Lanxess subsidiary Perlon-Monofil to raise prices worldwide

(Lanxess) -- Owing to continued steep rises in energy and raw material costs, from July 1, 2011, Perlon-Monofil GmbH is to raise its prices worldwide for synthetic monofilaments by at least EUR 0.40 per kilogram depending on the field of application and grade.


Perlon-Monofil GmbH is one of five sections belonging to the Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP) business unit of specialty chemicals group Lanxess. It manufactures an extensive range of polyamide and polyester monofilament products for a wide variety of applications, and markets them worldwide under the brand names Perlon, Atlas and Bayco. The plastic wires are used for the production of durable technical fabrics, cords and ropes with outstanding dimensional stability and high strength.


Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2010 and currently around 15,500 employees in 30 countries. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.


MRC

Italian Saipem nets drilling contracts worth USD 600 mln

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Italian conglomerate Saipem has announced a slew of new contracts under which exploration and production is to commence imminently. The company has been awarded the contract by Eni to extend the charter of the Saipem 10000 drillship for the duration of 24 months, starting from August 2012.


Saipem 10000 is an ultra deepwater drillship, capable of operating in water depths up to 10,000 feet in full dynamic positioning.


Within offshore drilling activities, Saipem has been awarded a contract by Addax Petroleum extending the charter of the semisub Scarabeo 3 for a period of 6 months, starting from November 2011, for drilling activities in Nigerian waters.


In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco awarded Saipem the contract for the charter of 4 rigs, of which 3 for a period of 3 years each, starting from the fourth quarter of 2011, and 1 for a period of 1 years, starting from the third quarter of 2011.


MRC

Chemicals and plastics dominated the winners of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

(Plastics Today) -- Sustainable chemicals and plastics dominated the winners of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, including a bioplastic made with the help of E. coli and an acrylic paint that utilizes recycled water bottles. The 16th edition of the awards comes during the 2011 International Year of Chemistry and the 20th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts in to create "green chemistry".


An independent panel of technical experts convened by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute selected the 2011 winners from "scores" of nominated technologies. Over the course of the program, the EPA has received more than 1400 nominations and awarded 82 winners. The agency estimates that winning technologies have reduced the use or generation of more than 199 million lb of hazardous chemicals, saving 21 billion gallons of water, and eliminating 57 million lb of carbon dioxide releases to the air.


MRC

US ethylene spot margins fell in the third week of June

(ICIS) -- US ethylene spot margins fell by 1.4% in the third week of June due to a drop in ethylene (C2) spot prices, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.


C2 margins fell to 34.96 cents/lb (USD 771/tonne, EUR 540/tonne), from 35.45 cents/lb a week earlier, using ethane as a feedstock. The drop followed a 1% average decline in C2 spot prices in the week ending 17 June.


C2 for June traded at 65.25-66.00 cents/lb last week, down from 65.00-67.50 cents/lb a week earlier, pressured by loosening supply and a softer outlook downstream resulting from weaker polyethylene (PE) demand.


US PE export demand has softened because of competition from lower Asian prices, while domestic demand is weakening as US buyers move to the sidelines in anticipation of lower prices.


MRC

China's imports of SBR are expected to decline further

(ICIS) -- China's imports of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) are expected to decline further and exports are likely to increase because of new domestic capacities that have come on stream since late 2010, market sources said on Tuesday.


An estimated 450 KTa of new capacity will be added to the existing 1.05m tonnes/year of SBR production in China by the end of 2011, according to the data from Chemease, an ICIS service in China.


Demand, on the other hand, is strong but is not expected to keep pace with the growth in capacity as the country consumed an estimated 390 KT of SBR in January-April 2011, according to Chemease. The country's annual domestic demand for SBR is estimated to be at around 1m tonnes in 2011.


China's import volumes have declined by around 26% to 102,000 tonnes in January-April 2011, as compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the data from Chemease. The country exported a total of 105.2 KT of SBR in 2010, according to China Customs. In comparison, SBR exports from China in January-April 2011 have already exceeded 40.9 KT, according to the data from Chemease.


MRC