Braskem near finalizing short-term extension of naphtha contract Petrobras

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA said on Tuesday it was finalizing a short-term extension of its contract to buy naphtha from state-run oil company Petrobras, avoiding an interruption to operations, said Reuters.

The contract has been under intense scrutiny after prosecutors charged executives at engineering group Odebrecht SA, Braskem's biggest shareholder, with paying bribes to Petrobras executives to secure naphtha at a price that allegedly cost the oil giant billions of dollars.

Braskem and Odebrecht have denied any wrongdoing, but Petrobras, Braskem's second-largest shareholder, confirmed irregularities in the process of approving the 2009 contract.

Naphtha is the main raw material for many of Braskem's plastic resins and other chemical products.

As MRC informed earlier, Petrobras said it has identified "irregularities" in the 2009 naphtha supply contract with local petrochemicals company Braskem, a sign that a widespread bribery scandal may have tainted the deal.

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

BASF and Ralf Bohle developed new lightweight thermoplastic material for tough applications

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The German company Ralf Bohle GmbH, the market leader in Europe for bicycle tires and inner tubes, has worked with BASF to develop a new thermoplastic material. It is based on the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) Elastollan by BASF, as per BASF's press release.

The excellent mechanical properties of this material mean that the wall thickness could be considerably reduced. This gives the eye-catching blue Evo Tube an important advantage over butyl-based inner tubes: the weight has been reduced by as much as 65% compared with a standard 29-inch tube; depending on the size of the tire, the Evo Tube weighs between 68 and 76 grams. According to Schwalbe, the tube will be in stores from December 2015.

The thermoplastic polyurethane from BASF is remarkable for its many useful material characteristics. It is particularly resistant to abrasion and wear and therefore really long-lasting. Furthermore, an inner tube made from this plastic can withstand a very high level of continuous load and – despite its greatly reduced wall thickness – maintain a constant air pressure over long periods. An interesting feature of the solution that was developed with Schwalbe is that the tube, valve base and valve stem are all made from materials based on Elastollan. This simplifies the production process and also allows the product to be easily recycled. "Thanks to our extensive portfolio of suitable types of Elastollan, we were able to find the perfect combination of materials to make the new Evo Tube," explains Sascha Mattfeld, from TPU Sales at BASF.

BASF helped Schwalbe over a period of two years with selecting the material, carrying out production trials and providing ready-made components from BASF's own Application Engineering Centre. During the work on the project, extensive mechanical stress tests were carried out, especially with regard to temperature and pressure resistance and gas permeability. "Our close partnership with BASF was focused and constructive in every way: we received intensive support and advice and were flexibly supplied with sample components throughout the whole period of the project," adds Marcus Lambertz, the Evo Tube product manager at Schwalbe. "We are already working on developing more versions based on the same material."

The thermoplastic polyurethane from BASF also has a wide range of possible applications in other industries and sectors, for example in the automotive industry or in mechanical engineering and medical engineering. The synthetic material can also be processed in various different ways: among other things, Elastollan can be injection molded, extruded or blow molded.

As MRC wrote previously, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, has recently developed innovative plastics, catalysts and battery materials to enable automotive manufacturers to save weight and reduce emissions as well as improve safety. With the microcellular polyurethane elastomer Cellasto, BASF offers a tailor-made solution for reducing NVH effects (NVH: noise, vibration, harshness) in vehicles.

The German company Ralf Bohle GmbH, with its Schwalbe brand, is the market leader for bicycle tires in Europe More than 180 people are employed by the Bohle Group which has subsidiary companies in Italy, France, the UK, the Netherlands and the USA/Canada.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of over EUR74 billion in 2014 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

EU set to roll over sanctions on Russian and Ukraine-rebel individuals and firms

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Union is set to roll over until March 15 sanctions targeted against almost 200 Russian and Ukrainian-separatist individuals and firms to maintain pressure on Moscow to fully implement the Minsk ceasefire terms by the end of the year, said The Wall Street Journal.

The decision is expected to be made at a meeting of senior EU officials on Wednesday and should be signed off by ministers in mid-September, the diplomats said. The asset freeze and travel bans were due to expire Sept. 15.

The sanctions currently target 151 people, including senior Russian advisors, lawmakers and rebel Ukrainian leaders and officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top ministers weren’t affected. One person on the list has died, the diplomats said, reducing the number of individuals to 150.

The Russians targeted include Deputy Prime Ministers Dmitry Kozak, who the EU said was in charge of integrating Crimea into Russia after its March 2014 annexation and Dmitry Rogozin, who publicly called for the seizing of the territory, according to the EU. It also includes Igor Sergun, head of Russia’s main intelligence directorate, and senior Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov.

As it was written earlier, in June, the EU agreed to extend broader economic sanctions against Russia until January 2016. The EU, the United States, and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia for supporting and supplying the separatists. Russia denies any interference.
MRC

Rubber revenue hikes at Nizhnekamskneftekhim H1 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian plastics and rubber producer Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNK, Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan) has announced a year-on-year increase of 219.2% in its first-half 2015 operating profit which reached Rb 15.9 bn (EUR 219m), as per company's press release.

NKNK said both production and sales of plastics and rubbers had grown. Production of its main products, including plastics, was 361,000 t, up by 2.7% on the same period last year. The higher production volumes and the weakening rouble pushed revenue from the plastics segment up by 14.2% to nearly Rb25 bn.

On a regional basis, Europe’s share of NKNK’s total sales shrank to 25.7% compared with 33.4% in the first half of 2014, while Asia’s share increased by 8% to 11.6%.

In the second half of this year, NKNK is planning to start its own production of alpha-olefins which will replace imports. The plant will supply a number of fractions used to manufacture complex plastic copolymers.

In addition, NKNK is continuing a detailed pre-investment study for an olefins and integrated PE/PP complex. Agreements for technology licences and engineering have been signed.

As MRC informed earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim Group started up new units for production of halobutyl rubber and production of feedstock for isoprene rubber. The company said it also started production of an import-replacing catalytic component.

PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim – one of the largest petrochemical companies in Europe, the leader in the production of synthetic rubbers and plastics in the Russian Federation. The Company is part of TAIF Group. The main production facilities are located in the city of Nizhnekamsk, Republic of Tatarstan. The Company was founded in 1967. The range of products output comprises more than one hundred items, includinggeneral purpose and specialty synthetic rubber; plastics: polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene; monomers being a feedstock to produce rubbers and plastics; other petrochemical produce (ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, alpha-olefins, surfactants, etc).
MRC

AkzoNobel unveils plans to invest in UK pilot plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel is to invest more than EUR1.3 million to build a pilot plant for coating resins at its Performance Coatings site located in Felling, UK, said the company in its press release.

The state-of-the-art facility – which will create three new jobs and safeguard a further 28 positions at the site – will provide resin samples for product testing and the possibility to scale up to commercial manufacture. Start-up is expected in the first quarter of 2016.

"In-house resin development is a key part of our coatings R&D effort," explained Adam Bell, Head of the Scale-Up Team for the pilot plant. 2This facility will improve our delivery of large-scale resin for testing, while streamlining the scale-up process from the laboratory through to factory manufacturing."

Added Gareth Crapper, Manager of Performance Coatings’ Technology Centre at Felling: "Coatings technology and product innovation is at the core of our business strategy, and this new facility will play an important part in that. It also underlines our commitment to the Felling site, which has received more than угк30 million of investment during the past five years."

The new facility was part-funded by the UK government’s Let’s Grow Regional Growth Fund. It represents the latest addition to the Felling location, which is the Performance Coatings business’ largest R&D site worldwide, employing around 300 scientists.

As MRC informed earlier, AkzoNobel’s Specialty Chemicals business recently broke ground on a new alkoxylation facility in Ningbo, China, bringing the company’s total investment in the strategic multi-site to more than EUR400 million.

AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry is a global leader in the manufacturing and supply of specialty surfactants, synthetic and bio-polymer additives and specialty polymers. AkzoNobel currently employs more than 7,400 people in China. Revenues in China totaled EUR1.7 billion in 2014.
MRC