Propylene spot values showed upward shift in Asia

(chemmonitor) -- The Asia market for propylene witnesses an uptrend of spot prices almost during the entire last week. The price upswing is explained to the lower availability of the material.

The supply shortfall resulted from a range of unplanned closures of cracker plants situated in the region. Capacity cuts implemented by Japanese and South Korean manufacturers also affected the market balance.

European market for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has initiated to show certain signs of improvement following a protracted stagnation period.

Last year market size remained at the level observed in 2010 due to the poor demand from the construction sector during last few years. Some participants were even confident in its reduction.
MRC

Sabic, Sinopec begin building USD1.7bn China PC plant

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- The joint venture between Sabic and Sinopec says that the planned new polycarbonate (PC) plant at its petrochemical complex in Tianjin city will cost USD1.7 billion. Sabic, which revealed the plan first in May last year, said the plant will be operational by 2015 and construction will start immediately.

Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or Sabic, the Middle East's largest listed company, said Tuesday its joint venture with China Petrochemical and Chemical Corp. (SNP), or Sinopec, to build a new polycarbonate plant at its petrochemical complex in Tianjin city will cost USD1.7 billion.

The new polycarbonate (PC) production complex with an annual production capacity of 260,000 tpy will be located at the Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Co., or SSTPC, complex in northern China's Tianjin city, Sabic said in an emailed statement.

Sabic, which revealed the plan first in May last year, said the plant will be operational by 2015 and construction will start immediately. Polycarbonate is a key plastic used for producing components for automotive parts and a variety of consumer products.

When the plant is fully operational, Sabic will become one of the world's largest producers of polycarbonate, significantly boosting Sabic's market share, the firm has said. The joint venture, which covers marketing, allows Sabic to supply polycarbonate as feedstock to the company's other plants in China and the Pacific region.

MRC

Total taps Foster Wheeler for hydrodesulfurization revamp at Belgium refinery

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Foster Wheeler has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) services contract by Total for the revamp of a hydrodesulfurization unit at Total's refinery in Antwerp, Belgium. The value will be included in the company's first-quarter 2012 bookings.

Foster Wheeler has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) services contract by Total for the revamp of a hydrodesulfurization unit at Total's refinery in Antwerp, Belgium.

Foster Wheeler has received a full notice to proceed on this contract, for which the contract value was not disclosed, according to the company.

The value of engineering and procurement services will be included in the company's first-quarter 2012 bookings.

Construction management services are expected to be included in the company's third-quarter 2012 bookings upon agreement of the full scope of the services to be provided by Foster Wheeler.

The revamp of the hydrodesulfurization unit should enable the refinery to produce jet fuel with a sulfur content below 30 parts per million (ppm), and diesel with a sulfur content below 10 ppm, in accordance with European Union requirements.

Foster Wheeler has already completed the front-end engineering design for this revamp. The revamp is expected to be mechanically complete by the end of July 2013.
MRC

BASF starts operations at new oxidised PE waxes plant in Germany

(basf) -- A new plant for the manufacture of oxidized polyethylene waxes went into operation at the BASF site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The plant manufactures high quality oxidized waxes according to BASF's own process. The new plant will improve the availability on oxidized polyethylene waxes now and in the future, for instance in plastics processing.

The new plant fits perfectly into the integrated supply network for raw materials and energy at BASF's Ludwigshafen site. The low-density polyethylene wax that forms the basis of the oxidized waxes comes directly from the site's own polymerization plants. ⌠As well as extending the capacity, we have also invested in modernizing the existing plant for polyethylene waxes, said Dr. Stefan Beckmann, Senior Vice President Home Care & Formulation Technologies Europe. ⌠Demand for high-quality waxes and oxidized waxes is growing world-wide due to the increased production and processing of plastics, said Dr. Beckmann. ⌠We will be able to satisfy this increasing demand when the new oxidation plant for waxes in Ludwigshafen goes into operation.

BASF supplies its high-quality waxes world-wide to markets with specialized demands. Waxes in the form of powder, fine powder, granules and pastilles are marketed under the Luwax brand, and liquid emulsions are available under the Poligen trademark.


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Russian Yamal to host three large petchem centers

(downstreamtoday) -- Three large petrochemical centres are planned to be formed on the basis of natural gas, which is produced in the Arctic zone of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, Academician Alexei Kontorovich said.

In his words, the Petroleum Geology and Geophysics Institute of the Siberian Branch (Russian Academy of Sciences) completed the analysis of the oil-and-gas bearing capacity of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area and the Kara Sea area. Under the research, the above-mentioned territories have got colossal reserves of wet gas, which may be widely used in the domestic petrochemical industry.

"This may become a new material and new technology for our petrochemical industry," Kontorovich said. "This sort of natural gas, wet gas, has a complicated composition of hydrocarbons. It is a promising raw material for the petrochemical sector."

"Russia's petroleum chemistry, like European, always has been focused on the processing of gasoline fractions. At the same time, the United State and Canada mainly refine wet gases, which is more profitable," the academician explained.
MRC