ECH prices in Asia to stay firm for the rest of August

(ICIS) -- Epichlorohydrin (ECH) prices in Asia will likely stay firm for the rest of August because of high feedstock cost, with a strong possibility of rising in September as demand for the material is expected to peak, industry sources said on Wednesday.

In China, ECH was assessed at USD 2.200-2.300/tonne (EUR 1.518-1.587/tonne) CFR China Main Port (iso-tank) on 16 August, while Asian ECH values stood at USD 2.150-2.200/tonne FOB NE Asia (iso-tank), according to ICIS.

Asian ECH prices have been locked in the USD 2.200-2.300/tonne range over the past three weeks, as high feedstock costs and the wild swings in upstream energy prices amid heightened concerns over another global recession have stalled trades.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- Dickten Masch Plastics (DMP) has acquired United Plastics Group's (UPG) Monterrey, Mexico manufacturing facility. DMP (Nashota, WI) will call the operation, which has a 105,000-sq-ft facility, DMP Monterrey, S. de R.L. de D.V. In a release, DMP said the acquisition from UPG (Oak Brook, IL) will enable it to support regional manufacturing operations that are "vital to the success of many of its customers" while expanding the company's reach into "key growth markets." UPG Monterrey is a ISO9002 registered facility with 40 injection molding machines ranging from 50 to 500 tons. The site also offers tool repair/maintenance, assembly operations, and program management.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- The world's largest processor of corrugated plastic pipe, Advanced Drainage Systems Inc., is adding to the string of pipe facilities it has built with a new one planned for Hampton, Iowa. The new facility is to be fully operational by the middle of next month.

The new facility will handle both pipe processing as well as serve as a distribution site for ADS so it can better serve customers in Northeast Iowa and Southern Minnesota. ADS is headquartered in Hilliard, OH.

The 45-year old company has built more than 50 plastics processing facilities and more than 20 distribution facilities in its history.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Iran has again warned CNPC - China's state-backed upstream exploration and production company - that if investment in phase 11 of the giant South Pars offshore gas field was not ramped up, the National Iranian Oil Company would take custody of the field.

"Ultimatums will certainly be given to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) if the delays in developing the phase 11 of South Pars continues," Ahmad Qalebani, Head of National Iranian Oil Co.(NIOC) was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Rostum Qasemi, recently appointed Oil Minister by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from the Revolutionary Guards, said last week that the Guard's engineering wing that he used to run, Khatam al-Anbia, should take over the running of the country's hydrocarbons resources and no foreign contractors were needed.

According to a Reuters report, the Guards, Khatam al-Anbia and Qasemi himself are all under sanctions imposed by countries, including the United States and the European Union, that accuse them of involvement in helping Iran develop nuclear technology transferable to weapons, which Tehran denies.

The offshore South Pars field, the world's largest reservoir of gas, contains about half of the estimated 28 trillion cubic metres of the country's gas reserves.

MRC

(Reuters) -- China's privately-run Dalian Fujia Petrochemical Co Ltd is operating its 700 KTa paraxylene plant normally despite a local government order on Sunday to close the plant due to a toxic spill scare, an industry source said on Monday.

Authorities in Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province ordered the Fujia plant to be shut down immediately on Sunday after thousands of local residents demonstrated, demanding the relocation of the factory at the centre of a toxic spill scare.

The plant, one of the country's leading importers of naphtha, is carrying on normal shipments of naphtha from regular suppliers such as Iran and Papua New Guinea, according to the source.

The Fujia plant, jointly owned by local government-backed Dalian Chemical Group and private real estate company Fujia Group, imports 100-120 KT of heavy naphtha a month, according to two trading sources.

MRC