US October contract prices for SBR down 24 cents/lb

(ICIS) -- US October contract prices for styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) were assessed on Wednesday down 24 cents/lb ($529/tonne, ┬391/tonne) from September on lower feedstock costs and demand. ICIS assessed October contract prices for non-oil grade 1502 at 154-161 cents/lb, while oil-extended grade 1702 prices were at 132-140 cents/lb.

Spot prices were also assessed down. The spot prices are now 15 cents/lb lower as feedstock costs and demand have driven down prices. Spot prices were assessed at 145-160 cents/lb for non-oil grade 1502 and 130-140 for oil-extended grade 1702.

October contract prices, which trail a month behind the calendar, fell because feedstocks costs for butadiene (BD) and styrene dropped.

BD contract prices were 30 cents/lb lower in October than September, while styrene contract prices decreased an average of 7.5 cents/lb. The October SBR contract price drop was the second consecutive monthly decrease.


Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Inc. and Penda Corp. shared the stage in Livonia, Mich. at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards Gala with Chrysler Group LLC, winning the "Most Innovative Use of Plastics" award in the Body Exterior category for the Dodge RamBox assembly. The RamBox storage system sports the industry's largest twin-sheet thermoformed lid and is also the largest, most versatile, lockable, waterproof storage and cargo management system available in a pickup truck. Now in its 41st year, the SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition & Gala is the largest and oldest recognition event in the automotive and plastics industries.


Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(PlastEurope) -- Gazprom subsidiary interested in takeover / Production cuts continue in November
Even before the sales process for the government-owned stake of petrochemicals group Oltchim officially began, Romanian Economics Minister Ion Ariton was holding talks with a Russian delegation. According to a report from Bucharest, the managers of utilities company Tise (Moscow) "are interested in a takeover and in continuing the business". Ariton pointed to the invitation to tender which was about to be opened, saying that Tise could participate. The government wants to complete the sale of the 54.8% share package by the end of April 2012.

Tise was founded in 2003 by several Russian companies, including Tehnopromexport, Zarubejneft and Zarubejneftegaz. At least the latter is a wholly owned subsidiary of oil and gas giant Gazprom.

In the meantime, General Director Constantin Roibu has once again decreed technical unemployment due to a lack of working capital and a shortage of raw materials. As a result, 1,000 employees will stay at home from 15-30 November - with 80% remuneration.

Over the first nine months, although Oltchim managed to lift sales by 38% to a good EUR 296m, the net loss of EUR 41m is comparable with the figure for the same period last year.


Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(MRC) -- In October, total imports of linear polyethylene (LLDPE) to the Russian market exceeded 13,000 tonnes. Year-to-date supply of polyethylene from foreign markets grew by 29% and exceeded 116,500 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

The growth of LLDPE imports to the Russian market resulted from the increased demand and limited production capacities of Russian producers. Last month, the total import volume of LLDPE made 13,100 tonnes. The main growth in the deliveries fell at the sectors of films and products made by rotational molding.


In general, over the ten months, the imports of LLDPE to Russia exceeded 116,500 tonnes, that was by 29% more year on year. About 85% of imports of LLDPE is film material. This year, the sector shows a relatively high growth in consumption - 37%. Such a significant increase in imports of film LLDPE was due to the growth of consumption and reduction of PE production in Russia.


The production of stretch films is the most dynamically developing sector. In 2011, the largest investment in the production of stretch films fell at the Russian companies: Regent-Stretch (cast-line of SML Maschinengesellschaft) and KiN (cast-line of Dolchi Extrusion). This year demand for LLDPE for production of volume products by method of rotational molding neraly doubled. Hot sumer last year was one of the reason for increased demand for polyethylene in this sector.


Over the ten months, the total volume of LLDPE imports for the production by rotational molding made about 8,000 tonnes. This year the investment to this sector came from ZTE Akpol (Adygea), Parus Estate (Vladimir), Anion (Moscow) and others.


In November, import of LLDPE to Russia is expected to decline under the pressure of a seasonal factor as well as resumied PE production at Nizhnekamskneftechem. Also it should be noted that some Middle Eastern producers limited export quotations for LLDPE for production of stretch films by injection molding.


Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Iran's Pars Phenol is planning a new ethylene glycol (EG) project at Assaluyeh, a company official said on Monday. The nameplate capacity of the EG plant is 550,000 tonnes/year and the total investment for the project is around $400m-450m (┬288m-324m), said the official. ⌠Financing [for the project] is about to be finalised. We plan to put the line into production in 2015, he said. He added that construction work will start within 12 months from now and the project will take around three years to complete.

⌠The new plant will produce monoethylene glycol [MEG], diethylene glycol [DEG] and triethylene glycol [TEG], the source said, although he did not reveal the yield ratio of the three products.
Feedstock ethylene will be sourced from National Petrochemical Co (NPC) of Iran's Assaluyeh plants, he said.

Pars Phenol is the only producer in the Middle East that has secured feedstock for its new EG project. Other Middle East majors, such as SABIC, will use feedstock from within the region as well but have suspended their MEG expansion plans because they cannot find more feedstock supply sources.

Perspectives of development of polymer markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit will be organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.

MRC