Chinese PVC industry suffered from government restrictions on properties

(Plastopedia) -- PVC industry was greatly concerned about China's economy seeing demand to double in 2009-2010.
Global Trade Information Services (GTIS) data shows that demand for the polymer surged from 10.9m tonnes in 2009 to 13.2m tonnes in 2010, before peaking out at 14.1m tonnes in 2011.

The reduced growth in 2011 reflected government's efforts to deal with the after-effects of the huge economic stimulus package introduced in late 2008 to combat the global economic crisis.

However, the move that hit PVC, a large percentage of which is consumed in the construction sector, the most was the central government imposing restrictions on the number of properties people could buy in around 40 cities and raising minimum down payments for homes.

The reason for the clampdown was that the cost of private housing, thanks to a speculative boom fueled by the stimulus package, had risen beyond the reach of the vast majority of China's population.

And because real estate accounts for around 10% of overall GDP, according to an official government estimate, the sector's slowdown is clearly bad news for chemical and polymers demand in general.
MRC

(plastemart) -- Asia's condensate demand is expected to double by 2016 as refiners and petrochemical makers build splitters to process an abundant supply of the super light crude into raw materials for making plastics and for producing better quality gasoline to feed demand.

South Korea, China and Singapore are building distillation units that cost less than one seventh of a typical refinery to process large volumes of condensate produced along with liquefied natural gas (LNG). By the time these facilities come online, condensate sales from top suppliers such as Qatar, also the world's biggest LNG exporter, are slated to fall as the nation feeds local demand that is expected to rise with more splitters coming up there. That will open the Asian market to condensate supplies from Russia and North America.
mrcplast.com

(polynews) -- Interplastic Corp. has bought polymer-based product technology from paint and coatings producer Valspar Corp. for an undisclosed price.

The deal includes technologies, formulations and processing data for two lines of polymer-based gel coats and one line of polymer-based coatings. The products are used in the marine industry and other markets.

Interplastic Corporation is a specialty chemical company with headquarters in St. Paul, Minnesota, the USA. Its thermoset resins division focuses on the production and distribution of unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins, gel coats, and colorants for the composites and cast polymer industries. Its molding products division is a leader in the production of sheet molding compounds and other thermoset molding materials.
MRC

(Plastopedia) -- Green Dot, a Kansas, USA based start-up, has launched a pioneering material specifically designed for customers looking for a soft plastic solution. Green Dot's GDH-B1 can offer a safe choice for soft plastic childrenplastics chemicals' toys. The new material was tested at NSF International for Children's Product Safety Testing for hazardous metals and proved to be in compliance with standards for the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg Businessweek had chosen Green Dot as one of America's Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs of 2012. The company was selected as a finalist from among a field of more than 300 applicants. Bloomberg, whose criteria included scope, impact, and economic sustainability, noted that the price of Green Dot's GDH-B1 cornstarch bioresin was competitive with similar materials that aren't biodegradable and that the company had already shipped nearly 70,000 units of its first product.

The company's revenue is expected to exceed USD1 million this year.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Large columns of smoke and flame billowed over Venezuela's largest crude refinery Sunday, as authorities looked to put out a fire caused by an explosion over the weekend that killed dozens in the country's deadliest oil industry accident.

Government officials on Sunday said the 640,000 bpd Amuay refinery can be restarted in two days once the blaze has been extinguished and the area deemed "secure."

But crews battling the fire, which broke out early Saturday following a likely gas leak explosion that killed 41 people and injured over 80 more, were dealt a setback by shifting winds overnight.

At least one official at the local oil industry union questioned the government's stance that the plant could resume operations in just a couple days.

The Amuay refinery, together with the facilities at Cardon and Bajo Grande, form part of the Paraguana Refining Center , the largest oil processing conglomerate in the world. The facility is part of the larger Paraguana complex, located in the northwestern coastal state of Falcon, with a total refining capacity of roughly 950,000 bpd.

Venezuela supplies about 13 percent of the daily oil and oil products imported into the United State, much of which is gasoline.
MRC