Sinopec and a Taiwan consortium to build a petrochemical complex in Fujian

(Plastemart) -- Sinopec Group, the Fujian provincial government and a Taiwan consortium have signed a framework agreement to build a US$4.5 bln petrochemical complex in Fujian, as per Reuters. The complex, to be located in Gulei of Zhangzhou city, has been initially designed to have crude refining capacity of 16 mln tps (320,000 bpd) and ethylene production capacity of 1.2 mln tpa. The project needs government approval. If approved, the project would be the largest investment by Taiwan in the oil sector in mainland China. It would also be the third major refinery in Fujian province after a 240,000 bpd joint venture by Sinopec, Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil and a 240,000 bpd refinery planned by China's Sinochem Corp.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Initial US ethylene settlements for August were agreed at 55.50 cents/lb (USD 1,224/tonne, EUR 857/tonne), down by 1.25 cents/lb from July, market sources said on Thursday.
The 2.2% reduction resulted from a drop in production costs last month, which offset an increase in average ethylene spot prices.

July ethylene settled at 56.75 cents/lb, as assessed by ICIS.The initial drop for August surprised some market participants, who had expected a smaller decline for the month. A larger drop was needed to keep US ethylene derivatives competitive in the export market, a source said.

US ethylene contracts usually settle at the beginning of the month for the previous month.
Spot ethylene for September traded on Thursday at 63.50 cents/lb, flat with a deal on Wednesday.
Major US ethylene producers include Chevron Phillips Chemical, ExxonMobil, INEOS, LyondellBasell and Shell Chemicals.

MRC

(ICIS) -- European butadiene (BD) and crude C4 (CC4) spot prices have registered sharp decreases over the past week as availability in the market lengthens while demand slows further, players said on Friday.

Domestic inland BD spot prices slid by EUR 50-75/tonne (USD 71-107/tonne) to trade at EUR 2,350-2,400/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), while export values also lost a further USD 50/tonne, leaving prices at USD 3,500-3,550/tonne FOB (free on board) according to data from ICIS. The CC4 spot factor also slipped to 1.45-1.48 times naphtha from the 1.65 recorded just three weeks ago.

Many players said that the length in the market had initially appeared over the traditionally slower summer holiday season, as although demand had dwindled, cracker margins remained strong making producers reluctant to cut back operating rates.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asia's benzene and toluene prices are expected to slide from October on the back of increased supply after a turnaround season and slower demand from downstream sectors, traders and producers said on Friday.

Prices of benzene were steady on Friday morning at USD 1,150-1,155/tonne (EUR 805.00-808.50/tonne) FOB (free on board) Korea, while toluene prices were unchanged from Thursday at $1,130-1,140/tonne FOB Korea, according to ICIS data.

Benzene prices in Asia could soften from October when demand from the styrene monomer (SM) sector is expected to decline as the seasonal peak production period comes to an end, said traders.
Benzene supply, which is tight at present, is expected to mount from October following the end of turnarounds at GS Caltex's No 1 aromatics and JX Nippon Oil's Mizushima-based facilities, traders said.

MRC

(MRC) -- Long-run declining LDPE prices began growing unexpectedly for many Russian market players. Volatility of PE supplies, which caused these changes, may lead to further price increase, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

In June on the back of excess LDPE supplies to the Russian market, LDPE prices gradually went down. Demand for finished films this summer did not meet market players' expectations. Last year record hot summer provided a significantly high consumption of finished films in many sectors, such as shrink films.

Low demand for LDPE, as a result of low demand for finished films, as well as an excess PE supplies in the Russian market in mid-August resulted in decrease of 158 LDPE prices to RUB 54.500-57.500/t, including VAT, CPT Moscow.

Scheduled shutdowns of Tomskneftechem in July-August and Ufaorgsyntez in late August resulted in reduction of LDPE excess in Russia. However, the main driver in the current price rise was ethylene shortage at Kazanorgsyntez which affected reduction of LDPE supplies to the domestic market in late August.

MRC