New PET plant in Oman on track for 2012 commissioning

(PlastEurope) -- Masqat-based Octal (Oman) says it is on target to commission its new PET hub in the sultanate's Salalah free zone in May 2012. The new plant will include two DPET production lines, with capacity for 263,000 t/y each, raising Octal's production capacity in Salalah to 927,000 t/y, "making it the largest in the world on site", the company says.


"Additional volumes of resin production will spur the growth of the packaging industry and will encourage markets to migrate from less efficient materials to PET as the preferred clear rigid polymer," said Octal chairman Sheikh Saad Suhail Bahwan.


A completely integrated facility, the Salalah PET hub was designed to yield the lower carbon footprint products, Octal says, adding that the plant uses 67% less electricity to manufacture DPET sheet and 38% less energy in the production of DPET resin. The facility is also able to recycle trim waste during the manufacturing process.


MRC

The accident at Stavrolen to affect the Russian market of PE and PP

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An accident at Stavrolen on Thursday brought to a halt its production of petrochemicals. There is no official data on the effects of the accident yet. If the production in Budyonnovsk stops for a long time, it can seriously affect the Russian market of polyethylene and polypropylene, according to MRC analysts.


On Thursday, 14.15 p.m., at the Stavrolen site in Budennovsk there was an explosion followed by a fire outbreak in the work room of gas distribution of ethylene. At the moment there is no official information about the causes and consequences of the explosion for the industrial complex.

Stavrolen plant (Lukoil group) is one of the largest Russian producers of petrochemical products. Capacity for the production of high-density polyethylene makes 300 thousand tonnes per year and production capacity for polypropylene -120 thousand tonnes per year.


The company is the second largest Russian producer of high-density polyethylene after Kazanorgsyntez, and the third by volume of PP production after Nizhnekamskneftechem and Tomskneftechem.


Over the 11 months, Stavrolen produced slightly more than 268 thousand tonnes of HDPE, export shipments, including the countries of the Common Customs Union, made a little more than 29 thousand tonnes. Production volume of polypropylene was about 116 thousand tonnes. The export shipments, including the countries members of the Uniform Customs Union, made more than 25 thousand tonnes.


MRC

Haldia Petrochemical to spin off Butene 1 venture

(Plastemart) -- Management of Haldia Petrochemicals plans to hive off the proposed Butene-1 extraction plant into a wholly-owned subsidiary, to insulate it from any logjam that HPL may get caught into due to the ongoing ownership dispute, as per The Hindu.
The board of directors, at its meeting on December 12, has okayed the financing of the project, which is expected to boost the company's profitability by Rs.80 crore annually.


Profitability of the 25,000 tpa capacity project stemmed from the fact that with this extraction plant it would be possible to sell a portion of the high-value commodity outside. As of now, it was being used sub-optimally to part feed the polyethylene plant.


MRC

GCC chem industry should work with govts to expand jobs

(ICIS) -- The chemical industry in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries could help drive job creation in the region by working closely together with its governments, a top industry official said on Thursday. ⌠Given the employment challenge, the need for labour-intensive industries is mounting, even if it entails a partial sacrifice of economic returns from the chemical producers, said Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, general secretary of the GPCA, speaking at the 6th GPCA forum in Dubai.


A large part of the population in the GCC states is under the age of 25 with their percentage of total population ranging from 28% in Qatar to 49% in Saudi Arabia. In the past ten years, the GCC as a whole created 7m job opportunities but only 2m jobs were taken by GCC nationals, according to Al-Sadoun.


⌠The industry's potential for job creation could be realized when GCC governments and regional chemical producers come together to successfully navigate [job creation] challenges, he said.


The extent to which they successfully overcome these challenges will have a direct impact on number of jobs created across the region, not just in the chemical industry but in conversion industries, which will be stimulated by production of new chemical products, Al-Sadoun said.


From the industry perspective, talent management and securing steady talent inflow to the market is key to long-term sustainable growth, he said. Access to diverse and skilled pools of technicians, engineers, managers and support staff is vital for successful industry expansion, according to Al-Sadoun.


The downstream chemicals industry provides greater employment opportunities than commodity chemicals and oil & gas exploration, said Andrew Monro, a partner and global head for petrochemicals at KPMG at the GPCA forum.


MRC

European producers of dioctyl phthalate turn down sales

(ICIS) -- European producers of dioctyl phthalate (DOP) are turning down sales to avoid negative margins, market sources said on Thursday. Prices in northwest Europe are at EUR1,280-1,340/tonne FD (free delivered), although some producers are reportedly declining bids below EUR1,350/tonne (USD1,753/tonne) FD. ⌠We are not selling any product below EUR1,350/tonne as there is no margin at these levels, said a northwest European producer.


Other local suppliers are currently selling material at EUR1,300/tonne FD NWE (northwest Europe) and above, and are reluctant to negotiate lower prices. ⌠If demand does not recover, production will be reduced accordingly, said one producer. However, cheaper material is being sold by eastern European producers, with offers in the high EUR1,200s/tonne FD NWE.


Several DOP producers in Europe supply 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) and phthalic anhydride (PA), while they purchase orthoxylene (OX) from third parties. One producer said: ⌠Each producer has a different production cost base, as they have access to raw material at different price levels."


Depressed conditions in DOP, which accounts for two-thirds of the low-phthalate market in Europe, are caused by a number of factors.


Firstly, the long-term negative sentiment caused by European environmental restrictions has led to a gradual shift of demand to Reach-friendly high-phthalate compounds such as di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and di-propyl heptyl phthalate (DPHP). Reach - the registration, evaluation and regulation of chemicals - is the EU chemical regulation programme.


Secondly, the downtrend has been exacerbated by depressed conditions in the downstream polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and construction sectors, in which activity remains far below pre-crisis levels.


Thirdly, fears of a double-dip recession have led producers of plasticisers to bring the annual destocking cycle forward, leading to an improvement in product availability and lower prices in alternative products such as DINP and DPHP.


Consumption is at a record low, with very few spot deals heard in the market and some producers struggling to find customers or secure contracts for January. Week-on-week decreases brought Europe's DOP spot values down to a 20-month record low two weeks ago. However, recent cuts in operating rates to 50-60% at some manufacturing sites have successfully stabilised prices.


MRC