US ethylene margins fall 15% on higher feed, lower spot prices

(ICIS) -- US ethylene margins continued to fall in the second week of September, dropping by 15% from a week earlier on lower spot prices and higher production costs, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.

Ethylene margins were at 26.88 cents/lb (USD 593/tonne, EUR 433/tonne) in the week ended 16 September, down from 31.61 cents/lb a week earlier, using ethane as a feedstock. The drop last week followed a nearly 4% average decline in ethylene spot prices, as the monomer traded at 57.25-60.00 cents/lb for September delivery, down from 60.00-62.00 cents/lb a week earlier.

Market sources continued to point to looser supply, citing a delay in a Dow Chemical cracker turnaround in Louisiana that originally was scheduled for October.

Dow was expected to shut down the 610 KTa cracker in St Charles on 10 October for 30 days, but sources said the company decided to push the shutdown back to January 2012 or possibly the first half of 2013.

MRC

(BASF) -- With immediate effect, or as contracts allow, BASF is increasing the sales prices globally for all engine coolants by up to EUR 300 (or the equivalent in other currencies) per metric ton. The price adjustments are necessary due to significantly increased raw material costs.


BASF is the world's leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. BASF posted sales of about EUR 63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year.

MRC

(Trend) -- The Vietnamese Petrovietnam Exploration & Production (PVEP) will begin drilling the first exploratory well on the Kosorsky investment unit in Uzbekistan's Ustyurt region in mid-2012, the National Holding Company (NHC) "Uzbekneftegaz" said.

The Vietnamese company is currently conducting a seismic survey on the Kosorsky unit. Results of field processing of the first seismic data showed high perspective for the unit, especially the Paleozoic sediments.

The information was provided at the Uzbekneftegaz leadership talks held last week with the Vietnamese government delegation, led by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Minister Le Zan Vin.

The sides appreciated the course of geological work in the Kosorsky investment unit, conducted as a joint project with PVEP.

Preparations for signing an agreement between "Uzbekneftegaz" and the Vietnamese company, under the investment project "Joint study of Paleozoic sediments in some parts of the Bukhara-Khiva region," were also discussed.

MRC

(PlasticsToday) -- Southwest Venture Plastics Inc. (El Paso, Texas) is adding a third injection molding cell to its full-service, ISO/TS-16949 certified facility. The custom thermoplastic injection molder, which opened its El Paso facility five years ago to serve a growing customer base in the area, stated that the new cell would help it meet the needs of long-term customers, new customers, and expansions within the marketplaces its serve. The company anticipates its new capacity to be fully online during the fourth quarter of 2011.

The El Paso subsidiary of Venture Plastics, which was founded and is headquartered in Ohio, now has injection molding machines ranging in clamp tonnage from 150 to 720 tons, with tooling and prototyping capabilities, in addition to finishing, decorating, and assembly functions, among others.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- India's state-owned BPCL plans to invest USD 400 mln for a 10% stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Mozambique, as well as invest USD 1.3 bln in a greenfield petrochemicals complex, adjacent to its Kochi refinery.

BPCL has earmarked a fourth of its Rs 40,000 crore capital expenditure for upstream projects. Out of this most will be invested for developing the offshore Rovuma Basin gas field in Mozambique. BPCL's diversification strategy comprises setting up a USD 1.3 bln petrochemicals complex in Kochi for which talks are underway with at least four international majors.

MRC