Itochu Bought New Zealand MDF Plant

Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corp has reportedly bought New Zealand’s Carter Holt Harvey's medium-density fibreboards (MDF) plant in Rangiora, New Zealand for an undisclosed amount.

The new joint venture is housed under new shareholder, Japan’s Daiken Corp of which 51% owned by Daiken and remaining by New Zealand.  The MDF joint venture will be known as Daiken New Zealand.

Samsung Petrochemicals Running Reduced Capacity

Samsung Petrochemicals's PTA plant is currently operating at reduced capacity levels due to a regular maintenance turnaround. The PTA plant which is now running at 75% capacity is located at Daesan with production capacity of 700,000 metric tons per year.

However, it is expected that the PTA plant will resume production at lower rates especially as many petrochemical plants in South-East Asia are reducing their operating levels due to poor operating margins and decline in demand for petrochemical products from downstream players. This is mainly due to the current financial crisis and the doom of commodity prices.

China's Jianfeng Signing JV for Melamine Plant

Despite recent hiccups in melamine prices, China-based JianFeng Chemicals has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Austria’s Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI)for a $67 million melamine plant in southwestern Chongqing city. The melamine plant will have a capacity of 30kmta located in Baitao chemical industry park with expected construction to be determined at a later stage.

Ticona Extending Distribution with Resinex

Ticona has extended its contract with distribution company Resinex to distribute Ticona’s specialty plastics in Benelux countries, Ireland and the UK alongside with existing Eastern Europe. Resinex distributes for over nine plastic products with 400 modified grades to customers.

Agropolychim Switching to DAP and MAP Chemical Plants

A Bulgarian fertilizer producer, Agropolychim is switching to diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) at its Devnya plant which has a capacity of 850 tonnes/day of DAP/MAP. The chemical plants has flexibility to swing either DAP/MAP or triple superphosphate (TSP). Agropolychim produces around 25,000-27,000 tonnes/month of TSP mostly for export market.

BASF Shuts Down Butyl Acetate Unit

BASF is preparing for a turnaround of its 90,000 tonne/year butyl acetate unit in Ludwigshafen, Germany expected to commence on 22 which most likely will push the price up.

Albermarle Acquired China JVs

Albemarle, a US-based specialty chemicals maker has acquired 100% of two polymer additive joint ventures in China namely Ningbo Jinhai Albemarle Chemical & Industry, and Shanghai Jinhai Albemarle Fine Chemicals. The acquisition has moved Albemarle as the top position of manufacturer and supplier of polymer antioxidants in China doubling its antioxidant production capacity.

Shanghai Petrochemical Expanding Cracker Capacity

Sinopec subsidiary, Shanghai Petrochemical, is in the midst of expanding the capacity of its No 1 cracker to 600,000 tonnes/year from 150,000 tonnes/year to build new chemical plants.

Some of the new chemical units planned are 300,000 tonne/year polypropylene (PP) unit and a 380,000 tonne/year monoethylene glycol (MEG) facility which may mean that the cracker need to be expanded up to 800,000 tonnes/year.

New Russion Pipe Makers JV with Sumitomo and Sekisui

Japan’s conglomerate Sumitomo Corp and chemical producer Sekisui Chemical are planning to form a joint venture with Russia’s water company Vodokanalstroy (VSK) to form LLC Sumi-Lon. Sumi-Lon will be producing reinforcement plastic pipes.

The company's first unit has a capacity of producing 3,000 tonnes/year of plastic pipes, which was expected to start commercial production by the end of December 2008 with additional total capacity of 15,000 tonnes/year by the end of March 2012

SABIC Europe Butadiene Unit on Force Majeure

SABIC Europe has declared force majeure on butadiene supply as its Geleen butadiene (BD) unit in Netherlands with the chemical plant operating rates reduced due to technical issue.

The butadiene unit has a capacity of 130,000 tonne/year butadiene extraction.
Butadiene supply gets major cut due to at least two other cases of butadiene forces majeures in other plants at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, unit and the other at INEOS Olefins’ Cologne, Germany, site.

Butadiene is currently under extremely tight supply due to recent production issues, combined with strong demand both domestically and abroad pushing the price to record high.

US A Schulman Selling Business Unit

US plastic compounder A Schulman is plannning to either establish a joint-venture or selling its Invision business unit,

Schulman Plastic Company initially marketed Invision to be used in automobile interiors as a substitute to polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
However, US automobile sales is declining forcing the company to sell to non-automobile market as well which is also under hit due to US economy slowdown.

The news receives mix reaction with others claiming the product is well received which could lead to opportunity loss. The Invision business unit reported operating losses of $1.6m this year with $2.2m loss for last year.

DOW Chemicals Growing Business in Asia

Dow Chemicals is reportedly making major investments will be made by Dow Chemicals' performance fluids business in the Asia Pacific region. New R&D chemical plants are planned for China and India in late 2008 targeting research for increasing output of new water-soluble fluids' at its Optimal JV with PETRONAS.

Shell Seeking JV Partners for Styrene Monomer/ Propylene Oxide Latest Technology

Shell Chemicals is seeking potential joint venture partners for its new styrene monomer (SM) and propylene oxide (PO) facility. The chemical plant is expected to cost in the region of $500 million which is to be built in Southeast Asia or Middle East with a world-scale capacity for Asia Pacific demand.

The chemical will be producing mainly PO with SM as co-products hence having higher flexibility and financial advantages due to current strong propylene oxide value chain.

Australian Titanium Oxide Production Continues

Australian TiWest, the company that produces Titanium Oxide (TiO2) will continue operation by Tronox of US Texas. TiWest titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a joint venture in western Australia. The production has been badly hit by a force majeure declaration due to natural gas supply limitation.

Tronox however mentioned that the sustainability of the TiO2 production is now susceptible to supply of natural gas and electricity.

TiWest complex houses Cooljarloo mineral sands mine, Chandala synthetic rutile plant and Kwinana titanium dioxide pigment plant. The disruption of natural gas supply cost has not been revealed yet.

PVC Producers in China Incompetitive

Due to overcapacity, the global ethylene prices expected to drop in 2008. China’s PVC producers who mainly are acetylene-based route method of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facing heavy competition despite China’s massive coal deposits.The acetylene-based PVC, is facing overcapacity from ethylene prices downward trend making ethylene-based PVC production to become increasingly profitable.

Coal is currently the main source of fuel for China’s power plants, and the massive growth of the Chinese economy could create a bottleneck in the supply of coal for acetylene production, something PVC producers are worrying over at the moment.

US to Ban Bisphenol-A

US Senator Chuck Schumer is in the midst of proposing a legislation to ban the sale of children’s products and food containers containing bisphenol A due to its linkage in the risk of cancer and developmental defects to high doses of BPA.

BPA is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate (PC) for PC bottles especially for PC baby products. America's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart is fast reacting to the news by phasing out products containing BPA. Others like Playtex Infant Care and Nalgene Outdoor Products are also in the move to phase out products containing the chemical.

$1 Billion Petrochemical Complex Project by Saudi OSOS

Saudi Arabia's Osos Petrochemicals is planning to develop its estimated $1bn polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) petrochemical complex. The earlier plan was to include Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) for a 35% stake but SABBIC withdrew from the project.

The chemical plant will be located at Yanbu on the Red Sea coast with capacity of 60,000 tonnes/year of PBT, 50,000 tonnes/year of butanediol, 3,500 tonnes/year of tetrahydrofuran, and 85,000 tonnes/year of maleic anhydride acid. For the cost of $1 billion for the construction, analysts are considering the cost to be a bargain.

The polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) complex is in commercial phase with EPCC (engineering, procurement and construction contractors) for award of contracts in the end of the third quarter of 2008. A few contractors including Oslo-based Aker Kvaerner with China's Sinopec, and South Korea's GS Engineering & Construction, Samsung Engineering Company and Hanwha Engineering & Construction are currently in the bidding process for the award of construction contract.

Thailand Bisphenol-A Chemical Plant By PTT

Thailand PTT’s has decided to invest in a $250 million bisphenol A (BPA) petrochemical plant which has a capacity of 150,000 tonne/year of BPA at Mab Ta Phut, Rayong.

Construction is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2010. Upon completion, the bisphenol-A plant will use 128,000 tonnes of phenol and 41,000 tonnes of acetone as feedstocks each year which will be supplied by joint venture PTT Phenol having annual capacity of phenol and acetone of 200,000 tonnes and 125,000 tonnes respectively.

Sinopec Collaborate with Mitsubishi Chem for New $300 Million Bisphenol-A, Plycarbonate Plant

Mitsubishi Chemical (MCC) under its partner Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics (MEP) has formed a $300 million joint venture with China’s Sinopec for a bisphenol-A (BPA) and a polycarbonate (PC) chemical plants in China. The plants, with capacity would be 150,000 tonne/year of BPA and 60,000 tonnes/year PC will be built in Beijing starting end of 2008 with target completion in 2010.

Mitsubishi Chemicals (MCC) will provide the license for Bisphenol-A production technology together with the feedstock of diphenyl carbonate (DPC) for the polycarbonate production. Sinopec in returns will provide the key feedstocks for production of Bisphenol-A of phenol and acetone.

Japanese Plastic Maker, Ube Investing in Thailand

As much as $118millions will be spent from Ube Group, Japanese engineering plastics maker to expand its petrochemical plants capacity. Ube Group plans to add a second nylon plant in Rayong to triple its annual capacity to 75,000 tonnes/year. Construction is expected to complete in October 2009.

The company's caprolactam capacity will also be boosted to 130,000 tonnes from 110,000 tonnes in 2010. The whole revamp is expected to raise its annual ammonium sulphate output by 80,000 tonnes to 520,000 tonnes.

The Japanese maker is also currently studying a 1,6-hexanediol project with capacity of 6,000 tonne/year plant for completion in 2011.