Occidental Petroleum 2001 Annual Report Download - page 7

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all of the Niagara Falls chemical intermediates production units have been shut
down, and the sale or disposal of these assets is underway.
In April 1999, OxyChem and The Geon Company, now known as PolyOne
Corporation (PolyOne), formed the OxyVinyls partnership, combining the commodity
PVC resin and VCM assets of both companies, and two chlor-alkali and
cogeneration plants of OxyChem. Ownership is shared between OxyChem and PolyOne
on a 76-percent and 24-percent basis, respectively. The partners also formed a
smaller partnership, PVC Powder Blends, LP, a powder compounding business in
which OxyChem owns a 10-percent interest.
OxyVinyls has annual capacities of 4.4 billion pounds of PVC resin, 4.9
billion pounds of VCM and 1.0 million tons of chlor-alkali electrochemical
units. Because chlorine and caustic soda are co-products, the chemical industry
uses electrochemical units as a standard metric corresponding to one ton of
chlorine and approximately 1.1 tons of caustic soda.
BASIC CHEMICALS
OxyChem's basic chemicals group manufactures and markets inorganic
chemicals, including high-volume commodity products, primarily consisting of
chlorine, caustic soda and their derivatives. Chlorine and caustic soda are
supplied to a number of manufacturers, including those in the pulp and paper,
plastics, water-purification, bleach and sanitation industries. EDC plants at
Ingleside, TX (currently idle), and Convent, LA, use part of the chlorine
production from OxyChem's adjacent chlor-alkali facilities and ethylene from
Equistar's nearby olefins plants. EDC is used primarily in making VCM, the raw
material used in the production of PVC. Potassium hydroxide, or caustic potash,
is used by fertilizer, soap and detergent and rubber manufacturers. It also is
used by an OxyChem joint venture with Church & Dwight Co., Inc. to produce
potassium carbonate.
PERFORMANCE CHEMICALS
OxyChem produces organic and inorganic chemicals that are used as raw
materials by customers to enhance the performance of their end products. OxyChem
also produces chlorinated isocyanurates for use in swimming pools and as
cleaning compounds. In addition, OxyChem produces antimony trioxide, used in the
production of polyethylene terephthalate resins and as a flame retardant, and
resorcinol, which is used mainly as an adhesive in tire manufacturing. Other
facilities produce chrome chemicals, which are used in leather tanning, metal
plating and wood preservation and sodium silicates, which are used for
detergents, adhesives and numerous other applications. OxyChem also produces
mercaptans that are used as warning agents in natural gas and propane.
6
PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS
OxyChem produces the following chemical products:
Principal Products Major Uses
----------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Basic Chemicals Chlor-alkali chemicals:
Chlorine Raw material for vinyl chloride monomer, chemical
manufacturing, pulp and paper production, water
treatment
Caustic soda Chemical manufacturing, pulp and paper production,
cleaning products
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Potassium chemicals (including potassium Glass, fertilizers, cleaning products and rubber
hydroxide and, through its Armand
Products joint venture with Church &
Dwight Co., Inc., potassium carbonate)
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Ethylene dichloride (EDC) Raw material for vinyl chloride monomer
----------------------- ---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Performance Chemicals Sodium silicates Soaps and detergents, catalysts, paint pigments
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Chrome chemicals Metal and wood treatments, leather tanning
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Chlorinated isocyanurates Swimming pool, household and industrial disinfecting
and sanitizing products
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Mercaptans Warning agents for natural gas and propane and raw
material for agricultural chemical intermediates
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Antimony oxide Flame retardant synergist and catalysts
---------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------
Resorcinol Tire manufacture, wood adhesives and flame retardant