My Turn- Commentary on Global Polyolefins & Elastomers – Dr. Balaji B. Singh
Most polyolefins & elastomers are preoccupied with Global developments in the next decade. All the major organizations are planning on production facilities for commodity-oriented polyolefins for developing countries and are putting most of the innovations and specialties (a bad word) on hold.
Flash forward to the year 2015 – there will be many commodity-oriented polyolefin facilities in the Middle East, Asia, and China; China becomes self-sufficient; almost all of the commodity products in the advanced nations will come from these regions (read all the articles on “product migration” concepts).
The trends that are expected to keep the advanced Nations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas will have to come from specialties, innovations, and smaller capacity units – just analyze the Japanese polyolefin industry of the late 89s and early 90s.
Forward-looking organizations should/will continue to develop innovations and change with time. Tough times will always be there – though organizations will always win.
NOVA Chemicals introduces new SURPASS® resin for blown film applications
NOVA Chemicals announced it has commercialized SURPASS® FPs016-C high-performance polyethylene, developed for blown film applications that require premium toughness without sacrificing processability. An octene polyethylene, SURPASS FPs016-C is produced with NOVA Chemicals’ Advanced SCLAIRTECH™ technology utilizing a proprietary single-site catalyst. This proprietary catalyst system results in the ease of processing for which SURPASS products are renowned.
The melt strength of SURPASS FPs016-C resin provides bubble stability, resulting in ease of processing. It outperforms competitive resins in tear tests and seals at comparable temperatures. In addition, it demonstrates superior strength during ‘hot tack’ tests – a key benefit for high-speed packaging lines.
SURPASS FPs016-C resin is now available to customers in the sample or commercial quantities. This new resin is a complement to the existing blown film family of SURPASS resins.
NOVA Chemicals continues to develop and commercialize industry-leading SURPASS molding and film grades.
Comments: The SURPASS family of resins was introduced roughly a year after NOVA commenced operations of its 850 million pound Advanced SCLAIRTECH (AST) plant in 2001. Since that time, NOVA has carefully studied the market and has worked with several converters/end-users to introduce several SURPASS (single-site based) as well as ASTUTE (Ziegler-Natta based) grades. NOVA’s market penetration strategy has involved positioning products in higher value-added application segments.
For this reason, NOVA has focused on film, roto molding, and injection molding resins, and has slowly increased its percentage of higher value-added products for its AST line in Joffre. The newest resin FPs016-C, an octene-based m-LLDPE with a density of 0.916 g/cm3 and MI of 0.65 dg/min, broadens NOVA’s SURPASS film product portfolio which also includes FPs117 Series, HPs900-C and FPs317-A.
Advanced Sclairtech AST is the leading technology for polyethylene from NOVA that can be classified as a technological super-success, underappreciated, and with a slower than anticipated commercial adaptation owing to other unrelated issues.
INOES restructures Innovene into seven business units
INEOS has restructured Innovene into seven business units and renamed it. These include:
1. Ineos Polyolefins – This includes Innovene’s PE and PP operations in Europe and Asia and the Solutions business.
2. Ineos Olefins & Polymers, USA – This includes Innovene’s existing North American Olefins, PE, and PP business activities, including pipeline and terminal operations and the Hobbs NGL Fractionator as well as manufacturing sites Carson, Chocolate Bayou, and Battleground. Styrene operations move to Ineos Styrenics.
3. Ineos Refining – this consists of Innovene’s Grangemouth and Lavéra’s refinery operations
4. Ineos Olefins – This will include Innovene’s olefins activities – along with Köln, the Saudi Delta Project, and Ineos Wilhelmshaven Project
5. Ineos Nitriles – This consists of Innovene’s existing global nitriles business excluding catalysts, licensing and additives, and Barex
6. Ineos Technologies – This includes Innovene’s technology licensing and catalysts, Ineos ChlorVinyls licensing, catalysts and processing aids, and the INEOS Enterprises Electrochemical Technology business
7. Ineos Oligomers – This includes Innovene’s global LAO, PAO, and PIB business and Köln’s oligomers business.
In addition to these seven business units, INEOS will consist of other divisions including INEOS ChlorVinyls, INEOS Oxide, INEOS Films & Compounds, INEOS Phenol, INEOS Fluor, INEOS Silicas, INEOS Melamines, INEOS Paraform, INEOS Healthcare, INEOS Enterprises, and INEOS Styrenics.
Comments: On October 7, 2005, INEOS announced the acquisition of Innovene, BP’s olefins and derivatives subsidiary, for $9 billion. Following the acquisition the combined businesses of INEOS and Innovene will have a turnover of more than $30 billion; making the expanded INEOS group the world’s 4th largest independent petrochemicals company. The $9 billion cash sale, subject to regulatory approvals, includes all of Innovene’s manufacturing sites, markets, and technologies. The sale is expected to be concluded in early 2006.
The integration of Innovene into INEOS was expected. This announcement ends all the speculation regarding the new structure of Innovene. The new structure of Innovene is based on operating areas and geography. The olefins and polyolefins portion of Innovene will have separate business units for Europe and North America. The rest of the businesses are based on operating areas.
Organizing the businesses into separate divisions follows the historical experience and efficiency of Ineos in being able to manage unrelated businesses with a common objective.
Sinopec receives approval for the Tianjin petrochemical complex
Sinopec received the government’s approval to build a US$3.1-billion petrochemical complex in North China’s port city of Tianjin. The Tianjin project, to be completed by 2008, includes a 1 million ton per year ethylene cracker, a refinery able to process 12.5 million tons of crude oil a year, and other facilities to produce petrochemical products such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Total investment in the project is expected to exceed 25 billion Yuan (US$3.1 billion), which will be wholly owned by Sinopec, said an unnamed official from the Tianjin Municipal Development and Reform Commission.
The Tianjin port handled 240 million tons of commodities in 2005, among the world’s top ten ports.
In the southeastern areas of the country, more refining and petrochemical plants are underway. The intense investments into the petrochemical sector, however, have also triggered concerns among some market observers that risks still exist for these large-scale capital injections.
Comments: Dow Chemical has been evaluating starting a cracker as a joint venture in Tianjin for quite some time but has not been successful in doing so. At the same time, BASF-YPC (JV of BASF and Sinopec Yangzi), SECCO (JV of BP and Sinopec Shanghai) started last year, and CSPC (JV of Shell and CNOOC) is starting any time soon. The Fujian project, a JV between Sinopec, ExxonMobil, and Aramco is scheduled to start in 2008.
During a recent meeting with the delegation from Tianjin Economics Technological Development Area (TEDA), we heard the Chemical Industrial Park (CIP) of TEDA has the ambition to attract multiple ethylene cracker projects with a total capacity of over 3 million tons. This goal if realized will make Tianjin one of the largest petrochemical centers in China. The PetroChina cracker project could become the next one for TEDA.
Qatar Petroleum & Honam to construct a petrochemical complex
Qatar Petroleum and Honam Petrochemical announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to build a $2.6-billion petrochemical complex at Mesaieed, Qatar. Honam will hold a 30% stake in the venture, and QP and its affiliates, including Qatar Holding Intermediate Industries Co. (Waseeta), will account for the rest. Front-end engineering design, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction work, will be carried out in 2006-09 with mechanical completion and pre-commissioning will be completed in the third quarter of 2009.
According to the companies, the core unit will consist of a mixed-feed cracker capable of consuming ethane and naphtha with a capacity of 700-900 KT per year of ethylene. A portion of the ethylene will be diverted to a metathesis unit for propylene production. Propylene from the cracker and metathesis unit will feed a new polypropylene (PP) plant with a designed capacity of 700 KT per year. The complex will also include a 600 KT per year styrene plant and 220 KT per year polystyrene unit. An aromatics complex will produce benzene and para-xylene and have a combined capacity of 150 KT per year.
Excess ethylene will be sold to local consumers such as Qatar Petrochemical Co. which would expand polyethylene (PE) capacity. Excess styrene will also be sold on the merchant market. Honam will contribute its expertise in technology selection, construction, test runs, plant operation, and management, as well as marketing and R&D.
Comments: Historically, most constructed and proposed petrochemical complexes in the Middle East were based on EP crackers and downstream ethylene-based derivatives. Due to this reason, the Middle East has expanded quite rapidly across the ethylene chain, especially polyethylene. The propylene chain is less developed, but starting to pick up. The hydrocarbon owners in the Middle East are looking at alternative ways to add value to their hydrocarbon streams and expand the region’s position in the other Basic 6.
The proposed complex by Qatar Petroleum and Honam Petrochemical takes advantage of Middle East’s ethylene position but leverages the latest technology in metathesis to convert ethylene to propylene, and the propylene into polypropylene. Borealis/Borouge has also taken a similar approach for its propylene feed for its anticipated polypropylene units. The project also takes advantage of a mixed-feed cracker to produce aromatics derivatives.
Solvay to improve ultra-performance polymer portfolio with the acquisition of Mississippi Polymer Technologies
Solvay announced the acquisition of Mississippi Polymer Technologies (MPT). MPT is a US-based start-up company that commercialized PARMAX®, a new family of specialty materials with exciting and very unique properties. This follows Solvay’s recent announcement of its intent to purchase the Polymers Division of Gharda Chemicals in India, and will further expand Solvay’s portfolio of ultra-performance polymers. The acquisition of MPT is scheduled to be completed in the next few months.
PARMAX® is a family of transparent amorphous materials that exhibit a remarkable and unique combination of strength, stiffness, and hardness. Chemical resistance for PARMAX® is comparable to semi-crystalline materials and is unsurpassed by any other transparent polymer. PARMAX® can be melt-processed using standard molding or extrusion methods. Its distinctive performance attributes make it an attractive, lightweight alternative to metals in demanding applications such as aerospace components, medical tubing and devices, semiconductor components, and industrial applications including bushings, bearings, gears, and valves.
The recent agreement for the acquisition of Gharda’s Polymer Division, and now MPT, will allow Solvay to offer a diverse set of polymers including Polyamideimide (Torlon®), polyether ketones (PEEK), high-performance sulfones, and PARMAX®.
Solvay plans to integrate the PARMAX® product line with those products within the Solvay Advanced Polymers, L.L.C. operating unit headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Comments: Mississippi Polymer Technologies, Inc. (MPT) is a high-performance polymer manufacturer located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. MPT is the owner of proprietary Parmax® SRP (Self Reinforced Polymer) technology. Parmax® SRP technology represents a jump shift in the mechanical properties of engineering thermoplastics. Parmax® SRPs are being developed for use in tech applications such as aerospace, electronics, and scientific instruments as well as in the medical and automotive, and recreational industries.
Parmax® SRPs represent a family of melt-processable, amorphous, rigid-rod thermoplastics. Parmax® SRPs are homopolymers and copolymers based on a substituted poly(1,4-phenylene) structure where each phenylene ring has a substituent derived from a variety of organic groups. The structure dictates the unique properties of these materials. The rigid backbone imparts strength and stiffness, while the substituents provide processability.
Parmax® SRPs have incredible mechanical properties without fiber reinforcement. They are noncombustible and solvent- and scratch-resistant. The low density of Parmax® SRPs makes them ideal candidates for the replacement of metal parts in weight-sensitive applications. Parmax® SRPs are processed by means typical of other engineering thermoplastics including compression molding, extrusion, and solvent-casting. Injection molding grades of Parmax® SRPs are currently under development.
MPT has been involved in various government projects in the last few years. In December 2003 the company received a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Navy. The contract was on the use of Parmax® Self Reinforced Polymers (SRPs) as ablative materials in demanding ramjet combustor applications.
In June 2003 the company received a $4.5 million contract under Title III of the Defense Production Act. The Title III R&D contract was for support of advanced development of MPT’s Parmax® Self-Reinforced Polymer (SRP) technology. Under the contract, MPT was to develop a cost-effective, commercially viable process for producing Parmax® SRP materials. Special emphasis was to be given to achieving reproducible quality and processability for resin grades used to make molded parts, for both defense and civilian applications. In July 2004 the company received a $6 million contract under Title III of the Defense Production Act. Under the contract, MPT had plans to increase the production capacity of Parmax® SRP materials. In April 2005 the company again received a $7.5 million contract under Title III of the U.S. Defense Production Act. The company announced that the contract will support an increase in the production capacity of MPT’s Parmax® Self-Reinforced Polymer (SRP) materials.
Pliant Corporation files for Chapter 11 reorganization
Pliant Corporation announced that, to complete a financial restructuring that will significantly reduce debt and annual interest expense, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The filings were made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Pliant expects to continue to operate in the normal course of business during the reorganization process. All of the Company’s 24 manufacturing and research and development facilities around the world are open and continuing to serve customers as usual. Pliant’s operations in Mexico, Germany, and Australia were not included in the Chapter 11 filing and are not subject to the reorganization proceedings. Three of the Company’s subsidiaries with Canadian operations will seek recognition of the Chapter 11 proceedings.
Pliant intends to use the Chapter 11 reorganization process to complete its previously announced financial restructuring, which would reduce debt by up to $578 million and annual interest expense by up to $84 million.
To fund its continuing operations during the reorganization process, Pliant has secured a commitment for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from GE Commercial Finance that will provide Pliant with additional liquidity of approximately $70 million. Pliant will meet customer obligations. The Company anticipates that it’s manufacturing and research and development facilities will remain open on normal schedules and that it will continue to fulfill customer orders and provide uninterrupted customer service.
Suppliers will be paid. Pliant intends to continue paying all suppliers for goods and services they provide after the filing. The Company also anticipates that its proposed plan of reorganization will leave suppliers unimpaired for any pre-petition claims they may have incurred.
Comments: Pliant had been contemplating a financial overhaul as the company has a debt of about $1.15 billion on annual revenues of $950 million. But the soaring raw material prices and shortages caused by Hurricane Katrina pushed the company over the edge. The price of polyethylene increased 50% between November and June as refining capacity was reduced and energy prices soared because of Katrina. This price increase was a big trigger to the current issues faced by Plaint. Interest expenses were eating up most of Pliant’s cash flow before Hurricane Katrina, and the price increases further crimped its balance sheet. The company always had too much debt but the hurricane accelerated the company’s need to restructure.
The bankruptcy protection sought by Plaint will help the company in restructuring its debt and improving its balance sheet but will not have any major impact on the company’s operations or the industry.
The stretch film operations are very attractive for low labor/favorable feedstock regions as a means of value capture and this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.
NOVA Chemicals extends force majeure on Corunna, Ontario facility
NOVA Chemicals Corporation announced its plans to extend the shutdown of its Corunna, Ontario, ethylene manufacturing facility for additional compressor seal repairs. Production of the full slate of products is expected to resume in approximately 12 to 16 days.
NOVA Chemicals’ Sarnia area polyethylene assets will also be shut down as a result of the Corunna outage. The company continues to work with all impacted customers.
Comments: This episode at the Corunna unit’s startup could not have happened at a worse time for NOVA and the industry supply picture. NOVA’s revenue contribution from the Sarnia facility is significant and this will undoubtedly show up as a footnote in 1QTR 2006 operating results when that time comes. All the products that are forced Majeure by this situation are in short supply, Lucky for NOVA that they can back up at least ethylene supply from Joffre, Alberta through the Cochin pipeline to increase polyethylene feedstocks in the Sarnia area.
The other products on the force majeure list; propylene, crude C4s, and other co-products will impact other regional plants such as the St. Mary’s polypropylene facility and the sale of Crude C4 to butadiene extraction, another product still on supply allocation. The fact that Sarnia site’s crude processing will continue to help NOVA’s styrenic businesses through the production of lower-cost benzene for the company’s large appetite in that area.
Sasol to build a new plant to double octene production
Sasol announced its plans to construct a 100 KT per annum 1-Octene plant in Secunda South Africa. The facility is scheduled to go into production during the second half of 2007 and will double Sasol’s existing 1-Octene output to 200 KT per year.
Technology group Linde AG was awarded the “detail engineering, procurement, and construction” contract. The new plant is the third 1-Octene facility to be constructed by Linde AG. Two 1-Octene plants with a combined capacity of about 100 KT a year are currently operated by Sasol. The new plant will be the sixth Alpha Olefin Plant that Linde AG will be erecting within Sasol’s Secunda complex.
Sasol is a leading producer of products such as octene, pentene, and hexene for use as chemical intermediates in the production of plasticizer alcohols, polymers, polyethylene, fatty acids, detergent alcohol, and lubrication oil additives. Octene is often used in combination with hexene and pentene to engineer a host of specific characteristics such as strength, thinness, elasticity, and puncture resistance in products ranging from dense and durable plastic for wire coatings, automotive interiors, raincoats, and strong garbage bas to low-density, high-quality shopping bags, cling-wrap film, and myriad related consumer plastics.
Comments: Octene-1 is used as a co-monomer in the manufacture of HDPE and LLDPE. These co-monomers form short-chain branching in polyethylenes, preventing the chains from packing together tightly and lowering product density. The higher the co-monomer concentration, the lower the density of the resin. The addition of co-monomers influences the processing and mechanical properties of the polymer such as elasticity, flexibility, and impact resistance.
Typically the demand for octene as a co-monomer is higher as compared to butene and hexene. This plant should help balance the co-monomer demand.
NOVA Chemicals to close PS plant in Chesapeake, VA
NOVA Chemicals Corporation announced it plans to close its Chesapeake, Virginia, site in 2006. The plant has a solid polystyrene production capacity of 300 million pounds (136 KT) per year and a compounding capability of 170 million pounds (77 KT) per year.
NOVA Chemicals also announced the intent to close its Chesapeake Technology Center and consolidate its U.S. Styrenics Technology organization at the company’s Beaver Valley site in Monaca, Pennsylvania, in 2006.
The closures are expected to reduce costs by approximately $15 million per year and will also have the benefit of reducing working capital requirements. NOVA Chemicals will take a non-cash, after-tax charge of approximately U.S. $46 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 due to the Chesapeake closure. Additional closure costs of approximately U.S. $10 million after-tax will be accrued during the first quarter of 2006.
Comments: This is a serious, surprise move by NOVA Chemicals to rationalize one of their largest polystyrene sites at Chesapeake, Va. The site had already been production limited by almost 50% and this final shutdown of 300mm lbs/yr represents less than a 5% capacity closure for the industry as a whole. It does represent a leadership of sorts to make the polystyrene industry a better market. There could be a reduction in another capacity for polystyrene where there is just too much production for the limited growth market. This move is internally cost driven by NOVA however, based on the figures released, the total costs saved of $15mm/yr are compared to a write-down of almost $60mm. This additional write-down comes on the heels of another European-driven write-down by NOVA in polystyrene of $75mm in the prior quarter.
Together this shows NOVA is serious about getting their polystyrene line into shape and transitioning into more differentiated products such as Zylar and EPS specialties – even at the expense of being a much smaller producer.
The move at Chesapeake also will shut down the company’s R&D technical service center at the Virginia site which will be consolidated to Beaver Valley next to Pittsburgh. NOVA should expect a 2-4 year payout on this closure’s write-down unless it sparks a new wave of capacity shutdowns in the industry which could return some margin to polystyrene producers. It also looks like compounding capacity from Chesapeake must be moved, most likely to Beaver Valley, for the future of specialty polystyrenes in NOVA’s product line. By shutting down this generic polystyrene capacity (SPS), NOVA is taking a big step into transitioning into a specialty polystyrene producer with higher-end new products as they have expressed in other recent press announcements.
China reduces import tariffs on several chemicals
China has announced reductions in import tariffs on several chemicals starting January 1, 2006. China removed its 2% tariff on ethylene imports in 2006 and reduced the rate for ethylene dichloride & vinyl chloride monomer from 5.5% to 1%. Benzene and orthoxylene tariffs have fallen from 2% to 1% and solvents methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and propionic acid now have tariffs of 3% down from 5.5%. China plans to cut import tariffs on polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene, among other chemical products, by 1%. The new duties would be 9.3% for PE and 8.7% for PP and PS. China will also stop levying export duties on more than 60 textile products, also starting on Jan 1, 2006.
The reductions in import duties are part of China’s obligations under the WTO to reduce trade barriers. China has been steadily reducing its duty rates since gaining entry into the WTO in 2001.
Comments: The growing economy of China has also quickly expanded its demand for raw materials.
The domestic supply cannot meet the demand. For example, China imports about 50% of the consumption of ethylene. This is the premise of the reported drop in import tariffs.
China has scheduled to drop the import tariff for all polyethylene and polypropylene gradually to 6.5% by 2008. However, the government decided to drop the tariff for LLDPE and EVA to 6.5% starting Jan. 2005, three years ahead of the schedule.
That was driven by the short domestic supply of the two resins. For the other polyolefins, the tariffs are 9.1% for HDPE and LDPE, and 8.6% for PP for 2006. For more information on the impact of China’s entry into WTO, please refer to our article in New Generation Polyolefins, Volume 7, Issue 4.
Bridgestone to build SBR plant in China
Bridgestone announced its plans to build a new Chinese styrene-butadiene rubber plant with an investment of $100 million.
The new plant in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, will begin operation in the first half of 2008 with an annual production of about 50 KT per year. It will mainly supply Bridgestone Group’s tire plants in China and other areas in Asia.
The company has established Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber to operate the plant, following project approval from Huizhou City officials.
Comments: Chinese demand for SBR was around 600 KT in 2004. Almost 25% of the consumption was imported. China passed an anti-damping law toward SBR from Russia, Japan, and Korea in 2003; as a result, the SBR imports have significantly dropped. This new SBR plant will enable Bridgestone to capture the growing opportunities in China with localized raw materials.
The location of the Bridgestone plant, Huizhou, Guangdong, is where CSPC, the joint venture of Shell and CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) locates at. From the choice of location, we think it is likely that Bridgestone is going to obtain the styrene and butadiene feedstock from CSPC.
OxyVinyls to Close PVC Plant in Canada
OxyVinyls announced its plans to close a 150 KT per year PVC plant in January 2006. The facility to be closed is located in Scotford, Alberta in Canada. The closure will affect the jobs of 55 employees and contractors.
Oxyvinyls, LP is one of the largest producers of PVC resins in North America. Oxyvinyls is a joint venture between Occidental and PolyOne (formerly Geon). The company headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas.
Comments: The manufacturing facilities of PVC resins are located at (1) Pasadena and Deer Park, TX, (2) Louisville KY, (3) Pedricktown, NJ, (4) Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and (5) Niagara Falls, Ontario. The company markets its PVC resins under the trade name OxyVinyls®. The current capacity of PVC resins in North America is about 4,695 million pounds. Occidental manufactures suspension, emulsion, and specialty PVC resins. OxyVinyls is also a licensor of PVC and VCM technology. The company has licensed more than 60 EDC/VCM and 20 PVC plants, operating in 33 countries.
The main reason for the closure of this facility is the lack of VCM which was available from Dow. Dow decided to close its VCM facility at Fort Saskatchewan due to the expansion of operations at its other facilities. This PVC facility was originally built by Geon which was brought under the OxyVinyls umbrella when OxyChem and Geon joint venture was created in 1999.
After this closure, the company will have a total capacity of 4,360 million pounds which will make the company the second-largest producer of PVC in North America behind Shintech. For more information on PVC, please refer to our multiclient study “Intermaterial Competition of Flexible PVC and Polyolefins & Elastomers”. To obtain a copy of this report, please call us at 281-557-3320.
EU fines four firms, including Bayer, for price fixing of rubber chemicals
The European Commission has fined four firms a total of EUR75.86 million for operating a cartel in the rubber chemicals market.
Flexsys NV, Bayer AG, and Crompton Corp (now Chemtura) (including Crompton Europe and Uniroyal Chemical Company) agreed to exchange information about prices and/or raise prices of certain rubber chemicals in the European and worldwide markets at least from 1996 to 2001.
General Quimica – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Repsol YPF SA and Repsol Quimica SA – participated in this agreement in 1999 and 2000.
Rubber chemicals are synthetic or organic chemicals that improve the production and the characteristics of rubber products, used in a wide range of applications, the most important of which is tires for cars and other vehicles.
Comments: Visit our website http://cmrhoutex.com/commerce/misc/reports.jspand read article number 5 on U.S ANTI-TRUST REGULATIONS; ETHICAL COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOR – A PRIMER
Shell and CNOOC prepare for cracker start-up in China
The start-up at the cracker complex built by a joint venture between Shell Chemical and CNOOC has been delayed by a few weeks. The new cracker will have a capacity of 800 KT per year and the start-up is expected to begin in the next few weeks. The original planned start date was late 2005. The companies however are in the final preparations for start-up.
Comments: For such a large project, the short startup delay reported is not significant. Supply/Demand balances in the immediate region will be strained for a matter of several weeks but then the startup most probably will continue normally. Reports are that the facility is now ready for startup.
Changes at the CEO level – Kathleen Bader retires as CEO of NatureWorks LLC and Ki Ho No steps down as CEO of LG Chem
Dennis McGrew will become the new president and chief executive officer of NatureWorks LLC, a wholly owned business unit of Cargill, effective Jan. 20, 2006. McGrew replaces Kathleen Bader, president, CEO, and chairman of the business unit from 2004 to 2006, who has announced her retirement as part of a planned management transition.
In 2004, Bader was brought in to move the company from a research-based organization to a commercial business. During her tenure, the company has posted triple-digit sales growth, highlighted by the announcement in October of 2005 that Walmart will transition 114 million fresh produce grocery packages to NatureWorks® PLA in the coming year. Prior to serving as NatureWorks LLC CEO Bader was business group president for Dow Chemical’s Styrenics and Engineered Products.
Dennis McGrew comes to the president and CEO position from his role as vice president and chief marketing officer leading the commercial team efforts since he joined the company in April 2004. McGrew was responsible for directing global commercial efforts for NatureWorks® PLA packaging and Ingeo™ fibers, as environmentally beneficial replacements for petroleum-based materials. He served as global commercial director for the Engineering Plastics business of The Dow Chemical Company.
LG Chem announced that Ki Ho No, president, and CEO of LG Chem, will step down early this year. His successor will be Kim Bahn Suk, currently CEO of LG Daesan Petrochemicals, an LG Chem subsidiary. Ki Ho No will remain as LG Chem’s executive adviser, according to the company.
Comments: Ms. Kathleen Bader won several National and International recognitions as the most progressive woman executive. She also served in the presidential committees on Homeland Security, we are sure she will continue to serve the nation.
Dr. James Stevens of Dow Chemical receives an award in industrial chemistry
James C. Stevens, Ph. D, a research fellow at Dow Chemical received the 2006 American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Industrial Chemistry.
Stevens joined Dow Central Research in the late 1970s, leading a group whose work culminated in a single-site, constrained geometry catalyst (CGC) system in the late 1980s. In 1992, he led a team to further develop and commercialize Dow’s CGC polyolefin technology, which was trademarked as Insite® technology. His catalyst work also resulted in new polyolefin families such as Elite® enhanced PE, Affinity® plastomers, Index® interpolymers, Engage® elastomers, and Nordel IP® EPDM.
Comments: Dr. Stevens’ group within Dow Chemical has been at the forefront of developing and advancing single-site technology for polyolefins. Starting from the application of metallocene technology to produce mLLDPE, Dow has extended the applicability of single-site catalysis to include Ethylene Elastomers/Plastomers, EP Elastomers, Ethylene-Styrene Interpolymers, and recently Propylene-based Elastomers/Plastomers. Chemical Market Resources, Inc. congratulates Dr. Stevens for his contributions and achievements in the area of metallocene and single-site chemistry.
Contact us at ADI Chemical Market Resources to learn how we can help.