IFF breaks ground on new flavours & fragrances site in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc (IFF) has broken ground on a new flavours and fragrances plant located in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, India. Part of a larger investment into the Greater Asia region, the plant is expected to be commercialized in December 2019, as per Worldofchemicals.

The new facility, which will be the largest flavour and fragrance manufacturing facility in India and the largest IFF site in Greater Asia, occupies a 32-acre/130,000m2 plot and will serve IFF flavours & fragrances customers across India and the region.

The new facility, strategically located in Sri City, will have excellent logistics options, access to skilled labour, and solid infrastructure and utilities. In line with the company’s dedication to driving sustainability across the entire organization, the site is designed for efficient water use and reuse, rainwater harvesting capabilities, energy-efficient building materials and equipment, maximization of natural daylight, and low-consumption LED lighting.

“In this economically vibrant country, it is critical that we invest to provide our customers with winning tastes and scents. This new facility is fitted with capabilities tailored to our customers’ needs. Coupled with our excellent consumer insights teams and their deep understanding of the local markets, we are well-positioned to live up to our promise to be our customers’ partner of choice,” said Andreas Fibig, IFF chairman and CEO.

‘’India is a priority market for IFF. We are excited about our investment at Sri City and the world-class manufacturing facility designed to meet our customers’ current and future needs,’’ added MG Prakash, IFF India managing director.
mrcplsat.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract from Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Limited (Indorama) and Toyo Engineering Corporation (Toyo) for the Train 2 ammonia plant at Indorama's Port Harcourt site in Nigeria, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide technology licensing, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment and catalyst for Indorama's planned second ammonia plant in Port Harcourt.

"We are privileged to have the opportunity to work with Indorama and Toyo on Indorama's second fertilizer complex in Nigeria," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology & Consulting. "This contract builds on our long-established relationship with Indorama and Toyo and further highlights our clients' trust in KBR's ammonia technology."

KBR is a leader in ammonia technology and has been involved in the licensing, design, engineering, and/or construction of more than 230 grass roots ammonia plants and over 100 revamp ammonia projects globally.

Revenue associated with this project was booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Technology & Consulting Business Segment in Q4 of 2017.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced the acquisition of IQAP Masterbatch Group S.L., a privately owned and innovative provider of specialty colorants and additives based in Spain with customers throughout Europe, as per the company's press release.

Founded in 1979 by Xavier Rovira, IQAP has built a technical and broad solutions portfolio that serves high-growth end markets consistent with PolyOne's focus, including transportation, packaging, consumer, wire & cable, and textiles. With two production facilities and a technology lab located in Spain, plus additional manufacturing capability in the Czech Republic, PolyOne will implement its proven invest-to-grow approach to integration and customer service.

"IQAP is a fantastic addition to our longstanding and growing expertise in color and additives innovation," said
Robert M. Patterson, chairman, president and CEO, PolyOne Corporation. "The end markets that IQAP serves are perfectly aligned with areas PolyOne knows very well, and together we will advance the possibilities for our European customers working to meet demanding new standards for design, functionality and performance."

Mr. Rovira added, "I'm thrilled for IQAP customers and employees whose future can continue to grow and prosper as part of the global PolyOne family. We evaluated many potential buyers for IQAP, and PolyOne was the clear choice that best aligns with our vision and ideals for world-class innovation and customer service."

As MRC wrote earlier, in February 2016, expanding on its global footprint and expertise in thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) innovation and design, PolyOne Corporation announced it has acquired certain technologies and assets from Kraton Performance Polymers, Inc.

PolyOne Corporation is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - European crude oil loadings bound for Asia have dropped to their lowest in four years at the start of 2018 as rising Brent prices shut the arbitrage window, causing the premiums of similar Middle Eastern and Russian grades to rise as refiners make up the shortfall, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

That refiners are willing to pay up for these grades underscores the demand in Asia for light crudes, which typically yield a high volume of diesel fuel when refined, in order to cash in on high profit margins for diesel and jet fuel.

The volume of crude loading in the North Sea and the Mediterranean for Asia slumped in January to 7.6 million barrels, less than half of the 17 million barrels in January 2017, Thomson Reuters trade flow data showed.

The drop reflects the widening of the premium of European benchmark Brent to Middle East benchmark Dubai, a proxy measure of the economic viability of shipping arbitrage cargoes from Europe to Asia.

The monthly average of the Brent-Dubai spread widened in November to above USD3 a barrel, a level where the arbitrage window is considered shut, for the first time since June 2016, Thomson Reuters data showed. In mid-2017 that spread narrowed to below USD1.

The spread widened as Brent prices rose after a pipeline disruption blocked supplies of Forties, a North Sea crude grade that is key in pricing the benchmark. The wider spread combined with rising tanker rates and strong European crude demand that kept supplies there to further cut arbitrage supplies to Asia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned Indian Oil Corp shut its 350,000 mt/year high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene swing plant in Panipat, Haryana, following a fire at the unit Monday, a company source said Tuesday, reported Apic-online.

There are no further details on the length of the shutdown or the impact to customers, the source said.

A 300,000 mt/year HDPE plant and a 600,000 mt/year polypropylene plant at the complex are not affected, the source added.

The upstream naphtha-fed steam cracker at the site is also not affected and operating normally, the source said. The cracker has a nameplate capacity of 857,000 mt/year of ethylene.

As MRC informed before, one contractual employee of IOCL was reportedly killed in the accident while 5 others were injured. An investigation by technical team is underway to understand the cause of the accident.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC