China keeps LNG off tariff list for now, could be trade weapon later

MOSCOW (MRC) - China's omission of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its vast list of U.S. products that face hefty import duties has preserved a potential weapon should the trade war with Washington deepen, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It also underscores Beijing's desire to ensure supplies of gas as it pushes to switch millions of households and businesses away from using coal as a key part of its 'war on pollution'.

China will on Friday impose tariffs on USD34 billion of U.S. goods from pork to soybeans to cotton in retaliation for a similar move by Washington as trade relations sour between the world's top two economies.

"If the (trade) war escalates, (I expect) the government will not hesitate to add LNG," a state oil and gas company executive said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Although U.S. LNG supplies to China have so far been tiny in volume and value compared with the around USD12 billion per year of U.S. crude that arrives in the country, analysts say those levels could be set to shoot up as Beijing forges ahead with its battle to clear its skies.

Morgan Stanley has estimated annual Chinese imports of U.S. LNG could rise to as much as USD9 billion within two or three years, from USD1 billion in 2017. The amount could be even larger if the United States resolves a logistics bottleneck.

That would go a long way to helping balance China's trade surplus with the United States, a major bugbear of Washington's in the trade dispute. But the strategy also hands Beijing another weapon in its arsenal if the spat deteriorates further.

China's Commerce Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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More speciality PA powder capacity in France / Investment of EUR 20m

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In response to what it said is strong worldwide demand for PA powder in ultra-high performance industrial applications, especially from the coatings, composite and 3D printing markets, French chemical producer Arkema (Colombes) plans to to expand global capacity at its Mont / France site in the Pyrenees by more than 50% by the second half of 2019, as per Plasteurope.

The expansion, costing around EUR 20m, will support steady growth in these industrial applications and underscore its commitment to its global customer base, the company said.

For the speciality powders sold under the "Orgasol" trademark (a range of polymers and PA 6 and PA 12 copolymers), and often specified as ultra-high performing formulation additives, Arkema claims exceptionally tightly controlled particle size distribution and outstanding toughness. The new capacity upgrade follows “substantial” investment in Asia for the French player’s "Rilsan" PA 11 and PA 12 product lines, said Erwoan Pezron, global president of Arkema’s Technical Polymers business.
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LWB Steinl GmbH & Co.KG, Altdorf, and Evonik to manufacture a rotation-symmetrical plastic/rubber composite part

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LWB Steinl GmbH & Co.KG, Altdorf, and Evonik Industries, Essen, are combining their experience to manufacture a rotation-symmetrical plastic/rubber composite part: Evonik supplies polyamide 612 VESTAMID DX9325 for adhesive free bonding with EPDM, and LWB Steinl supplies its expertise in two-component injection molding, as per the company press release.

This automated manufacturing process can be viewed during the German Rubber Conference (DKT 2018) from July 2 to 5 at LWB Steinl’s stand 309 in hall 12.

Wherever rubber parts must be permanently fixed or mounted, composite parts made of a hard component and an elastomer have proven their worth. For the purposes of weight reduction, the hard component that has traditionally been made of metal has been replaced in recent times by suitable plastics. These offer two further advantages: They do not corrode, and in an injection molding process, they can be efficiently formed into complex molded parts. This gives the designer significantly greater flexibility when designing complex components. The bonding between hard and soft component—the decisive criterion for the long-term functioning of composite parts, especially those subject to dynamic stress—is usually achieved using adhesive agents, which are applied in additional processing steps. Protective measures are required against emissions from the solution used and the solution must also be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Evonik has developed various plastic-compounds, which have rendered adhesive agents superfluous. Components made of these compounds form tight and permanent bonds with suitable rubber compounds without the need for pretreatment or the application of adhesives or bonding agents. VESTAMID DX9325 is an approx. 40% glass-fiber-reinforced polyamide 612 compound, which has been developed specifically for plastic rubber-compound technology. It can also be covulcanized with EPDM rubber. As a semi-crystalline material, VESTAMID DX9325 has excellent chemical resistance, for example, to fuels, oils and fats.

The composite part with EPDM can be manufactured in a single step, mostly automated procedure, similar to two component injection molding in a single tool. There is no need for multiple handling of the components, most sources of error are avoided, and the reject rate falls. Depending on the plant-specific conditions, therefore, cost savings of up to 30% can be achieved.

You can find out more about the patented plastic-rubber-bonding process, additional PA612, PPA and PPE molding compounds that have been developed specifically for the process, and their adhesive-free bonding to SBR, NR/SBR, NBR/SBR, NBR, XNBR, HNBR, AEM and FPM at Evonik’s stand 107 in hall 12.
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Mexican IEnova to invest USD150M in Sinaloa fuel terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican energy infrastructure firm IEnova, a unit of U.S.-based Sempra Energy, said on Monday it would invest about USD150 million to build and operate a fuel terminal in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The tender was won by its subsidiary, IEnova Petroliferos IV, IEnova said in a statement. It expected the terminal to begin operations in late-2020.

The facility will feature initial storage capacity of 1 million barrels, mainly for gasoline and diesel, IEnova said. The company said the capacity of the terminal has been fully contracted on a long-term basis, and would give further details by whom at a later stage.

It added that in the future, it could expand capacity at the terminal and even offer storage for other products such as petrochemicals.

IEnova said it had offered the best price in the tender, which was held by the Administracion Portuaria Integral de Topolobampo, a federal port authority.
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Japanese refiner Idemitsu wins family backing for Showa Shell merger

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan and Showa Shell Sekiyu said on Tuesday they had agreed to merge on April 1 next year, after Idemitsu’s founding family dropped its long-standing opposition to the plan, reported Reuters.

The refiners will merge via a share swap, and Showa Shell will be delisted on March 29, they said in a statement, pushing the shares of the two companies up sharply in afternoon trade.

The combined firm would account for about 30 percent of Japan’s domestic gasoline sales, second only to JXTG Holdings, which controls about half the market.

Idemitsu, Japan’s No.2 oil refiner by sales, has long been keen to merge its operations with fourth-ranked Showa Shell in response to shrinking gasoline demand in the country.

But it was locked in a battle for about two years with the Idemitsu founding family, which argued the two firms were too different for any merger to work.

As part of the deal announced on Tuesday, the founding family will be able to nominate two of the eight initial directors of the merged entity.

The share swap ratio will be set in October, followed by extraordinary shareholders’ meetings in December to seek approval.

The swap will be conducted for the 68.75 percent of Showa Shell shares that Idemitsu does not own. As of Monday’s close, Idemitsu had a market capitalization of 792.5 billion yen (USD7.1 billion) and Showa a market capitalization of 578 billion yen.

Investors welcomed the deal, pushing up shares in Idemitsu by as much as 17.8 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Showa Shell jumped as much as 13.7 percent.

Idemitsu’s Chairman Takashi Tsukioka said well known activist investor, Yoshiaki Murakami, had helped persuade a majority of the founding family, which owns just over 28 percent of the company, to back the deal.

Along with the merger, Idemitsu said it would buy back up to 55 billion yen of its own shares through December to return profits to current shareholders before the merger.

Showa Shell Chief Executive Tsuyoshi Kameoka said 15 percent shareholder Saudi Aramco was “very supportive” of the merger.

Kameoka ruled out any closures of the combined company’s seven refineries in Japan, although a sector analyst said he hoped one refinery would close within five years given declining domestic demand. He declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak with media.

The two firms will target net profit of at least 500 billion yen for the total of three business years from 2019, and plan a payout ratio of 50 percent.

The merged firm will use Idemitsu Kosan Co as a company name but will conduct business under the trade name, Idemitsu Showa Shell.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
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