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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Discoveries of shale gas could lead to a surge in US demand for gas-powered vehicles, according to Bosch, the world’s biggest car parts supplier, said Financial Times.
But new, bountiful supplies of cheap natural gas in the US raise a tantalising third possibility – that cars and trucks could one day criss-cross the US using natural gas instead of petrol.
"The discovery of new gas deposits could mean that the US will become an emerging market for compressed natural gas powertrains," Bernd Bohr, head of automotive at Bosch, said.
Vehicles powered by compressed natural gas are not new but currently more than half of the world’s gas-powered vehicles are found in the Asia-Pacific region. In contrast, in the US and much of western Europe natural gas is most familiar through its occasional use in urban bus transport.
Gas prices in the US have fallen to about a quarter of the level seen in Europe, meaning gas vehicles could be more economical to drive and reduce US dependence on imported oil. Gas-powered vehicles also emit about 25%less carbon dioxide.
As MRC wrote earlier, favorable oil-to-gas price ratios driven by the production of natural gas from shale will drive a renewed US competitiveness that will boost exports and fuel greater domestic investment and economic growth within the business of chemistry.
The US-based Natural Petroleum Council said in a report last year that the competitiveness of gas-powered vehicles would depend on a sustained lower price of natural gas against petrol and diesel.
Bosch, one of the world’s largest private industrial groups, produces injectors for compressed natural gas powered vehicles and flexible control units that enable both gasoline and CNG injection. The Stuttgart-based company believes one of the first new uses of compressed natural gas could be in heavy trucks that cross the US.
These tend to use established freight corridors, which would therefore enable the relatively easy development of natural gas fuelling infrastructure.
Bosch also sees further potential for gas-powered cars as the technology advances. Still, Bosch is preparing for a difficult year as demand stagnates in Europe, which accounts for 57% of sales.
It is running the rule over its European production locations, and does not rule out jobs cuts if measures to improve competitiveness are unsuccessful.
MRC
Bosch predicts gas-powered autos boom
Russian market participants expect PS prices to decline
Participants of the PS market are waiting for the price reductions from Russian producers due to the ongoing SM price cuts in Europe.
Thus, in the beginning of April, spot prices of SM were at USD1,560-1, 580/tonne, and in the mid-April the price has fallen to USD1,530-1,540/tonne.
Buyers of polystyrene in the Russian market on the back of sliding SM prices are waiting for the price adjustments from Russian producers.
Russia's imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS), which is mostly supplied from Europe, have been growing since the beginning of 2013 and the first quarter amounted to 13,000 tonnes and 7,700 tonnes respectively.
A similar opinion is shared by export buyers for whom the cost of the material in April has not change. Foreign consumers focus their attention on reducing the quotations of SM from USD1,650/tonne in March to USD1,550/tonne in April, having hope to get price reduction by USD100/tonne for May shipments.
MRC
Russia is unlikely to sell large Rosneft stake soon
MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Russian government is unlikely to sell a large stake in state-controlled oil giant Rosneft in the near future and won't give up its dominant position in the energy sector, reported The Wall Street Journal with reference to the deputy chief executive of Russia's biggest non-state oil producer, OAO Lukoil Holdings.
"The state will continue to dominate in the sectors of the economy where it can," Leonid Fedun told the Sberbank Russia Forum 2013.
He added that the current situation in the oil sector reminds him of the mid-1990s, when there were only two sizeable oil companies in Russia: a state-owned one and Lukoil.
Mr. Fedun said the state will dominate the market until 2018-2019, when it may be faced with falling oil output and will start seeking to improve the management of the companies.
Russian Economy Minister Andrei Belousov said in April the state may reduce its stake in Rosneft by roughly 19% from 69,5% now. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin opposes the plan.
As MRC wrote earlier, a new organizational structure for Russian state oil giant Rosneft, which recently finalized its purchase of joint venture TNK-BP, was expected in June, said Rosneft's chief executive Igor Sechin. He added that key decisions about the new organization had already been made but that revisions would be "confirmed at the general meeting in June."
Rosneft is a Russian oil industry leader and the largest publicly traded oil company in the world after the acquisition of TNK-BP.
MRC
PP imports to Ukraine in Q1 2013 grew twofold
March PP imports to Ukraine reached 14,600 tonnes, up 20% from February. March imports of homopolymer of polypropylene (PP-homo) to Ukraine amounted to about 11,400 tonnes, up 18% from February. The total import supplies of PP-homo in the first quarter of 2013 reached 31,700 tonnes, up 166% year on year.
This year Ukrainian companies have significantly increased the imports of PP-homo from Saudi Arabia, India and the United States. The share of European producers has declined, the only exception made the material by Rompetrol production.
Imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP-block) last month made 1,200 tonnes, which is almost equal to the February imports. Ukraine's imports of PP-block in the first quarter of this year made around 3,300 tonnes, up 10% year on year.
The main drop in imports occurred in the supplies of injection moulding copolymers of propylene due to the decline in demand in the automotive sector. The imports of statistical copolymer of polypropylene (PP-random) grew almost twice from February to 1,500 tonnes on the back of growing demand from the producers of pressure polypropylene pipes.
In general, in January - March 2013 imports of PP-random is very close to 3,000 tonnes, up 24% year on year. Only pipe producers increased their demand for PP-random in Q1, while other sectors, on the contrary, reduced it.
The main reason for the record imports in Q1 2013 is an outage of a major domestic producer - Linik. The company stopped its PP production in April 2012 due to economic inefficiency.
The Ukrainian government many times stated it would make every effort to resume operation of the enterprise in the current year.
In the meantime, Ukrainian market meets their needs by imports of polypropylene.
MRC
Output of products from polymers in Russia rose by 13% in Q1, 2013
MOSCOW (MRC) -- In the first quarter, Russian converters of polymers increased production of finished products by 12,8% year-on-year, according to MRC analysts.
The sector of sheets production accounted for the largest production volume, while, by contrast, the output of bottles, flasks and similar articles from polymers slumped by 14,8% to 3.13 billion items. However, the output of these products in March rose by nearly a quarter from February and reached the level of 1.24 billion items.
The production of plates, non-porous sheets in March fell to 13,500 tonnes, while in February this index made 17,900 tonnes. In January-March, 2013, the total output of plates, non-porous sheets by Russian plants made about 51,000 tonnes, up 30% year-on-year.
In the construction sector, plastic windows and window sills accounted for the largest increase in production volumes. According to Rosstat, last month the output of these products amounted to 1.6 million square metres, up 22% from February. Overall, in January-March this year, the production volume of plastic windows and window sills made 3.9 million square meters, an increase of 21% year-on-year.
In March 2013, the output of doors and their polymer boxes reached 60,400 square metres, an increase of 26% from February. However, in January-March 2013, the total production volume of doors and polymer boxes grew by only 3,3% year-on-year.
The production of plastic pipes and fittings in March rose to 47,200 tonnes, up 12% from February. Over the first three months of 2013, the total output of plastic pipes and fittings went up to 127,000 tonnes, up 6,4% year-on-year.
Last month, the output of plates, polymer non-porous and non-reinforced films made about 70,900 tonnes, an increase of 9% compared to February. In January-March 2013, the total production volume of these products amounted to 183,000 tonnes, up 7,1% year-on-year.
MRC