Europe PP users concerned about purchases from Asia

(chemmonitor) -- Asia-based polypropylene (PP) sellers do not seem to actively trade with Europe users. This is due to constant fluctuations observed in the market for oil.

Europe values adopted an uptrend this year on the back of rising costs for raw materials as well as the consumption growth. They increased by approximately one third from the end-2011 level.

Asia prices also moved higher in the existing month, following a series of decreases a month ago.
MRC

Oil industry workers are the subject of oil duty readjustment

(vedomosti) -- Since the New Year, officials in the calculation of the oil duty stopped referring to the data from Platts and Argus, and began using the Reuters's data. Oil workers will have put out approximately USD400 million by the end of the year for this change.

Starting this year, Ministry of Economic Development must publish the price of oil Urals regularly, which is necessary for calculation of the export duty. Earlier in the official monitoring, there were used the data from agencies Platts and Argus, said a representative of Ministry of Economic Development. But the terms of the contracts with these agencies do not allow to publish the data on the Ministry website, explains the expert of the Ministry of Finance, Alexander Sakovich. So, since January, Ministry of Economic Development switched to the indices of Reuters.

Each agency has got its own method of calculation, Sakowich said: Argus's calculations are based on the spot deals per day, Platts also takes into account futures. Reuters's index deals with the value of closing trading session, which can be checked in Bloomberg. When volatility of the quotations is not significant, the difference in the data of Platts, Argus and Reuters is also small, says an analyst of Nomos Bank, Denis Borisov, but the differences used to increase when prices hike.


None of the three agencies gave comments to "Vedomosti".
Now the indices differ by more than $1, as per Sakovich calculations: the average value of Reuters last month made $123,3 per barrel, the Argus's - $122,7, the Platts's - $121,98. The April duty on the basis of these data was also different: Reuters - $460,6 per 1 tonne, compared with average Platts and Argus, which would be less by $2.6 and make $458.

If oil exports remain at the level of 17-18 million tonnes per month (in January, it was 17.8 million tonnes, in February - 16.2 million tonnes), an additional $2.6 from 1tonne will result in an increase of the tax burden by $45 million per month, Borisov has calculated. From April to December it will make about $400 million, which can be divided among companies as follows: "Rosneft"-$110 million, TNK-BP-$60 million, "Surgutneftegas"-$50 million, "Lukoil"-$45 million, "Tatneft"-$30 million, "Gazprom oil"-$25 million, others-$80 million.

Representatives of TNK-BP and "Lukoil" refused to comment, the rest are not available.
The switching to Reuters's data will cost about 7% of the tax savings that oil workers received from the transition to a system of taxation "60-66" (60% - the maximum coefficient in the formula for calculating duty on oil exports, 66%- a single rate of duty on the export of dark and light oil.)


MRC

Quantum Kapital AG to acquire BASF's offset printing inks business in Maastricht

(basf) -- Quantum Kapital AG, headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland, plans to acquire BASF's offset printing inks business (IMEX) in Maastricht, Netherlands.

Quantum is a financial investor specialized in the acquisition and the successful development of non-strategic businesses of large companies. The sale covers all BASF's offset printing inks activities and includes the transfer of all BASF employees in Maastricht dedicated to the business. Currently 57 employees are working for the IMEX business of BASF. Quantum plans to continue the IMEX business at the Maastricht site. Legal closing of the transaction will be in the third quarter of 2012. The profitable IMEX business is expected to total sales of about 60 million Euro in 2012 and is an important supplier of heat set printing inks worldwide. The partners agreed not to reveal the purchasing price .

BASF sold its printing inks and printing plates business in 2004. The IMEX business was part of BASF's acquisition of former Ciba in 2009. At the Maastricht site BASF currently produces offset printing inks and pigment preparations for the plastics industry. The pigment preparations activities will be continued. Overall, through process and site optimization measures, BASF plans to decrease the number of the remaining positions at the Maastricht site from 92 to 73 by end of 2013. Some BASF employees affected by the planned restructuring will be offered a transfer to the IMEX business, and thus subsequently transfer to Quantum.

MRC

Russia's Gazprom sells 80% stake in unused Baltic LNG site to Sibur petrochemical group

(chemnet) -- Russian gas giant Gazprom has sold its 80% holding in the Baltic LNG project to the Sibur petrochemical group, Baltic LNG general director Alexander Krasnenkov said in an interview published in Gazprom's corporate magazine Wednesday.

Sibur is in talks to acquire the remaining 20% in the project from Russia's largest shipper, Sovcomflot, Krasnenkov added.

The petrochemical company plans to use Baltic LNG's 120 hectare property to build a methanol plant, he said, reiterating a statement made in March 2011 to Gazprom's corporate publication. "Other companies may join the methanol plant project," Kransenkov added, providing no further details.

Gazprom abandoned plans to build the Baltic LNG plant in February 2008.

Initially, Gazprom had planned to build a 5.0-7.2 million mt/year LNG plant near the Primorsk port on the Baltic coast, "but the project didn't seem effective enough to Gazprom, so the decision was made to reject it in favor of Shtokman," Krasnenkov said in March 2011, referring to the giant gas project in the Barents Sea.


MRC

Luxi Chemical to set up caprolactam plant

(Fibre2fashion) -- Luxi Chemical will instead of setting up a organic silicon project as announced earlier, will
now set up a 200,000 tons per annum caprolactam (CPL) plant.

In a filing, Luxi announced plans to terminate the second phase of an organic silicon project, and will instead
spend 1.2 billion Yuan raised through an Initial Public Offer (IPO) on a CPL plant.

Luxi will spend around 2.5 billion Yuan on setting up the CPL unit and expects the plant to generate around 4
billion Yuan in annual revenue.

MRC