Solvay starts up new fluoroelastomers plant in Changshu, China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay, a privately owned multinational chemicals company, has begun production at its new fluoroelastomers (FKM) plant in Changshu, China, as part of its ongoing strategic site expansion, to meet booming demand for its specialty polymers from Asia’s fast-growing automotive industry and multiple other high-end markets, as per the company's press release.

As Solvay Specialty Polymers’ third fluorelastomer unit in the world it benefits from the site’s existing Specialty Polymers operations and infrastructure, as well as from secure raw material supplies through its joint venture with nearby Shanghai 3F New Material Co., Ltd..

From Changshu, Jiangsu Province, Solvay will supply its FKM brand Tecnoflon which resists aggressive chemicals and heats of more than 250 C and is easy to process in various different molding techniques. Typical end-use products are gaskets, shaft seals and hoses used in sealing applications in the automotive, industrial and oil and gas industries.

"This state-of-the-art fluoroelastomers facility considerably strengthens our global industrial footprint, extending our reach from Europe and the United States to Asia," said Augusto Di Donfrancesco, President of Solvay’s Specialty Polymers Global Business Unit. "Solvay Specialty Polymers offers the industry’s most diversified range of high-end polymers and our expansions in Changshu will bring us closer to our customers and support them in maintaining their competitive edge in their market segments."

At the same site, Solvay Specialty Polymers is constructing a unit for the production of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to supply Solef. The unit is due to come on-stream by early 2017. In addition to fluoroelastomers, Solvay’s operations at Changshu include compounding, based on its specialty polymers resins.

As MRC wrote before, in early 2015, Solvay completed the acquisition of the Ryton PPS (polyphenylene sulphide) business from US-based Chevron Phillips Chemical Company for USD220 million, enlarging its high-performance polymers offering and entering a solid growth market.

Solvay S.A. is a Belgian chemical company founded in 1863, with its head office in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels, Belgium. The company has diversified into two major sectors of activity: chemicals and plastics. Solvay supplies over 1500 products across 35 brands of high-performance polymers - fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra polymers, high-barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds. The group employs about 29,400 people in 56 countries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont, a science company that brings world-class, innovative products, materials, and services to the global marketplace, reported second quarter 2015 net income attributable to company of USD940 million compared to USD1.07 billion, a year ago, as per the company's press release.

Earnings per share were USD1.03, compared to USD1.15. Operating earnings per share was USD1.18, for the quarter.

On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of USD1.18 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Second quarter sales were USD8.60 billion, down 11 percent versus prior year due to negative impacts from currency, portfolio changes, volume and local price and product mix. Analysts expected revenue of USD8.75 billion for the quarter.

DuPont said the company is reducing expectations for the year in its Agriculture segment due to weaker demand in global crop protection markets, reduced expectations for corn area in Latin America, and lower than expected soybean volumes in North America.

The company expects operating earnings per share for 2015 to be about USD3.10 per share for the full year, excluding USD0.80 per share of anticipated full-year earnings from the Performance Chemicals segment. This represents a USD0.10 per share reduction from the prior outlook of USD4.00 per share, which included the Performance Chemicals segment. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of USD3.54.

DuPont's board approved a third quarter dividend of USD0.38 per share payable on Sept. 11, 2015, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 14, 2015.

As MRC reported before, in August 2014, DuPont Crop Protection (DuPont) announced an agreement with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) for DuPont to sell its global Kocide and ManKocide copper fungicide business assets to Mitsui. The sale was closed in the fourth quarter 2014. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Besides, Borealis AG announced that its was buying out DuPont Co.’s two-thirds share in their Specialty Polymers Antwerp NV joint venture. No purchase price was disclosed. Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont will continue to sell ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and acrylate compolymers made at the JV’s plant, which is in Zwijndrecht, Belgium.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has imposed antidumping duty of USD48.39/mt and USD21.90/mt on caustic soda imports from South Korea and China, respectively, reported Apic-online with reference to traders.

Plans to slap antidumping duty on imports from the two countries were announced in a government notification dated June 18.

Cargoes produced by South Korea's Hanwha Chemical, and China's Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical and Tianjin Dagu Chemical will not be subject to antidumping duty if imported through trading company US' Tricon Energy.

Antidumping duty will apply to all other Chinese and South Korea producers/exporters of caustic soda, sources said.

We also remind that, as MRC wrote before, last April, Indian government announced the new anti-dumping duties on PVC imports following sunset investigations. Anti-dumping duties on PVC imports expired on January 23, 2014 and they had been suspended since then as the sunset investigation was extended several times. Players reported that the Indian government has implemented anti-dumping duties on PVC imports, with the variation in duties from the same country due to the assessment of anti-dumping duties according to individual producers.

Regarding European material, the new anti-dumping duties are set as USD190/ton while imports from Ineos will be subject to duties of USD48/ton. The anti-dumping duties on US PVC imports are set as USD38/ton for Westlake Chemical and as USD119/ton for OxyChem.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip has announced two separate deals to modernize and expand refineries in Egypt, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In the first deal, Technip announced the finalization of a joint agreement with Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (EGPC) and Assiut Oil Refining Co.(ASORC) for the modernization project of the Assiut refinery in Upper Egypt.

The investment has an estimated total value of USD1.5 billion. The deal aims at maximizing diesel production and will introduce the most modern refinery technologies in Upper Egypt to satisfy growing local demand for petroleum products.

According to the agreement, Technip will start activities for the project, as well as providing support to ensure project financing. In due course, Technip will take responsibility for the EPC phase of the Assiut project.

Likewise, Technip and SACE also announced the finalization of a joint agreement with Midor (Middle East Oil Refinery) for a project to modernize and expand the MIDOR refinery near Alexandria, Egypt.

That investment has an estimated total value of USD1.4 billion and aims at improving the production quality of the plant, considered the most advanced of the African continent, by increasing its refining capacity from 100,000 to 160,000 bpd of crude oil.

As MRC informed previously, in November 2014, Technip was awarded a contract by Westlake Chemical to provide detailed engineering and procurement services to expand the recovery section of Westlake’s Petro 1 ethylene plant at its complex in Sulphur, Louisiana. Technip’s operating center in Houston will execute the project, with support from the group’s office in Mumbai, India.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yara International and BASF has broken ground on a world-scale ammonia plant at the BASF site in Freeport, Texas, said BASF on its site.

Total capital investment for the plant - which is expected to come online in 2017 - is estimated at USD600 million.

As part of the project, Yara will build an ammonia tank at the BASF terminal, while BASF will upgrade its current terminal and pipeline assets for the export of ammonia from the new plant.

"I am very pleased to be here today, initiating the construction of an important investment for Yara – alongside our partners at BASF. The building of the Freeport Ammonia plant is a firm demonstration of how we deliver on our growth strategy," said Torgeir Kvidal, president and CEO of Yara.

The plant will have a capacity of about 750,000 tpy and will be owned 68% by Yara and 32% by BASF. Each party will off-take ammonia from the plant in accordance with its equity share.

BASF will use its share of ammonia from the plant to produce caprolactam, a key ingredient in the manufacture of nylons for carpet, textiles, film, monofilaments, and wire and cable. Yara will market the remainder mostly to industrial customers in North America, in addition to supplying the agricultural sector.

"BASF is in a period of significant investment in North America," said Wayne T. Smith, CEO of BASF. "Through the joint investment with Yara, we can take advantage of world-scale production economics and the attractive raw material costs in the US; strengthening our operations in Freeport and the competitiveness of our customer value chain in the region."

As MRC reported earlier, in june 2014, BASF undertook three key capacity expansion projects for performance materials at its Pudong site in Shanghai (China). The capacity expansion projects includes Ultramid (polyamide, PA), Ultradur (polybutylene terephthalate, PBT), Elastollan thermoplastics polyurethane elastomers (TPU), and Technical Center and capacity expansion of Cellasto (microcellular polyurethane components).

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
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