Europe naphtha market largely unaffected by French strikes

LONDON (ICIS) -- The ongoing strikes in France have had only minimal effects on the European naphtha market, sources said on Friday.

Industrial action at the Fos-Lavera oil terminal in southern France entered its 19th day on Friday as national strikes rolled into their fourth day. The naphtha cargo market was described as balanced and fairly quiet, but the strike was thought to be only a minor factor in this.

⌠There certainly hasn't been a major move on naphtha prices because of the strikes, one trader said.

Sources elaborated that in addition to many French oil refineries being out of action, many crackers there were not operating either. This resulted in lower French demand for naphtha as a feedstock.

Furthermore, France itself was believed to have built up reserves of naphtha and other fuels as a precaution against any disruption to supply. Therefore the country appeared to be coping adequately so far, sources said.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- In Southeast Asia, traders and converters are actively searching the market for LDPE film cargoes this week.

Chinese buyers are also said to be exhibiting healthy demand for LDPE film, with some Southeast Asian sellers electing to allocate their supplies to China rather than the regional market. Globally, LDPE supply remains limited as the new LDPE capacities are not coming up at the same rate as HDPE and LLDPE.

In addition to this ongoing general tightness, shutdowns on the part of several Southeast Asian LDPE suppliers have intensified the regional shortage of this product.

Regional supply woes have resulted in significant price increases in LDPE film in the Southeast Asian market, with LDPE prices rising at a faster rate than either HDPE or LLDPE film prices. Despite this sellers report that they are seeing better demand for LDPE when compared with HDPE and LLDPE demand.

MRC

(European Plastics News) -- GAIL, India's flagship natural gas company, is said to be in discussions with Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur to set up a joint polyolefins production venture in Russia.

According to Russian media reports, a working group for developing the joint project was established between the two parties prior to a recent visit of Viktor Khristenko, Russia's Industry and Trade Minister, to India.

Financial details of the project, which would be the second to be implemented between Sibur and an Indian company, as well possible timeframes, have not been disclosed.

Earlier this year, Sibur announced its intention to set up a joint venture with India's Reliance Industries to produce butyl rubber at the Indian firm's petrochemical site at Jamnagar. Sibur is providing technology for separation and polymerisation, Reliance Industries raw materials and infrastructure.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yesterday in Moscow, Marriott Grand Hotel, Russian Polymers Summit 2010 was held. It was organized by ICIS and MRC.

One day Summit was for senior managers of leading Russian and international companies involved in the production and processing of polymers.

Among the participants of the summit there were heads and representatives of the following leading petrochemical companies: Nizhnekamskneftechim, Kazanorgsintez, JSC LUKOIL, SIBUR, Salavatnefteorgsintez, BASHCHIM, Sajanskchimplast and biggest polymers converters.

The Summit participants also presented world leading producers: Dow, Borealis, ExxonMobil Chemical, LG Chem, LyondellBasell, SABIC, Total Petrochemicals, Petkim.

The production facilities of those companies provide 80% of the Russian polystyrene market, 75% - PE market, 80% - PVC market and 60% - PP market.

Purchase amounts of the Summit participants are as follows: 65% polystyrene, 80% PVC, 70% PE, 55% PP.

There were in total 165 participants from 15 countries, among them - 65 heads and directors of companies, 7 heads of the representative offices and business owners.

MRC

(SABIC) -- SABIC Innovative Plastics announced that it is adding state-of-the-art specialty polypropylene (PP) compounding to its Bay St. Louis, Miss. site in the first quarter of 2011.

The site will use its existing infrastructure and adopt new processes to produce SABIC PP compounds and SABIC STAMAX long glass fiber-reinforced PP composites.

Adding specialty PP to the site's compounding capabilities enables the company to provide a broader range of high-performance materials to its customers in North America and to help satisfy demand for specialty compounds - which is a market recovering fast from the recent downturn.

MRC