LUKOIL issued US$1.5 bln in convertible bonds

(LUKOIL) -- OAO LUKOIL announced the completion of the issuance of U.S.$1.5 billion 2.625 per cent senior unsecured convertible bonds due June 2015.

The bonds are convertible into American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") listed on the London Stock Exchange each representing one ordinary share of OAO LUKOIL.

LUKOIL intends to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes.

This issuance of senior unsecured convertible bonds represents the first post crisis major issue of convertible debentures. Due to high investment grade rating of the Company and positive investor attitude towards the oil and gas sector, the transaction created a strong demand by the investment community.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) plans a US$400 mln bond to raise a minimum of 1.5 billion riyals by the first quarter of 2011 to finance expansion. The issuance is expected by the first quarter of next year. Sipchem has mandated one local and one international bank as financial advisers, declining to give more details before it gets approval from the Capital Market Authority (CMA). Sipchem is planning to spend 400 million riyals to build the first ethyl acetate plant in the region.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Dynasol SA has formed a 50-50 joint venture with Shanxi Northern Xingan Chemical Industry (Xingan) to build a plant making synthetic rubber -- in the form of styrenic block copolymers -- at a plant in China's Liaoning province.

The plant will have annual capacity for about 220 million pounds of synthetic rubber, officials with both companies said in a Dec. 14 news release. Material made at the plant will be based on styrene and butadiene and will be used in the automotive market, as well as in cables, adhesives, medical care and asphalt modification, officials said.

Madrid-based Dynasol -- a joint venture between Repsol and the Kuo Group -- already operates SBC plants in Spain and Mexico. The new capacity will boost Dynasol's global total by 50 percent.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US chemical company Celanese plans to enter China's fuel ethanol market to capitalise on the country's goals in renewable fuels consumption, chief financial officer Steven Sterin said on Wednesday.

Celanese announced in November its plans to build one or two coal-based ethanol plants in China - each with capacity of 400,000 short tons/year. Each plant's capacity could be expanded to 1m tons/year at a fraction of the original capital investment, said Sterin in an interview with ICIS.

The cost to build a 400,000 ton/year plant was expected to be around $300m (┬225m), he added.

Once approved, the Chinese plants - whose locations were still to be decided - would take 30 months to build and would initially serve the domestic industrial ethanol market, which was growing 8-10%/year, as estimated by Celanese.

Current chemical applications demand for ethanol in China - for products including solvents, inks, lacquers, paints and coatings - was estimated at 3m tons/year, according to the company.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Executives of many compounding extruder makers report a broad pickup in U.S. machinery sales ≈ to customers making filled materials, engineering resins, color masterbatch and biomaterials. One big reason: a rebounding automotive sector, which ripples through the entire plastics supply chain. Now auto sales are growing again, after the miserable 2009 ≈ when U.S. sales sank to around 10 million and General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC plunged into government-funded bankruptcy.

Sales for this year are expected to grow to 11.5 million, about 15 percent. And estimates call for 2011 sales between 12 million and 13 million cars and trucks. Now automotive suppliers are feeling healthy and ready to upgrade their compounding lines, according to several machinery executives.

KraussMaffei Corp. President Paul Caprio said the Florence, Ky.-based company has seen a ⌠tremendous increase in quotes and orders for Berstorff compounding machines.

Century Extrusion President Bob Urtel also saw extruder sales pick up in the middle of the year. Urtel said business is well-rounded at the company in Traverse City, Mich., including recycled plastics, masterbatch and general compounding.

MRC