"Air Products" expands its Jurong gas pipeline network to accommodate chemical and PC industry

MOSCOW (MRC) -- "Air Products" is extending its Jurong Island, Singapore, industrial gas pipeline network to the Tembusu area from its existing pipeline network in the Sakra area to support the growth of chemical and petrochemical customers, as per Apic-online.

The company, which has a 250-t/d air separation unit on the island, has also signed a contract to supply both gaseous and liquid nitrogen to Prime Evolue Singapore, which is a joint venture of Mitsui Chemical's Prime Polymer subsidiary and Mitsui & Co., recently started work on a 300,000-t/y metallocene linear low-density polyethylene (MLLDPE) plant in Tembusu.

Jurong Island houses more than 95 global petrochemical, specialty chemical and petroleum companies.

"Singapore's energy and chemical industry plays an important role on the Asian as well as the world stage," noted Philip C. Sproger, Air Products' vice president and general manager for tonnage gases in Asia. "We will continue to pursue opportunities to support its development."

As MRC informed previously, earlier this year, Air Products agreed to acquire all of DuPont's interest in DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, the two companies' 50-50 joint venture serving the global semiconductor and wafer polishing industries. The venture state-of-the-art applications and formulation laboratories in the US and Taiwan.

Air Products is a worldwide supplier of industrial gases and equipment, specialty and intermediate chemicals, and environmental and energy systems.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Board of Directors of A. Schulman, Inc., a global plastic supplier, has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of USD0.20 per common share, payable November 4, 2013, to shareholders of record on October 28, 2013, according to the company's press release.

This represents a 2.6% increase over the prior quarter's dividend payout. The dividend on an annualized basis now stands at USD0.80 per share, and represents a yield of approximately 3%.

"This increase to our dividend reflects the strength of our balance sheet, the ability of our operations to generate significant cash flow - USD183 million over the last two years - and our long-term growth prospects. We are pleased to provide this increase to our dividend, and to continue our unbroken track record of consistently providing dividends to our shareholders, going back to when we became a public company in 1972," said Joseph M. Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of A. Schulman.

Under A. Schulman's current USD100 million share repurchase program, the company has acquired 2.2 million shares since inception through August 31, 2013, and has US56.6 million remaining under the program.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in mid-2012 A. Schulman Inc. inked a definitive agreement to acquire ECM Plastics, a privately owned plastics compounder located in Worcester, Mass., for USD36.5 million. Besides, Jeddah-based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (Natpet), a subsidiary of Alujain Corporation, entered into a joint venture agreement with A. Schulman to produce polypropylene compounds.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS will reopen its Grangemouth refining and petrochemical complex in Scotland after local trade union Unite agreed to the company's survival plan, reported the company on its site.

Unite agreed to terms including no strikes for three years, a move to a modern pension scheme, a pay freeze for three years, and several changes to on-site union agreements, including no full-time union convenors.

INEOS said it will reopen its petrochemicals business with immediate effect while also restarting the oil refinery.

As MRC wrote previously, the site had been taken offline in anticipation of a 48-hour walkout beginning October 20.
However, INEOS decided to keep the complex shut down after an insufficient number of Grangemouth workers voted in favor of the survival plan.

The survival plan calls for 300m pounds of investment towards the site upgrades, including the building of a gas terminal to bring in shale gas-derived ethane from the US.

The updated pensions agreement means that pensions will be built up over the course of an employee’s career, instead of being determined by salary at retirement.

The petrochemicals complex is wholly-owned by INEOS, while the oil refinery is joint-owned by INEOS and PetroChina. The Grangemouth site employs 1,400 people, including 700 at the petchem operations.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sahara Petrochemicals Co. and Saudi International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) said today they are proceeding with the detail studies and negotiations over their potential merger, said Mubasher.

The two companies had earlier reached initial understanding to jointly consider the economic and technical feasibility study on the merger.

In case of reaching an agreement, it is expected to be subject to various conditions, including obtaining the approvals of shareholders and regulatory authorities. The two parties will duly unveil any relevant developments.

As MRC wrote before, Sahara Petrochemicals Company has signed a contract with DAELIM for the Butanol plant that's capacity is 330,000 metric tonnes annually of n-butanol and 11,000 metric tons of iso-butanol in Jubail Industrial city.

Sahara Petrochemicals Company is an affiliate of Tasnee and Sahara Olefins Company and the Saudi Acrylic Acid Company.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC has unveiled a SABIC Polypropylene app for iOS (phone and tablet) and Android (phone), titled SABIC Polypropylene Product Finder, said the producer.

The app combines powerful analysis tools and product information, helping users match the right SABIC PP solutions to their needs. In this digital age, SABIC wants to offer their existing and potential customers a more flexible tool to have an overview of the PP portfolio in Europe. This app marks the company’s pioneering step into mobile technology, an increasingly important platform which provides added value to its existing and potential customers.

The free of charge downloadable app, is available in all regions, conveniently packages SABIC PP expertise in Europe into one application, allowing convertors, OEMs, designers and engineers, to access comprehensive PP information quickly and easily. At first hand it contains the European offered polypropylene product portfolio.

Paul Wanrooij, Technical Marketing Engineer for SABIC, commented "SABIC Polypropylene Product Finder is our first application in the polypropylene marketplace and we are delighted with the feel and functionality of the app, which we will continue to expand out with more features to improve the overall user experience. We hope it is something that existing and potential customers will use when seeking out a solution for their technical problems."

The app has built-in technology that will allow users to search for in-depth information about PP grades within the building and construction, consumer products, flexible and rigid packaging, healthcare, mobility and transport industries and film and fibers. The app also allows users to forward information to their e-mail account and gives them easy access to the key features of the SABIC website on their mobile or tablet device.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC started producing its new polypropylene (PP) impact copolymer (ICP) grade PP77MK40T in China for the local market.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

MRC