Petrochemical industry in Louisiana is greatly affected by Isaac hurricane

(hydrocarbon processing) -- Hurricane Isaac keeps spreading along the Louisiana coastline on Wednesday evening ( though it has weakened to a tropical storm), bringing high winds and flooding to a region loaded with downstream infrastructure. Isaac’s center of circulation is still near the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the initial weakening process will be gradual, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Those conditions are inflicting damage on the numerous hydrocarbon processing industry facilities in coastal Louisiana, informed earlier MRC. As of Wednesday, five refineries in Isaac’s path are shut down. Those sites have a combined output of 936,500 bpd, representing 12% of total Gulf Coast refining capacity. The five Louisiana refineries to shut down include the Phillips 66, Valero, Motiva, Placid Refining and ExxonMobil joint venture.

On the petrochemical side, major ethylene units believed to be down include Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil Chemical, and Williams cracker in Geismar (see MRC's article as of August 29). Dow has derivative plants in Taft for ethylene oxide, monoethylene glycol and polyethylene that are also believed to be down. ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge has also shut down its polyethylene, refinery-grade propylene and butadiene units.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European negotiations on the prices of PE for September are on the sidelines, waiting for the setting of ethylene prices. However, some market players have announced a significant increase in prices of polyethylene by EUR100-150/tonne, as per MRC analysts.

In recent months, amid the highly volatile oil prices the formation of monomer contract prices in Europe are deferred to the last day of the month. The contract price of ethylene in Europe for September has not been agreed yet. As a consequence, European makers do not hurry to form the prices of polyethylene.

The contract price of ethylene in Europe for delivery in August rose by EUR 140/tonne, from July, but due to the limited supply European producers could increase PE prices on average by EUR 200/tonne. Export prices of HDPE for CIS markets in August reached EUR 1,220 -1,300/tonne, FCA, the deals for the butene LLDPE were concluded at EUR 1,140-1,240/tonne, FCA.

This week the European producers said that the export quotas of polyethylene for the CIS markets in September will be also limited. The settlement of PE prices for September will be postponed to the next week. While some European makers have targeted to increase the September price of polyethylene by EUR 100-150/tonne, from August.

MRC

(DOW) -- Dow Chemical introduces new polyolefin-based technologies and brings next generation solutions to the market to help harness the power of the sun and turn it into cost-effective energy to help address the world’s growing needs.

ENLIGHT Polyolefin Back Encapsulant Composite Films use patent-pending technology and offer excellent electrical insulation properties, increased resistance to the effects of Potential Induced Degradation (PID) and extended module efficiency levels.

Dow has recently brought its next generation of ENLIGHT Polyolefin Encapsulant Films to market. These innovative encapsulants have been in very strong demand since their introduction in 2010 because they offer faster processing speeds with improved moisture resistance, excellent adhesion, extended electrical efficiency, excellent long-term weathering capabilities, and good optical transmission when compared with the more traditional EVA-based encapsulant films.
MRC

(plastech) -- Octal has announced that phase two in the expansion plan of its state-of-the-art PET complex in Salalah has been successfully completed within budget and on time.

Following the ramp-up period, full production is expected by August, fortifying the company’s ability to serve the North and South American markets’ dedicated capacity commitments. Phase two capacity takes total system output to 920,000 tons per year of PET bottle-grade resin.

OCTAL, based in the port city of Salalah, Oman, is the largest PET resin manufacturer in the Middle East and the largest integrated PET sheet manufacturer in the world. Company’s focus on PET responds to converging global trends of consumer lifestyles that increasingly demand convenience packaging and the industry’s growing need for environmentally friendly products and improved economics throughout the value chain.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Russian makers are going to get higher PVC prices for September shipments. Negotiations regarding contract September prices have just begun, but some market participants already report that one of the makers has raised the price by Rb2,000/tonnes, report MRC analysts.

On Tuesday negotiations on the level of Russian PVC contract prices for September shipments started in the Russian market. Expectedly, Russian makers plan to achieve an increase in prices for September shipments on the back of tightened PVC supply in the domestic market and price rise in the foreign markets.

Negotiations regarding September price-level have just started, but some market players report that SayanskKhimPlast has managed to get higher prices. The major Russian maker managed to get an increase in the contract price for September shipments on average by Rb2,000/tones from August on tightened PVC supply (there will be a turnaround at the plant since mid-September) and rising demand from local converters. Market participants believe that other Russian makers will come to an agreement regarding their contract prices till the end of the week.

In the foreign markets PVC prices keep growing. The most considerable price rise is expected in Europe. Some European producers have already announced a price rise of PVC for September shipments by EUR140/tonnes from August level (EUR750-810/tonnes, FCA).

However, the final price formation of European PVC is expected to take place only next week after the adjustment of ethylene prices. North-American PVC suppliers have increased prices for shipments in the second half of September by USD70-80/tonne from August level. Meantime, disruptions of delivery dates make two-three weeks at the moment. Chinese makers still keep their export prices in the range of USD880-920/tonne, DAP Dostyk. However, delays in PVC shipments make 20 days and more due to delays in railway wagons provision.
MRC