Europe December propylene fully agreed at ┬995/tonne

LONDON (ICIS)--The European December propylene contract price has been fully confirmed down by ┬18/tonne ($24/tonne) at ┬995/tonne on Wednesday, following second seller support.
The second settlement was reached between a second net producer and a third non-integrated buyer.
In addition, an integrated buyer said it has also followed the initial settlement with a supplier, although it was not able to disclose the name of the seller in question.
The initial propylene settlement was agreed early on Tuesday afternoon and was between two non-integrated buyers and the same net producer.
The December propylene agreement, which was concluded on a free delivered (FD) northwest Europe (NWE) basis, marks the first time that the European propylene contract price has moved back into three-digit territory since December 2010, according to ICIS price history. This follows 11 successive months of European propylene contract prices in four digits.
Some buyers said the ┬18/tonne fall was close to their original expectations of a reduction of around ┬20/tonne.
Some customers hoped for larger price reductions of ┬40-80/tonne to try to restore competitiveness with other regions, but this was not achievable in view of current feedstock costs and ailing cracker margins, and the decrease of ┬18/tonne was seen as more of a ⌠compromise, according to some buyers.


The Polymers Summit ICIS-MRC - 2011 has been held today, on Nov, 30 in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The main topics of the reports were devoted to the development of petrochemical market and the strategy in the market of base polymers as well as launching new polymer productions.

MRC

Russia polymers producers target imports substitution projects

MOSCOW (ICIS-MRC) -- Russia's major polymers producers have reiterated plans to launch import substitution projects in coming years, at the Russian Polymers Summit jointly held by ICIS and MRC in Moscow on Wednesday.

Sibur is prioritising increased production of polymers as a result of significant domestic market growth potential, as Russia still lags behind developed nations in terms of per capita polymer consumption, said Sibur president Dmitry Konov.

The company has ongoing projects to build new facilities to produce polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that will replace imports, Konov said in a televised message to the summit.
In 2013, Sibur aims to start operations at its new 500,000 tonne/year PP facility that is being built at the premises of its subsidiary Tobolsk-Neftekhim, said Sergey Komyshan, the head of Sibur's polymers department.

The construction of a new 330,000 tonne/year PVC plant at Kstovo in the Nizhny Novgorod region is due to be completed by mid-2013, Komyshan told the summit.
Russian oil major Lukoil is prioritising the development of its petrochemical arm, said Alexander Rappoport, Lukoil's head of petrochemicals.


Lukoil aims to build a major gas-chemical complex to produce polymers in the Stavropol region, relying on regional tax breaks, he told the summit.
The complex, designed to utilise natural gas from Lukoil's offshore Caspian gas fields, will include a gas processing plant and new polyethylene (PE)/PP production facilities in Budyennovsk, near Lukoil's existing PE/PP plant. Lukoil earlier estimated its cost at about $2.6bn (┬1.95bn).

MRC

Europe chem stocks fall as eurozone looks to IMF for debt crises help

LONDON (ICIS) -- European chemical stocks fell on Wednesday after eurozone finance ministers agreed that stronger support was needed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help tackle the zone's debt crisis.

At 10:16 GMT, the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Chemicals index was trading down by 0.40%, as shares in many of Europe's major chemical companies dropped slightly. Swiss specialties maker Clariant was trading down by 0.89%, while Germany's chemical major Bayer was down by 0.31%.

German specialty chemicals maker LANXESS was trading down by 1.09%, and France-based chemical major Arkema had fallen by 0.89%. Norwegian fertilizer major Yara International was trading down by 5.70%. Finance ministers from the 17-member eurozone met in Brussels on Tuesday to agree a plan for increasing the region's bailout fund and tackling the eurozone debt crisis.

However, investor confidence was hit as plans to increase the bailout fund to ┬1,000bn ($1,333bn) were said to be unlikely to be achieved, while ministers agreed that the IMF would need to play a bigger role in the debt crisis.
At 10:16 GMT, the UK's FTSE 100 was trading 0.31% down on its previous close. Germany's DAX was down by 0.70% and the CAC 40 in France was down by 1.10%.


The Polymers Summit ICIS-MRC - 2011 has started today, on Nov, 30 in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The main topics of the reports were devoted to the development of petrochemical market and the strategy in the market of base polymers as well as launching new polymer productions.


MRC

Dow Chemical, Saudi Aramco form Sadara JV

(marketwatch) -- Dow Chemical Co. said Monday that it has officially formed its joint venture Sadara Chemical Co., with state-giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, to build one of the world's largest chemicals plants in the oil-rich kingdom's Eastern Province on the Persian Gulf coast.

Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil company, and Dow Chemical signed last month a joint venture shareholders' agreement to build the complex in Jubail. First production units are expected to come on line in the second half of 2015, while all units are expected to be up and running in 2016.
Sadara will produce polyeurethanes, propylene oxide, propylene glycol, elastomers, linear low-density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, glycol ethers and amines.

Saudi Arabia is ploughing billions of dollars into developing its petrochemical industry in a bid to add value to its vast hydrocarbon resources and to create jobs for its young and growing population.
Last month, Abdulaziz Al Judaimi, Aramco's vice president responsible for chemicals, told reporters in Dammam that the joint venture will award all engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, contracts on its $20 billion petrochemical complex by the second quarter next year.

About 50% of the capital investment amount is already under contract and "the rest are being tendered. And the awards will be first quarter and second quarter of next year," Al Judaimi said.
The Sadara project represents Aramco's second major investment in a large-scale petrochemical complex in the kingdom, where it is already involved in a joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical Co.(4005.TO) at Rabigh on the Red Sea.


The Polymers Summit ICIS-MRC - 2011 has started today, on Nov, 30 in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The main topics of the reports were devoted to the development of petrochemical market and the strategy in the market of base polymers as well as launching new polymer productions.


MRC

Iran to export petrol from next March

(isna.ir)-- Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Alireza Zeighami said the country would start petrol export from next March.

"Iran is not exporting gas presently due to its local needs, but it only sells light and heavy naphtha since it is improving its reserves," he told ISNA.
He continued Iran exported two consignments of petrol from last March, but it has continued only exporting naphtha since then. "Now our petrol consumption exceeds our production, but petrol production will become more than its consumption by March and we will be able to export the product." Zeighami noted Iran is producing 60 million liters of petrol daily and the amount would hit 73 million liters by March 2012.

Iran is under 4 rounds of the UN Security Council resolutions over its refusal to halt peaceful enrichment work. Iran however insists its nuclear enrichment only aims to generate power and meet medical needs.
The sanctions mainly target Iran's energy and banking sectors as well as industrial domains. However Iran says that it has managed to bypass sanctions and obtain self-sufficiency in the domain of petrol production.


The Polymers Summit ICIS-MRC - 2011 has started today, on Nov, 30 in the Ritz-Carlton Moscow. The main topics of the reports were devoted to the development of petrochemical market and the strategy in the market of base polymers as well as launching new polymer productions.


MRC