Jubail refinery to start in December 2013

(Arabian oil and gas) -- Saudi Aramco Total Refinery and Petrochemicals Company (Satorp) expects its new refinery at Jubail in Saudi Arabia to be fully operational in December 2013, the joint venture's chief executive said on Tuesday, according to a Reuters report. The USD 14 billion Jubail facility is part of the Kingdom's plan to almost double its refining capacity.

"Overall Engineering, Procurement and Construction work at the refinery is 68% complete," Fawwaz Nawwab, CEO of Satorp, told reporters in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Nawwab said that although the refinery was designed to process 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), Saudi Aramco had committed to supply it with up to 440,000 bpd.

MRC

(ICIS) -- India's polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices are expected to continue declining over the next few weeks as a result of weak demand, tightened monetary policy and macroeconomic uncertainty, industry sources said on Tuesday.

Prices in India fell to USD 1,030-1,070/tonne (EUR 762-792/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) India on 9 September, USD 70-90/tonne lower compared with prices two weeks ago, according to ICIS data.

Meanwhile, prices in China fell by USD 30/tonne from two weeks ago to USD 1,050-1,070/tonne CFR China Main Port (CMP) last Friday. In the Middle East, prices fell by USD 30-60/tonne to USD 1,030-1,060/tonne CFR Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)/ East Mediterranean.

Major Indian producer Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has adjusted its domestic list prices downwards by Indian rupees (Rs) 3/kg ($63/tonne) to mirror the decline in import price levels, market participants said.


MRC

(Trend) -- The oil and gas production volumes in Kazakhstan in 2011 are forecasted at 81 million tons in accordance with the oil and gas ministry's report, Economic Development and Trade Minister Kairat Kelimbetov said on Tuesday.

"The oil production volume in 2011 is expected to reach 81 million tons, with an increase of 1.9 percent compared to 2010," Kelimbetov said at a cabinet meeting dedicated to the socio-economic development of the country in 2011.

Given that the average world price of Brent actually reached USD 111.6 per barrel in January-August, then the forecast on world oil prices increased from USD 65 to USD 90 per barrel in 2011. "This level takes into account the risks of possible fall in prices by late 2011," he added.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- AT&T announced plans to introduce new plastic in AT&T-branded accessory packaging, which is composed of up to 30% plant-based materials sourced from ethanol harvested from natural sugarcane. Customers can expect to see the transition to the new packaging in stores and online starting October 2, 2011. The plastic will be used in packaging for AT&T-branded wireless accessories, which includes most device cases and power accessories.

MRC

(MRC) -- Russian companies keep on active investing in PVC processing equipment, despite a serious slowdown of polymer consumption this year, according to MRC DataScope.

Last year was quite successful for the Russian PVC converters. Following 2010 results, demand for suspension in the domestic market increased by 33% (compared to 24% fall in 2009) and made 877 KT. This growth in consumption was mainly due to increased investment in the construction sector in Russia, as well as unsatisfied deferred demand for finished goods in the preceding year.

Besides, cold winter in 2009-2010 boosted demand for energy-saving plastic windows. By estimates, about one third of dwelling-space in Russia got energy-saving windows. In comparison, Germany took about a quarter-century to saturate the market of translucent structures. Though, it is quite difficult to rate this data for Russia at the moment.

The leap in demand for PVC finished products motivated market participants to increase investment in expanding production. Following last year results, investments in PVC processing made about USD 60 mln, that was 4% more than in 2009, although it was 2.5 times less than investments in the peak 2007 year.

Profiles have been a key sector of PVC consumption in the Russian market for several years. In 2010, PVC consumption in the sector made nearly 700 KT. Profiles gain in 2010 made 162 KT, while in 2008 it was 423 KT.

Many market players are quite optimistic about the market prospects in 2011. Some of major converters of profiles forecasted 10-15% growth in PVC consumption. These expectations formed the investment programs. Over the first 7 months, the investments in PVC processing equipment exceeded USD 74 mln.

About one third of total investments expectedly fell at extrusion equipment for profiles production. Major investors are the leaders in the PVC Russian market: Profine, Veka, Narodny Plastic, Propleks, Exprof, STL Extrusion, Vitrazh. More than USD 14 mln was invested in PVC mixing equipment. Mixing unit is a concern for many companies to increase their loading rate of extrusion equipment. The leaders of this sector are Narodny Plastic, BFK-Extrusion, Vintek Plastic, Metal-Plast, Vec, Terna Polymer. Among the investments in PVC pipes and hoses production there should be mentioned Chemkor, Electro-Delta, DKS, MPT-Plastic, etc.

MRC