Low Europe bitumen prices, costly freight prevent imports from US

(ICIS) -- Low European bitumen prices and high freight rates have kept arbitrages from the US closed for around two years despite it being considered a key exporter into the region, bitumen shipping industry sources said on Tuesday.

A second market participant agreed that arbitrages from the US to Europe have been closed for many months. ⌠I don't know of any occasion when this [bitumen] has moved [from the US to Europe], the second source said.

⌠Sending material from the US to Europe is not economical, another shipping source said on 18 July.
The first source went on to say there has been very little market activity in Europe for at least six months. Some of his company's bitumen vessels remain unoccupied.

This market participant went on to say that to transport 7 KT of bitumen from Baltimore, Maryland, to Europe would cost an average of USD 705.000 (EUR 493.500) to containerise the material, and, based on a transit period of 14 days, it would cost USD 300.000 to charter a vessel.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asian petrochemical producers can expect a weakening of exports if the US - the world's biggest economy - were to default on its debts, analysts said on Tuesday. However, the negative impact will likely be mitigated by the strength of demand coming from China and other emerging markets, they added.

The US needs a higher national borrowing ceiling via legislation by 2 August to prevent it from defaulting on its debts. However, the Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress cannot agree on a plan.

US President Barack Obama warned that a failure on Congress' part to increase the debt ceiling could cost jobs and potentially cause serious damage to the US economy.

Overall consumption from the western industrialised economies will likely remain weak with the US and the eurozone preoccupied with their debt problems, analysts said. There are also concerns that the debt woes of both the US and eurozone may plunge the world economy back into recession, said Naphat Chantaraserekul, a Bangkok-based petrochemical markets analyst at DBS Vickers Securities.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- Foodservice packaging firm Fabri-Kal (Kalamazoo, MI) is proactively "greening" its product lines at a time when many varieties of single-use plastics packaging are the target of consumer and regulatory criticism. The company recently revamped its Alur container line, thermoforming it from sheet that's 50% by weight post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Meanwhile, its Greenware line of cold drink cups, lids, and portion cups are now made with Ingeo biopolymer polylactic acid (PLA).

Fabri-Kal says its Alur containers provide merchandisers an eco-friendly option they can promote, with 50% PCR messaging engraved on the bottom of every container, "helping merchandisers tell their customers they care about the environment" Fabri-Kal noted. The line consists of six sizes ranging from five to 32 ounces, with a common plug-fit lid seal for the five most common containers. Reclaimed post-consumer water and soda bottles are recycled for the containers that comply with FDA food-contact requirements.

Fabri-Kal reports that its Greenware line is the first made-in-the-U.S.A., 100% biobased cold-drink cups and portion cups made from Ingeo biopolymer. The company has received USDA BioPreferred program certification for the cold-drink cups, portion cups, and lids. Fabri-Kal believes that the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label will serve as a "credible and trusted" symbol for consumers to identify biobased products that have undergone a "robust third-party certification" to validate the claims.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- KNM Group Bhd and Zecon Bhd signed preliminary deals worth RM17 bln in total with Gulf Asian Petroleum Sdn Bhd (GAP) to build an integrated petrochemical complex in Teluk Ramunia, Johor, Malaysia. Under the deal, KNM Group and Zecon together with a Korean or Chinese contractor will form a consortium to undertake the petroleum refinery and polypropylene unit projects.

The engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contracts were for a 150,000-200,000 bpd petroleum refinery and 400,000-525,000 mln tpa polypropylene unit with a total project value of USD5 bln (RM15 bln), a RM2 bln petroleum storage terminal facility comprising four terminals with a total storage capacity of 2.328 mln cu m, as per thestar.com.my


MRC

(BASF) -- BASF is planning to double production of its phthalate-free plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH from 100 KTa to 200 KTa at the Ludwigshafen site by 2013. Therefore a second production plant will now be built in Ludwigshafen. This will enhance supply security worldwide while continuing to ensure consistently high quality.


The decision is based on a strong increase in demand across all regions as well as the continued growth of demand for alternative plasticizers. This is the second capacity increase for Hexamoll DINCH since its successful market launch in 2002. In 2007, the original production capacity of 25 KTa was quadrupled to 100 KTa.


Hexamoll DINCH is a plasticizer that offers maximum safety, which is why demand for the product has grown continuously since it was first launched. While demand initially came mainly from manufacturers of toys and leisure articles, due to its outstanding properties the phthalate-free plasticizer is now increasingly being used in medical applications and food packaging.

MRC