INEOS and Tianjin Bohai to create a 50/50 JV in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Nitriles and Tianjin Bohai Chemical Industry Group Corporation have signed their intention to establish a 50/50 JV , to build and operate a world scale acrylonitrile plant to be located in Tianjin, China, said INEOS.

It is expected that the plant, which will be designed using the latest INEOS process and catalyst technology, will be completed by the end of 2016. The initial annual capacity of the new facility will be 260,000 tonnes of acrylonitrile with an expectation of possible future expansion, in line with growing demand across Asia.

The final agreement is subject to confirmation of satisfactory project costs and conclusion of discussions with the local authorities. The partnership will benefit from Tianjin Bohai Chemical’s operating capability, local feedstock advantages and proximity to derivative growth markets. INEOS will provide commercial expertise and production ‘know-how’, as well as its proprietary acrylonitrile process and catalyst technology.

Located in Tianjin, the new plant will be well positioned close to one of the most rapidly growing centres of China's acrylonitrile demand, with easy access to customers throughout Asia.

"This is the second Joint Venture project INEOS has announced in China this year." said Jim Ratcliffe, Chairman of INEOS. "In March INEOS Phenol initialed a joint venture agreement with Sinopec YPC for the design, build and operation of a 1.2 million tonne cumene, phenol and acetone complex at Nanjing. Both Joint Ventures bring together our world leading technology with a strong Chinese partner. They will add up to a total investment across all partners of more than USD1 billion."

The Joint Venture with Tianjin Bohai Chemical reinforces INEOS’ commitment to serve its Acrylonitrile customers globally by extending production to cover Asia, the world’s fastest growing market. The investment positions INEOS as the only producer in the world to have capacity in each of the world’s largest Acrylonitrile markets.

Acrylonitrile is used as a raw material for the production of synthetic fibres, engineering plastics (ABS, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), carbon fibre, synthetic rubber and water soluble polymers. These products are used in a very diverse range of end use markets, such as textiles, automotive components, building and construction materials, household appliances, electronic equipment, sporting goods, water treatment and oil & gas production.

INEOS is one of the world’s leading chemicals companies; a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, specialty chemicals and oil products.

Tianjin Bohai is a state owned enterprise, with over 100 subsidiaries and 35,000 employees. It has joint venture relationships with a number of foreign partners, including: LG Chem, Solvay, Akzo Nobel, Clariant, Veolia, Air Liquide and Vopak.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese companies Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Mitsui & Co. applied to build a Texas chemical plant at Dow Chemical largest production site as more foreign companies try to benefit from cheap U.S. natural gas, said Bloomberg.

The factory would use ethylene to make alpha olefins, which are added to polyethylene plastics and other resins, on land owned by Midland, Michigan-based Dow at its site in Freeport on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the companies said in an application for air emissions filed May 17 with federal and state regulators.

The companies in March disclosed plans to produce alpha olefins in the U.S. without saying where the plant would be built. Construction would begin in a year with production starting in the second half of 2016, according to the application.

As MRC wrote earlier, Dow Chemical signed agreement with a new Japanese joint venture that will allow the chemical producer to enhance its performance plastics franchise. Dow billed the agreement as marking the next milestone in its strategy to integrate cost-advantaged feedstocks to support the profitable growth of its performance plastics franchise. It said the joint venture will utilize an integrated supply of ethylene from Dow's production grid on the U.S. Gulf Coast to produce linear alpha olefins used as comonomers throughout Dow's performance plastics franchise, and will contribute "significant capital" for these rights.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. In 2012, Dow had annual sales of approximately USD57 billion. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In April, imports of titanium dioxide (TiO2) to Russia increased by 33% year-on-year, according to MRC DataScope.

Imports of titanium dioxide totalled almost 8,500 tonnes in April. In absolute terms, imports rose by 2,100 tonnes year-on-year.

Regarding imports in March, purchasing volumes in foreign markets remained stable and were at a high level.

Market sources believe that the rise in import volumes was caused by a seasonal factor. In addition, attractive prices of TiO2 contributed to the increase in purchases in foreign markets. Market players expected that after the rapid drop in prices for material, prices will go up in spring with the revival of consumer activity.

The share of Ukrainian grades accounted for 29% of imports. The share of Chinese titanium dioxide accounted for 15% of import volumes. Supply of the US material decreased from March. It accounted for only 11% of imports.
In January-April, imports of titanium dioxide to the Russian domestic market totalled about 30,000 tonnes, whereas this index made about 22,000 tonnes over the same period last year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, has announced that it managed to reverse a court order that had suspended construction at its Comperj refinery project in Rio de Janeiro state, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Petrobras said in a statement the decision involves only works currently under way.

The Comperj refinery will have installed capacity to process 165,000 barrels of crude oil per day when it enters operation in April 2015, according to the company. A second phase, expected to be completed by 2018, would double capacity.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in late March this year, Petrobras received an offer to purchase a refinery that the company owns in Japan, as the company is selling assets aimed at raising USD9.9 billion to fund its massive investment plan. A Singapore-based company has proposed a USD650 million deal to Petrobras, including USD80 million for the Nansei Sekiyu refinery in Okinawa and USD570 million for oil and oil-derivatives stocks at the refinery complex. At present, Petrobras is in the midst of a divestment program to raise cash to fund the company's USD237 billion five-year investment plan. The oil company expects to raise USD9.9 billion from asset sales, with a majority of the sales earmarked for 2013.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization and the largest in Latin America measured by 2011 revenues.
MRC