Reliance, Pemex to explore oil, gas opportunities in Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s Reliance Industries has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mexico’s Pemex to jointly assess the potential for upstream oil and gas business in Mexico and other international markets, said Upstreamonline.

Reliance and Pemex will share their expertise and skills to further strengthen the relationship between the two players.

Environmental and social responsibility will be on the agenda for the players, as well as best practise techniques in deep-water development and shale gas.

Reliance said this collaboration with Pemex was part of the company’s growth strategy to expand its global footprint.

As MRC wrote before, Mexico's state run Pemex approved a post-reform corporate revamp- finalizing a corporate restructuring including the creation of new business units that will focus on fertilizers and ethylene.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Munich-based chemical company Wacker is expanding its product range of functional silanes with a new arylalkoxysilane monomer, the producer said on its site.

Marketed as GENIOSIL XL 70, this additive is designed as a water scavenger for silane-curing adhesive and sealant formulations. It is particularly suitable for products that must avoid unpleasant odors when applied. Due to its high flash point, the additive is also easier to store and handle. The new water scavenger is compatible with all GENIOSIL silane-modified polymers and organofunctional silanes.

GENIOSIL XL 70 is a clear, colorless, low-viscosity silane which belongs to the arylalkoxysilane group. Unlike conventional water scavengers for silane-curing adhesives and sealants, the liquid has only a very faint odor. Consequently, the water scavenger is ideal for adhesives and sealants used over large areas. Compounders can formulate products such as parquet adhesives and liquid water-proofing systems that do not create odors with the additive and are in line with increasingly stringent occupational health and safety regulations.

As silane-curing adhesives and sealants react with water, water scavengers are an essential component in such products. They protect the polymers from moisture inherent to a formulation via fillers and other ingredients. Moreover, water scavengers ensure that the product can be used without restriction throughout its given minimum shelf life. The required dosage of GENIOSIL XL 70 depends on the formulation components and the desired shelf life of the end product.

As MRC reported earlier, Wacker has developed a thermally conductive adhesive for electronics applications. The new silicone rubber with the trade name SEMICOSIL 975 TC is characterized by high thermal conductivity and good flow and processing properties. Even light pressure is enough to form an ultrathin adhesive layer between the contact surfaces. This ensures not only good bonding, but also optimum heat dissipation by the heat sink.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The December contract price of propylene in Europe was agreed by EUR60/tonne lower from November. However, limited export quotas allowed European producers to restrict the reduction of export polypropylene (PP) prices for the CIS markets by EUR20-40/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The continuing cuts in oils prices led to a further reduction in prices of oil refining products in December. Thus, the December contract price of propylene in Europe was agreed by EUR60/tonne lower from November. At the same time, European producers said they had strong demand from the domestic market and export quotas restrictions, due to which they do not intend to reduce their PP prices proportionally to the decrease in propylene prices. Some producers, on the contrary, maintained November export prices.

Deals for December shipments of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) to the CIS countries were negotiated in the range of EUR1,110-1,160/tonne FCA this week, down by an average of EUR20-40/tonne from November. Negotiations over propylene copolymers were held starting from EUR1,180/tonne FCA.

Many market participants said European PP has been the cheapest material for the past few months, and the current depreciation of the euro gave it additional advantages.
mrpclast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for December shipments to the CIS markets began this week. European producers were forced to reduce their PVC prices, following major price cuts in ethylene prices and weaker demand, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The contract ethylene price in Europe for December was agreed by EUR50/tonne lower from November. This price reduction of one of the feedstock components led to a decrease of EUR25/tonne in PVC production costs. However, some European producers lowered their export prices more than the reduction of the production costs on the back of a major fall in demand and lower export prices in the United States.

Negotiations over December shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) for the CIS markets began this week. Deals were negotiated in the range of EUR700-740/tonne FCA, down by an average of EUR30-40/tonne from September. Some market participants said they managed to achieve prices below EUR700/tonne FCA.

December PVC purchasing quantities of companies from the CIS countries fell significantly. Many Russian and Belarusian companies almost completely refused from PVC procurement in Europe because of more attractive prices of Russian producers. Ukrainian companies also announced a significant reduction in purchasing under pressure of seasonal factors.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the German chemicals giant, and "Feinpappenwerk Gebr. Schuster GmbH & Co. KG" have been working jointly on a solution for a combined migration and grease barrier on recycled cardboard, reported BASF in its press release.

The biopolymer ecovio PS 1606 is applied to recycled cardboard in an extrusion coating process. This enables the proportion of recycled paper fibers in fast food packaging to be increased while simultaneously making it industrially compostable.

Greaseproof, liquid tight and migration resistant due to ecovio PS 1606. This is possible through the use of ecovio PS 1606, a high-quality and versatile biopolymer from BASF. The special advantage: ecovio is bio-based and biodegradable according to American Standard ASTM 6400 and European Standard EN 13432. The polymer coating applied to the cardboard is many times thinner than a human hair, but nevertheless provides the packaging with outstanding protection against potential migration of undesired substances while simultaneously offering high greaseproofness and liquid tightness. Cardboard packaging produced on this basis is more than 90% biobased, recyclable and industrially compostable.

From the wide range of cardboard qualities used by the Schuster-Karton company, coating with ecovio allows all possible types of fast food packaging to be manufactured in conformity with food safety and environment friendly standards. Many consumers' wish for new, sustainable and above all resource conserving fast food packaging materials is thereby fulfilled.

As MRC informed before, BASF and Archroma had agreed on the sale of BASF’s global textile chemicals business to Archroma, a supplier of specialty chemicals to the textile, paper and emulsions industries.

SCHUSTER-Karton is a family owned company founded 115 years ago and headquartered in Hebertshausen near Munich. The company produces about 45,000 metric tons per year of uncoated recycled cardboard made of 100 percent waste paper (GK, UD, UT).

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC