PetroChina to enter into a framework agreement with INEOS

(ICIS) -- PetroChina has entered into a framework agreement with INEOS to form joint ventures for trading and refining activities at Grangemouth in Scotland and Lavera, France, it said on Monday.

Core to INEOS is also an agreement signed on Monday with PetroChina's ultimate parent company, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to share refining and petrochemical technology and expertise. The agreement gives INEOS the opportunity to lever its technology and expertise into the China market.

PetroChina and INEOS would work towards the formation of the proposed joint ventures by the end of June 2011, PetroChina said. No financial details were immediately available but an INEOS spokesman clarified that the agreement covered all INEOS refining and trading activities associated with the two refineries.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asia's polyolefin markets are likely to remain turbulent in the first quarter of the year despite recent price hikes, as feedstock costs are fluctuating and future demand remains uncertain, market players said on Monday. Producers told ICIS they were also concerned about the rapid rise in crude oil and naphtha prices, which have put margins under pressure.

Nonetheless, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices rose by $10-50/tonne (┬8-39/tonne) last week in China, as traders returned to the market after the New Year holidays.

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) film-grade prices were higher at $1,230-1,280/tonne CFR (cost & freight) China, while linear low-density PE (LLDPE) values were at around $1,330-1,380/tonne CFR China and low-density PE (LDPE) were at $1,680-1,740/tonne CFR China, ICIS data showed.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Eastman Chemical on Friday confirmed that it has an agreement to sell a mothballed Texas methanol and ammonia plant to a Swiss-based firm led by entrepreneur Deo Van Wijk, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter. Eastman did not disclose the terms of its pact with Pandora Methanol, a subsidiary of Janus Methanol.

Van Wijk, a former Methanex executive, said on Thursday that the agreement was signed in late December. He said the plant would begin testing in April and begin consumer production by July.

The plant will have a capacity of 850,000 tonnes/year of methanol and 250,000 tonnes/year of ammonia, he said.

In a statement, Eastman said the sale includes related ammonia tank and methanol terminal assets and a methanol pipeline in Beaumont.

MRC

(PRW) -- A plastics plant in Scotland will not reopen following a fire, it has been revealed. The Amcor Flexibles facility, near Livingston, which produces plastic packaging, was badly damaged in the blaze last summer. Management had been hoping to rebuild and reopen the plant but investigations have now concluded that this would be uneconomic. As a result the 77 workers at the plant will lose their jobs.

In a statement released to media (6 January) Gerard Blatrix, vice-president of snacks and confectionery, Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas, said: "It is with regret that we announce our intention to close AF Livingston. But following thorough investigations and reviewing all available options, Amcor concluded that it is not viable to reinstate the plant."

The fire at the plant, thought to have broken out in a printer, was not regarded as suspicious.

MRC

(PRW) -- Spain's Cepsa oil and chemicals group has finally acquired the Artenius San Roque PET production plant of leading European PET polymer producer La Seda de Barcelona for ┬32m.

The deal sees the 175,000 tpa San Roque resins operation in southern Spain renamed CQ PET (Cepsa Quimica PET), which is to keep a 40-strong workforce. A further 19 former San Roque employees will be hired in different departments of Cepsa's petrochemicals offshoot Cepsa Quimica, the new owner stated.

Cepsa Quimica plans to restart the PET plant within the first three months of 2011 as La Seda group suspended production at San Roque in September 2008. Cepsa Quimica, which runs the nearby 480,000 tpa Guadarranque PTA (purified terephthalic acid) plant was previously the unit's chief raw supplier of the PET intermediate.

The acquisition brings Cepsa important synergies, not only giving it a captive PTA market, but also offering substantial cost savings through the expansion of its presence in the polyester supply chain as well as fixed cost savings, the group said.

MRC