Polymers in Asia fall in price

MOSCOW (ICIS - MRC) - Despite the ongoing growth of feedstock, the prices of large volume polymers in Asia last week did not change. The prices in the market of polyethylene, polystyrene and PET even slightly declined, according to MRC analysts.

Due to the weak demand price quotations of polyethylene in Asia did not change, despite a further rise in the price of ethylene. Buying interest in imported materials is very low due to the sufficient supply and lower prices from domestic producers. There were offers for re-export of LDPE and LLDPE from China. The prices of these grades of polyethylene last week declined on average by USD20-30/tonne. LDPE and LLDPE were offered on average for USD1,430/tonne, CFR, and USD1,390/tonne, CFR, respectively.

Prices of polypropylene last week in Asia did not change. The demand for imported material from Chinese companies is still low because of the sufficient supply and lower prices in the domestic market. Amid the weak demand in China there were the offers of polypropylene re-export. The prices stayed at USD 1,500/tonne, CFR.

The prices of PVC in the Asian market last week did not change due to low buying activity and national holidays. Price quotations were still in the range of USD1,040-1,070/tonne, CFR. Most market participants suspended their purchases in anticipation of prices for May shipment, which should be announced this week.

The price of the Asian polystyrene decreased resulting from a weak demand for the material. The activity in the market over the last week reduced due to the celebration of the traditional Qingming festival in Northeast Asia. The low demand for polystyrene from European and U.S. consumers make producers lower price quotation. On the back of the decrease in price quotations of polystyrene Asian companies do not hurry to increase the purchases of the material. The prices of general purpose polystyrene decreased to USD1,580-1,620/tonne CFR China, and high-impact polystyrene was at USD1,800-1,830/tonne CFR China.

He prices of bottle PET in Asia continue to decline. Chinese and Korean producers reduced the prices by USD5-10/tonne. Deals were settled at USD1,505-1,530/tonne FOB. Market players reported that the buying activity was weak. Many producers said that shipments were limited and did not exceed 100-300 tonnes. Many producers held back from contracting large volumes waiting for PET prices to slide down further.

MRC

(chemmonitor) -- Uralkali, a Russia-headquartered company, has recently disclosed results of its production performance from January 2012 through March 2012. The announcement concerned the making of potassium chloride.

The company itself produced around 2 million tones tonnes, while the output of Silvinit's assets reached 0.7 million tonnes.

The firm generated 1.2 million tonnes of the product in Q1 of the previous year.
MRC

(polyestertime) -- Nestle Waters claims that a novel silica dioxide coating added to San Pellegrino PET water bottles
will cut their weight, increase their carbon retention and increase their shelf-life by three months.

Nestle Waters said it was the first global water brand to use the coating technology, which delivers a weight reduction of up to 17% without changing the bottle shape or colour, and has been approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

A Nestle Waters spokeswoman told BeverageDaily.com that the technology "allowed for a better capacity of carbonation retention and extended product shelf-life from the current 12 month period to 15 months. "The PET bottles treated with the coating guarantee indeed a perfect carbonation of the water, despite temperature changes during transport, time elapsed from the filling of the bottles up to their consumption, and finally, weather differences between destination countries," she added.

The technological advance led Nestle Waters to install two new coating machines within its 500ml bottle
production lines located at the San Pellegrino Terme Plant, in Bergamo, Italy.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Royal Dutch Shell is considering building a giant plant in Louisiana that would convert natural gas into diesel fuel, several people familiar with the company's plans said. The Anglo-Dutch company is expected to take up to two years to develop detailed engineering plans to determine if the plant is economically viable.

Royal Dutch Shell is considering building a giant plant in Louisiana that would convert natural gas into diesel fuel, several people familiar with the company's plans said.

The plant, which could cost more than USD10 billion, would be similar in size to Shell's Pearl gas-to-liquids facility in the Mideast nation of Qatar, the people said.

Pearl, which went into operation last June, turns natural gas into enough diesel to fill more than 160,000 cars a day.

Shell declined to comment on its plans. The Anglo-Dutch company is expected to take up to two years to develop detailed engineering plans to determine if the plant is economically viable before submitting the project for approval by the company's board.

Shell's plans are the latest sign that companies are seeking new ways to exploit extensive natural-gas discoveries in the US.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- The performance products division of US chemical producer Huntsman plans to add 250 million lb/year (about 113,000 tpy) of ethylene oxide (EO) capacity at its manufacturing plant in Port Neches, Texas. Huntsman already has 1 billion lb/year of annual capacity at the Port Neches facility.

The performance products division of US chemical producer Huntsman plans to add 250 million lb/year (about 113,000 tpy) of ethylene oxide (EO) capacity at its manufacturing plant in Port Neches, Texas, the company announced late Thursday.

The new capacity will be added to Huntsman's existing 1 billion lb/year of annual capacity at the plant, the company said. The expansion of EO capacity at Port Neches will leverage Huntsman's integrated EO derivatives production currently in place at the site to produce surfactants, ethanolamines, specialty chemicals and ethylene glycol (EG).

⌠The expansion of our ethylene oxide capacity enables Huntsman to leverage the favorable North American ethane cost position, which will benefit our intermediate chemicals and has an attractive projected return on investment, said Stu Monteith, president of Huntsman Performance Products.

Janice Latz, vice president of operations for performance products, said the company's new EO capacity should help allay customer concerns about having access to sufficient EO to support their growth.

⌠The Port Neches EO reactor will enable us to utilize currently untapped derivative capacity within our assets and meet future needs to match our customers' growth, she said.
MRC