Europe olefins quiet ahead of 'critical' October contract discussions

(ICIS) -- There is limited activity on the spot European olefins - ethylene and propylene - markets ahead of the upcoming October monthly contract settlements, industry sources said on Friday.
Ethylene and propylene spot markets are traditionally slow during contract negotiations, as players like to wait and see the outcome before committing to volumes, but this time around there is not much optimism that normal activities will resume once the new contract numbers have been established.


Other sources said that even some speculation centring on a possible increase in the contracts, as producers push to improve margins that have been faltering on upstream volatility and a weak euro, had not resulted in any fresh interest.

The lack of visibility is weighing on sentiment and there are just too many concerns and worries over the global economic outlook, despite market participants stressing the need for calm. A drop in crude and naphtha prices on Thursday added to the uncertainties.

Expectations for the ethylene contract vary between a rollover and a small increase from September's contract price of EUR 1,115/tonne (USD 1,507/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe).

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(Trend) -- Italian state-controlled energy giant ENI said Monday it has resumed oil production in Libya months after the conflict in the North African country brought its operations to a halt. "Eni restarts production in 15 Libyan wells in Abu-Attifel, located at 300 kilometres south of Benghazi," the company said in a statement released in Milan, dpa reported.

Eni has been active in Libya since 1959, where it says it is the the largest foreign investor in terms of hydrocarbon production.

In recent years Italy had cultivated closer ties with its former colony, culminating in a 2008 friendship treaty signed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the then Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi.

However, in March Italy suspended the treaty and joined a NATO air campaign against Gaddafi's forces who had been accused of targeting civilians in their attempt to crush a rebel uprising.

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(Arabian oil and gas) -- Axens technologies were selected by Saudi Aramco for its Jazan Refinery and Terminal Project, the French firm said in a statement. The refinery, scheduled to be commissioned in December 2016, will have a capacity of 400,000 bpd. ⌠The units under Axens design include a naphtha hydrotreating for feedstock purification, Aromizing CCR reforming for aromatics production and C5/C6 isomerization unit to provide a high octane component for the gasoline pool, Axens said in a statement.

Axens also recently won the contract to provide Misan refinery in Iraq with basic engineering design and licensed technologies within the greenfield refinery development.

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(ICIS) -- Higher prices allowed South Korea's petrochemical exports in August to increase 36.5% year on year to USD 5.32bn (EUR 3.94bn), bolstering hopes that the value of monthly shipments will remain strong through end-2011 despite a weakening of global demand, analysts said on Monday.
The US, the world's biggest economy, is in a fragile state, while the eurozone is deeply embroiled in its debt troubles. Meanwhile, China - South Korea's main export market for petrochemicals - is beset with its own problems of reining in inflation, creating a credit crunch within the country.
Against the gloomy global economic backdrop, demand prospects for South Korea's exports do no look very promising.

South Korea's overall exports to the US in August fell by 5.9% in the first 20 days in August while total shipments to China rose by 16.5%, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE).

Total exports to the 27 countries of the EU rose 7% year on year in August, the MKE said.

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(ICIS) -- The outlook for the US economy for the rest of 2011 and 2012 has continued to weaken, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) said on Friday. Forecasters' expectations in several economic indicators have been lowered since last month, the ACC said in its weekly economic report. ⌠The economy is expected to rise by only 1.6% in 2011, down 0.1 percentage points from expectations last month, the ACC said. ⌠Consumer spending is expected to rise 2.1%, up 0.1 percentage points from last month.

Expectations have also been pared for light vehicle sales, housing starts, business investment and industrial production, the ACC said. For 2012, expectations have been reduced more drastically.
⌠The forecasters expect economic growth to average 2.1%, down 0.3 percentage points, the ACC said. ⌠The outlook for consumer spending is for a 2.0% gain in 2012, down slightly from last month.
Paul Hodges studies key influencers shaping the chemical industry in Chemicals and the Economy

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