DuPont, Lundberg to offer pollution control systems for refineries, petchem plants

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Belco Technologies Corporation, a DuPont company, and Lundberg, LLC, a Dustex company, have signed an agreement to collaborate on the supply of air pollution control systems on an exclusive basis around the world, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The partnership applies to air pollution control systems for refining and petrochemical plants, as well as to coke calciners associated with refining and petrochemical plants, and is valid for 10 years.

The BELCO and Lundberg systems enable refineries and petrochemical plants to meet strict emission controls and clean air regulations worldwide while staying in continuous operation – and compliance – 365 days a year. By scrubbing flue and exhaust gases, the BELCO systems and Lundberg Wet Electrostatic Precipitators reduce emissions, particulates, SOx and NOx, and also minimize other pollutants and sulfuric acid mists.

Under the new agreement, which extends to all parts of the world with the exception of the People’s Republic of China, Lundberg will exclusively offer its Geoenergy E-Tube Wet ESP technology as part of a BELCO scrubbing system in the noted industries, while BELCO will solely use the Lundberg E-Tube Wet ESP in its scrubbing systems for the noted industries. BELCO will act as prime contractor for projects with Lundberg coming in as subcontractor to BELCO.

"The partnership with Lundberg allows both of our companies to offer refineries and petrochemical plants air pollution control systems with proven, reliable technology, thereby leaving refiners and petrochemical plant operators free to focus on production instead of worrying about emissions control and compliance," said Edward Hutter, applications manager, BELCO. "This agreement is a sign of the faith and trust we have in each other’s technical capabilities and systems.

"We are proud to partner with the leading supplier of scrubbing systems for the refining and petrochemical industries. The combination of our industry-leading technologies ensures that our clients will receive world-class solutions offering both performance and reliability, resulting in full and continuous compliance with their environmental regulations," said Doug Giarde, CEO, Lundberg.

As MRC informed earlier, DuPont and Chemours will each pay USD335.35 million in cash in personal injury claims to settle 3,550 lawsuits related to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) environmental releases from the Washington Works plant in West Virginia.

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

Hanwha Chem to shut PVC plant for maintenance in March

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Chemical is likely to take a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the company has planned to shut the plant in March 2017 for a period of around 10 - 15 days. The exact date of the shutdown not yet confirmed.

Located in Yeosu, South Korea, the PVC plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported before, in April 2016, Hanwha Chemical announced that it had succeeded in developing high value-added chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC), which has the improved heat and corrosion resistance, with its domestic technology. Since CPVC has a high technology entry barrier, it has been entirely imported until now. Accordingly, Hanwha Chemical has become the first company in the nation that succeeded in domestically producing CPVC. Last year, the company completed the detailed design and started construction of the production lines with annual capacity of 30,000 tons at the second plant located in Ulsan Petrochemical Industrial Complex, and it was to complete the construction by the end of 2016.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

Clariant CEO plays down speculation of plastics unit sale

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant's Chief Executive Hariolf Kottmann has doused speculation the Swiss specialty chemical maker could soon unload its plastics and coatings business and use the proceeds to buy a big, faster-growing target, said Reuters.

Kottman spun off the business, Clariant's largest with USD2.5 billion in annual sales, into a separate subsidiary in 2015, fuelling speculation about a potential sale despite assurances that nothing would happen for at least three to five years.

Kottmann told reporters on Thursday he was not considering a transformative deal involving the unit, concentrating instead on smaller bolt-on acquisitions similar to oil industry deals the company made in Texas last year for a combined 366 million Swiss francs (USD365 million).

"We have currently no project for divesting plastics and coatings and making a multi-billion Swiss franc acquisition," Kottmann said at a Zurich analysts' conference after Clariant reported full-year results.

With the chemicals sector being transformed by megadeals including Monsanto's USD66 billion purchase of Germany's Bayer and ChemChina's USD43 billion takeover of Switzerland's Syngenta, Kottmann has often found himself defending Clariant's independence.

In April, he said Clariant was a hunter, not prey. While last September's Texas deals quenched Clariant's thirst for oil services assets, Kottmann acknowledged scouting additional North American targets that could strengthen the Care Chemicals business, which makes ingredients for hair care, cosmetics and lotions.

China accounted for just 8% of Clariant's total revenues of 5.85 billion francs in 2016, and Kottmann said that was insufficient.

Consequently, Clariant has begun revamping its Chinese business to focus on supplying more homegrown consumer goods producers, or "local champions", which he said are wresting business from multinationals.

The new structure foresees, among other things, Clariant employees increasingly embedded at customers' operations for weeks or months, an arrangement Kottmann said is unheard of in the West.

"If you don't have this customer closeness in China, you will never sell a single kilogram of your product," he said. "We strongly believe Clariant's future will be decided in Asia, specifically China."

As MRC informed earlier, Clariant announces an expanded partnership with Lintech International LLC for the Plastics and Rubber Pigment Product lines in North America.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Chemours Q4 income advances 650%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Chemours Company ( CC ) released earnings for its fourth quarter that increased from last year, said the company on its site.

The company said its bottom line climbed to USD15 million, or USD0.08 per share. This was higher than USD2 million, or USD0.01 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.

The company said revenue for the quarter fell 2.9% to USD1.32 billion. This was down from USD1.36 billion last year.

As it was written earlier, Chemours and its former parent company, DuPont, recently reached a settlement to resolve the allegations connected to the feedstock.
MRC

ADNOC offers Murban crude from S. Korea storage in rare move

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has offered Murban crude to be loaded in April from its oil storage in South Korea in a rare move, said Reuters.

The offer was made to a pool of selected buyers in Asia and ADNOC did not specify how much volume it plans to sell, they said.

ADNOC has 6 million barrels of Murban crude stored in oil tanks in Yeosu, South Korea, one of the sources said.

ADNOC is still in talks with Chinese companies for the remaining 12 percent stake in Abu Dhabi's ADCO onshore oil concession.

The crude offers from Yeosu tanks have weighed on Murban's April spot premiums which have fallen to below 10 cents a barrel, one of the sources said.

Japan's Inpex and oil major BP previously sold April-loading Murban at about 10 cents a barrel above the grade's official selling price (OSP), traders said.

ADNOC's petrochemicals are produced by Abu Dhabi Polymers Co (Borouge), which makes polyolefin, and Ruwais Fertilizer Industries (Fertil), which produces urea and ammonia fertilisers.
MRC