Arlanxeo increases prices for elastomer grades globally

Arlanxeo increases its prices for Buna and X_Butyl products globally effective 1 May 2018.

The price increase is driven by the overall market situation.

Arlanxeo’s rubber products distributed under the brand names Buna and X_Butyl are used in the tire industry and for several non-tire applications like medical and pharmaceutical, plastic modification, gum or technical rubber goods.

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Fluor, JGC joint venture bags LNG Canada project

Fluor Corporation (FLR) and JGC Corporation said that their joint venture has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for LNG Canada’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Kitimat.

LNG Canada is a joint venture comprised of Shell Canada Energy (50 percent), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc, and affiliates of PetroChina (20 percent), Korea Gas Corporation (15 percent) and Mitsubishi Corporation (15 percent).

The proposed LNG export facility will liquefy surplus Canadian natural gas so that it can be safely exported to help meet global energy demands. The facility will initially consist of two LNG processing units, referred to as trains, each with the capacity to produce at least 6.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG per train. The project includes the option to expand to four trains in the future.

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M&A in chemical industry will continue to rise – Report

An abundant appetite for industrials & chemicals (I&C) deals have seen mergers and acquisitions (M&A) across the sector scale new heights, reaching its highest quarterly value since Q3 2016 ($ 168bn), according to a report by Mergermarket Group.

The deal value stood at $123.7 billion in the first quarter, representing an increase of 42.1% from Q4 2017 and 24.6% from the average quarterly value across 2017.

The strong start of the year also places the sector top in market share terms by deal count, accounting for 20% of global deals, the highest since Q3 2012 (20.1%). These milestones were reached despite conducting just 793 deals - the lowest quarterly number since Q1 2015 (774 deals).

Carlyle Group and GIC conducted the sector’s largest buyout on Mergermarket record (since 2001), by acquiring the speciality chemicals business of AkzoNobel for $12.5bn. Of the total I&C activity, Private equity buyouts accounted for 18.8% of the I&C deal value and 20.1% of the count, resulting in the largest contribution to the I&C deal value since Q4 2014 (24.3%) and Q1 2012 (20.3%) for deal count.

Read more: M&A in chemical industry will continue to rise – Report

Reliance plans to shut oil and gas fields in KG-D6 block

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) plans to shut oil and gas production at its main fields in KG-D6 block in the coming months. And begin complying with the government’s guidelines for decommissioning facilities in the Bay of Bengal block where output has hit its lowest ever.

RIL had till date made 19 oil and gas discoveries in the Krishna Godavari basin. Of these, MA—the only oil discovery in the block—began production in September 2008. Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields went onstream in April 2009.

While the company did not provide any timelines for decommissioning and stopping of production at the fields that have witnessed output drop to a fourth of peak, sources privy to the development said MA field may be shut as early as October after the current lease of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which processes output from the field, expires.

E-mails sent to RIL and its partner BP Plc of UK, which holds 30 percent stake, for comments remained unanswered. The government’s site restoration guidelines provide for a one-year notice for decommissioning of facilities.

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Agilyx, Ineos Styrolution to develop polystyrene recycling process

Agilyx Corporation and Ineos Styrolution have signed a joint development agreement to develop a recycling process for polystyrenebased on chemical recycling in US. This collaboration is aimed at achieving a circular economy, where polystyrene waste is recycled into virgin, high-quality styrenic polymers, thereby reducing plastic waste and allowing for re-use of this valuable material.

This chemical recycling technology is based on depolymerization of post-consumer polystyrene waste, which is expected to result in new virgin, high-quality polystyrene ultimately for food-related uses.

“We are excited about this collaborative effort with Ineos Styrolution. The ability of our technology to divert waste polystyrene from landfills and create a sustainably recycled polymer aligns with global efforts of waste diversion and the move to a circular economy. This is one of many privileged partnerships we are continuing to develop to help advance the scaling of this technology both domestically and in international markets,” said Joseph Vaillancourt, CEO, Agilyx Corporation.

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PPG to cut 1100 jobs, part of restructuring

PPG Industries said that it will lay off about 1,100 people and take a pretax restructuring charge of between $80 million and $85 million in the second quarter.

The Pittsburgh-based firm disclosed its plans in a filing made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company employs about 47,200 worldwide, and the announced job cuts equate to about 2 percent of its workforce.

The company approved a business restructuring plan after North Carolina-based Lowe's that it would stop selling PPG's Olympic brand paints and stains. PPG also cited ongoing price increases for raw materials.

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Indian Oil approves Rs 42 bn ethylene glycol project in Paradip

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC) said that its board has approved a Rs 4,221 crore project to set up a petrochemical projectat Paradip in Odisha.

The board, "accorded approval for implementation of 357-kilotons per annum ethylene glycol Project along with associated facilities at Paradip based on off-gas of the fluid catalytic cracking unit at an estimated cost of Rs 4,221 crore," the company said in a regulatory filing.

IOC would use by-products generated from refining crude oil at its 15 million tonnes a year refinery at Paradip to manufacture ethylene glycol.

In the plastics industry, ethylene glycol is an important precursor to polyester fibres and resins. polyethylene terephthalate, used to make plastic bottles for soft drinks, is prepared from ethylene glycol.

Read more: Indian Oil approves Rs 42 bn ethylene glycol project in Paradip