GAIL to convert Assam LPG recovery unit to provide feed for BCPL PC project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- GAIL India said it will convert its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) recovery unit in Assam, India, to supply C2+ hydrocarbon feedstock for a petrochemical project being set up by Brahmaputra Cracker & Polymer Ltd. (BCPL) in Lepetkata, near Dibrugarh, India, said Apic-online.

Denying media reports that the recovery unit was being shut down, GAIL said the plant was only being converted to supply feedstock to BCPL's petrochemical unit and would continue to function under BCPL.

The Rs 8,920 crore petrochemical complex, which is in the process of being commissioned, includes a cracker to produce 220,000 t/y of ethylene and 60,000 t/y of propylene, as well as a 60,000-t/y polypropylene plant. Operations were originally scheduled to begin by December 2013.

To ensure the project is operational and viable, BCPL has arranged for the supply of natural gas from Oil India Ltd. (OIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd., and for naphtha from Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL). Gas available in and around the Lakwa region is also being considered as feedstock for BCPL's complex.

BCPL is a joint venture owned 70% by GAIL and 10% each by OIL, NRL and the Assam government.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company announced the completed sale of ANGUS Chemical Company to Golden Gate Capital. The company finalized the divestiture of its Sodium Borohydride business to Vertellus Performance Chemicals LLC and certain of its affiliates.

Together, these previously committed divestitures total more than USD1.4 billion in gross proceeds to Dow and illustrate the company's drive to maximize value across its integrated portfolio - pointing resources toward more strategic uses. Since 2013, the company has signed or completed transactions that are expected to generate USD2.9 billion in proceeds.

The company said that the sale of ANGUS Chemical Company includes the business headquarters and R&D facility in Buffalo grove, IL; manufacturing facilities located in Sterlington, LA and Ibbenbueren, Germany; a packaging facility in Niagara Falls, NY; as well as the associated business, working capital, customer contracts, process technology, business know-how and certain intellectual property.

The divestiture of Sodium Borohydride includes a manufacturing facility located in , the associated business, inventory, customer contracts and lists, process technology, business know-how and certain intellectual property.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. EBITDA was up 15% in 4Q at USD2.4 bn. Net profits were down 24% at USD734. Dow's sales in 4Q were unchanged on a year earlier at USD14.38 bn. MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bostik, a leading global adhesive specialist for industrial manufacturing, construction and consumer markets, has taken another decisive step to boost its activities in fast-growing economies through the opening by its Brazilian subsidiary, Fortaleza, of a new powder plant in Queimados, 40 km from Rio de Janeiro, as per AZOBuild.

The new facility manufactures cementitious tile adhesive (CTA) products for both internal and outdoor use, and has an annual production capacity of 100,000 metric tons of powder. The high-grade products produced in this plant are in increasing demand from the Rio de Janeiro state construction industry, whose current dynamic growth has partly been fuelled by the FIFA World Cup and the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games.

In addition to its manufacturing activity, the Queimados site has a distribution centre covering the entire Rio de Janeiro State, and also incorporates a dedicated quality control laboratory. This is the third production facility operated by the Brazilian subsidiary, and its fourteenth distribution centre.

The Queimados plant represents a new milestone in the Bostik group's continued international expansion, especially in fast-developing geographic markets. The new factory comes in the wake of other plant inaugurations in Changshu, China, in April 2013, and in Johro Bahru, Malaysia, in September 2014. The company also recently opened the new Bostik Smart Technology Centre in Venette, France, which will serve as its third centre of excellence for R&D in adhesive materials.

As MRC wrote previously, on 2 February 2015, Arkema finalized the acquisition of Bostik, the world's No. 3 in adhesive. With this acquisition, the group reaches a new milestone in its development, and confirms its ambition to become a world leader in specialty chemicals and advanced materials. BostikпїЅs growth prospects and the complementarities identified between the two groups will sustain the success of this high value creating project.

Bostik develops high-performance and high-value-added bonding and sealing products for the nonwoven, industrial, construction, and consumer markets. Bostik employs about 4,900 people across 48 production facilities - 18 in Europe, 10 - in North America, 8 - in Asia, 6 - in Australia and New Zealand, 2 - in Africa, and 4 - in South America.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - February import contract prices for European polystyrene (PS) are expected to be cut, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

European producers will go to the drop in prices following the decrease in the price of styrene monomer. As MRC reported earlier, February contracts for styrene monomer in Europe have been agreed at the level of EUR895/tonne, down EUR55/tonne compared to the previous month.

According to ICIS-MRC Price Report, price offers for expandable polystyrene (EPS) from a Polish producer for the supply into the CIS countries will be cut by EUR50/tonne for the February shipment. February prices for high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) were cut by EUR50/tonne.

Consumers of EPS in Ukraine also reported a decrease in prices of Russian EPS. Price offers for Russian GPPS and HIPS for February delivery remained steady in roubles, but the prices in the dollar terms were reduced, said a PS importer in Ukraine.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas LNG , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petronas, has awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) contract to JGC Corp. for the expansion of Petronas' liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, as per the company's press release.

The contract involves the EPCC work relating to the LNG storage and shipping facilities at the complex, specifically, construction of the piping and associated facilities connecting the existing six LNG storage tanks and the seventh new LNG storage tank with the shipping facilities.

Petronas' complex has eight production trains with a combined capacity of 25.7-million t/y. JGC is currently executing the EPCC work on the ninth train, which will add 3.6-million t/y of capacity and is scheduled for completion at the end of this year.

This project will be "important in helping Japan's energy security, as they currently rely on Malaysia for more than 15% of its total LNG imports," JGC noted.

The Petronas LNG Complex comprises three LNG plants owned and operated by Petronas’ joint venture companies - Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd, MLNG Dua Sdn Bhd and MLNG Tiga Sdn Bhd.

JGC has been responsible for the construction of LNG plants worldwide accounting for about one third of the global LNG production capacity. Demand for expansion and renovation projects in live operating plants is expected to grow worldwide. In the field of such projects, even higher level of construction safety management is required as the key for successful project completion.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC