Production of caustic soda in Russia declined by 1% in Jan-May 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russia's production of caustic soda in January-May 2013 fell by 1.2% compared to the same period in the previous year and totalled 448,700 tonnes, according to MRC Monthly Report.

The share of Kaustik (Volgograd) accounted for 20% of Russia's total production of caustic soda over the five months of the year.

The share of SayanskKhimPlast made 18% from all the volume of caustic soda produced in Russia over this period.

Kaustik (Sterlitamak) produced 17% of the total production of the material in the country.

Russia's production of caustic soda in May made about 87,000 tonnes, up 2% from April.

Sibur-Neftehim in May did not produce caustic soda. The company's facilities have been staying idle for the second consecutive month.
MRC

Ukraine to raise import duties on PVC in autumn

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Ukrainian government is to raise import duty on unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in autumn 2013. The chances of adoption of this law are large enough, according to MRC analysts.

The bill regarding the raise of the import duty on unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been agreed in all the committees of Ukrainian parliament by the beginning of June.

Ukrainian parliament has gone on vacation till September and the bill will not be accepted before the autumn.

The bill assumes increasing import duty on unmixed PVC from current 0% to 6.5% (which corresponds WTO regulations), besides there will be introduced an additional anti-dumping duty on US PVC.

The increase of PVC import duty was one of the commitments of Ukrainian government undertaken in April to resume the production of Karpatneftehim, the only Ukranian producer of PVC. The government signed a memorandum about this with the Russian company Lukoil, the owner of Karpatneftehim.

The memorandum has a number of conditions for the resumption of Karpatneftehim's production, including the increase of import duty.
MRC

CIS buyers expect Asian PET prices to be cut further

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The converters of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the CIS countries expect a further decline in export prices of Chinese bottle grade granulate in July, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Last week converters of bottle grade PET in the CIS countries reported a decrease in the purchasing prices by USD15-20/tonne.

PET prices in Asia were cut on the back of a sluggish buying activity, as well as falling prices of paraxylene. PET prices in the Ukrainian port were at USD1,410-1,445/tonne CIF Odessa, excluding VAT.

Import prices of Chinese bottled grade PET for the Russian market ranged USD1,391-1,416 per tonne CFR East, excluding VAT.

Some converters stopped buying and are waiting for future price development on the back of uncertain price trends.

Major market players expect that in July the export prices of Chinese bottle PET granulate can fall to USD1,300-1,320/tonne FOB China. Some market sources are more pessimistic in their outlook and expect PET prices in late July to be cut significantly below USD1,300/tonne FOB China.

Export prices of Chinese PET for CIS customers last week were voiced at USD1,360-1,390/tonne FOB China.

One of the largest PET converters in Ukraine said that he had received an offer from the producer at USD1,350/tonne FOB China.

MRC

Total increases stake in Novatek to 16%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total has increased its stake in Novatek to 16%, Novatek said in a statement.

Total took a 12% stake in Novatek in 2011, saying it would increase its share up to 19.4% in three years. Novatek's main shareholders are its Chief Executive, Leonid Mikhelson, and oil trader Gennady Timchenko.

As MRC wrote before, Total also holds a 20% stake in Novatek's Arctic LNG project, Yamal LNG. Novatek signed a deal to sell a 20% share in that project to CNPC.

Also last month, Novatek commissioned France’s Technip to carry out an eight-month open book exercise to come up with a cost estimate and plans to execute the project, so as to make a final investment decision.

The Yamal facility will have an annual production capacity of 16.5 million tonnes and will be based on the resources of the South Tambey gas condensate field located on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula.

South Tambey’s proven and probable reserves are estimated at about 1.3 trillion cubic metres of gas.

In 2011, the Novatek and Total joint venture contracted CB &I Lummus of the US to conduct preliminary front end engineering and design work.
MRC

Qatar Petroleum to use a mix of ethane, NGLs as feedstock for two upcoming petrochemical projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar will use a mix feed of ethane and natural gas liquids as feedstock for two upcoming petrochemical projects, according to Plastemart.

The NGLs will come from the second phase of Ras Laffan refinery 2 (LR2), a USD1.5 bln project that will consist of a 146,000 b/d processing capacity condensate refinery.

The first project is a 80:20 venture between Qatar Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell. The USD6.4 bln project includes a world-scale steam cracker to be built at Qatar's Ras Laffan industrial city and a 1.5 million m tpa monoethylene glycol plant and 300,000 m tpa linear alpha olefins.

The other project is a 80:20 venture between QP and Qatari oil major Qapco. The USD5.5 bln petrochemicals complex will produce 1.4 mln tpa of ethylene and other products, 850,000 m tpa of high density polyethylene, 430,000 m tpa of linear low-density polyethylene, 760,000 m tpa of polypropylene and 83,000 m tpa of butadiene.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO), has signed a license agreement with Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology LLC, a wholly owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, for UNIPOL polypropylene process technology. The 540,00 tonnes per year polypropylene (PP) production facility will be located in Ras Laffan, Qatar, and will produce homopolymers, random copolymers and impact copolymers from a mixed feed cracker. The QP/QAPCO facility will be the first polypropylene plant in Qatar. UNIPOL PP Process Technology positions polypropylene manufacturers to meet and exceed increasing demand for high quality polypropylene.
MRC