BASF, Petronas consider ┬1bn Malaysia specialty chem investment

(ICIS) -- BASF and Petronas are considering jointly investing around ┬1bn ($1.34bn) to produce specialty chemicals in Malaysia, the companies said on Monday.


The German chemicals giant and the Malaysian oil and gas firm have signed a memorandum of understanding to undertake a feasibility study of the project, due to be completed next year, they said in a joint statement.


The study would check on the technical, commercial and economic viability of jointly owning and operating world-scale facilities for the production of specialty chemicals, including non-ionic surfactants, methanesulphonic acid, iso-nonanol as well as other C4-based specialty chemical products.


BASF board director Martin Brudermuller said: ⌠By expanding our local production base in Malaysia, we can further improve our ability to supply our customers in Asia, from Asia. The investment was in line with the German firm's goal of producing 70% of Asia Pacific sales in the region by 2020, with investments of ┬2bn between 2009 and 2013.


The companies have an existing joint venture in Malaysia - BASF Petronas Chemicals - which currently owns and operates an integrated complex in Gebeng, Pahang, Kuantan that produces acrylic monomers, oxo products and butanediol.


MRC

Spain's Plasticos Castella buys Nypro plant in Hungary

(PRW) -- Nypro has sold its injection moulding plant in Nagyigmand, Hungary, to privately-owned Spanish plastics packaging firm Plasticos Castella. But Nypro will retain a minority stake in the company being formed to operate the plant.


The new company, a unit of Plasticos, will be called PlastiCast Hungary Kft. The 5,000 sq/ft plant, built approximately 10 years ago as a consumer electronics plant, was converted primarily to a plastic packaging plant because manufacturing of the plant's original products shifted almost exclusively to Asia.


The Nagyigmand manufacturing facility will be the first factory for Plasticos Castella outside of its headquarters country of Spain. Plasticos said that it intends to add injection moulding machines and increase production capacity at PlastiCast ⌠in the immediate future.


MRC

Sasol to build ethylene tetramerization unit in Lake Charles

(Downstream Today) -- Sasol on Thursday announced plans to construct the world's first commercial ethylene tetramerization unit, capable of producing more than 100,000 metric tons per year of combined 1-octene and 1-hexene, at its Louisiana production site in Lake Charles.


This first-of-a-kind unit will be built in Southwest Louisiana and will be located inside Sasol's existing Lake Charles Chemical Complex. The tetramerization unit will expand the facility's workforce by nearly 10%.


Construction will commence in 2011, and the plant will reach beneficial operation in mid-2013.


MRC

India to impose anti-dumping PP duty

(Hindu Business Line) -- India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to $323.5 a tonne of polypropylene, for making woven sacks used for carrying cement, foodgrains, sugar and fertiliser, from Oman, Singapore and Saudi Arabia to protect the domestic industry from cheap imports.


The restrictive duty, which would range from $28.49 a tonne to $323.5 a tonne, was imposed on the recommendation of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), a notification by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said.


The DGAD, under the commerce ministry, had found that due to imports of the product from the three nations, the domestic industry suffered ⌠material injury, it said.


MRC

ChemWEyaat new petrochemical project

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- With a US$20 billion price tag, ChemaWEyaat is the largest pure play downstream project in the Middle East today. As part of its plans to develop the downstream sector, the government of Abu Dhabi launched Abu Dhabi National Chemicals Company (ChemaWEyaat) in November 2008, as part of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision.


The purpose of the company is to better utilise the Emirate's vast resources, simultaneously enhancing the development of the petrochemicals industry in Abu Dhabi.


The first wholly-owned subsidiary of ChemaWEyaat will be Tacaamol. The project will produce 6.2 million t/y of marketable petrochemicals, its aromatics unit will have a capacity of 1.4 million t/y of paraxylene, which is used in the production of plastic bottles, and 850 000 t/y of benzene, a key raw material used for the production of polystyrene and polycarbonate. The unit will also produce the liquefied petroleum gases propane and butane, along with light naphtha.


MRC