In Japan ethylene production in 2011 fell 4.7%

(Mainichi Daily News) -- Domestic production of ethylene, a key material for various petrochemical products, in 2011 fell 4.7 percent from the previous year to 6.69 million tons, falling below the 6.88 million tons marked in 2008 when the so-called Lehman Shock affected production, an industry body said Thursday.

The drop was attributed to stagnant demand from China, Japan's major export market for ethylene, in the latter half of 2011 due to the tightening of monetary policy in the country and the European debt crisis, according to the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association.

Kyohei Takahashi, the chairman of the association, said the industry is facing "an extremely severe environment" as "Japan's petrochemical industry depends on exports to China to maintain its operating rate."

Disrupted vehicle production following massive flooding in Thailand also affected ethylene output as automakers are major users of the compound, the association said.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In 2011, Russian producers increased output of polypropylene (PP) by 9% to 681.4 thousand tonnes. The increase in production was achieved, due to reduced duration of scheduled turnaround at some production sites and exceeding of the rated capacity utilization, according to MRC ScanPlast.

In December, Russian producers reduced PP output to 55.4 thousand tonnes. This happened due to the accident at Stavrolen, which occurred on December 15 and resulted in the shutdown of the whole production complex of PP and PE. Over the first half of this month, the company was able to produced 5.83 tonnes of PP. Other Russian producers increased their output last month.

In general, following the results of 2011, total PP production in Russia made about 681.4 thousand tonnes, which was more by 9% year on year. The greatest increase in production capacity was seen at Neftekhimia with the output more than 114 thousand tonnes. A year earlier this figure made 96.9 thousand tonnes. Such a serious increase in production was achieved by shortening of the turnaround to one week.

In 2011, Nizhnekamskneftekhim increased PP production to 210.4 thousand tonnes, Tomskneftekhim - to 128.7 thousand tonnes, Ufaorgsyntez - to 106.2 thousand tonnes. Stavrolen increased PP production to 122 thousand tonnes, due to the reduced turnaround duration.

In 2011, the share of homopolymers of propylene in the total production decreased to 81%, whereas in 2010 it made nearly 85%. Total production of impact copolymers of propylene increased by 35% to 101 thousand tonnes. The main growth of production volumes was demonstrated by Nizhnekamskneftekhim. The output of stat-propylene copolymers increased by 16% and reached 25.6 thousand tonnes. Tomskneftekhim showed the main production increase due to increased production of pipe random-copolymer of propylene.


MRC

(ir.stockpr) -- Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc., an independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products in China, today announced that one of its production lines for Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene ("SBS") has commenced commercial production after successful trial production and testing in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The Company began construction of its new 70,000 ton SBS production facility in September 2010 and completed construction in September 2011. After several trials and adjustments, one SBS production line began commercial production in December 2011. The Company produced and sold approximately 2,733 MT and 2,623 MT of SBS in the fourth quarter, respectively.

"We are pleased with the initial results from our new SBS production lines," said Mr. Chunfeng Tao, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Keyuan Petrochemicals Inc. "We have shipped products to 20 customers and are in active discussions with several more. With solid demand for SBS in China and abroad, we expect to quickly ramp production and sales throughout this year."

MRC

(plasticsinfomart) -- Vehicle interior systems supplier Faurecia (Nanterre, France) and Korea's LG Hausys (Seoul), a world leader in the development and production of specialty decoration materials and films for the housing, electronic and automotive industries, have signed a strategic partnership to jointly develop next-generation vehicle interior decoration films.

Through this partnership, Faurecia Interior Systems will expand its product and technology offerings to include decoration films, enabling it to cover a broad range of interior decoration solutions, including paint, real metal, fibers, wood and finally films. This partnership is aimed at offering to automakers the highest perceived quality complete portfolio of film decoration products and processes.

MRC

(plasticsinfomart) -- ABS sentiment is bullish in both Italy and Turkey as stronger global trends and steadily rising feedstock costs are pushing prices higher in spite of buyers' resistance to firmer offer levels as per the pricing service of ChemOrbis. Buyers in both countries are bracing for further price hike announcements for February as feedstock prices have recorded sharp increases over the month and producers are struggling to achieve acceptable operating margins.

Players in Turkey reported that the country's ABS market was quiet over the past week as many sellers had already finished their January sales and most producers have yet to nominate their February prices.

⌠We believe that ABS prices will record significant increases next month, reported a trader based in Turkey. ⌠Upstream costs are putting strong upward pressure on prices.

However, demand is not all that great and will limit the size of next month's increases as buyers will most likely show resistance to sellers' initial price levels, the trader added.

A similar trend is also in place in Italy, where significant price increases are said to be passing for January even though demand is not said to be very encouraging. ⌠We had pre-bought some material in late December and have therefore been in no hurry to purchase this month, a trader reported. ⌠European sellers are seeking large price increases for this month which may pass as non-European import prices are not very competitive, the trader added.

MRC