Arlanxeo launches unique Keltan 5-digit EPDM grade

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arlanxeo, a global leader in performance elastomers, has launched a semi-crystalline EPDM grade with a very high Mooney viscosity for demanding rubber applications, particularly in the Automotive industry, said the producer in its press release.

Keltan 13561C DE delivers excellent mixing and fast extrusion behavior with high elasticity and collapse resistance in high filled compounds, supporting the reduction of overall compound volume costs. When replacing existing EPDM polymers, Keltan 13561C DE can significantly improve the mechanical properties in EPDM compounds with the same compound loading.

This is the first Keltan grade with five digits, indicating its high Mooney viscosity. Keltan 13561C DE has a high product viscosity of 130 Mooney Unit (MU) - higher than any other current Keltan EPDM grade. Although Arlanxeo does offer products with a higher polymer Mooney, these are created by adding much more extender oil to the product. Gose van Zandvoort, Technical Manager at the Arlanxeo Business Line Keltan said: "Here we have a polymer Mooney of 150 MU and yet we are adding "only” 15 parts of extender oil to the product, resulting in a viscosity of 130 MU. The result is a 5 digit code and a unique grade."

Customers who have tested the new grade for e.g. automotive sealing applications, reported that they were able to choose between benefiting from improved physical properties or from being able to add more fillers and oil to the rubber mixture to reduce overall compound costs.

Besides automotive solid seals, another key application is waste water seal compounds, where Keltan 13561C DE provides excellent mixing and processing properties for both extrusion and molding technologies, whilst meeting the full set of technical requirements according to DIN EN 681-1 (cold water). A key benefit is that the finished product offers optimal weather- and ozone resistance during outside storage for a longer time. Additionally, Keltan 13561C DE is able to provide a one polymer solution for automotive coolant hoses.

The new Keltan grade was launched in China and South America and product samples from commercial plant production are now available world-wide.

Chretien Rooijakkers, Head of Global Marketing for the Business line Keltan said: "This new Keltan grade is not only unique in our portfolio, but also in the global EPDM market. We are currently starting to develop recipes for demanding applications to explore the full potential of this product and are considering creating further variants with different ethylene and ENB contents."

This new Keltan grade is manufactured at ARLANXEO’s EPDM plant in Changhzou, China, using Keltan ACE polymerization technology. This was first implemented in 2013 by Arlanxeo in Geleen, the Netherlands. With this post-metallocene advanced catalyst technology, Arlanxeo is able to produce in a sustainable fashion the full EPDM portfolio, including this very high Mooney grade, with ultra-low catalyst residues and chlorine levels.

As MRC wrote previously, in September 2017, Arlanxeo presented its solutions from the TSR business unit for the first time. Thanks to its good adhesion, aging resistance and low air permeability, the product X_Butyl is the ideal polymer for numerous adhesive applications, such as transparent adhesive tapes, sealants for double glazing, high-quality hot melt pressure-sensitive adhesives, vinyl floor adhesives and even sealants for roofing membranes. X_Butyl is also used for self-fluxing, semiconducting electrical splicing tapes, thereby avoiding the need for separate layers of adhesives.

Arlanxeo was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of Lanxess - a world-leading specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany - and Saudi Aramco - a major global energy and chemicals enterprise headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The two partners each hold a 50-percent interest in the joint venture. The business operations of Arlanxeo are assigned to the High Performance Elastomers and Tire & Specialty Rubbers business units.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Expanding local midstream firm Petrolex Oil & Gas announced the selection of a heavyweight international engineering consultant to conduct studies on a proposed multi-billion dollar facility near Lagos, as per Yourpetrochemicalnews.

While the country’s downstream sector has for years been littered with broken promises by both state and private actors to increase the oil-producing giant’s woeful local provision, the new scheme was lent credibility by being unveiled at an event to mark the inauguration by the putative developer of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest fuel storage facility.

Meanwhile, the government has faced renewed criticism over the latest iteration of plans to rehabilitate the four ageing and dilapidated state-owned refineries – which currently meet a fraction of domestic needs.

In a series of interviews coinciding with the opening of the new tank farm, Petrolex chairman and CEO Segun Adebutu disclosed details of the company’s plans to develop a 250,000 bpd greenfield refinery at the same site. It will be located in the Ibefun area close to the commercial capital, Lagos, in southern Ogun State.

The UK’s Amec FosterWheeler has been selected to carry out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract on the proposed facility – which would require investment of US$3.5 billion and is being tentatively targeted for completion in 2021.

Abuja has been attempting to attract investment in private refineries for many years and dozens of firms were granted licences to set up such plants shortly after the accession of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. However, the schemes have struggled to attract finance and few have yet proceeded beyond the drawing board.

The glaring exception is the 650,000 bpd refinery planned by locally based conglomerate Dangote Industries – also to be located near Lagos in the Lekki Free Trade Zone – which was conceived earlier in the decade and which is now under construction, scheduled for completion in 2019.

Should the Petrolex scheme proceed, the refinery would become the country’s second largest – exceeding the total capability of the state-owned facilities even were they to be restored to full capacity.

Adebutu said that the project would be funded through a combination of internal funds and debt raised from local and foreign banks. This is a challenge besetting prospective new downstream projects, but was overcome by Dangote in 2013 with a landmark USD3.3 billion international syndicated loan.

An initial public offering (IPO) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was a longer-term aim, Adebutu said, as were plans to build around 1,500 retail outlets across the continent.

Confidence that the new venture will go ahead where others have failed was engendered by the successful commissioning this month of the 300 million litre Ibefun Tank Farm – at a cost of more than USD300 million. The facility aims to remove 2,000 trucks from the Apapa area of Lagos, reducing congestion by around 60%. Petrolex has noted plans to add capacity at a rate of roughly 250 million litres annually to reach a 1.2 billion litre total.

The storage facility also comprises 30 loading gantries, while a pipeline connects the tanks to an existing oil products pipeline at Mosimi – allowing the fuels to be transported across the country.

Both projects form part of Petrolex’s nascent “Oil City” midstream and downstream hub at the Ibefun site – and are designed to help address the country’s chronic fuel shortages.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Celanese to acquire Omni Plastics and its subsidiaries, including the distributor Resinal de Mexico, as per the company's press release.

Omni Plastics is headquartered and has a compounding facility in Evansville, Indiana, with additional offices in Mexico City. Omni Plastics specializes in custom compounding of various engineered thermoplastic materials.

"Engineered thermoplastics continues to be a material of choice in automotive, electrical and electronics, consumer goods and industrial markets and Omni Plastics strengthens Celanese's presence in these strategic areas as well as brings expanded presence in office furniture, filtration, lawn/garden, and other specialty materials applications," said Scott Sutton, Chief Operating Officer, Celanese. "This acquisition further strengthens our global asset base by adding compounding capacity in the Americas to enable Celanese to continue to support a growing and diverse customer base."

Celanese expects to integrate the Omni Plastics thermoplastic compounding product portfolio and production capabilities into the Celanese engineered materials business to include the following product brands:

- OmniLon polyamide formulations for automotive, heavy truck, air movement, appliance, office furniture, and lawn & garden applications.
- OmniPro polypropylene formulations for pump housings, wheels, handles, mounting brackets, levers, pressure vessels, and office furniture component applications.
- OmniCarb polycarbonate formulations for automotive and electronic applications.
- OmniTech non-standard, custom-developed products including polybutylene terephthalate and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene formulations for applications with unique functional requirements, including flame retardant, conductive, wear-and-friction, and improved optical clarity.

Several product grades are UL-listed, FDA-compliant, NSF-compliant and made with post-industrial material, as well as qualified with automotive, E&E, and other original equipment manufacturers.

Celanese expects to complete the transaction early in the first quarter of 2018, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. Until closing, Celanese and Omni Plastics will continue to operate as independent businesses.

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation will increase January list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The price increases below will be effective January 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases:

- for Asia outside China - by USD100 per tonne;
- for China - by CNY300 per tonne;
- for Europe - by EUR100 per tonne;
- for Middle East and Africa - by USD100/tonne.

Omni Plastics is an independent thermoplastics custom compounder headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. With the founding principle to distinguish itself by utilizing and maintaining ultra-modern compounding equipment, production techniques and responsive product development, Omni Plastics creates tight-tolerance engineered thermoplastic formulations to meet customers' exacting requirements.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,300 employees worldwide and had 2016 net sales of USD5.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Effective as of the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 4, 2018, Dr. Martin Brudermuller (56), currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, will become Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

The Supervisory Board appointed Brudermuller in its meeting today. Brudermuller will succeed Dr. Kurt Bock (59), who is BASF’s Chairman since 2011 and has been a member of the Board of Executive Directors since 2003. This change will allow Bock to be elected as a member and chair of BASF’s Supervisory Board in 2020 after the end of the statutory two-year cooling-off period.

Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel (58) was appointed as new Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. In the course of the changes, the number of Board members will be reduced from eight to seven in May 2018.

New distribution of responsibilities, effective as of the end of the Annual Shareholders‘ Meeting on May 4, 2018: Dr. Martin Brudermuller (56), Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Technology Officer, Ressort I

Legal, Taxes, Insurance & Intellectual Property; Corporate Development; Corporate Communications & Government Relations; Senior Executive Human Resources; Investor Relations; Compliance; BASF 4.0; Corporate Technology & Operational Excellence; Digitalization in Research & Development; Innovation Management

Michael Heinz (53), Industrial Relations Director, Ressort II Engineering & Maintenance; Environmental Protection, Health & Safety; European Site & Verbund Management; Human Resources Dr. Hans-Ulrich Engel (58), Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors and Chief Financial Officer, Ressort III Finance; Oil & Gas; Procurement; Supply Chain Operations & Information Services; Corporate Controlling; Corporate Audit

Dr. Markus Kamieth (47), Ressort IV Care Chemicals; Dispersions & Pigments; Nutrition & Health; Performance Chemicals; Advanced Materials & Systems Research; BASF New Business; Region South America

Saori Dubourg (46), Ressort V Construction Chemicals; Crop Protection; Bioscience Research; Region Europe Sanjeev Gandhi (51), Ressort VI, headquartered in Asia

Intermediates; Monomers; Petrochemicals; Greater China & Functions Asia Pacific; South & East Asia, ASEAN & Australia / New Zealand Wayne T. Smith (57), Ressort VII, headquartered in North America

Catalysts; Coatings; Performance Materials; Market & Business Development, Site & Verbund Management North America; Regional Functions & Country Platforms North America; Process Research & Chemical Engineering

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 114,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of about €58 billion in 2016. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Inter Pipeline has announced a USD900 million capital expenditure program for 2018, with 91% of it will be for organic growth initiatives, said Energy-business-review.

The remaining USD80 million invested for sustaining capital projects. In 2018, the majority of Inter Pipeline’s growth capital program is expected to be directed towards engineering and construction activities for the Heartland Petrochemical Complex which was sanctioned on December 18, 2017. Smaller investments will be made to enhance the connectivity of Inter Pipeline’s oil sands transportation and conventional oil pipeline assets, expand NGL processing infrastructure, and develop European storage operations.

Within the NGL processing business, Inter Pipeline will focus primarily on advancing the development of the USD3.5 billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex. This facility, located in Strathcona county, Alberta, will be designed to convert locally sourced, low-cost propane into 525,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene, a high value plastic used in the manufacturing of a wide range of finished products.

In 2018, approximately $600 million is expected to be invested in the complex on a number of activities including finalizing engineering, continued procurement of equipment, facility module fabrication and site construction activities. Construction of this large-scale facility is expected to be complete by late 2021.

At Inter Pipeline’s Redwater Olefinic Fractionator, approximately USD65 million will be invested in 2018 primarily focused on capacity expansion activities, as well as rail loading and storage investments. Other modest organic growth activities at the Cochrane and Empress straddle plants account for the remaining USD5 million.
MRC