both part of functional chemicals, will be transferred to the basic chemicals business sector and petrochemicals business sector, respectively. Mitsui Agro, part of functional chemicals, will be upgraded from a division to a business sector. Functional chemicals will be renamed as the health care business sector.

A new research and development (R&D) center will be established to manage activities of its R&D Strategy Division, Mitsui Chemicals Singapore R&D Centre, synthetic chemicals laboratory, polymeric materials laboratory, new products development laboratory, process technology center, advancing analysis laboratory, and R&D Administration Division.

In addition, Mitsui will create a Fabricated Products Business Coordination Division and a Food & Packaging Business Promotion Division.

As MRC wrote before, Mitsui Chemicals is in plans to shut a naphtha cracker for maintenance turnaround. A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the cracker is likely to be taken off-stream on June 19, 2014. It is slated to remain off-stream for around one month. Located in Osaka, Japan, the plant has an ethylene production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

Mitsui Chemicals,a Japanese chemical company, is a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.


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