Grupa Azoty to start a new PA 6 plant in Tarnow

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Grupa Azoty has signed a contract with Uhde Inventa-Fischer of Germany under a project to construct a new Polyamide 6 Plant in Tarnow, as per the company's statement.

The contract is for the purchase of licences, process design and project equipment. The capex budget for the project totals PLN 320m. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2016 and will add 80,000 tonnes to Grupa Azoty’s annual polyamide production capacity.

Products from the new plant will meet most exacting global quality standards. The applied engineering and technical solutions will enable precise control of the production process and help achieve strong performance indicators.

"The project is important both in terms of its scale and strategic implications for Grupa Azoty. Its primary effect will be to extend the product chain and increase our output of engineering plastics that deliver better margins," commented Pawel Jarczewski, President of the Grupa Azoty Management Board. "Equally important is the fact that it is being launched within the Krakow Special Economic Zone, which is bound to bring us tangible economic benefits," Mr Jarczewski added.

The new investment in Tarnow means greater job security and improved working conditions for the current personnel of Grupa Azoty involved in the caprolactam manufacture process. Increased production of polyamide 6 in Tarnow will also create an opportunity for the development of new local plants operating as processors of plastics into specialised products.

In the next four years, Grupa Azoty will invest over PLN 904m in Tarnow alone. Apart from the PA plant, Grupa Azoty also plans to place in service a fertilizer granulation unit with a value of PLN 140m by the end of 2016. Other investment plans include upgrade of the unit for production of C-none from phenol, extension of the polyamide processing unit, and marketing a next-generation iron-chromium catalyst.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2013, Grupa Lotos and Grupa Azoty signed an agreement on the future formation of a special purpose vehicle to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on the construction of a new petrochemical complex, in the vicinity of both Lotos and Grupa Azoty's existing installations. The project’s value is estimated at approximately PLN 12bn, making it the largest investment in the Polish industrial sector in recent years.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos said Thursday it has requested permission from the U.S. Commerce Department to import light crude to Mexico from the U.S., with the aim of improving output at its Mexican refineries, said the Wall Street Journal.

The significant increase of light crude production in the U.S. presents an opportunity to mix that oil with Mexican heavy crude, and thus boost refining efficiency in Mexico, the company known as Pemex said.

Pemex anticipates that it could import up to 100,000 barrels a day of light crude and condensates under the proposal, which it calls a "swap."

America has a long-standing ban on exporting crude-oil pumped in the U.S., but the Commerce Department recently issued new rules clarifying that some ultralight oil can freely flow out of the country to foreign buyers. Dubbed condensate by the energy industry, this light oil no longer needs to be fully processed at a refinery before it is shipped out. Energy experts estimate that up to one million barrels of light oil pumped primarily in Texas is now eligible for export.

The Mexican company exported, on average, 803,000 barrels a day of heavy crude to the U.S. last year to be processed at refineries there that are equipped to handle heavy crude. Pemex said the proposal doesn’t imply a commitment to export additional crude to the U.S.

Pemex’s proposal would reduce transportation costs and improve refining margins, the company said, while maximizing the refining potential of facilities in both countries.

The proposal was presented to U.S. authorities in 2014 and discussions are ongoing, the company added.

After reaching record levels of crude exports in 2004 of around 1.8 million b/d, Pemex’s exports last year were just over 1.1 million b/d.

As MRC wrote before, Pemex and Exxon Mobil Corp signed a non-commercial agreement on Thursday to jointly explore potential upstream and downstream business opportunities. The agreement comes against the backdrop of the landmark constitutional reform, signed into law under Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto last year, that ended Pemex's 75-year-old oil and gas monopoly.

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 (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dr. Tammo Boinowitz took over the responsibility as Head of Evonik’s Personal Care business line, effective January 1, 2015, as per the company's press release.

He is succeeding Dr. Dietmar Moll, who will move into a new role and take care of strategic projects in the future. Dr. Boinowitz was appointed to the position after successfully leading the Comfort & Insulation business line for three years.

Dr. Boinowitz, who holds a PhD in chemistry, joined the former Goldschmidt AG in 1995. After holding a number of positions in Research & Development and Application Technology, he worked as Global Technical Director of today's Comfort & Insulation business line from 2003 to 2006 and was assigned as Business Director APAC to the business line's Asia-Pacific business from 2006 to 2008, working from Shanghai.

After leading strategic growth projects for the Consumer Specialties business unit and working for the Evonik Corporate Development Division, he was appointed Head of the Comfort & Insulation business line in December 2011.

As MRC wrote earlier, Essen-based Evonik Industries, a leading specialty chemicals manufacturer, is making an investment in the double-digit-million euro range in a new research center at the Rheinfelden site. Starting at the beginning of 2016, research into silanes will be carried out in modern laboratories in the four-story building. Silanes are used in the electronics industry, in the tire industry, for the production of adhesives and sealants as well as plastics, and in the construction industry.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals, a leading Japanese producer of performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials, and SKC have signed a joint venture agreement to consolidate the polyurethane (PU) material businesses of both companies, reported Mitsui on its site.

Subject to completion of necessary approvals, the two companies plan to form a new equally-owned joint venture company by 1 April, 2015. The name of the new company has not been decided, but headquarters will be in Korea.

The combined PU businesses from include the production of toluene diisocyanate, diphenylmethane diisocyanate and polyols, with a total production capacity of 720,000-t/y.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in November 2014, Mitsui Chemicals announced that its Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Elastomers Co. joint venture with Sinopec had launched commercial production of ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPT). In 2012, the two companies created the equally-owned joint venture to build a 75,000-t/y EPT plant using metallocene catalyst technology in China's Shanghai Chemical Industry Park.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around USD15 billion and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- At the extraordinary meeting on 26 December, the shareholders of PJSC SIBUR Holding elected new members to the Board of Directors, said the producer in its press release.

The Company's Board of Directors now includes: Leonid Mikhelson Chairman of the Management Board of NOVATEK;
Ruben Vardanian Advisor to President, Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank of Russia (Independent Director); Alexander Dyukov CEO of Gazprom Neft; Dmitry Konov CEO of SIBUR, Chairman of the Management Board of SIBUR Holding, Chairman of the Management Board of SIBUR; Denis Nikienko Member of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding; Vladimir Razumov Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Executive Director of SIBUR; Seppo Remes General Director of KIURU (Independent Director); Ilya Tafintsev Strategic Projects Director of NOVATEK; Gennady Timchenko Member of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding, Member of the Board of Directors of NOVATEK; Kirill Shamalov Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of SIBUR.

The election of the new Board is related to the latest changes in SIBUR Holding's share capital structure.

Public Joint-Stock Company SIBUR Holding, through its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. The company operates in two segments, Feedstock & Energy and Petrochemicals. The Feedstock & Energy segment is involved in the gathering and processing of associated petroleum gas purchased from Russian oil companies; transportation, fractionation, and other processing of natural gas liquids (NGLs) produced internally or purchased from Russian oil and gas companies; and production, marketing, and sale of energy products, such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gases, naphtha, raw NGL, methyl tertiary butyl ether, and other fuels and fuel additives. The Petrochemicals segment produces a range of petrochemical products, including basic polymers, synthetic rubbers, plastics, and products of organic synthesis, as well as intermediates and other chemicals. The company serves customers operating in the energy, automotive, construction, fast moving consumer goods, chemical, and other industries in the Russian Federation and internationally. Public Joint-Stock Company SIBUR Holding was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Moscow, the Russian Federation.
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