Polystyrene output in Russia made 34,810 tonnes in November

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In November, 2012, polystyrene production in Russia made record 34,810 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

In November, the production of polystyrene (HIPS, GPPS, EPS and ABS) made 34,810 tonnes, which is a record index for the Russian market. The year-to-date index made 328,110 tonnes, up 12% year-on-year.

The production volumes of HIPS and GPPS made 289,310 tonnes, which is equal to 88% of the total output. Nizhnekamskneftekhim accounts for 175,600 tonnes of the produced polystyrene, while PGProf and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat produced 38,860 tonnes and 20,200 tonnes of PS, respectively.

Over the past eleven months, 81,090 tonnes of EPS was also produced, up 89% year-on-year. The growth was due to the production volumes of Perm plant, the project capacity of which is 100,000 tonnes annually. The year-to-date production of EPS of Alphapor grade at Perm (SIBUR-Khimprom) made 61,520 tonnes. Another representative of SIBUR group - Plastik Uzlovaya - produced 7,700 tonnes of EPS. Angarsk polymer plant manufactured 11,790 tonnes of the material.

Apart from EPS, Plastik (Uzlovaya) produces ABS. In January-November, 2012, an output of the material made 12,300 tonnes. In late 2012, a new ABS line was launched at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the project capacity of which makes 60,000 tonnes annually.

MRC

(plastemart) -- Middle Eastern suppliers have been talking about their limited allocations for polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) in global markets.

After Saudi Polymers shut its new Jubail complex in November, as MRC wrote earlier, other producers have been added to the list of shutdowns recently reported from the region.

Saudi Polymers was expected to resume production on December 11 at its complex, where they faced technical problems earlier and had to go for a shutdown after it had started commercial operations in October. The complex hosts a cracker with a capacity to produce 1.16 mln tpa of ethylene and 430,000 tpa of propylene, plus a total PE capacity to produce 1.1 mln tpa and 400,000 tpa of PP. The restart date remains unclear as of now while some players speculate that it should be back into operations in January.

Borouge had a shutdown at its Ruwais petrochemical complex in Abu Dhabi in December, bringing down its two PE units with a total capacity of 600,000 tpa. Now, the producer is preparing to shut its Borouge 2 site in mid January for a month long maintenance. The site includes a 1.45 mln tpa cracker along with a 540,000 tpa PE unit and two PP units, each producing 400,000 tpa.

PetroRabigh is also considering a shutdown at its 600,000 tpa LLDPE plant in Saudi Arabia, according to market players. The maintenance shutdown is expected to take place in early January or mid January, they report, while they are currently said to be running at low rates. A market source also informed that the shutdown will last three to four weeks.
MRC

(plastemart) -- Shell Oil Co. was given six more months by Horsehead Corp. to decide whether it wants to buy land in Pennsylvania for a proposed petrochemical plant to convert natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale.

In March, Shell said that the site about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh was its first choice to build a multi-billion dollar plant, but that extensive evaluations had to be done. The site is currently home to a zinc smelter, which Horsehead expects to shut down.

We remind that Saudi Arabia's largest petrochemical company SABIC and the Anglo-Dutch company Shell are considering expansion to its joint project Sadaf. The companies plan to build a plant for the production of styrene, propylene oxide and polyurethane, as MRC informed earlier. Before making a final decision on the financing of the project, companies will conduct a research.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- India's oil output in November reduced by 3% from October. Indian refineries processed 15.38 million metric tonnes, or 3.76 million bpd, of crude oil during the said month, according to government data showed Tuesday.

However, throughput rose 6.6% on year, and was ahead of the government's target of 14.93 million tonnes, the data showed. The government didn't give any reasons for changes in the output. The data are based on production from 20 refineries.

They don't include production at the second of Reliance Industries' two refineries in Jamnagar in Gujarat state and a joint venture facility at Bathinda in Punjab state between Hindustan Petroleum and the Lakshmi N. Mittal group.

The second refinery of Reliance can process 580,000 bpd, while the Bathinda facility has a capacity of 180,000 bpd. Eight refineries of Indian Oil, the country's largest listed company by sales, processed 4.76 million tonnes, or 1.16 million bpd. That recorded 2.3% growth from October. Runs at Reliance's 660,000-bpd first refinery fell 3.5% on month to 2.96 million tonnes, or 723,267 bpd.

We remind that Reliance Industries plans to expand capacity at its refineries in the western state of Gujarat, as MRC reported previously. Earlier this year, Reliance unveiled an USD18 billion investment plan for India over the next five years. Moreover, Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is planning a Rs 30,000 crore refinery on the west coast in Gujarat or Maharashtra as part of its plans to raise the refining capacity to 100 mln tonnes.
MRC

(zawya) -- The Gulf Petrochemicals industry is bracing to sustain competitiveness keeping in mind the new market realities. Gulf producers are exploring opportunities to expand capacity, diversify production and realize the region's full potential to meet oncoming challenges and opportunities, Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General of the GPCA , said.

The theme of the forum, 'Sustaining competitiveness in a rapidly changing world,' reflected the scale of the challenges and opportunities facing the regional petrochemicals industry.

That petrochemicals capacity is continuing to expand in the GCC. Regional capacity grew by 10% in 2011, reaching 121 million tons per annum. Between 2007 and 2011 regional petrochemicals capacity expanded at 13% compounded annual growth rate.

At the same time, wage inflation and rising raw materials costs, incurred as the global economy edges out of recession, are having a knock-on effect on the bottom line of the GCC petrochemicals sector.

Gulf countries currently hold around 20% of the world's proven natural gas reserves. Despite the cost competitiveness of Gulf-based petrochemicals producers built on such strategic assets, experts at the forum urged the industry to prepare themselves fornew challenges, especially because a cooling Chinese economy will lead to reduced demand for Gulf exports.

Randy Woelfel, CEO NOVA Chemicals, said shale gas discoveries in North America are adding significant volumes to global energy supplies, which is another area of concern for Gulf producers. While the shale gas boom in North America promises to provide fresh impetus to petrochemicals producers there, options are getting limited before Gulf producers, as the Eurozone offers limited growth opportunities amidst the current financial crisis.

The most worrying problem of all is that the region appears to running short of natural gas despite its massive reserves. According to the latest BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the region is sitting on an estimated 1,496.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. However, this is not enough to sustain the growing demand for gas. More and more industries besides petrochemicals are now competing for natural gas.

Beside the expansion of the indigenous petrochemical production capability, the Gulf producers from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are embarking on an aggressive growth strategy through the acquisition of assets in major markets.
MRC