(Reuters) -- Japan's Tosoh Corp plans to bring to a halt, its sole naphtha cracker at the Yokkaichi plant. The shutdown is mandatory to conduct checks at the plant after identifying minor trouble with the unit. Restart of the unit post-investigation has not been specified, but could take about a week.
(plastemart) -- BASF SE and Astra Polymer Compounding Co., Ltd. based in Saudi Arabia, have agreed to cancel plans for a joint venture in the Middle East. The plans for JV were based on an agreement between Astra Polymer and Plastic Additives Business Unit of the former Ciba AG, which BASF acquired in 2009.
MRCMRC Reference
BASF. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PS - 9.1% (GPPS - 5.9%, ABS - 11.4%, EPS - 10.6%).
Annual sales growth in Russia over the 5 years:
PS - 15%.
Imports by polymers processing technologies:
foaming;
injection molding
(ICIS News) -- Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co (Petro Rabigh) plans to restart its polypropylene (PP) plant by end of week along with its fluid catalytic cracker (FCC). Earlier this week, an outage at its fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) created shortage of propylene that feeds Petro Rabigh's 700,000 tpa PP plant. Hence the PP plant also came down.
In addition to the propylene and PP facilities, Petro Rabigh's complex houses a 1.3 mlm tpa ethane cracker, a 300,000 tpa high density polyethylene (HDPE) line, a 600,000 tpa linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) line and a 700,000 tpa monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant.
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polyethylene consumption in extrusion coatings sector amounted 86 kt last year, which is two times more than year 2008 volumes - according to published MRC Annual report.
Last year wasn't the most lucky for polyethylene converters: sales decreased in five out of seven processing sectors. The "leaders" of sales decrease are pipe extrusion (-32%) and cable extrusion (-27%). Vice versa, in extrusion coatings sector polyethylene supply went up by 51%, and in blow moulding sector - by 5%.
Until 2007 inclusive, speed of polyethylene consumption growth in extrusion coatings sector was the highes(48% annually). In 2008 this sector, vice versa, showed the most serious fall (36%).
In 2009 market recovery is connected with the increase of steel pipes production. In this sector polyethylene sales went up by 64% (to 68 kt). Oil and gas projects, especially ESPO, ESPO-2 and Nord Stream
More detailed analysis of polyethylene processing capacities and consumption by sectors, markets, types of finished goods and converters is availamble in "Polyethylene in Russia - 2010" Annual report.
(prw) -- US-based Graham Packaging has signed a deal to buy blow moulder Liquid Container and its subsidiaries for $568m (┬431.1m).
Liquid Container has 14 blow moulding plants ≈ all in North America ≈ and expects to generate EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $72m (┬54.6m) on sales of almost $400m (┬303.4m) in 2010.
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