Foster Wheeler USA Corp awarded PMC contract for PE plant in Egypt

(Plastemart) -- Foster Wheeler USA Corporation, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded a project management consultancy (PMC) contract by Carbon Holdings for a petrochemical complex in Ain Sokhna, Egypt with a nameplate capacity to produce 1.35 mln tpa of polyethylene. The PE facility is expected to come on-stream in 2015. The terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Foster Wheeler will provide technical support and consulting services to Carbon Holdings through financial close, estimated to be late 2011.

"Foster Wheeler was awarded the PMC after a competitive bidding process in which the firm clearly demonstrated its capabilities as a leading supplier of project management services for major petrochemicals complexes," said Charles Garfinkel, chief investment officer, Carbon Holdings.

MRC

During the nine months of 2010, PP-homo imports to the Russian market made up 75 KT, which was 34% more compared to the same period last year. In September, PP-homo imports exceeded 15,8 KT, which was a record figure for the Russian market.

Traditional suppliers of PP-homo to Russia are Turkmenbashinskiy Refinery (Turkmenistan) and Lisichansknefteorgsintez (Ukraine): they supplied 64% of the overall volume in 2010. In September, PP supplies from Turkmenbashinskiy Refinery for the first time exceeded 8 KT, which was 36,3% more compared to the previous month. Ukrainian PP-homo supplies to the Russian market moved at 3,4 KT, having demonstrated 49,9% increase compared to August.

For more detailed information on the Russian polypropylene market, see DataScope Report.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PP output has moved at 465.4 KT over the nine months of the current year, according to the MRC's Monthly Report.

Following the nine months' results the Russian PP producers have increased PP production volumes to 465.4 KT, which was 8% more compared to the same period last year. Increase in output is the result of resumed operations at Stavrolen PP production unit.

At the same time, extremely hot weather and technical problems limited capacity utilization at different production lines in Q2 and Q3. Technical problems and breaks in production have still been observed this month.

The Russian PP market has been demonstrating stable growth dynamics this year. By September, Russian PP producers had already concentrated their efforts on supplies to the domestic market. Lacking volumes were compensated by imports: in September, supply of PP-Homo moved at record 15.9 KT.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Qatar Chemicals (Q-Chem) is in the process of starting up its new 350,000 tonne/year high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant at Mesaieed, Qatar, a source close to the company said on Tuesday.

⌠We are now in start-up mode and have begun to produce some on-spec and some off-spec product, but it will take a couple of months before we begin regular exports, the source added.

The market would feel the impact of the new capacity only by end December or early January, he said.

The HDPE plant will produce mostly blow-moulding grade [and] also some HDPE 80 pipe and film grades, a second source said.

Q-Chem, a joint venture between US major Chevron Phillips Chemical and state-owned Qatar Petroleum, currently operates a 450,000 tonne/year HDPE plant at Messaieed.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Petrochemical players in Hainan, China are bracing for the onslaught of super typhoon Megi, which might halt shipping activities in the island province for a few days, industry sources said on Monday.

The typhoon was coursing through the northern part of the Philippines on Monday and was expected to head towards southern China on Tuesday, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC) of China.

⌠We are requiring companies to take some measures to cope with the impending typhoon, but I think the impact on the production will be limited, said an official from Hainan Yangpu Economic Development Zone.

Hainan Refining and Chemical Co (HRCC), which operates an 8m tonne/year refinery in the island at the southern tip of China, was taking some precautionary measures for the typhoon but has no plans to cut production, said a company source.

HRCC, a subsidiary of China's state-owned petrochemical giant Sinopec, also operates a 200,000 tonne/year polypropylene plant and other chemicals plants on the island.

China BlueChemical, which has a 600,000 tonne/year methanol plant in Hainan, was not expecting any operational disruption to production, said a company source, but added the heavy rains from the typhoon may pose logistical problems in shipping out products, said a company source.

MRC