PE and PP European buyers concerned over increases in ethylene and propylene contracts

(ICIS) -- Several polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) buyers in Europe expressed concern on Thursday over increases in upstream ethylene (C2) and propylene (C3) contracts.


⌠The market is not going to be able to support this, one PP buyer said, commenting on producers' targets to cover the EUR 35/tonne (USD 51/tonne) increase in the May propylene contract price. The contract settled on Wednesday at EUR 1,245/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe).


Another PP buyer felt the new propylene contract price was too high and failed to reflect market fundamentals. ⌠We've been robbed again, he added.


PE buyers are no less frustrated. ⌠The best they can get from this plus EUR 25/tonne is a rollover in PE, one buyer said.


The ethylene contract for May settled on Wednesday, up EUR 25/tonne, at EUR 1.230/tonne FD NWE and producers have already made it clear they will seek at least to cover the EUR 25/tonne increase in the monomer contract, with some sellers gunning for more.


MRC

Bayer Group got off to a successful start to 2011

(Bayer) -- ⌠All three subgroups contributed to the strong start to the year with sales and earnings increases, Bayer CEO Dr. Marijn Dekkers explained on Thursday when the company's first-quarter results were released. He was especially pleased at how well the season had begun at CropScience. MaterialScience achieved significant growth compared with the prior-year quarter, which was still hampered by the financial and economic crisis, and HealthCare also posted a solid performance. Dekkers expressed his optimism for the year as a whole: ⌠We are raising our Group sales and earnings forecast for this year, mainly because of the improvement we expect at CropScience.


Sales of the Bayer Group climbed by 13.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011, to EUR 9.415 million (Q1 2010: EUR 8.316 million). Despite the positive business trend, the operating result (EBIT) improved by only 4.0 percent to EUR 1.148 million (Q1 2010: EUR 1.104 million).


Earnings were diminished by special charges of EUR 442 million (Q1 2010: EUR 77 million). Of this figure, the restructuring measures already announced at CropScience and HealthCare accounted for EUR 248 million. Charges of EUR 194 million were taken mainly for an intended settlement program in connection with litigations concerning genetically modified rice in the United States.


MRC

Indian Oil Corporation planning an investment in a greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex

(IIFL) -- India's largest crude oil refining firm, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is planning an investment of Rs. 40.000 crore to set up a world-class greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemical complex on the western coast with a capacity to process 18 to 20 million tonnes of crude oil per annum. "We plan to set up a coastal refinery to capture the export market in future as also to strengthen our foothold in the domestic market," chairman and managing director of IOC, Rs. Butola said.


MRC

ABB solutions improve energy efficiency at giant petrochemical complex

(ABB) -- ABB solutions will help boost the efficiency and stability of the power network at Saudi Arabia's giant Sadaf Jubail petrochemical complex, and also integrate electrical control systems in its six petrochemical plants.


A two-part power factor and power management solution will significantly increase the power factor of the site's power network, and integrate the electrical and process information management systems at the site's six manufacturing facilities into a single, unified system.


Owned by Saudi Arabia Petrochemical Company (Sadaf) and located at Al Jubail on the Gulf coast, the complex is one of the largest petrochemical sites in the world, producing more than 4.7 million tons of petrochemicals a year.


MRC

SABIC to launch a JV with Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Mitsubishi Corp

(Reuters) - Saudi Basic Industries Corp 2010.SE, the world's largest chemicals producer, said it will launch a joint venture firm with Japana's Asahi Kasei Chemicals and Mitsubishi Corp. The new company, Saudi Japanese Acrylonitrile Co, will build a plant to produce acrylonitrile and sodium cyanide in Jubail. The facility will have capacity of 200 KTa of the former and 40 KTa of the latter, SABIC said in a statement on Wednesday.


MRC