US cellulosic ethanol usage could fall significantly in 2012

(ICIS) -- US cellulosic ethanol usage could fall significantly in 2012 based on a government proposal on Tuesday to cut the amount of that type of biofuel refiners would be required to blend in gasoline.

The mandate for US cellulosic ethanol consumption in 2012 would be cut to 3.45m-12.90m gal (13.06m-48.83m litres), from a previous 500m gal target, under a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The EPA cited a study of "market availability" as the reason behind the reduction, indicating that the US continues to a lack cellulosic ethanol production in the scale needed to meet its targets.

Despite the cut on the cellulosic side, the EPA proposed keeping the overall US target for renewable fuels usage in 2012 steady at 15.2bn gal, an increase of 9.4% from 13.9bn gal in 2011.

For 2013, the government proposed increasing the use of biomass-based diesel by 28% from 2012 to 1.28bn gal.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Borealis will permanently shut its 20 KTa melamine low-pressure plant at Linz in Austria on 27 June, the Austria-based polyolefins maker said on Wednesday. The company earlier decommissioned a 10 KTa melamine low-pressure plant at the Linz site in January last year, Borealis said in a statement. The decision to decommission the plants was made as investments in melamine low-pressure plants ⌠do not pay off in Europe, the statement said.

Major customers will be switching their production to high-pressure melamine, Borealis said, without elaborating further. Customers who can only use low-pressure melamine will continue to be supplied through the 20 KTa plant in the meantime, it added.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Taiwan's Nan Ya Plastics may be forced to enter the monoethylene glycol (MEG) spot market if the company runs out of inventories to supply to its domestic contract customers, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday. ⌠Once we feel it is necessary, we may enter the spot market. It is possible, said David Tsou from the investor relations department of Nan Ya Plastics.

The move is likely to have an impact on MEG prices in Asia, which are already on the rise after the Yunlin county government ordered Nan Ya Plastics to shut its MEG plants for safety checks from 1 June following a fire at Formosa group's Mailiao petrochemical complex on 12 May.

The company's shutdown at its MEG plants caused Asia's MEG spot prices to rise to USD 1.245-1.255/tonne (EUR 859-866/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) China Main Port (CMP) early on 22 June, which is a steep increase of USD 130-135/tonne or 12% from its prices in May.

Nan Ya Plastics is part of the Formosa group, Taiwan's largest petrochemical player. The company's plants can produce 1.9m tonnes/year of MEG, which account for 10% of Asia's total MEG capacity.

MRC

(RIA Novosti) -- The Russian gas giant Gazprom and Ukrainian national oil and gas company Naftogaz have started setting up a joint venture to develop the Black Sea shelf, Naftogaz Board Chairman Yevhen Bakulin said on Tuesday. "Yes, (we have started)," Bakulin told reporters, adding that the companies were still estimating the likely amount of investment in the project and its costs. He also said that there were some legal contradictions in the joint venture's establishment but they would not be an obstacle.

Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko signed an agreement in December 2010, to establish two joint ventures to produce coal from Ukrainian deposits and develop the Black Sea shelf.

MRC

(RIA Novosti) -- Russian fertilizer maker Uralchem posted a 750 percent year on year increase in its January-March 2011 net profit to USD 61 million to IFRS, the company said on Wednesday. The company's first quarter revenue increased 74 percent to USD 566 million, the company said in a statement.

Uralchem's operating profit rose 310 percent to USD 160 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 180 percent to USD 186 million. The company's net debt amounted to USD 1.227 billion as of March 31, 2011.

Uralchem's export sales almost doubled in the first quarter of 2011 to USD 411 million, with exports accounting for over 75 percent of total sales.

MRC