Stock market turmoil, volatile crude stall Asia PET trades

(ICIS) -- The turmoil that swept through global stock markets and the resulting slump in crude futures stalled trades in the Asian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle chip markets this week, industry sources said on Wednesday.

Several northeast Asian producers maintained price ideas at around USD 1.700/tonne (EUR 1,190/tonne) FOB (free on board) Asia on Wednesday, similar to Friday's levels, with market players at a loss on where prices are headed.

Spot PET trading in Asia came to a virtual standstill by Tuesday afternoon as the slump in crude futures curbed firm discussions between producers such as South Korea's SK Chemicals and Taiwan's Far Eastern Group and their customers in the main export markets.

Several PET producers were reluctant to revise down price ideas because they had settled their raw material prices prior to the global stock market rout.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- BP PLC and Indian polyester manufacturer JBF Group have inked a deal for feedstock supply by the UK energy giant to a new manufacturing unit to be built by JBF, as per Dow Jones Newswire. The long-term supply deal is for BP-produced purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which will be used by JBF in the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The new 390 KTa facility will be located on BP's existing petrochemical complex in Geel, Belgium adjacent to a BP production site in Belgium. Costs of building the new facility would be borne by JBF.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Iran has discovered a gas field with 495 billion cubic metres of gas that it estimates is worth USD 133 billion, Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Qalebani told a news conference. Qalebani claims that 658 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from the 1.5 billion boe field are recoverable.

Iran hopes to discover 2.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 23 trillion cubic feet of gas in the course of its fifth five-year development programme to 2015.

The Iranian Oil Ministry has also confirmed that it has received USD 1.33 billion from Indian in overdue payments for shipments of natural gas. A debt of USD 5 billion arose as international sanctions against Iran prevented direct payment from India. The new arrangement is for payment through a proxy in Turkey.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- Bericap has cut the weight of closures for edible oils in 1-liter bottles by 50%, developing a range for 26-mm neck diameters that weigh only 1.37g compared to 2.74g. Bericap said the move was in response to an industry shift. In the past, the heavier closures were needed on the standard 29/21 neck for 1-liter containers when they were meant to fit glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Today, edible oils are primarily supplied in PET.

Bericap said the inner diameter of the new neck is identical to the previous 29mm diameter, eliminating the need for modifications to filling nozzles at the filler while still providing the same flow rate. The company achieved the dramatic weight savings by cutting the inner diameter and the cap height.

MRC

(Braskem) -- Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resin producer in the Americas, Fundacao Espaco ECO and Instituto Akatu presented a comparative survey on the use of different types of bags for transporting goods purchased at supermarkets and the economic and environmental impacts of each alternative.

To ensure that the discussion of the best bag alternative is based solely on scientific studies, the life cycles of various bag options available in the Brazilian market were analyzed, which included disposable bags (made from traditional polyethylene, sugarcane polyethylene and additives to promote biodegradation) and some reusable bags (paper, raffia, cloth and non-woven fabric).

This unprecedented survey in Brazil considers a number of current conditions in the country, including the technology and production methods used and the resulting environmental impacts of certain scenarios involving the use of the bags and the disposal of trash by consumers.

The life-cycle analysis (ACV) was expanded to consider what is known as "ecoefficiency", which evaluates the environmental impacts and cost of each alternative, encompassing everything from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of the bag, including its production and use. Therefore, the entire production chain was considered and analyzed when studying the environmental impacts and cost of each of phase.

MRC