Protests halt construction Sinopec PX plant

(online.wsj) -- China's Zhenhai district government said Sunday it had halted construction of a paraxylene plant in Ningbo planned by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, amid growing environmental concerns.

The government said that it would conduct additional research on the project. The PX plant with a capacity 1.6 million mt/year was scheduled to come on stream in 2014.

Ningbo officials said late Sunday that plans to expand a refining and petrochemicals facility run by a unit of state-controlled oil-and-natural gas giant China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, would be suspended pending further review. In addition, the government said it would scrap a portion of the facility designed to produce the industrial chemical paraxylene, which local residents feared could be damaging to their health and the environment.

Sinopec didn't respond to a request for comment. The facility is already one of the country's largest, with a capacity of about 23 million tons of crude per year. An earlier Sinopec news release said the company would invest 55.9 billion yuan (USD8.9 billion) in the plant's expansion.

Chinese and foreign companies have worked in recent years to ramp up production of petrochemicals, needed to produce everything from plastics and cleaning solvents and textiles. However, growing concern over potential health risks associated with these projects, as well as their proximity to population centers, threatens to further slow expansion efforts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MRC news digest as of 29.10.12.

1. In January-September imports of polyethylene to Ukraine increased by 5%.

In September, the imports of polyethylene (PE) to the Ukrainian market decreased by 27% to 22,500 tonnes due to the limited supply from the foreign markets. Over the nine months of this year, the imports of PE to Ukraine increased by 5% to 236,000 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast. The reduction of external supplies of polyethylene in September was due to the limited export quotas of HDPE in Europe and Russia, as well as large volumes of purchases of LDPE in August. The demand for polyethylene is unlikely to increase in the local market before the end of this year due to the difficulties with getting credits from banks.

2. PET imports to Russia slashed in September by 11%.

In September, PET import to the Russian domestic market dropped by 11% from August and made about 10,000 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope. The decline in imports in September is no surprise. Traditionally, PET-preform makers reduce purchases of granulate from abroad following the end of the season. It is worth mentioning that September PET import volumes almost did not change year-on-year. Domestic companies purchased 9,200 tonnes of PET from the foreign markets during the same month year ago. The total import volumes in January-September 2012 made about 125,000 tonnes. This is almost twice less than the year-on-year indices, when the total volumes of imported PET made 247,000 tonnes. The share of domestic plants consumption keeps growing, thus displacing import suppliers.

3. Russian producers are not going to significantly cut PVC prices in November.

The negotiations on contract prices of Russian PVC for November shipments have begun this week. Local converters are going to get a significant price cut; converters, in their turn, do not see serious grounds for price-cutting, according to ICIS-MRC Price report. This week started for the Russian PVC market with the negotiations regarding the level of contract prices. Local converters are going to get a reduction of contract prices for Russian PVC for shipments in November by Rb4,000-5,000/tonne amid seasonal falling demand for the finished goods and drop of export prices in the USA. Russian makers, in their turn, claim that they do not see any grounds for such a substantial reduction in PVC prices in November. The decline in demand is expected next month, but imports are going to slash in November as well. There is no surplus of PVC supplies in the market.

4. Year to date demand for PP in Russia grew by 7%.

Over the nine months of this year, the consumption of polypropylene (PP) in Russia reached 632,300 tonnes, up 7% year on year. The demand for stat-copolymers of propylene grew most significantly, according to MRC ScanPlast. The decline in the production of polypropylene (5%) in the current year, the Russian producers offset by the reduction in exports. The exports of Russian polypropylene were reduced by 18% to around 31,600 tonnes (including the Common Customs Union countries). The increased demand for PP resulted to a serious increase in imports. The nine months’ imports of PP increased by 54% to a record 181,600 tonnes.

5. Russian PET output increased by 4% in September.

In September, production of PET granulate by Russian plants grew by 4% and made about 38,000 tonnes. In January-September, the total output of bottle PET in Russia made about 341,000 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast. The increase in the final performance of the domestic plants in September was due to the normalization of PET granulate production at Polief plant. After reaching the stable capacity utilization in September, the plant produced about 11,800 tonnes of PET granulate, which also resulted in the growth of the total indices of production in Russia. The total capacity utilization of the domestic plants increased by 3% last month and made about 87% in September. In the first three quarters of 2012, the increase in PET production in Russia made 11%. The total production volume increased by 33,800 tonnes and amounted to 341,000 tonnes.

6. Production volume of HDPE in Russia slashed by 22%.

The year-to-date HDPE output in Russia dropped by 22% to 502,300 tonnes. In September, the production volume of HDPE by Russian makers slashed to 36,300 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast. The reduction of HDPE output last month was due to a scheduled monthly shutdown for maintenance at Kazanorgsintez from 11 September and the reduction of production capacity at Nizhnekamskneftekhim due to a scheduled outage for maintenance at the production of ethylene. Production cutbacks affected all grades of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with the exception of film material. As a result, September turned out to be a difficult month for the Russian market. Expectedly, prices in the domestic market and HDPE import rose to record levels. Over the past nine months, the total HDPE output by Russian makers made about 502,300 tonnes, down 22% year-on-year, due to a long-term outage at Stavrolen.

7. Imports of GPPS to Russia increased by 50%.

Imports of general-purpose polystyrene (GPPS) to Russia increased by 50% in the three quarters of 2012, according to MRC DataScope. In September 2012, Russia’s imports of GPPS made 7,937 tonnes, up 34%, from August 2012. Year to date Russia’s imports of PP exceeded 47,000 tonnes of material, up 50% year on year. The bulk of GPPS supplies, namely 58%, was supplied by Styrolution - 27,605 tonnes. Such a significant increase in deliveries in September resulted from the increase in prices from Russian producers, that cut the difference between GPPS price from Russia’s Nizhnekamskneftekhim and European Styrolution respectively.

8. January-September imports of PET to Ukraine increased by 2.5%.

In September, imports of PET in the domestic market of Ukraine rose to 10,200 tonnes. Over three quarters of 2012 the total imports of PET made 125,000 tonnes, up 2.5% year on year, according to MRC DataScope. In September, imports of PET to Ukraine increased by 50%, from August to about 10,200 tonnes of granulates, whereas in the previous month, the converters purchased only 6,800 tonnes. In August, many companies worked using their stock inventories, but by September the residues had come to the end. The Chinese PET dominated in September imports, having reached about 6,300 tonnes. In general, in January - September the total imports of PET to Ukraine amounted to 125,000 tonnes, up 2.5% year on year.

9. Ukrainian EPS market grew by 6% over 3 Q-s 2012.

Over three quarters of 2012, the consumption of EPS in Ukraine increased by 6% year-on-year and made 26,345 tonnes of the material, according to MRC ScanPlast report. This year, the structure of supplies of the material for Ukrainian consumers has changed. The share of imported material grew from 71% to 76%. The domestic supplies slashed from 7,273 tonnes to 6,435 tonnes of the material over three quarters 2012. The main growth of imports accounts for the material of the Russian maker - SIBUR-Khimprom, the share of which in the total import volumes made 49% in January-September 2012.
MRC

(market watch) -- LyondellBasell Industries' third-quarter profit slipped 5.7% as the plastics and chemicals company saw revenue slump, while its olefins and polyolefins segment was hurt by weak European economic conditions.

Operating income in olefins and polyolefins in the Americas rose 23%. In contrast, in the Europe, Asia and International arm, operating income tumbled 88%, reflecting what the company noted were weak economic conditions in Europe. Meanwhile, in the intermediates and derivatives segment, operating income rose 15%, while in refining it fell 71%.

Looking to the current quarter, the company warned that while it expects the seasonal slowdown it has historically experienced in some segments to recur, it doesn't expect a slowdown of the severity experienced in 2011.

LyondellBasell is one of the world’s largest plastics, chemical, and refining companies. The company is the largest producer of polypropylene (PP) and polypropylene compounds; a leading producer of propylene oxide, polyethylene (PE), ethylene and propylene; a global leader in polyolefins technology.
MRC

(apic-online) -- Located at Kashima in Japan, the No. 2 cracker has ethylene production capacity of 476,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 260,000 mt/year. The cracker was taken off-stream on October 8, 2012, owing to electrical problems.

The company is likely to restart operations at the cracker on October 27-28, 2012, according to a Polymerupdate source in Japan.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) operates the basic and petrochemicals businesses of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Among the products the company makes are polyolefins like polyethylene and polypropylene, polycarbonate, and purified terephthalic acid (PTA). Mitsubishi Chemical operates manufacturing and R&D facilities throughout Japan and also maintains a presence in Asia, Europe, and the US. MCC is one of three units that comprise Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings; the other two are Mitsubishi Plastics and pharmaceuticals maker Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Dow Chemical has unveiled its plans to construct a new world-scale plant for the production of metallocene ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), sold under the trademark of NORDEL IP Hydrocarbon Rubber. NORDEL IP is targeted for automotive weather-stripping, automotive hoses and belts, building profiles, roofing membranes, footwear and general rubber products.

The new facility will set the standard in cost effectiveness and production efficiencies by incorporating the use of Dow’s newest proprietary catalyst technology and leveraging the production advantages of Dow’s large-scale, integrated solution process, the company said. The new plant to be located on the US Gulf Coast is expected to start operations in 2016.

Dow says the production facility will leverage its investment plan to increase ethylene and propylene production in the US Gulf Coast and will connect US operations into feedstock opportunities available from increasing supplies of US shale gas.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber.
MRC