Sibur eyes major expansion in butadiene rubber

By Eugene Gerden, Plastics & Rubber Weekly

Moscow -- Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur is planning an investment of more than RUB 2 billion (Euro 52 million) to expand production capacity for butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber (NBR) and butadiene.

The project, scheduled to be completed by 2014, will be centred on the company's Krasnoyarsk synthetic rubbers plant.

Sibur expects to increase production of NBR by to 56 000 tpa from the current level of 36 500tpa. It will also create 40 000tpa of new butadiene capacity.

Russian analysts say the project will allow Sibur to become of one of the largest producers of NBR and butadiene in the east of Europe and will partially restore the country's position in butadiene rubber production, which it lost during the post-Soviet era.

Despite the scale of the project, Sibur is cautious about projected growth in demand for synthetic rubber in Russia.

In addition to its Krasnoyarsk plant, the company produces synthetic rubber for the tyre industry at its Togliattikauchuk plant. However, the latter is still operating below pre-economic crisis levels.

It is likely that most of the material from the expanded Krasnoyarsk plant will be exported. Close to 85 percent of Togliattikauchuk's production goes to Asia, the US and Spain.

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Plastics & Rubber Weekly (a Crain publication)