Business Deals Archive for January 2008

Ecopetrol Buying Propilco

Colombia Polyethylene (PE) producer Ecopetrol is expanding its business portfolio towards Polypropylene (PP) by acquiring Columbia's PP producer Propilco for $690 deal. If successful, Ecopetrol will be the sole producer of polyetheylene and polypropylene in Columbia.

Business analysts is expecting that the acquisition will boost the company's earnings as it would have an enormous strategic value for Ecopetrol since its upstream synergies in exploration, production, refining can be channeled down to the rest of the petrochemical chain. Ecopetrol inevitably will be the largest petrochemical company in Columbia after the acquisition.

Tullow Oil Selling Pakistan Oil & Gas Investments

Following the recent assassination of Pakistan Prime Minister's Benazir Bhutto, another Oil & Gas company,

Petrochemical Projects Archive for January 2008

Indonesia Follows Brazils Lead in Ethanol

Indonesia is eyeing on developing a similar biofuels programme as Brazil's ethanol technology. Talks between two countries are looking at technology exchange for FFV (flexible fuel vehicle) which runs on gasoline or 100% ethanol. With rising concern of shortage fuel and energy hikes, biofuels and ethanol is becoming more feasible to replace gasoline shortage.

US Coal Gasification

Rentech is expecting its first pilot plant for a coal gasification production facility to be completed and start

Business Deals Archive for December 2007

Petrochemical Deals: Arkema Acquiring Repsol’s PMMA
Arkema is acquiring Repsol’s polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) business in Europe which will increase the company’s growth opportunity and boosting its position in Europe as major PMMA sheet supplier.

Spanish firm’s Repsol has eight polymethyl methacrylate production sites which capacity alone is 20% of PMMA global market production through its subsidiary Altuglas.

Petrochemical Deal: Lyondell & Basell $19.4 billion MergerLyondell and Basell completed a $19.4bn merger of what could potentially become a global leader in the

Petrochemical Projects Archive for December 2007

China’s Synthetic Butadiene Rubber Plants On-stream 2008
China is likely to increase butadiene imports in 2008 as 5 new synthetic butadiene rubber plants are coming on-stream in 2008. The capacity for the 5 new plants will add 320 ktpa tonnes per year of synthetic rubber in China.

Butadiene, a scarce feedstock in China has no new capacity expansion announcement yet. The five butadiene rubber plants will be:
1. 100,000 tonne/year SBR plant capacity at Lanzhou Petrochemical
2. 50,000 tonne/year SBR plant capacity in Guangdong province
3. 100,000 tonne/year styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) plant capacity in Guangdong province
4. 20,000 tonne/year styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) plant capacity in Jiangsu province
5. 50,000 tonne/year polybutadiene rubber (BR) plant capacity in Jiangsu province

Petrochemical Complex: IOC for Plan for Phase II Mixed Feed CrackerIndian Oil Corporation (IOC) has planned for a mixed feed cracker and downstream derivatives petrochemical plants

Business Deals Archive November 2007

Tug of War for Petronas and Gazprom for Star Energy

PETRONAS, a Malaysian state oil company had earlier made a bid for U.K storage developer Star Energy takeover. Star Energy is a prominent United Kingdom gas storage company with prospects including 26 oil and gas fields and a plan for a construction of 4.25 bcm offshore gas facility in the UK.

Talks are mounting on a rival bid from Russia's Gazprom for the takeover which deal amount is almost US$700 million from PETRONAS. Star Energy concluded that the bid undervalues the company. Gazprom is interested in buying land in Dorset that Egdon Resources which in total is planning to turn into a large underground gas-storage facility, media reports say.

Other interested parties including Total, Statoil, Hydro and Eni showing huge stalking interest in the company. Gas is well-known as the basic feedstocks for petrochemical plants.

Iran Buying Petrochemical Plant in Philippines

Iran has announced its plan to purchase and run a heavy and light polyethylene factory in the Philippines, said

Petrochemical Projects Archive for November 2007

Mitsui India to Build Polypropylene Facility

Mitsui Prime Advanced Composites India, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese company Mitsui Chemicals is planning to set up a manufacturing facility for polypropylene (PP) compounded resins at Neemrana, in Rajasthan which has an initial capacity of 15 ktpa of polypropylene compounded resins.

The petrochemical plant is expected to be operational from the first quarter of 2009. The polypropylene resins are mostly used in manufacturing bumpers, panels and pillars in automobiles.taking advantage of the state's accelerating economic growth trajectory.

Saudi Kayan Seeks $4 Billion for Jubail 

Saudi Kayan is actively seeking funding from Islamic loans ad loans from BN Amro Bank, BNP Paribas,

Petrochemical Projects Archive for October 2007

RIL, Gail considering JV in petrochemical plants in Russia.

Reliance Industries (RIL) are considering the feasibility of putting up petrochemical plants in Russia together with state-owned Gail India.

US$ 5 Billion Petrochemical Plant by Chevron Philips and Saudi Industrial.

Chevron Philips with collaborating partner Saudi Industrial Group is planning to borrow US$ 1.8 Billion to finance a US$ 5 Billion petrochemical plant at Al-Jubail tentatively to produce ethylene, propylene and polyethylene.

Petrochemical Projects Archive for August 2007

August 20, 2007

Chemical Valley to develop environment-friendly fuels

Chemical Valley is considering a $10-million innovation centre to help Sarnia's petrochemical industry to develop an environment-friendly fuels. This includes financing for the bio-industrial centre at the Sarnia-Lambton Research Park of the University of Western Ontario.

Petrobras and Unipar to Form a Chemical Company
Cia. Petroquimica do Sudeste, the new name of the joint petrochemical company between Petroleo

Petrochemical Projects Archive for June 2007

June 30, 2007

BASF Started up New Alkylethanolamines (AEOA) Plant in Geismar, Louisiana One Month Ahead of Schedule

The new plant will produce over 20 specialty amines, on top of the existing amine production facilities at the Louisiana. The Geismar plant will increase BASF’s worldwide production capacity for AEOA (alkylethanolamines) by 40 percent which is backward integrated with its existing ethylene oxide production at the site. BASF also operates AEOA plants at its Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany.

June 23, 2007

Hanwha in Talks with Saudi Arabia for US$6.5 Billion Delayed