Russian market of PVC to make next record

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian market of PVC is making next records in imports: in May, overall import of suspension PVC made 56.6 KT, according to MRC DataScope.

Over the five months, import of suspension to Russia exceeded 201 KT, while over the same period in 2010, import of PVC-S made only 81 KT.

Significant growth of imports was expectedly stipulated by the North American resin. Supplies from USA also made the next record and equaled to 36 KT. In May, American resin contracted yet in January-March came to Russia, as per MRC analysts.

In April-May, because of high export prices for PVC from USA, only few Russian producers contracted resin. As a result, in June-August, considerable reduction of imports from Russia is expected.

Because of problems with railway traffic, supplies of acetylene suspension from China reduced to 13.6 KT. Peak imports of PVC from China fell at March and made about 20 KT, and this year this parameter is unlikely to be exceeded, as per market players.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- South Korean EPC powerhouses Daelim Industrial and GS Engineering and Construction are frontrunners to win a bid to build a cracker at a petrochemicals complex planned by Saudi Aramco and US Dow Chemical, industry sources have told Reuters.

Sources close to the bidding process said the two firms were finalizing their proposals and await a final word from the partners in the project, which will be located in Jubail on the Gulf coast.

A spokesman for Daelim told Reuters that the company joined the bidding process but did not provide further details.

The cost of the project, still called Ras Tanura Integrated Project (RTIP) as it was to be integrated with an expansion of the Ras Tanura refinery, is around USD 20 billion, Aramco's chief executive Khalid Al-Falih said in December.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Grace Davison, an operating segment of W. R. Grace & Co. , has announced the successful global commercialisation of eight fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts and additives with zero or low rare earth content.

Launched in the first quarter of 2011, the REpLaCeR family includes five new catalysts for both hydrotreated and resid feed processing with zero and low rare earth content: resolution, REBEL, REACTOR, REMEDY and REduceR FCC catalysts. The REpLaCeR family of catalysts utilises proprietary zeolites and state-of-the-art stabilization methods to deliver performance similar to current rare earth-based FCC technologies.

In addition, Grace has recently introduced ResidUltra, a new catalyst with 40% less rare earth than benchmark resid catalysts. Finally, a series of low rare earth environmental additives is currently in commercial trials. These include Super DeSOX-OCI and Super DeSOX-MCD sulfur transfer additives.

MRC

(Ceepackaging) -- The European flexible packaging industry counts a new player: the Britton Group, that will be comprised of Veriplast Flexible & Decorative Solutions, Reuther Verpackung and Britton.

Sun European Partners, the equity that holds these companies announced that it has created a pan-European flexible packaging specialist, by associating Veriplast Flexible & Decorative Solutions, Reuther Verpackung and Britton. This new group will be providing a wide range of packaging solutions such as extruded films, preformed bags (both paper and plastic), FFS films, in-mould labels, decoration sleeves and envelopes.

The creation of the Britton Group will result in production optimisation through facility specialisation and enhanced packaging solutions resulting from technology, best practices, and research and development that are shared across the new company. The Britton Group's larger geographic footprint (UK, Germany, Poland and France) will allow it to better serve both pan-European and local customers alike.

MRC

(Celanese) -- The American Chemistry Council (ACC) today presented its highest honor, the Responsible Care Company of the Year Award, to two member Companies: Celanese Corporation and Ethyl Corporation. This premier award recognizes those member companies that have enhanced and embraced the Responsible Care ethic of performance improvement and sustainability throughout their company.

Responsible Care is what sets ACC member companies apart; it is a common commitment to continual improvement of our industry's environmental, health, safety and security performance, said ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley.

Celanese Corporation has gone beyond Responsible Care requirements in multiple areas, achieving aggressive environmental health and safety performance goals to reduce its impact on the environment and safeguard its employees and contractors. In 2010, Celanese exceeded each of its five-year goals, with an energy intensity reduction of 26 percent, greenhouse gases reduction of 35 percent, waste intensity reduction of more than 70 percent and an air emissions reduction of more than 40 percent. Most significantly, Celanese's 2010 global OSHA injury rate was 0.15, surpassing its 2010 goal of 0.22.

Ethyl Corporation's commitment to improving its environmental performance is exemplified by its robust waste reduction efforts. In 2011, the company's Houston plant is on track to reduce its hazardous waste production by approximately 70 percent (more than 200 tons) compared to 2010. Ethyl also implements an active ⌠Safety Observation Program, to capture and correct items with potential adverse effect, investigates all incidents that take place and ensures that all employees are aware of potential workplace hazards. Ethyl Corporation's commitment to safety has been acknowledged by the National Safety Council, which gave the company its ⌠Perfect Record Award for safety performance last year.

MRC