Evonik plans to build new PA12 production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik is planning to build a new production complex for the high-performance polymer polyamide 12 (PA 12), as per the companies press-release.

The Group intends to increase its overall PA 12 capacity by more than 50 percent. Polyamide 12 is required in attractive growth markets such as the automotive industry, oil and gas pipelines, and in 3D printing.

After successful basic engineering, Evonik plans to invest approximately €400 million in the PA 12 complex at its largest site, Marl Chemical Park in North Rhine-Westphalia. The existing PA 12 production is to be supplemented with additional manufacturing facilities for the polymer and its precursors. The complex is expected to become operational in early 2021. The investment will make a substantial contribution to reaching Evonik’s margin goal and will generate an annual cash flow in a three-digit million euro amount over the long term. The project is to be implemented over the course of four years as part of the annual budget for growth investments.

“We are planning Evonik’s largest investment in Germany,” says Christian Kullmann, Chairman of the Evonik Executive Board. “This investment is a perfect fit to our strategy of consistent focus on specialty chemicals since polyamide 12, as a high-performance polymer for specialty applications, is an important part of our strategic Growth Engine Smart Materials.” Kullmann considers Germany an attractive and competitive industrial location: “Our workforce in Marl is highly qualified, and our investment will create about 150 jobs. Moreover, we can make optimal use of synergies with our existing infrastructure. That creates highly favorable conditions to sell our specialty products on a global scale."

The PA 12 market is posting annual growth rates exceeding 5 percent worldwide, significantly outpacing the global gross domestic product. In the specialty application of 3D printing, growth rates even reach double digits. “The demand for polyamide 12 is showing steady, dynamic growth," says Claus Rettig, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Resource Efficiency GmbH. “The planned capacity expansion will further strengthen our leading market position for polyamide 12. For our customers worldwide, our commitment translates into long-term availability and reliability of supply for their existing and future applications."

Thanks to its outstanding properties, such as high stability paired with flexibility, high temperature resistance and low weight, the high-performance polymer is used in many demanding applications as a replacement for steel: in automotive and lightweight design as well as in oil and gas pipelines. In addition to current applications in the automotive sector, Evonik is also very well positioned for the future production of hybrid and electric vehicles. Furthermore, the material is used in the medical sector and in 3D printing.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- German specialty chemicals company Lanxess AG has commissioned a new production line for the manufacture of specialty compounds at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany, as per Plasticsnews.

According to the Cologne-based company, the 7 million euro (USD8.6 million) investment was in response to growing demand for engineering plastics. The new line has an annual capacity of up to 10 kilotonnes per year, complementing the compounding lines designed for the production of Durethan nylon compounds and PBT compounds of the Pocan brand.

“We are responding in particular to the development of new forms of mobility such as electromobility,” said Michael Zobel, head of Lanxess’s high performance materials business unit.

Zobel went on to say that the additional capacity would also address the trends in the electrical and electronic industry such as the Industry 4.0, which are leading to a growing demand for complex thermoplastic compounds.

The new production line includes a high-performance twin-screw extruder with a modern raw material feeding, precise dosing and an a cooling and classifying technology.

Commenting on the added compounding capabilities, Stefanie Nickel, head of compounding in the high-performance materials business unit said the line was very well suited for glass fiber-reinforced nylon, which are used in lighter structural parts for cars.

Additionally, it is suitable for the production of compounds with high mineral content, which are used in thermally conductive housing parts, for example for the miniaturization of electronic assemblies.

“We also see great potential in flame-retardant compounds, for example for components in electric drives,“ Nickel added. Lanxess operates two compounding sites in Germany, in Krefeld-Uerdingen and Hamm-Uentrop.

Additionally, it has compounding lines in Wuxi, China, in Jhagadia, India, in Gastonia, N.C., and in Porto Feliz, Brazil. The company also announced plans for a 20 million euro ($24.6 million) compounding plant in Changzhou, China, set to be open in 2019.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft doubled its fourth-quarter net income to 100 billion roubles (USD1.74 billion) after it resolved a row with Sistema, the Russian energy company said on Monday. The net income met analysts' forecasts, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sistema agreed to pay 100 billion roubles to Rosneft as part of an out-of-court settlement over oil producer Bashneft.

Rosneft said the deal added 48 billion roubles to its 2017 net income. Sistema said this month that it had completed all payments to Rosneft. Rosneft's shares were up by 0.7 percent as of 0906 GMT versus Moscow's stock market which was down 0.4 percent.

Rosneft, headed by Igor Sechin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been expanding aggressively, investing billions of dollars in foreign assets.

It said on Monday in 2017 it had transferred USD2.1 billion to the Iraqi Kurdistan government as prepayments for future oil supplies, and USD1 billion to Venezuela's PDVSA last April as part of an oil supply deal.

Moscow-based brokerage Aton said in a note that net debt has not materially changed since the previous financial report, valuing it at 3.509 trillion roubles (USD61 billion).

"Rosneft is still the most leveraged oil company in Russia, and its deleveraging is perhaps investors' greatest hope with respect to its investment case," it said.

The company did not report its net debt in the latest report. The most recent estimate published by Rosneft was 2.216 trillion roubles (USD38 billion) excluding prepayments to foreign firms as of June 30, 2017.

Rosneft has prepayment and long-term supply deals with Vitol , Glencore, Shell, Total, Eni, BP and Trafigura. It also has similar deals with China.

As MRC wrote previously, in November 2017, Rosneft signed a deal with CEFC China Energy Company Ltd on oil supplies, further strengthening its foothold in the world’s largest energy consumer.

On Monday, Rosneft said its fourth-quarter liquid hydrocarbon production - largest among listed global oil producers - reached 56.51 million tonnes, raising its full-year output by 7.3 percent to 225.5 million tonnes, or 4.53 million barrels per day.

BP, which owns a 19.75 percent stake in Rosneft, sources a third of its oil in Russia.

Rosneft's fourth-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose almost 8 percent to 393 billion roubles on revenue of 1.7 trillion roubles, up more than 14 percent.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The LyondellBasell Houston Refinery, one of the oldest in the Greater Houston area, marks its 100th anniversary, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Over the last century, the Refinery has successfully risen to the challenges of the petroleum industry and market instabilities. Today, it stands as one of the largest refineries in the U.S. with output of 268,000 bpd. At the heart of their deep history are generations of employees who devoted their time and talent to helping shape our culture and achieving many milestones.

The Houston Refinery was one of the first petroleum refineries constructed on the Houston Ship Channel and traces its origin to 1918. The initial plant was operated by Sinclair Refining and later by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO). The Refinery was part of a joint venture with CITGO Petroleum from 1993 –2006. The company reacquired full ownership of the plant in 2006 and the Refinery, operating as Houston Refining LP, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of LyondellBasell.

The refinery strives to be a good corporate neighbor by giving back to the communities we serve. As way to commemorate their centennial anniversary, Refinery employee volunteers will join the Houston Astros in distributing text books to 100 classrooms in Houston, Galena Park and Pasadena school districts through the ball club’s Literacy Bus program. In 2017, the site contributed more than $200,000 and 4,000 volunteer hours to support initiatives in the areas of health, safety, education and the environment
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) has undertaken an emergency shutdown at its No. 1 cracker in Mailiao, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company has halted operations at the cracker on March 19, 2018 owing to technical issues. The plant is expected to remain off-line for around one day.

Located at Mailiao in Taiwan, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 700,000 mt/year, propylene production capacity of 350,000 mt/year and butadiene production capacity of 109,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Formosa has three naphtha-fed steam crackers and each goes through maintenance once every three years.

The No. 1 cracker is able to produce 700,000 mt/year of ethylene, 350,000 mt/year of propylene and 109,000 mt/year of butadiene.

The No. 2 unit is able to produce 1.03 million mt/year of ethylene, 515,000 mt/year of propylene and 162,000 mt/year of butadiene.

The No. 3 steam cracker has the capacity to produce 1.2 million mt/year of ethylene, 600,000 mt/year of propylene and 180,000 mt/year of butadiene.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
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