(chemmonitor) -- The Netherlandian company LyondellBasell intends to permanently suspend operations at two its manufacturing lines employed in polypropylene (PP) production.
The lines are situated in Wesseling (Germany). They are expected to be shut by July 2012. The facilities generate 0.09 million tonnes per year in total.
The closure is aimed at reduction of production costs. The manufacturer will be able to fully meet its purchasers' demand for the material despite the shutdown.
(chemmonitor) -- Several production units engaged in polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) production recommenced their activity at Al-Jubail (Saudi Arabia) last week. The facilities belong to SABIC, a domestic maker.
The plants were idle for 2 days on the back of the power outage at the locality.
The company does not estimate its production losses as large ones.
The accident affected also others PE and PP manufacturer running plants at the site. They were forced to suspend operations, as well.
(chemmonitor) -- The Japan-based Toyo Engineering , procurement and construction company will build a new unit producing caprolactam at Nanjing site (China) for the China-based DSM Nanjing Chemical Company, Ltd.
The expected capacity of the plant will reach 200,000 tonnes of product per year.
DNCC will invest about USD 300 million in the construction.
The project is forecast to be on stream approximately in the middle of the fiscal year of 2013.
The project will allow the Chinese company to become the major producer of caprolactam worldwide.
(acron) -- In 2011 Acron's total commercial output was up 4.9% year-on-year to 5,821,600 tonnes, record high for the company history.
In 2011 Acron's ammonia output increased 2.8% and nitrogen fertiliser output rose 7.3% year-on-year. Demand for all nitrogen fertilisers remained strong in 2011 which allowed Acron and Dorogobuzh to maintain maximum utilisation of their production facilities. The Group's nitrogen fertilisers are in great demand both in Russia and in Asia, North and Latin America.
In H1 2012 Acron intends to commission a new urea facility with the production capacity of 330,000 tonnes per year which will enable the Group to boost urea and UAN production already this year.
In 2011 the environment of the complex fertiliser world market remained favourable. Due to this, all production facilities of the Group operated at high utilisation level and raised output 6.5% in this segment, including 20% increase in the output of bulk blends.
The Group posted higher output of industrial products which went up 8.4% in this segment (1,011,400 tonnes).
Due to recovery of demand for low-density and technical-grade ammonium nitrate on the part of industrial consumers (mining companies), the Group's Russian facilities increased its output 37.2% year-on-year.
Given the recovery of the Russian wood processing industry, urea-formaldehyde resin output was up 12.4% to 176,500 tonnes.
MOSCOW (MRC) -- The capacity of the Russian PP market over the 2011 rose by 4% year on year and exceeded 810 thousand tonnes. Russian producers met the growing market demand having increased their production volumes and exports reduction, according to MRC ScanPlast.
The growth of the Russian PP market in 2011 slowed down. By the end of 2011, the calculated PP consumption in Russia had risen to 810.8 thousand tonnes, that was by 4% more year on year. According to MRC, in 2010, market capacity grew by 22%. Such a notable growth mostly resulted from a low comparison base of the crisis 2009 year. Before 2008 inclusive, the Russian PP market had grown on average by 18% per year. After the recession, the dynamics of growth slowed on average to 10% per year.
Last year local producers met growing demand for PP in the Russian market by increasing the output to 681.4 thousand tonnes. Export shipments of the Russian PP also increased from 41.8 thousand tonnes in 2010 to 63.8 thousand tonnes in 2011. Imports, on the contrary, decreased by 3% to 192.8 thousand tonnes. Last year the structure of PP consumption notably changed by grades.
Capacity of the Russian market of the homopolymer of propylene decreased by 2% and made 602.4 thousand tonnes. The main reduction in consumption fell at the producers of PP bags and flexible containers and BOPP films. In 2011, the market of impact copolymers of propylene increased by one third and made 133.3 thousand tonnes.
The main increase in consumption fell at producers of polypropylene by injection molding technology (production pallets, automotive components, closures, etc.). A small decline in consumption was seen in the sector of pipe and sheet extrusion.
Over the last year, the market of stat-copolymers increased by 9% though overall consumption increased by 7%. A moderate growth in demand for Random-copolymer of propylene was seen in the sector of injection molding and pipe extrusion. Increased demand for stat-copolymer for pipes production resulted from the growth of domestic production and imports. Growing demand in the sector of injection molding was mainly ensured by domestic production.
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