Egypt aims for USD10B foreign investment in oil, gas in 2018/19

MOSCOW (MRC) - Egypt aims for foreign investment in the oil and gas sector to reach about USD10 billion in the 2018/19 fiscal year that begins in July, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Molla said he expected foreign investments to total the same amount for the current fiscal year, marking a 25 percent increase from the previous year.

The 25 percent gain comes as a result of foreign companies investing in major gas projects in the Mediterranean, he said.

Egypt aims to increase its gas production from newly discovered fields, which include the mammoth Zohr asset discovered by Italy’s Eni in 2015.

Once a gas exporter, Egypt hopes to halt imports by 2019.
MRC

Clariant debuted additive solutions and launched AddWorks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has introduced new additive solutions for plastics materials, as per the company's press release.

"Our innovations focus on higher performance at better convenience for a sustainable future," says Stephan Lynen, Head of Clariant BU Additives. "At Chinaplas 2018 we demonstrated our technical and market capabilities around the theme of e-mobility. The immense changes in mobility call for lighter, safer and smarter vehicles. We offer new additive solutions, such as AddWorks, and technical capabilities to respond to this demand. We are accompanying this with a series of investments such as new production facilities in China."

Clariant’s new AddWorks solutions - AddWorksATR 146, AddWorks LXR 568 and AddWorks TFB 117 - are specifically aimed at improving performance and efficiency of plastics materials for compounders, polymer and fiber producers in China’s major plastics manufacturing segments. All three solutions are part of the globally available portfolio.

The full AddWorks portfolio consists of differentiated market-specific synergistic additive blends that streamline production processes and create value for customers while enhancing performance. Each solution is customized to specific market needs, underlined by broader considerations such as emission reduction, and less energy and resource usage.

To support the significant investment in electric vehicles in China, Clariant launched two additive innovations that improve the lifetime of lightweight automotive parts and under-the-hood applications and reduce VOC emissions in an easy to use single solution.

AddWorks ATR 146 is a new low dosage, sulfur-free heat and light stabilizer for filled polypropylene (TPO) compounds used in interior applications. Its exceptional heat and light stability and long term color retention offers the automotive industry unmatched performance. It shows no surface cracking after 700 hours at 150°C, which enables dashboards, instrument panels, door panels and pillars to maintain their aesthetics longer than with traditional stabilizers. It also contributes to reducing blooming and VOC emissions, supporting the common effort to make automotive interiors healthier and odorless.

AddWorks LXR 568 is a high performance processing stabilizer that helps to prevent plastic resins, especially polyolefins, from degradation at high processing temperatures. For the automotive industry, this reduces the tendency of injection molded polypropylene interior car parts to turn brittle during heat exposure, enabling them to maintain a defect-free surface. It also has low migration and low fogging that support healthier in-cab environments.

AddWorks LXR 568 combines outstanding color and melt flow protection with good resistance to hydrolysis and high thermal stability. This makes it ideal for interior and under-the-hood powertrains and wider application areas such as packaging films. It is available in free-flowing pills and micro-pills which are easy and convenient to use.

Within the next three years, China is expected to account for 40% of the world’s nylon production and more than 30% of the nylon resin consumed globally. The new AddWorks TFB 117 offers a number of benefits to help stabilize and smoothen fiber production processes, protect color, and improve heat stability and mechanical properties of fibers. AddWorks TFB 117 ensures smooth spinnability with less filaments breakage, even at low processing temperatures and at high speed spinning up to 5,500 m/min.

In addition to AddWorks, Clariant presented Exolit OP 1400, a highly stable non-halogenated flame retardant enhancing safety during the charging process. It also provides outstanding thermal stability for under the hood applications. Exolit OP 1400 has been awarded the Clariant EcoTain® label for outstanding sustainability and performance.

Clariant also introduced two ranges of performance waxes that smoothen the production of automotive plastics for under the hood applications, Licowaxand Licocare RBW. The recently launched Licocare RBW is a series of multi-purpose additives based on crude rice bran wax. They offer better shaping flexibility, better mechanical properties and enhanced surface finish, which results in a reduced rejection rate and a more effective dosage.

As MRC informed before, in March 2017, Clariantwas awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China.

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. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

Polymirae plans to shut 3 PP lines at Yeosu for maintenance in October

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's Polymirae Co. plans to shut three lines at its 700,000 mt/year polypropylene plant at Yeosu in the second half of October for 10 days, a source from the parent company said Friday, as per Apic-online.

The plant has four PP lines at Yeosu, each with a capacity of around 175,000 mt/year, with a combined capacity of 700,000 mt/year.

Polymirae is a joint venture between Daelim and Lyondell Bassell Industries. It buys all its propylene feedstock exclusively from neighbor and affiliate Yeochun Naphtha Cracking Center.

Polymirae Company Ltd. manufactures polypropylene and other plastics. The Company markets its products to manufacturers throughout Asia.
MRC

IOC teams up with MCPI to set up a Rs1,000 crore polyester staple fibre unit in Odisha

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corporation is teaming up with Chatterjee group arm, MCPI to set up a Rs 1,000 crore polyester staple fibre (PSF) unit in Odisha, as per Economictimes.

This is part of an overall investment drive taken up by the state government to attract big ticket investment in downstream units across industries in the state.

The unit is scheduled to come up on 200 acres at Dhamnagar in the state’s Bhadrak district. It will source raw material from Haldia in West Bengal and have a 108 kta (kilo tonnes per annum) PSF capacity. It will also produce 180 kta of drawn texture yarn (DTY) and 36 kta of full drawn yarn (FDY) mainly used as technical textiles, which find wide use in industrial textile and in the garments trade. This is the second such downstream petrochem facility in the state, where IOC is also setting up a plastic park at Paradip close to its refinery.

“We are reaching out to potential investors in West Bengal and across the country, offering them an opportunity to set up downstream units in these industrial parks,” Odisha’s principal secretary (industries department) Sanjeev Chopra said. The state government officials who are on a roadshow in the city, said they received good response from prospective investors. A similar roadshow is being planned to be held in Mumbai next month.

Odisha, which is among the few states that allow private investors to set up industrial parks, has decided to provide all necessary infrastructure be it road, water and electricity connection right up to the gates. It is also providing 50 per cent subsidy on the infrastructure inside the park.

Odisha officials also met Engineering Exports promotion Council (EEPC) officials and some 20-odd representatives of forging and casting units based in Howrah to attract them in setting up units in the state. As part of Odisha’s Vision Document 2030, the target is to achieve 50 per cent value addition of primary metal produced within the state from the current level of 10 per cent, Chopra said.

“While metal majors like Hindalco, National Aluminium (Nalco), Jindal Stainless, JSPL, Tata Steel or Vedanta have a manufacturing presence in our state, we have till now not had much success with downstream units in metal based industries. We have now decided to address this issue and are aiming at a raising the level of conversion of this primary metal into value added products within the state,” Chopra said.
MRC

Meridian signs Letter of Intent with leading EPC provider for Davis Refinery in North Dakota

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Meridian Energy Group, Inc., the leading developer of innovative and environmentally-compliant oil refining facilities, has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with a leading specialty engineering, procurement and construction solutions provider based in Houston, Texas, to initially complete a front end engineering and design (FEED) study for the Davis Refinery in Belfield, North Dakota, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Additionally, the LOI establishes the terms and conditions under which Meridian would contract with the Contractor for the EPC of the initial phase of the Davis Refinery, the negotiation of which is anticipated to occur during the FEED study.

This LOI represents a major milestone for Meridian and comes at a critical point in time as Meridian prepares to receive the final issuance of the permit to construct for the Davis Refinery from the North Dakota Department of Health the coming weeks. The Contractor is the largest specialized infrastructure solutions provider in North America and has met all Meridian criteria for a forward-thinking EPC contractor that understands the significance of the Davis Refinery on the future of the refining industry. Meridian is confident that the Contractor is an ideal EPC partner to carry out and implement the detailed design and engineering of the Davis Refinery and the standard of emission controls the facility will set for the refining industry moving forward.

William Prentice, CEO of Meridian Energy Group said of the LOI, "With our PTC being finalized by NDDoH over the next few weeks, the single most important milestone left for Meridian to achieve was the selection of our EPC partner for the Davis Refinery. The Contractor we have selected to be our EPC partner is exceptionally well-qualified, and fully appreciates how unique and important the Davis Refinery is in defining the future of the refining industry in the United States. Now that this important relationship has been established, Meridian can finalize its project financing arrangements for the Davis Refinery upon award of the final PTC and begin construction shortly thereafter."
MRC