US on track for USD71 billion in new investments in natural gas projects and technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abundant supplies of natural gas from shale have created significant economic opportunities for the U.S. chemical industry that could result in USD71.7 billion in new investments and more than 530,000 permanent new jobs, according to a new report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC), said Canplastics.

The report is based on a detailed examination of the 97 chemical industry projects that have been announced as of March, 2013, ACC said. It explains that the USD71.7 billion in capacity expansion will engender an additional USD66.8 billion in chemical industry output, a 9% gain above what otherwise would have been the output in 2020.

The report predicts that nearly USD30 billion of the expenditures will go towards purchasing processing-related equipment. Twenty six percent will be allocated to major process equipment and products such as pumps, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, compressors, etc. Another 8% will be spent on process instrumentation, 5% on valves and piping and 4% on electrical equipment.

The report further predicts that USD12 billion will be spent in 2014 and another USD15 billion will be invested in 2015. By 2020, the report concluded, these projects can lead to 46,000 new chemical industry jobs, another 264,000 jobs in supplier industries and 226,000 “payroll induced” jobs in communities where workers spend their wages, and can generate USD20 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue. Nearly 1.2 million additional, temporary jobs can be created between 2010 and 2020, during the capital investment phase.

"The U.S. has become a magnet for chemical industry investment, a testament to the favorable environment created by America's shale gas as well as a vote of confidence in a bright natural gas outlook for decades to come," said ACC president and CEO Cal Dooley. “The large number of foreign chemical firms investing in the U.S. is unprecedented in recent history and underscores that nowhere else in the world is the outlook as bright when it comes to natural gas.”

As MRC wrote before, 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.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Europe recycled the equivalent of more than 60 billion PET bottles in 2012, according to trade industry association Petcore Europe, said Canplastics.

"Despite the poor economic situation in the European region, the consumption of PET bottles is still showing clear trends of penetration into new market segments through innovative packaging and the recognised capability of PET to be recycled," Petcore Europe chairman Roberto Bertaggia said in a statement.

Petcore estimated that the overall collection rate in 2012 was more than 52% of all post-consumer PET bottles available in the region.

"With the exception of two members, all 27 EU member states managed to achieve PET recycling rates above the target of 22.5% for plastics," Bertaggia said.

PET is the largest plastic material recycled in Europe, he added.

As MRC wrote before, demand for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and recycled PET (RPET) continues to outpace supply. With additional RPET production capacity coming online recently and announcements of future expansions on the part of companies such as US Fibers and Perpetual Recycling Solutions, demand is likely to continue exceeding supply, which will affect pricing for RPET and PET bales.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP has tapped consulting and construction outfit CH2M Hill to support the UK supermajor's environmental efforts outside of North America under a three-year master services agreement, said Upstreamonline.

Under the latest agreement, CH2M will provide services such as remediation, environmental compliance assurance and auditing, modeling, environmental permitting, waste management, water and wastewater management, impact assessment, environmental due diligence and mergers and acquisitions support, natural resource management, social and sustainability reporting and environmental project oversight.

Denver-based CH2M said it has worked with BP for 40 years and currently provides the supermajor with environmental services in North America. It also provides engineering, construction, and operations and maintenance on the North Slope of Alaska, and other services throughout the globe. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

As MRC wrote before, BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Statoil ASA (STL) are under scrutiny by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission as the agency probes whether they manipulated oil benchmarks published by Platts. The FTC’s early-stage investigation into oil prices mirrors a review by the European Union, which raided the offices of the three companies and Platts in May.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fitch Ratings affirmed Tatarstan-based chemical producer OAO Nizhnekamskneftekhim's (NKNK) Long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B+', with a stable outlook, the rating agency informed.

At the same time, the USD3bn investment programme currently under consideration by NKNK could materially weaken its financial profile.

The project would include a 1m tonne per annum (tpa) ethylene plant and downstream polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) units of 400ktpa and 600ktpa, respectively. NKNK is in the last stages of the FEED and expects to make a decision in Q413.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest petrochemical complexes of Eastern Europe. It produces a diverse range of goods comprising over 120 types of chemical and petrochemical substances, the most important of them being synthetic rubbers and styrene. In 2012, the company rubber production by 5.4% to 589 thousand tonnes, production of plastics by 2.1% to 605 thousand tonnes.

The authorized capital of NKNH is RUB 1.83 billion, 1,611,256 thousand common shares (88.04% of the authorized capital) and 218,983.75 thousand preferred shares (11.96%) at par value of 1 ruble are issued.

IFRS net profit of the company for 2012 decreased by 3.6% to RUB 15.277 billion. Revenue grew by 3.5% to RUB 130.487 billion, EBITDA decreased by 5.8% to RUB 22.781 billion.

According to the information and retrieval system DataCapital, RAS net profit of Nizhnekamskneftekhim for 2012 grew by 18% to RUB 16.954 billion from RUB 14.414 billion. Revenue increased by 2% to RUB 125.247 billion from RUB 122.699 billion, GP to RUB 28.463 billion from RUB 27.652 billion.

On April 19 the annual general shareholders meeting of JSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH) elected the company Board of Directors. The following state representatives were included into the Board: R. R. Musin – Ak Basr Bank supervisory board Chairman, S. G. Diakonov – Tatarstan Republic President adviser, head of the Kazan state technical university, I. R. Metshin – Nizhnekamsk city and district administration head, F. Kh. Tukturov – Tatarstan republic deputy minister of trade and industry, L. N. Shafigullin - - Tatarstan republic first deputy minister of the land and property relations.
MRC