SCG to shut PP unit in Thailand for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SCG plastics is in plans to take its polypropylene (PP) unit off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the unit is expected to be taken off-line in first half of November 2016. It is slated to remain shut for a period of around 15 days.

Located in Thailand, the unit has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2016, SCG said its planned petrochemical complex in Vietnam would be further postponed by six months, pending the conclusion of an agreement with a new joint-venture partner following the exit of Qatar Petroleum International (QPI). The USD4.5-billion fully integrated complex is to be the first of its kind in Vietnam and a key regional flagship for the Thai conglomerate.

SCG Chemicals is a subsidiary of SCG and is one of SCG’s 3 core businesses consisting of Chemicals, Paper and Cement-Building Materials. SCG embarked upon the chemicals business in 1989. At present, SCG Chemicals manufactures and supplies a full range of petrochemical products ranging from upstream petrochemicals such as Olefins, intermediate petrochemicals such as Styrene Monomer, PTA, and MMA, to downstream petrochemicals such as Polyethylene, Polypropylene, Polyvinyl Chloride, and Polystyrene resins. SCG Chemicals is now one of the largest integrated petrochemical companies in Thailand and a key industry leader in the Asia-Pacific region.
MRC

DuPont raises profit forecast as margins widen before Dow merger

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Co., which plans to complete a historic merger with Dow Chemical Co. by early next year, raised its 2016 profit forecast as global cost-cutting boosted margins, said Bloomberg.

Adjusted earnings for this year will reach USD3.25 a share, from a prior range of USD3.15 to USD3.20, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Analysts had been estimating USD3.19.

Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen is eliminating 10 percent of DuPont’s workforce as part of a plan to reduce annual expenses by USD700 million. The savings helped increase pretax profit margin in DuPont’s six business segments by 3.5 percentage points, with gains realized in each one.

Breen is a "good operator, and all I’ve been hearing is how aggressively he’s been taking costs out of the system," Hassan Ahmed, an analyst at Alembic Global Advisors who rates the shares neutral, said by telephone before the earnings report was released. "Every time he uncovers a stone, he finds ample more costs to cut."

In the third quarter, adjusted earnings climbed to 34 cents a share, beating the 21 cent average of predictions compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue was USD4.92 billion, compared with an estimate of USD4.87 billion.

DuPont and Dow shareholders in June approved the 50-50 merger. The companies now are focused on winning antitrust clearance from regulators around the world, including in the U.S., the European Union, China and Brazil.

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.
MRC

DowDuPont merger may not close until Q1 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical Co.’s chief executive officer said the USD59 billion merger with DuPont Co. may be delayed until February from a planned closing late this year, as European antitrust officials take more time to consider potential competition issues in pesticides and crop seeds, said Bloomberg.

Regulators’ "greatest concern is agriculture," Dow’s Andrew Liveris said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in New York. “One of the strongest lobbies in the world out there is the farm lobby, and in Europe, the agricultural sector is very, very critical to them, somewhat protected."

Shareholders in the two largest U.S. chemical companies approved the 50-50 merger in June and Dow Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider said this summer that the merger was on track to close by the end of the year. The European Commission this month delayed its decision deadline until Feb. 6 as it sought additional information about the transaction. Liveris said the value created by the deal made the wait worthwhile.

"That’s worth a few months of delay," he said in the interview. Liveris wouldn’t say whether the companies planned to sell assets to help win approval. Bloomberg reported this month that Dow is seeking a buyer for its copolymers business to ease regulators’ concerns. Likewise, DuPont is planning to sell an herbicides business, Bloomberg also reported.

Dow shares have gained 5.4 percent this year, narrowly edging the 5.3 percent increase in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Like the S&P, DuPont has advanced 5.3 percent.

Liveris, 62, has spent four decades at Dow, including more than a decade as chairman and chief executive officer. He will become chairman of the combined company, DowDuPont Inc., and plans to step down after the deal goes through. His counterpart at DuPont, Ed Breen, will serve as CEO.

The plan is to divide the merged company into three separate publicly traded entities, including an agriculture operation that would be larger than market leaders Monsanto Co. and Syngenta AG. Those two companies forged combinations of their own this year, with Monsanto agreeing to be acquired by Bayer AG and Syngenta striking a deal to be bought by China National Chemical Corp.

DuPont reports quarterly results Tuesday while Dow will follow on Oct. 27.Liveris, a native of Australia, didn’t specify what he plans to do after retiring, but noted a keen interest in politics. He said the U.S. is not doing a good job selecting candidates and that business leaders with worldly experience could be valuable in the political arena.
"People like me should consider going and serving after they leave jobs like these," said Liveris, while saying he didn’t necessarily plan to run for any office.
MRC

Arkema increases its Kynar fluoropolymer capacities in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, has announced a 25% Kynar PVDF capacity increase on its Changshu platform near Shanghai, said the producer in its press release.

This project will help meet the strong demand, in particular in new energies and water treatment applications. This investment will support the group’s ambition in Technical Polymers, and is part of its strategy to speed up the growth of its High Performance Materials division.

Through this investment, Arkema, which operates production facilities on the three continents of Europe, North America and Asia, asserts its world-leading position in this business.

Following the doubling of its Kynar fluoropolymers production capacity in Changshu in 2012, this latest 25% increase in the plant’s capacity will enable Arkema to further suport the growth of its customers in Asia, in particular in the new energies (batteries and photovoltaics) and water management markets, as well as in the traditional markets of coatings and industry.

This investment demonstrates to the success of the Group's R&D in the development of innovative applications that address the major issues of sustainable development as well as tomorrow's challenges.

"With this investment, Changshu will become the largest PVDF plant in Asia. Thanks to its outstanding operating performance in terms of quality, reliability and responsiveness, this plant is a real asset for our customers of this strategic region for the group."

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2015, Arkema developed a new grade of Kynar PVDF resin that provides a whole new set of properties for PVDF. Kynar UHM resin has a high flexural modulus, heat deflection temperature, abrasion resistance, tensile strength, pressure capability and, at the same time, offers excellent creep resistance. Kynar UHM thermoplastic resin was designed with the most demanding applications in mind. This high performance polymer has been specially engineered to be chemically resistant to chlorine, bromine, strong acids, strong oxidants, halogens, aromatic solvents, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. As with traditional Kynar PVDF grades, the Kynar UHM thermoplastic resin is easily melt processed by most standard methods, including injection molding and extrusion. Kynar UHM resin also provides resistance in harsh thermal, chemical and ultraviolet environments.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR7.6 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc.
MRC

Blast at Gonfreville refinery of Total injures five

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil and gas company Total said on Monday that a gas leak at its 247 Mbpd Gonfreville refinery in Normandy had caused an explosion that injured five workers, reported Reuters.

The blast in northern France occurred during a scheduled maintenance work on a gas compressor, Total said, adding that emergency services were on site to contain the gas leak and fire.

"There is no risk of it spreading within or outside the site," Total said in a statement.

A union official at the site told Reuters that it was still unclear what had sparked the explosion.

"There were some workers in the vicinity and five of them were hit by the detonation," a union official said, adding that units feeding to the pipe were being shut down while firefighters try to contain the flames.

As MRC informed before, in December 2014, Total permanently shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) line in Belgium. The plant will be shut permanently owing to weak margins which have arisen on account of cheap imports in the region. Located at Antwerp, the line has a production capacity of 70,000 mt/year.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC