Nizhnekamskneftekhim favours synthetic rubber expansion plan over ethylene production

(plastemart) -- Russian petrochemicals manufacturer Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH) has favoured synthetic rubber expansion plan over ethylene production, to respond to international demand. The Russian major has postponed its project to build a one million tpa ethylene production complex in favour of a synthetic rubber expansion plan. As per original plans, NKNH planned to construct the ┬2.1 bln complex in Russia's Tatarstan semi autonomous republic as part of a five-year ┬3.2 bln investment program to 2015. As per this plan, current ethylene capacity of 600,000 tpa was planned to be doubled to 1.2 mln tpa by 2012. The complex is to have a 600,000 tpa PE capacity and one of 370,000 tpa for polypropylene.

MRCMRC Reference

Share in Russian market in 2008:

polypropylene - 25% (including

PP-block - 34.7%,

PP-random - 22.1%);

polystyrene - 34.5%.

Leader in polymer processing technologies:

sheet extrusion;

film extrusion;

threads/fibers;

moulding.

(Plastics Today) -- Polyolefins supplier Borouge, a joint venture of Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), has opened its first production plant in China, a 50,000-tonne/yr compounding facility destined to supply the country's fast-growing automotive and household appliances markets. Plans for the site first were announced in mid-2007, and it was officially opened this week.

The event drew a high-level crowd including, from the United Arab Emirates, the Minister of Foreign Trade, the Minister of the Economy, and ADNOC's CEO, while the Chinese delegation included the Fengxian Party Committee Secretary and the mayor of Fengxian. The new compounding plant has the capacity to supply up to 50,000 tonnes of compound annually and the potential to expand by 30,000 tonnes per year. The base resins for the plant are to be supplied from Borouge's new polypropylene plants in Abu Dhabi.

In another move to strength its Chinese supply chain, Borouge is opening a logistics hub capable of handling up to 600,000 tonnes of polyolefins per year, with that hub placed adjacent to the compounding plant.

MRCMRC Reference

Borealis. The share in the Russian market in 2008:

polyethylene - 4.1% (including HDPE - 4.7%, LLDPE - 8.7%);
polypropylene - 3.2% (PP-impact - 7.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia over the last 5 years:
polyethylene - 11%;
polypropylene - 6%.

Leader in polymers processing technologies:
extrusion coating;
cable extrusion;
injection molding.

At the end of April some shortage of suspension PVC with K=65-67 was observed. Today this resin is of the highest interest of converters. The improvement in demand has led to higher offer levels. Now prices for carbide-based PVC at the level of 44,500 - 45,000 RUR/mt, FCA, VAT included, do not cause objections of buyers, though as early as the beginning of the month offers at 44,000 - 44,500 RUR/mt were unacceptable.

MRC

For more details on Russian PVC market please refer to MRC Price reports.

(Plastics Today) -- Braskem S.A. plans to have 200,000 tonnes/yr of production capacity for its sugar-cane based polyethylene (PE) online, with work on sugar-cane derived polypropylene (PP) and EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber ongoing. Leonora Novaes, green polymers commercial leader at Braskem, laid out her company's progress in commercializing a PE based on sugar-cane generated ethanol at TAPPI's PLACE 2010 Conference (April 18-21, Albuquerque, NM), as well as pointing out the material's greenness relative to fossil-fuel based polymers and some biobased ones.

Instead of corn or sugar beets, Braskem is utilizing sugar cane to create ethanol, which is then sent through a "dehydration" plant. As the name would suggest, that operation removes water from the ethanol, leaving ethylene in its place. Novaes said that for every one unit of fossil fuel put into the sugar-cane process, you end up with 9.3 units of energy. This compares quite favorably to the 1.4 units of energy output from corn or 2.0 units from sugar beets. In addition, Novaes described sugar cane as a "carbon capture" crop, saying its density and size, with mature plants reaching 10 feet, coupled with the fact that it will return annually for anywhere from 6-10 years without replanting, give it a net-negative carbon footprint. Novaes said that from 1 kg of fossil-fuel based PE, you get 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide, while 1 kg of Braskem's green PE actually captures 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide. Utilizing all portions of the plant, 1 hectare of land produces three tonnes of PE, with Novaes saying that the country's industrial sugar-cane production, which also supports its aggressive liquid fuels program, is not encroaching on rain forests.

The PE facility will utilize LyondellBasell's Hostalen reactor technology to create bimodal high-density polyethylene suitable for bottles, with nameplate capacity of 140,000 tonnes/yr. In addition, LyondellBasell Spherilene reaction technology will support a 60,000 tonnes/yr linear low-density PE line.

MRC

(plastemart) -- LyondellBasell could exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as early as next month, and list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from the middle of the third quarter of this year. The company plans to appeal to the New York bankruptcy court to approve and confirm its Plan of Re-Organization, on April 23. Exit financing is in place and is well received in the market as it was oversubscribed. LB's major creditors had agreed to convert debt into equity.

Along with the debt restructuring, the company had implemented very severe cost cutting, taking out 20% of fixed costs in 2009, amounting to US$800 mln - US$1 bln. Cost-cutting measures involved 3,000 redundancies, reduction in contractors, closure of the Chocolate Bayou cracker and polymer plants in Europe.

MRCMRC Reference

LyondellBasell. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 1.4% (including HDPE - 2.5%, LDPE - 0.3%);
PP - 4.1% (including block-copolymers - 9.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:
PE - 27%;
PP - 88%.

The leader in the following polymers processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

injection molding.