BASF inaugurates chemical complex in Dahej, India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF India Limited today inaugurated its large-scale chemical production complex at Dahej in Gujarat, India, said the producer in its press-release.

With a project cost of INR 1,000 crore (approximately EUR150 million), the site represents BASF’s single largest investment in India. The site was jointly inaugurated by Smt. Anandiben Patel, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat; Shri Saurabhbhai Patel, Hon’ble Minister for Finance, Energy and Petrochemicals, Government of Gujarat and Mr. Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors, BASF SE.

The site includes an integrated hub for polyurethane manufacturing and production facilities for care chemicals and polymer dispersions. The care chemicals facility at the Dahej site hosts the first BASF sulfation plant in India, which will cater to customers in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

The polymer dispersions plant will expand BASF’s production footprint in the dispersions business, complementing the Mangalore facility. It will serve paper and board, architectural coatings, construction, adhesives, and fiber bonding customers, located in northern and western India.

The integrated polyurethane manufacturing facility will host a MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) splitter for processing crude MDI, a core component in the manufacture of versatile polyurethane products. They are used extensively for cold as well as heat insulation applications and are the preferred material for improving safety in transportation, and enhancing energy efficiency and comfort at home.

The site will also produce Elastollan TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), Cellasto (microcellular polyurethane components) and Polyurethane Systems. The integrated hub will support the demand of industries in the appliances, footwear, automotive, construction, and furniture segment.

As MRC wrote before, India’s Essar Industries is in talks with Germany's BASF, the largest chemicals player in the world, for a petrochemicals joint venture. The diversification plan had been put on hold for long, because of global factors and the company's high debt burden. Essar's refinery currently has a 20 mln tpa capacity and is capable of refining a diverse range of crude.

BASF's portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Inc., reported the company on its site.

Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, commented: "The successful completion of this acquisition better positions our company. It will be immediately accretive to our earnings before synergies of USD130 million and provides further optionality for our pigments business. The addition of specialty titanium dioxide and performance additives will broaden our product offering and further enable our ability to build the most competitive and successful pigments and additives business in the world. The majority of earnings over the past 12 months have come from their specialty and niche TiO2 businesses, demonstrating the diversity and breadth of the business we are acquiring".

Huntsman paid approximately USD1 billion in cash and assumed certain unfunded European pension liabilities.

As MRC wrote previously, in September 2014, Huntsman Corporation received final clearance and approval from the European Commission to acquire the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide businesses of Rockwood Holdings. The deal will make Huntsman the largest processor of sulfate ores, a key raw material which is also a cheaper alternative to chloride ores, and the number two player in titanium dioxide, behind DuPont.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2013 revenues of over USD11 billion. Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company's operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Distributing Sibur's PP and PE in select western European countries
German distributor frupack-plastic (Hamburg) recently reported that on 1 January 2014 it began distributing Sibur International’s (Vienna / Austria) PP and PE in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux states, said Plasteurope.

The Hamburg-based company said that as a fully integrated polyolefin producer, Sibur (Moscow / Russia) is increasingly becoming a competitive supplier in western Europe. The Russian group recently commissioned its new 500,000 t/y PP plant in Tobolsk in October 2013, which will further support its ambitious expansion plans.

As MRC wrote before, Sibur said that following the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts and assessment of the design documentation, it is proceeding with the previously announced mega ZapSibNeftekhim project at Tobolsk, Russia. ZapSibNeftekhim's project is designed to operate a steam cracker (by Linde AG, Germany) with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa of ethylene, around 500 ktpa of propylene and 100 ktpa of butane-butylene fraction (BBF), along with units with a total capacity to produce 1.5 mtpa of various grades of polyethylene (by INEOS, UK) and a polypropylene unit of 500 ktpa (by LyondellBasell, Netherlands).

Sibur is a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company, which operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are the leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The feasibility study of the Victory petrochemical and oil refinery project has been approved, said Plastemart.

The refinery is to be located in Binh Dinh's Nhon Hoi Economic Zone. The USD22 bln Victory project, is a joint proposal by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and its strategic partner, the Saudi Arabian oil company Saudi Aramco.

The project includes an olefins and aromatic petrochemical plants with combined capacity of 5mn tonnes a year.

As MRC wrote before, it is expected to take six to seven years before the complex is fully operational.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in EVA emulsions, has announced that it will increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas, reported the company on its site.

Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow.

This increase is attributed to the continued pressures on raw materials, notably vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), and freight.

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building products, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

As MRC informed previously, Celanese Corporation last announced in June 2014 that it would increase the price of EVA emulsions sold in the Americas, as follows: PVAc homopolymer, EVA and vinyl acrylic emulsions - by up to USD0.04/wet pound (USD90/tonne) effective June 16, 2014, or as contracts allow. The price rise was due to market conditions, including the global supply unavailability of vinyl acetate monomer.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC