Indorama completes PET resin assets acquisition in Indonesia

(WTiN Intelligence) -- Indorama Ventures (IVL) has completed the acquisition for the PET resin assets of PT. Polypet Karyapersada based in Cilegon, Indonesia, at a site with a capacity of 100,800 tonnes per annum.

IVL completed the acquisition through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PT. Indorama Polypet Indonesia on August 9, 2012. According to the company, the acquisition of the PET resin assets creates synergies, including lowering the cost of both plants, through shared services and logistic savings due to it being co-sited with its joint venture PTA plant, PT. Indorama Petrochemicals.
MRC

(canplastics) -- Citing increased depreciation costs, Canadian-based supplier Nova Chemicals Corporation reported USD189 million in profit in its second quarter, a fall-off of 16 per cent from USD225 million in the year-ago quarter.

Sales, however, edged up to USD1.42 billion from USD1.39 billion a year ago, the Calgary, Alta.-based company said in a news release.

"The modest declines were primarily due to an increase in depreciation expense and a decline in the mark-to-market values of our open feedstock derivatives, offset slightly during the six month period by higher margins in our Olefins/Polyolefins business unit," the company said.

In its performance styrenics business, which makes foam resins for construction materials, packaging and beverage containers, operating profit fell to USD1 million from USD2 million a year ago.

As MRC wrote before, Nova Chemicals has a series of growth projects of its own in development in Ontario Chemical Valley, including the possible construction of a new world-scale polyethylene plant in Sarnia-Lambton.
MRC

(polyestertime) -- Invista Performance Technologies has acquired from La Seda de Barcelona SA intellectual property relating to its leading purified terephthalic acid (PTA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and related process technologies, including the full rights to exclusively license the technologies in the region comprising Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In 2000, the ownership of intellectual property and licensing rights for this region transferred to a regional joint venture company established by Invista and La Seda predecessors. Until today, licensing has required collaboration between the two companies.

As a result of the acquisition, Invista Performance Technologies can now offer its customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa the same rapid, direct route to licensing that its customers in the rest of the world have always experienced.

INVISTA’s market-leading technologies are available as license packages from INVISTA Performance Technologies. Invista is one of the world’s largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications.
MRC

(news.szenergy) -- China’s petroleum and chemical industry is expected to grow at a slower pace this year, pulled down by the losses in oil refinery businesses and weakening raw material demand from export-oriented sectors, an industry federation said in GlobalTimes.

The industry’s total output is expected to reach 12.73 trillion yuan (USD2 trillion) in 2012, a 14.5% increase year-on-year, as per the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF). The sector saw growth of 31.5% year-on-year in 2011.

Profits are likely to rise to 860 billion yuan in 2012, up 5% from a year earlier. The industry is facing downward pressure, due to sluggish demand from export-oriented sectors such as textiles and toy manufacturing, as well as rising productioncosts, a growing tax burden and largescale losses in the refinery and natural gassectors, said Li Yongwu, chairman of CPCIF.

The refinery sector lost 16.6 billion yuan in the first five months of 2012, mainly due to high crude prices in the first quarter. However, Li said a recovery in the domestic economy will boost demand for petroleumand chemical products in the second half of this year. The sector is expected to have better performance in the third quarter, because of lower priced crude oil purchased in May and a potential rise in retail oil product prices," he said. Analysts expect China will raise fuel prices later this week following three consecutive cuts earlier this year.
MRC

(Plastemart) -- Buying activity in the Italian polymer markets has started to decline as players prepare to halt their operations for a summer holiday break. Many converters say that they will shut for at least two weeks starting from last Friday until the last week of August.

However, most PVC traders report good sales in August since buyers are forming stock inventories in anticipation of a hike in September prices.

PET producers are also satisfied with the current level of demand. Most converters are planning to shut only for a week, so demand is not expected to be entirely disrupted by the holidays.

In the PE market the situation is also stable with a keen demand for the material following good sales of July.

Meanwhile, PS and PP market players report an absence of demand in the market due to a surge in prices. Thus, distributors do not hope to get sales prior to mid August.
mrcplast.com