Braskem introduces line of Green LDPE for plastic packaging and films

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, one of the leading thermoplastic resin producers in the Americas and among the world’s largest biopolymer producers, announces the expansion of its portfolio of renewable products with the launch of its new line of green low-density polyethylene (LDPE), with this new product family complementing it’s already well known Green Plastics, said Bioplastic-innovation.

Annual production of the new resin will amount to approximately 30 kton and the product will be made available in the market starting in January 2014.

To ensure the production feasibility of the new line, investments were made in interconnecting plants and certain pieces of equipment in order to make possible the production of green LDPE from renewable raw materials. Two technology options can be used to ensure the production of a portfolio of resins with varying characteristics that allows for meeting a wider range of applications. LDPE is used mainly in plastic packaging and films.

Braskem has been producing on an industrial scale high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) made from renewable feedstock already since September 2010. The product is special because it is a thermoplastic resin made from sugarcane ethanol. It has properties identical to those of traditional polyethylene and, since it is derived from renewable materials, it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as the sugarcane grows.

The expansion of the line of green products reinforces the company’s commitment to creating value through the sustainable development of the industry’s production chain, its clients and society, which are increasingly seeking to adopt practices that help reduce the effects of greenhouse gases.

As MRC wrote before, Brazils’ Federal Secretary of Foreign Trade (Secex) has opened an anti-dumping investigation into imports of polypropylene resin from India, South Korea and South Africa, following a complaint from local petrochemical giant Braskem that it's being harmed by low-cost imports.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bemis Co. Inc. is expanding its Asia-Pacific holding with the purchase of Foshan New Changsheng Plastics Films Co. (NCS), a specialty film manufacturer in Foshan, China, said Plasticsnews.

Neenah, Wis.-based Bemis announced the deal on July 1. Details of the deal were not immediately available at the sellers’ request, but more information will be released later this month in conjunction with Bemis’s earnings statement, said Vice President and Treasurer Melanie Miller. The purchase is not expected to impact Bemis’ earnings per share guidance for 2013, according to the company.

"NCS has strong customer relationships and expertise in specialty film manufacturing for food packaging, personal care packaging, consumer electronics and specialty applications," said Henry Theisen, Bemis president and CEO in a news release. "Their newly expanded manufacturing facilities will also be capable of manufacturing film for sensitive medical device and pharmaceutical applications. With this new specialty film platform, we are well positioned to increase our market position in the Asia-Pacific region."

The NCS purchase is far from the first Chinese venture for Bemis, Miller said. "We have been producing medical device packaging out of Malaysia and Suzhou, China for many, many years," she said. In addition to holdings in New Zealand and Australia, Bemis acquired a China-based packaging converting facility in 2011. That facility was already a film customer of NCS’s, Miller said.

"That’s been a great. Before that we weren’t really in food packaging in China,” Miller said. “This is a complement to and in support of our existing Pacific operations. They produce a lot of unique films and we’re very excited about this acquisition because it’s our first film platform in the Asia-Pacific region."

As MRC wrote before, Bemis Co. is closing a plant in St. Louis Park and will close one in Minneapolis. Both facilities make flexible packaging for food under the Curwood brand, a division of Bemis. Bemis has been drifting away from the Twin Cities for decades. The company had been growing in Wisconsin, not Minnesota, and wanted to move its executives closer to its geographic center.

Bemis, founded in 1858, is North America’s largest film and sheet manufacturer with annual sales of USD5.3 billion, according to the most recent Plastics News ranking. It makes packaging for everything from diapers to grass seed to snacks, as well as pressure-sensitive packaging and sealed plastic for medical products. It has about 45 factories in North America, as well as operations in Europe, Latin America, Australia and Asia.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 will reduce delivery of polypropylene grades because of issues with feedstock supply, as per Plastemart.

Phillips 66 sources most of its feedstock polymer-grade propylene from its Bayway refining and petrochemical complex in Linden, New Jersey. The complex is scheduled to undergo a 45 day turnaround beginning October 1. The company had planned to build inventory for the turnaround using additional feedstock from Williams Partners.

However, the Williams olefins plant at Geismar suffered an explosion and fire that resulted in disruption of production for an indefinite time.

"While we are currently producing at full rates with our integrated monomer, this disruption of feedstock supply has forced us to restrict present deliveries," Phillips 66 said in its letter to customers. This move will further squeeze an already tight market. The measure by Phillips 66 comes as at least three major producers have announced contract price increases for either July or August.

Last week, Garyville, Louisiana-based Pinnacle Polymers issued a force majeure declaration on polypropylene, citing feedstock supply issues that market sources said also resulted from the Williams disruption.

Phillips 66 is a holding company created through the repositioning of ConocoPhillips. The company is engaged in producing natural gas liquids and petrochemicals. Phillips 66 owns 15 refineries with a net crude oil capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day, 10,000 branded marketing outlets, and 15,000 miles (24,000 km) of pipelines. In the United States, the company operates Conoco, Phillips 66 and 76 stations.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp. said Wednesday it will invest millions of dollars to expand its Houston facilities, creating 1,752 new jobs and building a new 50-story downtown office tower in the world’s energy capital, said News92fm.

California-based Chevron’s investment is due in part to USD12 million it will be receiving from the Texas Enterprise Fund, according to Gov. Rick Perry‘s office. The fund is a pot of money meant to attract outside firms and businesses to the state.

"Employers looking to expand or relocate their businesses continue to choose Texas’ strong job creation climate, low taxes, smart regulations, fair courts and skilled workforce," Perry said in a statement.

Chevron’s new investment will include a 1.7 million-square-foot tower that will house professional, technical and administrative workers to accommodate the oil company’s growth in Houston to support its global operations.
The new building will join two others in downtown Houston that Chevron already occupies. The company said all three buildings will create an urban campus with indoor and outdoor common areas, enhanced dining facilities, a fitness center, training and conference facilities, and additional parking.

Chevron currently has about 9,000 employees and contractors in Houston, where nine of its businesses are headquartered.

As MRC wrote before, Chevron is in talks with potential buyers for Canada's first exports of liquefied natural gas, paving the way for a USD15 billion project that would open up a new route for North American gas to Asia. Chevron aims to sign contracts to sell about 60-70% of the gas ahead of the project, the report says

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chesapeake Energy said it would sell a portion of its oil and gas holdings in south Texas and northern Louisiana to Exco Resources for about USD1 billion, a move that should enable the natural gas giant to pay for its operations without taking on more debt, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

With the sale Chesapeake will have raised USD3.6 billion this year from unloading assets. That covers the Oklahoma City-based company's USD3.5 billion gap between its planned spending and cash flow, but it will need to sell more assets before it can pare debt.

Chesapeake helped pioneer the American energy boom, but low gas prices have left its balance sheet in tatters. The company has been shedding assets to raise cash as it focuses on more profitable oil production and in paying down debt.

Tim Rezvan, an analyst at Sterne Agee, said Chesapeake's haul from the sale was underwhelming but positive strategically. "The takeaway from this news is that the company is executing toward its 2013 asset sale target with minimal cannibalization of its production stream" he said in a research note, observing that the company was selling relatively little existing production that would erode its cash flow.

Dallas-based Exco, which like Chesapeake has been reeling from low natural gas prices, expands its position in the gas fields of Louisiana's Haynesville Shale and acquires a foothold in the oil rich Eagle Ford Shale in Texas.

Exco said it would use its existing credit to buy the Haynesville properties but is required to offer up to 50% of them to an affiliate for BG.

The 55,000 acres Chesapeake is selling in the Eagle Ford represent a small portion of what the company has said it would sell. Chesapeake owns drilling rights to about 485,000 acres, and executives said in May it was only likely to retain about 250,000 acres.

As MRC wrote before, China Petrochemical Corp.(Sinopec) has closed a USD1.02 billion deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. With this, the second largest Chinese energy producer has acquired a stake in a shale oilfield for less than one-third of its estimated value.
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