BASF launches new brand for the construction industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the largest diversified chemical company in the world, has started to roll out its Master Builders Solutions brand in Asia Pacific as part of a phased launch process, reported the company in its press-release.

The global brand is a sign for BASF’s commitment to the construction industry and represents a wide range of construction chemical solutions previously sold under a variety of specialty brands.

The portfolio of products and services marketed under the Master Builders Solutions brand embraces chemical solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of buildings and infrastructure: concrete admixtures, cement additives, chemical solutions for mining and tunneling, waterproofing, concrete protection and repair products, grouts and high-performance flooring products.

The revised range of products and services marketed under the Master Builders Solutions brand now features a globalized naming system, helping BASF to support customers and partners with a promise of constantly high quality and consistency in products and services.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, last summer BASF and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthen their cooperation by jointly exploring the possibility of building a world-scale isononanol (INA) plant in Maoming Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Maoming, China. Later last year, as part of BASF's major innovation investment in China, the company opened the first Innovation Campus Asia Pacific and its new Greater China headquarters at its site in Pudong, Shanghai. With this expansion the company"s site will be one of BASF"s largest outside of Germany.

BASF’s Construction Chemicals division offers advanced chemicals solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures: Our comprehensive portfolio encompasses concrete admixtures, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing systems, sealants, concrete repair & protection systems, performance grouts, performance flooring systems, tile fixing systems, expansion control systems and wood protection solutions. The division operates production sites and sales centers in more than 60 countries and achieved sales of about EUR2.3 billion in 2012.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell hasreceived approval from the Chinese government for its first shale gas production-sharing contract in China, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It is a significant milestone as China looks to tap potentially massive unconventional gas reserves and achieve ambitious shale gas production targets.

Li Lusha, a spokeswoman for the Anglo-Dutch company, said the Chinese government had approved its plan to explore, develop and produce shale gas with partner China National Petroleum Corp. in the Fushun-Yongchuan block in the Sichuan basin.

The companies haven't disclosed details of the contract, but the approval suggests authorities in Beijing have developed the regulatory framework needed to spur wider international investment in developing its shale reserves.

China is looking to replicate a boom in North American natural gas production, which has begun reshaping global energy markets. Chinese companies need international players such as Shell to lend technology and operational expertise in extracting the gas trapped in shale rock formations.

China has set a target of producing some 6.5 billion cubic meters/year of shale gas by 2015 and as much as 100 billion cubic meters/year by 2020, up from virtually zero in 2012. That is a target some analysts have been skeptical the country can achieve.

The US Energy Information Administration has said China has an estimated 1,275 trillion cubic feet, or 36 trillion cubic meters, of technically recoverable shale-gas reserves, more than Canada and the US combined.

Such massive estimates are sending Shell's international rivals into the market as well. Chevron, for example, has drilled at least one exploratory well in China and has plans for more, but company executives have cited a shortage of geological data and lacking infrastructure as among the reasons it expected slower progress compared with North America.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, in early 2013, Ukraine took its first major step away from dependency on Russian gas imports on Thursday when it signed a USD10 billion shale gas deal with Shell.

As regards the USA, favorable oil-to-gas price ratios driven by the production of natural gas from shale will drive a renewed US competitiveness that will boost exports and fuel greater domestic investment and economic growth within the business of chemistry, according to the Year End 2012 Situation and Outlook, published by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) trade group. Besides, the ongoing shale revolution will guide the US ethylene industry surge in the near future, growing by more than a third by 2017, according to a new report from business intelligence group GlobalData.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Williams has selected Honeywell's UOP C3 Oleflex process technology for the production of propylene, a valuable petrochemical used in plastics production, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The selection is the sixth win for Honeywell’s UOP Oleflex process technology in North America, as petrochemical producers move to produce propylene from propane found in natural gas.

Compared with competing processes, Honeywell says its UOP C3 Oleflex technology provides the lowest cash cost of production, the highest return on investment and the smallest environmental footprint.

Williams’ propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility, to be located in Alberta, Canada, will convert propane recovered from oil sands off gas into polymer-grade propylene. The PDH facility will be the first in Canada and will have a capacity of approximately 1 billion lb/year.

Since the beginning of 2011, UOP has announced 10 new C3 Oleflex process units and three new C4 Oleflex process units across China, Abu Dhabi and North America. It also announced China’s first combined C3/C4 Oleflex unit, which is expected to start up in 2014.

Thus, as MRC wrote earlier, in February, 2013, UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that its UOP Oleflex process technology had been selected by China's Longgang Chemical Co. to produce key ingredients for fuels and synthetic rubber. Also, in early 2012, Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals selected the UOP C3 and C4 Oleflex processes to produce propylene and isobutylene at a new China project. Later last year, Zhejiang Julong Petrochemical Co. chose UOP's core technology for a new unit to manufacture propylene at its facility in Pinghu City, Zhejiang Province, China. Recently, UOP LLC procured a contract from Fujian Meide Petrochemical Co. Ltd - a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Packing Group Company Ltd - to deploy UOP C3 Oleflex process technology for increased propylene production.

Williams is one of North America's largest natural gas gatherers and processors. Williams also has a growing midstream business in Canada focused on processing oil sands off-gas into NGLs and olefins. It also has a domestic olefins business that provides customers in the petrochemical industry with a full suite of products and services.

Honeywell is a global diversified technology and manufacturing company with a wide range of aerospace products and services, control, sensing and security technologies for buildings, homes and industry, turbochargers, automotive products, specialty chemicals, electronic and advanced materials, process technology for refining and petrochemicals and energy efficient products and solutions for homes, business and transportation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company announced the audited operating results of the Company and its subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2012, said Prnewswire.
.
The turnover of the Group for the Year amounted to RMB93,008.3 million, representing a slight decrease of 2.63% over the previous year. Loss attributable to equity shareholders of the company amounted to RMB1,528.4 million.

Basic loss per share was RMB0.212. The board of directors of the Company does not recommend payment of a dividend for the Year.

Mr. Rong Guangdao, Chairman of Shanghai Petrochemical, said, "In the year of 2012, the world's petrochemical industry stays at a relatively low stage of the cycle, marked by a slower rate of growth in the demand for petrochemical products and diminishing gross profits in the industry. Although the production levels of China's petrochemical industry remained basically steady, the volatility in the market prices of international crude oil at high price levels, the increase in the Group's operating costs, the Group's losses in the refining business due to policy factors, the sharp fall in the prices of petrochemical products, output reduction for the purpose of carrying out maintenance work at some of the Group's production facilities, substantial reduction in long-term investment return from the subsidiaries such as Secco, led to a substantial loss in the Group's results for the Year. Faced with the challenging business environment, the Group focused its efforts on production, business operations and management; accorded priority to development quality of the projects and their economic return; continued to improve safety and environmental-friendliness and to maintain stable in production and operations; and to continue to push forward its optimisation programme. The major plants of the Phase 6 Project were successfully completed and went on stream."

For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Group's net sales amounted to RMB87,217.3 million, a decrease of 2.56% from RMB89,509.7 million for the previous year.

As MRC wrote earlier, Sinopec and PetroSA, South Africa's state-owned oil company, signed a framework agreement to build a crude refinery that is set to be the country's biggest. The 400,000-barrel-a-day plant would almost double the country's current combined capacity of 497,000 barrels from four refineries, according to data from the South African Petroleum Association. PetroSA started studying Mthombo as diesel and gasoline imports rose on the back of economic expansion, with demand exceeding local refinery output for the first time in 2007.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow announces start up of new photovoltaic film production line in Schkopau, Germany, said Plastemart.

The ENLIGHT Polyolefin Encapsulant Film production line in Schkopau, Germany, has been completed and the first commercial quantities have been shipped to customers. This expansion not only marks a substantial increase in global capacity, but also means that Dow is now able to supply its customers in the photovoltaic industry from within the region in Europe, Asia and the Americas, and ultimately helps customers reduce total system costs and increase global competitiveness.

As MRC wrote earlier, since 2010, Dow has tripled its production capacity for photovoltaic film. Shortly after the second photovoltaic film production plant was inaugurated in Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in early 2012, construction of this third production line in Schkopau, Germany began. The energy efficient facility was completed with no recordable injuries or process safety incidents just 10 months later in February 2013.

Dow's polyolefin chemistry enables encapsulant films to be made with a broad range of optics, moisture barrier and electrical properties, making them well suited for current c-Si solar modules and thin-film applications. "What really sets ENLIGHT Polyolefin Encapsulant Film apart from conventional films is that they can increase long-term efficiency of photovoltaic panels, help extend service life, and maintain module reliability, thus helping the industry reduce total system costs," said Mark Bradford, EMEA Product Marketing Manager for Photovoltaic Films at Dow.

ENLIGHT films can embed the solar cells under wide temperature ranges, and, unlike conventional films, provide the opportunity to reduce, and potentially eliminate, bubbling under appropriate conditions and application. This can reduce waste and shorten the production time for the module manufacturers by up to 30%.
MRC