LG Chem accelerates self-restructuring by integrating plants in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- It has been found that LG Chem shut down a plant which the company established for the first time in China. The plant used to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is a common chemical product and suffered from a glut, reported BusinessKorea.

According to the chemical industry on August 3, LG Chem made the Dagu plant in Tianjin, China absorbed by the nearby Bohai plant. The Dagu plant that produced PVC is the first plant founded by LG Chem in China in 1995. An expanding worldwide PVC glut forced the Dagu plant posted over 10 billion won in loss last year.

In addition to shutting down the Dagu plant, LG Chem is overhauling or restructuring production facilities one after another at home and abroad. In July, last year, LG Chem sold off lithium ion battery separation membrance production facilities in the Ochang 2 plant in North Chungcheong Province to Japanese chemical company Toray.

Early this year LG Chem scratched off a project to build a petrochemical complex with an annual production capacity of over 1.6 million tons in Kazakhstan. This was because some experts suggested a possibility that chemical products such as ethylene and polyethylene will be oversupplied in the future. In 2011, LG Chemical signed a deal to build a mammoth-sized chemical complex which will be able to produce 830,000 tons of ethylene and 800,000 tons of polyethylene a year by investing a total of USD 4.2 billion with UCC, a government-run petrochemical company in Kazakhstan.

LG Chem with 20 trillion won in annual sales is concentrating on investing in new growth businesses such as batteries and bio products while cutting down on the proportions of current chemical products that China is also producing with competitive prices. In the same vein, the company is ramping up production of engineering plastics (EP) and high-functional resin (ABS and EPS). It is definitely secondary cells that performed the best.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican petrochemical producer Braskem Idesa produced 83,538 mt of polyethylene resins during the second quarter at its new complex in Veracruz state, said the producer on its site.

Of this, a combined 54,000 mt was sold in domestic and international markets, including pre-marketing sales. Braskem Idesa is a joint venture between Brazil's Braskem (75%) and Mexico's Grupo Idesa (25%) and represents the first of a wave of new petrochemical projects in North America.

The first line, a high-density injection polyethylene line, began operations April 6 and the second line, an HDPE blowmolding line, came online April 28. The LDPE line started in June, Braskem said, adding that the LDPE plant is still considered a pre-operational asset, since it is in the commissioning phase. Once the complex is running at capacity, it will be able to produce 1 mln mt/year of polyethylene. Capacity utilization was 32% in Q2, the company said, adding that it had built up 74,000 mt of resin inventories.

As MRC informed earlier, Braskem SA will soon decide whether to build a plant in Texas or Pennsylvania to convert low-cost natural gas into polypropylene. The factory would produce at least 1 billion pounds (450,000 metric tons) of resin a year and would be the U.S. polypropylene industry’s first world-scale project in about 12 years, said Mark Nikolich, a vice president at Braskem. Preliminary engineering is under way for construction at existing Braskem sites in either La Porte, Texas, or Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Asahi Kasei is in plans to brought on-stream its cracker following an unplanned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the cracker is likely to be restarted mid-August 2016. It was shut in end-July 2016 owing to a technical glitch.

Located at Mizushima, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 570,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, on 12 February 2016, Asahi Kasei Chemicals shut down its cracker in Mizushima permanently. The cracker had an ethylene capacity of 504,000 mt/year and a propylene capacity of 300,000 mt/year. Feedstock ethylene for its 390,000 mt/year of styrene monomer (SM) plant now comes from a new 750,000 mt/year steamcracker which is a joint venture between Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical. The new unified cracker started up on 1 April.

Asahi Kasei Corporation is a global Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a bid to become a major player in the Indian dairy industry, German packaging supplier Greiner Packaging has established a joint venture with New Delhi-based Century Ultrapack, one of that country`s leading providers of plastic packaging, said Canplastics.

The new venture is doing business under the name Greiner Packaging India Pvt. Ltd., with Greiner Packaging acquired majority ownership.

The JV follows Greiner Packaging`s expansion in Turkey last year. "We see a very high development and growth potential in India, where food packaging is concerned,” said Axel Kuhner, chairman of the Greiner Group. “This expansion allows us to systematically pursue our globalization strategy and gives us even more opportunities to respond to the wishes of customers from abroad."

The JV "will make it possible to supply large multinational customers in the country for the first time, greatly improving product quality and safety, and focusing on hygiene and production by modernizing the available infrastructure," he continued. "In the first year alone, investments will also be made in a significant expansion of production capacities using Western technology."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's petrochemical industrial development is hampered due to overcapacity and environmental or safety restrictions, according to the cabinet of China, as reported by Prensa Latina.

According to a directive issued by the country's leadership, China must shut down obsolete facilities, strengthen production and reduce pollution in search of greater competitiveness in the petrochemical industry. The Act establishes that foreign companies will be allowed to participate in mergers and acquisitions.

In addition, the Chinese cabinet announced a plan to build seven coastal petrochemical production bases. The current administration aims to reduce energy consumption by eight 8% by 2020 and lower CO2 emissions and water consumption by 10 and 14%, respectively.

As MRC informed earlier, China has imposed antidumping duties of 8.2%-16.1% on acrylic fiber imports from Japan, South Korea and Turkey for five years. The ministry calculated varying tariff rates for the imports from each country. Acrylic fiber imported from most Japanese producers are taxed at 16.1%, with the exception of Japan's Exlan, Mitsubishi Rayon, and Toray Industries, which face tariff rates of 16.1%, 15.8%, and 16%, respectively. China imported 76,334 mt and 9,606 mt of acrylic fiber from Japan and South Korea, respectively, in 2015, according to export statistics.
MRC