Valero buys Aventine corn ethanol plant in Indiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Energy has purchased a corn ethanol plant in Mount Vernon, Indiana, from Aventine Renewable Energy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant has a production capacity of 110 million gal/year and uses Delta-T technology, similar to the process already in use at Valero's ethanol plant in Jefferson, Wisconsin.

The Mount Vernon plant is the 11th corn ethanol plant in Valero's system and its second in Indiana. The addition will give Valero more than 1.3 billion gal/year in ethanol production.

The Mount Vernon plant has been shut down for approximately two years, but Valero plans to begin a restart program and resume production within the next several months.

The Mount Vernon plant's logistical advantages include ready access to corn suppliers as well as strong rail, truck and barge transportation, according to Valero officials. The plant is at the Port of Indiana on a location leased from Ports of Indiana, the state port authority. That relationship will continue.

"This purchase diversifies Valero Renewables' portfolio of assets and access to markets, and it will be positive for the Mount Vernon area as well," said Gene Edwards, who has overseen Valero's ethanol plant acquisitions. "We look forward to a strong working relationship with Ports of Indiana, and as the other communities where we have ethanol plants have discovered."

Ports of Indiana CEO Rich Cooper lauded the transaction, noting that it is Valero's first facility located at a major port on the inland waterway system.

"This facility will provide Valero with a tremendous strategic advantage in the production and distribution of ethanol," Cooper said. "This project combines the resources and expertise of a world-class company like Valero with one of the world's richest grain producing regions and this port's multimodal capabilities."

As MRC wrote earlier, Foster Wheeler has signed an evergreen agreement with Valero Energy for the provision of home office engineering and project support services to Valero"s Pembroke refinery and other facilities in the UK.

Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and a marketer of transportation fuels, other petrochemical products, and power. It is based in San Antonio, Texas, United States. The company owns and operates 16 refineries throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 million barrels (480,000 m3) per day, 10 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.2 billion US gallons (4,500,000 m3) per year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russian producers of polyethylene (PE) increased the level of capacity utilisation in the first two months this year. Thus, total production of Russian PE increased by 4% to about 298,000 tonnes, compared with 287,000 tonnes in the same period in 2013, according to MRC ScanPlast.

February PE production in Russia exceeded 141,100 tonnes. The rise in PE production mostly resulted from the increased capacity utilisation from Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Angarsk ZP. Structure of PE production by grades over the reported period was as follows.

February production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia was about 86,200 tonnes. Total Russia's HDPE production over the first two months of this year rose to 183,600 tonnes, from 177,400 tonnes in 2013.
Gazprom neftekhim Salavat increased its PE production over the reported period by 73%, from the same period in 2013. Kazanorgsintez increased its PE production by 5% in the first two months of 2014, whereas Stavrolen and Nizhnekamskneftekhim decreased their HDPE production.

February low density polyethylene (LDPE) production in Russia was about 55,000 tonnes. Total LDPE production in Russia in January and February 2014 rose to 114,600 tonnes against 109,600 tonnes in the same period in 2013.
Angarsk ZP increased its PE production to 10,700 tonnes over the first two months of the year, compared with 6,900 tonnes year on year.
Other Russian producers, also increased PE production, except Ufaorgsintez that reduced PE output by 3%.

Russian producers did not produce linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) in the first two months of this year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- From January 1, a revision of the EU customs regime, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, resulted in EU customs tariffs for PE and PP rising from 3% to 6.5% for imports from Gulf Cooperation Council countries such as Saudi Arabia, as per Plastemart.

The impact of the rise in duties on polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) imports was clear as EU imports in January fell compared with December, according to Eurostat data. Major GCC companies include Saudi Arabia's SABIC, Kuwait's Equate, Saudi Arabia's PetroRabigh and Qatar's Qapco. More than half of PE and PP imports into Europe come from GCC countries.

Polyethylene imports were up 9.3% from January 2013 but down 35.4% from December. The biggest fall was seen in linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) from 46,927 tons in Jan 2013 to 43,548 tons in Jan 14 from 63,073 in Dec 2013. High density polyethylene posted a marginal increase from 91,050 tons in Jan 2013 to 116, 868 tons in Jan 2014. Polypropylene imports fell 27.4% from January 2013 and 23.2% from December- from 67,450 tons in Jan 2013 to 48,962 tons in Jan 2014.

As MRC informed previously, With effect from January 1, 2014, the European Union will change the rules on its so-called General System of Preferences (GSP), which provides countries classed as developing with preferential access to the EU market, largely in the form of reduced import taxes. Amendments in the list will remove nations that are classified as high-income or upper-middle income, meaning many companies in the Middle East that are big suppliers of petrochemical products will have to pay 3.5% more in tax to sell goods in the EU.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, is selling its global line of skin-care products for professionals, a business that the company bundles under the brand name Stoko Professional Skin Care, reported the company on its site.

The purchase agreement was signed on March 19, 2014 with the buyer, the Deb Group of Denby, Great Britain, a global leader on the market for skin-care systems used in occupational and public settings. The contracting parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction closing is anticipated in two months, pending approval by the Evonik Supervisory Board and by the German antitrust authorities.

"We continue to direct our portfolio toward high-margin specialty chemicals businesses. While Stoko Professional Skin Care enjoys an excellent reputation on the market, its business model fundamentally differs from that of Evonik today. As such, we have decided on a buyer that can best realize the growth potential of the business. We believe that Deb will be a good home for Stoko and its people," said Patrik Wohlhauser, a member of the Evonik Executive Board.

Stoko develops, produces, and markets products for professional skin protection, as well as cleansing, care, and disinfection. The company’s production sites are in Germany (Krefeld), the US (Greensboro), and Russia (Podolsk).

As MRC reported before, Evonik Industries is paving the way for a new technology whose applications include automotive finishes that are more scratch-resistant than ever before. The specialty chemicals company has developed an industrial-scale method for producing silane-modified binders for automotive finishes. The advantage of these silane-modified binders: silane groups increase crosslinking density, making it possible to create automotive finishes that are flexible yet harder, leading to improved scratch resistance.

For over 70 years, the Deb Group has been establishing skin care regimes for all types of workplace and public environments, spanning industrial, commercial, healthcare and food sectors. With its Global Headquarters in Denby, Derbyshire, Deb comprises 21 companies operating in 16 countries, with Deb products sold in over 100 countries. An estimated 40 million people use Deb’s products every day.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess AG, the Germany-based rubber and thermoplastics group, has announced its full year results for 2013 reporting sales dropped by 9% from 2012, said the producer in its press release.

The Cologne-based company says sales fell from EUR9.1 billion (USD12.4 billion) in 2012 to EUR8.3 billion (USD11.4 billion) in 2013. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization declined by 40% to EUR735 million (USD1 billion) from EUR1.2 billion (USD1.6 billion).

Sales in the performance polymers segment of the business declined by around 13% to about EUR4.5 billion (USD6.2 billion), but volumes increased by around 4 percent, due in part, the company reports, to capacity expansions in the butyl rubber and high performance materials units.

"Behind us lies a challenging year," said Bernhard Duettmann, chief financial officer of Lanxess. "Negative effects were the volatile raw material prices and increasing competition, especially in the synthetic rubber business."

Sales in Europe (excluding Germany), the Middle East and Africa decreased by around 5 percent to EUR2.4 billion (USD3.3 billion) from 2012 to 2013, but Lanxess says these region's share of group sales increased to 29.

In North America, sales fell about 17% to EUR1.3 billion (USD1.8 billion). North American sales made up 16% of all Lanxess sales.

Meanwhile in Germany, Lanxess posted sales of around EUR1.5 billion (USD1.8 billion) almost 8% below 2012’s figure with the country accounting for 17% of sales.

Lanxess says that in 2014 it anticipates a slight improvement in EBITDA pre exceptionals, due to the absence of one-time items, even if selling prices stay at low levels.

As MRC wrote before, LANXESS opened its first production facility in Russia. In the new plant at the Lipetsk site, LANXESS subsidiary Rhein Chemie manufactures polymer-bound rubber additives for the markets in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), primarily for the automotive and tire industries.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 9.1 billion in 2012. The company is currently represented at 50 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.
MRC