BASF to divest global Polyolefin Catalysts business to WR Grace & Co

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has signed an agreement to sell its global Polyolefin Catalysts business to W.R. Grace & Co., said the producer on its site.

Currently, the Polyolefin Catalysts business is part of BASF’s Catalysts division.

BASF and Grace intend to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2016.

The targeted transaction includes technologies, patents, trademarks and the transfer of BASF’s production plants in Pasadena, Texas, and Tarragona, Spain. It is intended that approximately 170 employees globally will also transfer to Grace.

The planned divestiture remains subject to the required consultation with employee representatives and certain regulatory approvals.

"This sale was the best course of action for both the Catalysts division and for the long-term interests of the Polyolefin Catalysts business and its employees," said Kenneth Lane, President, Catalysts division, BASF.

"With this divestiture, we will continue to sharpen our focus on key growth areas, including our Chemical Catalysts and Refinery Catalysts businesses," said Lane.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF Chemcat (Thailand) Ltd. is investing to expand its regional production capacity and enhance its local manufacturing capabilities for mobile emissions catalysts in Rayong, Thailand. The company is planning to construct a new 35,000-square-meter facility to replace its existing plant in Rayong, providing increased operating space and upgraded manufacturing capabilities comparable to BASF’s other automotive catalysts manufacturing sites around the world.

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 generated sales of more than EUR70 billion in 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Private Indian energy major Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has resumed operations at its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Dahej, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the plant was brought on-stream yesterday. It was shut in last week owing to a shortage of water.

Located at Dahej in the western India state of Gujarat, the plant has a production capacity of 315,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2015, RIL successfully put into operation two plants in Dahej, Gujarat, India. The first is a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin plant, which consists of two lines with a combined manufacturing capacity of 650 KTA. This is one of the largest bottle-grade PET resin capacity at a single location globally, and consolidates Reliance’s position as a leading PET resin producer with a global capacity of 1.15 MMTPA, the company said. PET resin from the new capacity would find application in packaging for water, carbonated soft drinks, pharmaceuticals and other food and beverages.

The second facility is a new purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant that provides a capacity of 1,150 KTA. With the commissioning of this plant, also built with Invista technology, Reliance’s total PTA capacity will increase to 3.2 MMTPA, and its global capacity share will rise to 4%.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries announced earnings from continuing operations for the first quarter 2016 of USD1.0 billion, said the company in its press release.

First quarter 2016 EBITDA was USD1.8 billion. The quarter included a USD68 million non-cash, pre-tax charge for the impact of a lower of cost or market (LCM) inventory adjustment (USD47 million after-tax). Excluding the LCM adjustment, earnings from continuing operations during the first quarter totaled USD1.1 billion. EBITDA was USD1.9 billion. In February, the Argentine wholly owned subsidiary Petroken Petroquimica Ensenada S.A. (Petroken) was sold for an after tax gain of USD78 million that impacted earnings by USD0.18 per share.

"The first quarter of 2016 developed as we anticipated. LyondellBasell's operations were strong and we completed planned maintenance as expected. The value of our global footprint and integrated businesses was evident in the excellent results from the Olefins & Polyolefins, Europe, Asia and International segment and our global polypropylene businesses. Markets for our products were generally tight with prices responding quickly to supply and demand dynamics," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell chief executive officer.

"As we look forward to the remainder of the second quarter, a significant amount of industry capacity will be offline in both the U.S. and Asia for scheduled maintenance. We believe this is tightening global olefin and polyolefin markets. Within our system, we have begun the maintenance turnaround and 800 million pound ethylene expansion at Corpus Christi and expect to ramp up toward full utilization of the expanded capacity during the third quarter. During the second quarter our refinery will operate at reduced rates as we repair damage from an April fire. At the same time, the refining and oxyfuels businesses have started to benefit from seasonal margin improvements," Patel said.

As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies, has announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of the polypropylene (PP) compounding assets of Zylog Plastalloys Pvt. Ltd. (Zylog) in India. The company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zylog's PP compounding assets in November 2015.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies and a member of the S&P 500. LyondellBasell manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels. Hostacom and Hifax are trademarks owned by LyondellBasell. The manufacturing facilities in India are owned and operated by Basell Polyolefins India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of LyondellBasell.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exports of Russian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) decreased in the first quarter by 2.35 times year on year, totalling approximately 3 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope report.

Lower PET export shipments were caused by a sharp seasonal increase in domestic demand, said Russian PET chips producers. Thus, exports to foreign markets were 8,600 tonnes back in the fourth quarter of 2015.

The lion's share of export deliveries was shipped to the Belarusian market this year.

On the back of strong demand from large contract customers in the domestic market, PET producers have reduced their spot sales since March.

Overall exports of Russian PET totalled 28,800 tonnes in 2015. Russia, the USA, Ukraine, Belgium and Poland were the main consumers of Russian PET in foreign markets last year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polypropylene (PP) into the Belarusian market rose in the first two months of 2016 by 1.9% year on year, totalling slightly less than 12,500 tonnes. At the same time, the propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) market showed a negative result, reported MRC analysts.

According to the National Statistics Committee of Belarus, February PP imports to Belarus grew to 7,800 tonnes from 4,700 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies increased their purchasing of both homopolymer PP and copolymers of propylene. Overall PP imports to the local market were about 12,500 tonnes in January - February 2016 versus 12,200 tonnes a year ago. Demand for propylene copolymers increased significantly, whereas purchasing of homopolymer PP dropped by 6.1%.

The consumption structure by PP grades looked the following way over the stated period.

February imports of homopolymer PP rose to 4,600 tonnes from 3,600 tonnes a month earlier, Russian producers accounted for the main increase in supplies. Overall imports of homopolymer PP to the local market grew to 8,200 tonnes in the first two months of 2016, compared to 8,800 tonnes a year earlier. Russian producers with a share of about 93% in the total sales were the key suppliers of homopolymer PP.

February imports of propylene copolymers inreased to 3,200 tonnes from 1,100 tonnes a month earlier, which was caused by the active formation of additional inventories from local producers of injection moulding products. Imports of propylene copolymers into Belarus grew by 22.2% over the stated period to 4,200 tonnes.

Russian producers were the main suppliers of copolymers of propylene to the local market in the first two months of 2016 (total shipments reached 3,800 tonnes).
MRC