Daimler Mercedes-Benz cleaner technology in European diesel, gasoline engines

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Daimler said it will spend EUR3 B (USD3.35 B) to curtail diesel exhaust pollution levels by modifying its engines and exhaust treatment systems, including a software update for some Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The EUR3-B amount includes a EUR2.6-B investment announced in February.

Daimler Mercedes-Benz will equip its entire range of diesel cars in Europe with selective catalytic reduction technology and roll out particulate filters for gasoline engines.

Daimler said improvements in engine technology include optimizations of turbocharging, fuel injection and intercooling, as well as the application of new materials that help extend exhaust-gas recirculation treatments at lower operating temperatures.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in December 2014, Daimler AG signed an agreement with AkzoNobel Performance Coatings making the company one of the approved suppliers of vehicle refinishes to Daimler dealerships and approved bodyshops worldwide. The contract covers the supply and support of AkzoNobel's Sikkens brand to the company's dealership network including Mercedes-Benz, Smart, and Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles.

Daimler AG is a German multinational automotive corporation. Daimler AG is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. As of 2014, Daimler owns or has shares in a number of car, bus, truck and motorcycle brands including Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Smart Automobile, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, Setra, BharatBenz, Mitsubishi Fuso, MV Agusta as well as shares in Denza, KAMAZ, Beijing Automotive Group, and Renault-Nissan Alliance. In 2015 Daimler sold 2.9 million vehicles. By unit sales, Daimler is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group’s Indonesian petrochemical operation Lotte Chemical Titan is expediting the land acquisition process for a USD4 bln naphtha cracker, according to Plastemart.

The company plans to build the facility on a 40-hectare plot of land near its existing plant in Cilegon, Banten, as per The Jakarta Post. The new plant, which is expected to take three to four years to build, is hoped to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imported raw materials.

"If we can complete the negotiations in the upcoming months, we will know the exact size of the area for the plant and can start the design phase by the end of this year," said J. Bambang Budihardja, the independent director and corporate secretary of Lotte Chemical Titan.

As MRC wrote previously, around 40% of the total investment needed for the new plant would be taken from the company’s internal cash, while the rest would be from bank loans. All investors would be from South Korea.

Lotte Chemical Titan is one of the most well-known petrochemical companies in South East Asia. It produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins, which contribute to the enhancement of every day life. The Lotte Group currently has a presence in Indonesia via its subsidiary, Honam Petrochemicals, which acquired Malaysia’s polyolefin major Titan Chemicals in July 2010. Included in the acquisition was Titan’s Indonesian subsidiary - PT Titan Petrokimia Nusantara (TPN), which has a polyethylene (PE) production capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP has cut its investment budget for the Tangguh Train 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Indonesia to between USD8 B and USD10 B, from USD12 B previously, a company official said on Wednesday, amid depressed oil prices, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"The market is adjusting to oil prices and we have to make a lot of effort to maximize the scope so we can keep costs down," BP Indonesia country head Dharmawan Samsu told reporters.

BP is currently holding a tender for engineering, procurement and construction for the third LNG train at its Tangguh project in West Papua and expects a final investment decision on the project mid-year, Samsu added.

As MRC informed before, earlier this year, BP PLC sold its petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama, to Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. (IVL.TH), for an undisclosed sum, as part BP's plan to restructure its global petrochemicals business. The divestment was in line with BP’s global petrochemicals strategy of pursuing a competitively advantaged portfolio through world-scale, low-cost facilities that utilize BP proprietary technology, including the production of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, a key raw material in the production of polyester.

BP is a leading producer of oil and gas and produces enough energy annually to light nearly the entire country for a year. Employing about 17,000 people across the country, BP supports more than 170,000 additional jobs through all of its business activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to shut its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Thailand informed that the company is likely take its plant off-stream on June 1, 2016 owing to a feedstock issue. The plant is likely to remain under maintenance for a period of around 1 week.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LLDPE plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, PTTGC restarted its LLDPE plant on 3 April 2016, following a maintenance. The plant was shut for maintenance in early-March 2016. Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LLDPE plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The foundation stone has been laid in Saratov, Russia for the future plant of OOO SNF Vostok (part of SPSM S.A., a holding that owns companies of SNF Group) to produce polymers from acrylonitrile, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by several top executives and officials, including: Vladimir Nekrasov, first vice president of PJSC Lukoil; Vadim Vorobyev, vice president for oil refining, petrochemicals and gas processing of PJSC Lukoil; Valery Radayev, governor of Saratov Region; Rene Pich, general director and owner of SPSM S.A.; and Stanislas Henrion, counsellor for transport, industry and sustainable development of the Embassy of France in Russia.

As the only producer of acrylonitrile in Russia, OOO Saratovorgsintez - a wholly-owned subsidiary of PJSC Lukoil -will supply feedstock to the future facility of SNF Vostok for the production of polymers that will be used by Lukoil to enhance oil recovery rates of its fields.

The construction of the polymer plant in a close proximity to LUKOIL's petrochemical facility will reduce costs for transportation of feedstock and end products, as well as facilitate the import substitution of considerable volumes of chemicals.

As MRC wrote previously, OAO Lukoil Holdings, Russia's No. 2 oil producer, will invest USD1 billion in the oil firm Samara-Nafta to increase production. Lukoil acquired Samara-Nafta from Hess Corp. this month for USD2 billion as part of a strategy to stabilize and increase oil production. Lukoil has for years fought declining output at its main, Soviet-era fields in Western Siberia. The investment in Samara-Nafta will increase production by between 5% and 7% over the next five years from 2.5 million tonnes a year, Prime news agency cited the company as saying.

LUKoil, a Russian-based company, is one of the global leaders in the production and refining of crude oil and gas resources. The world's largest privately owned oil and gas company, measured by proven oil reserves, LUKoil has operations in over 40 countries.
MRC