SABIC shuts down Ibn Zahr polypropylene plant

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has shut down its polypropylene plant at its subsidiary Saudi European Petrochemical Company (Ibn Zahr ) in Al-Jubail industrial city, on the eastern coast of the Kingdom.

⌠A problem with the catalyst the company uses caused the shutdown, a source close to the affiliate told ArabianOilandGas.com. ⌠The catalyst was developed by SABIC and is used at the Ibn Zahr affiliate, he added.

Ibn Zahr is one of the world's largest producers of MTBE with an annual capacity of 1.6 million metric tonnes and 640,000 mtpa of polypropylene.

Ibn Zahr was SABIC's first joint venture with European companies. SABIC owns 80% and the remaining percentage is equally owned by Ecofuel of Italy and the Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (APICORP).

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Cristal Global (Cristal), a subsidiary of Saudi Tasnee, announced that it will increase prices on all of its chloride rutile grade Tiona and Cristal titanium dioxide (TiO2) products sold in Latin America by up to US$200 per metric tonne in all countries across the region effective as of February 1st, 2011, or as permitted by contract. This price increase is in addition to previously announced price increases.

In November, the company said that it increased prices for all its TiO2 products in the Middle East and Africa by $200 per tonne.

Cristal Global is the world's second-largest producer of titanium dioxide and a producer of titanium chemicals. Saudi based Tasnee National controls 66% of the company. Cristal Global operates eight manufacturing plants in six countries on five continents. Cristal Global provides products and services for a variety of industries including coatings, polymers and pigments.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Kuwait is set to invest US$15 billion in petrochemical projects in the future, according to Saad Al Ajmi, DMD of financial and administrative affairs of Kuwait based Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC).

Al Ajmi said in an interview with a local newspaper that his company has already invested $5 billion in the last three years, and he mentioned that his company has gone a long way to achieve its vision through establishing different projects inside and outside the State of Kuwait.

As per the company's strategy, Al Ajmi said that his company aims to increase the participation of the private sector in the petrochemicals projects, and draw on the lessons from the success of EQUATE.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- With effect from January 1, 2011, Stamicarbon, the licensing and IP Center of Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., has acquired the Italian engineering company Noy Engineering from Tecnimont. With this acquisition the extensive licensing, innovation and customer service experience of Stamicarbon is combined with the polyester and polymerization technologies of Noy Engineering.

Noy Engineering designs and builds plants worldwide, based on proprietary technologies. It has developed an extensive portfolio of Polymer technologies PA6.6 & PA6, PET and Acrylic. There are more than 100 plants already designed, constructed and in operation with Noy's technologies, which is equivalent to more than 1 million metric tons per year production installed worldwide.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The volume of PP production in Ukraine summarizing 2010 fell by 20% and made about 78 KT, according to MRC analysts. The reduction in production volumes was stipulated by scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns of Linik (ТNК-ВР Ukraine Group).

Considerably long production suspension in May - June was stipulated by almost complete maintenance of production complex of Lisichansk oil refinery. In August because of abnormal high temperature the accident at the feeding electrical substation resulted in unscheduled shutdowns of the production complex.

In November because of accidents at one of complex lines PP production was suspended for a few weeks. All these factors resulted in serious reduction in production volumes.

MRC