Westlake launches ethylene expansion project at Lake Charles complex

(MOSCOW (MRC) -- The previously-announced expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit of Westlake Chemical at its Lake Charles complex in Louisiana has started, reported Daily Markets.

This expansion will be completed in conjunction with a planned maintenance turnaround and will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 230-240 million lbs/year in support of the company's ethylene integration strategy, according to Westlake officials. The unit is expected to be down approximately 60 days for the work to be completed.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2012, Westlake had announced an expansion of the existing PVC plant in Calvert City, Kentucky, and the plans to convert the feedstock for its Calvert City ethylene plant from propane to ethane along with increasing ethylene capacity from 450 million pounds per year to 630 million pounds per year.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a U.S. manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals and polymers, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The range of company's products includes ethylene, polyethylene (PE), styrene, propylene (PP), caustics, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and plastic products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LINPAC Allibert and Schoeller Arca Systems (SAS) have joined together under one name to become the world leader in plastic reusable transit packaging (RTP), said Schoeller Allibert in its press realese.

The two companies will be rebranded as Schoeller Allibert from January 2013, following the acquisition of LINPAC Allibert by controlling SAS stakeholder One Equity Partners (OEP) nine months ago.

Erik De Bokx, CEO of Schoeller Allibert, comments: “LINPAC Allibert and Schoeller Arca Systems have been operating as sister companies since the acquisition by OEP in March 2012. As the two businesses complement each other so well, it made sense to rebrand them as one company, combining not only their strengths, expertise and innovative product ranges but also their names, to create a single world leading reusable transit packaging business. Our customers can now access a wider product portfolio and streamlined order processing facilities.

Schoeller Allibert is now the world’s largest manufacturer of reusable plastic packaging for materials handling. Headquartered in the Netherlands, it has more than 40 production and sales operations in nearly all European countries, the AmErikan continent and Asia.

LINPAC Group Limited was founded in 1959 in Lincolnshire, England is an international market leader in the production of primary fresh food packaging and foodservice solutions. LINPAC is privately owned and is ranked 42nd in The Times Top Track 100 list of Britain's biggest private companies. As MRC wrote earlier, LINPAC Group also produces different grades of PP films.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Members of Germany's plastics trade association IK Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen have stated that they have started the New Year positively, said Packagingnews.

In its recent survey, IK said that a total of 90% of firms surveyed judged the current economic situation in Germany as good or satisfactory.

The report also highlighted that firms expect their turnovers to increase more than it did this time last year.

Despite this positive outlook, IK members expect a continually tense situation in the area of raw material prices. The index for price development of plastic packaging therefore has increased by 33% to 35 points for the first quarter.

In a statement, IK said: "This continues to strengthen the impression, also at the beginning of this year, that the increasingly volatile development of raw material prices has a decisive influence on the signing of a contract and thus on business relations between packaging suppliers and customers."

In this context, IK managing director Ulf Kelterborn recommends an increased application of suitable escalation clauses. Kelterborn explained: "Thanks to an increased planning security from a cost point of view, these would minimise the increased risk potentials in the area of raw material price developments also for the customer."

As MRC wrote earlier, in 2012 Germany's plastics trade association faced with rising difficulties of passing on the volatile and unpredictable feedstock rises.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron experienced a sharp decline in downstream refining margins during the 2012 fourth quarter, the US-based energy major said on Thursday, said Chevron in its press release.

In an interim earnings update, the company said that for the full fourth quarter, US and international refining margins decreased significantly compared with the third quarter.

"Downstream earnings in the fourth quarter are also expected to be higher, largely reflecting a positive swing in timing effects, despite a sharp decline in industry refining margins," Chevron wrote in the update.

During the first two months of the fourth quarter, Chevron reported that US refinery crude-input volumes decreased by 77,000 bpd compared with the third quarter, driven primarily by the continued shutdown of the fire-stricken refinery crude unit in Richmond, California. As MRC wrote earlier, in Aug 2012, a massive fire broke out at Chevron's Richmond refinery, which is the largest refinery in the San Francisco.

A return to normal operations at the Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery post Hurricane Isaac partly offset the decrease, according to the company.

Meanwhile, international refinery crude-input volumes increased 9,000 bpd compared with the third quarter.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polish plastics packaging producer Opakomet in Krakow is reported to have been acquired by the Warsaw-based company Miedzynarodowa Korporacja Gwarancyjna (MKG), said company in its press-release.

MKG bought a stake of 92.58% in the partially state owned packaging firm for a sum of EUR4.8m, according to an announcement by Poland’s finance ministry. This included a share of 42% held by the government for which MKG agreed to pay EUR2.2m.

Opakomet, which established its plastics moulding division in the 1990s, manufactures a range of containers and other packaging in polyethylene and polypropylene as well as producing moulded components for various sectors. The company runs a variety of injection and blow moulding machines from suppliers including Krauss Maffei, Arburg, Ferromatic, Bekum and Uniloy Comec.

The company, founded 80 years ago, produces packaging for the food, chemicals and automotive industries. Opakomet also operates a subsidiary business producing aluminium tubes with a plant at Lowicz in the Lodz region of Poland.

MRC