Output of plastic products in Russia grew by 10% in H1 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The output of key products from polymers in Russia over the first six months of the year grew by 10% year on year, said MRC analysts.

The upward trend in production of the key finished goods from polymers in Russia has slowed down since May, 2013. In June, the output of "pipes and hoses from polymers" and "doors and their boxes from polymers" was lower than in June 2012. However, the total output of finished products from polymers in the first half of the year rose by 10% year on year.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the June production of "non-porous and non-combined with other materials films and sheets" amounted to 73,200 tonnes, up 2.2% from May. The output of these products in Russia in the first half of 2013 totalled 403,000 tonnes, up 2.2% year on year.

The total output of "pipes, hoses and fittings from polymers" in June amounted to 53,700 tonnes, up 4.3% from May. In the June 2012, the output of these products amounted to 72,600 tonnes. Overall, in January-June, 2013, the production "of pipes, hoses and fittings from polymers" totalled 276,500 tonnes, down 7.2% year on year.

The June production of "plastic plates and sheets" was 16,500 tonnes, up 16.8% from May. In the first half of the year, the output of these products in Russia amounted to 93,800 tonnes, up 17.2% year on year.

The production of plastic windows and window sills in June 2013 amounted to 2.6 mln square meters, up 9.3% from May. Over the firs six months of 2013, the production of these products in Russia totalled 10.9 mln square meters, up 9.7% year on year.

The production of "plastic doors and boxes" last month amounted to 89,900 square meters, up 17.6% from May, while in June 2012, the total output of "plastic doors and boxes" was 98,700 square meters. In January-June, 2013, the production of these products totalled 396,4000 square meters, an increase of 0.5%.

The total output of bottles, flasks and similar products from polymers in Russia amounted to 1.3 bln items in June 2013, which almost equals the May index. Over the first six months of the year, the production of these products totalled more than 7 bln items, or down 3.9% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Weaker demand in the key export markets has forced US polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers to reduce export prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

As a result, North American PVC fell in price for August shipments to Russia USD30/tonne.

Amid weaker demand in the key export markets and virtually complete disruptions in sales to Russia, PVC producers from the United States slashed export prices for shipments in the second half of August-early September.

US PVC prices for Russian consumers for the second half of August-early September have been heard in the range of USD1,000-1,030/tonne CFR St Petersburg. Many Russian companies have been slow to contract the North American PVC so far, because, despite the attractiveness of prices, the resin will have arrived to buyers by the end of the season.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thai Oil on 11 July notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand that its wholly-owned Thai Paraxylene Co. (TPX) is setting up a joint venture with Mitsui & Co. to produce and distribute linear alkyl benzene (LAB) in Thailand, said Apic-online.

Formation of the new venture, named Labix Co. Ltd., is expected to be completed during July 2013. It will be owned 75% by TPX and 25% by Mitsui.

Labix plans to build a 100,000-t/y LAB plant that is due to begin commercial output in the second quarter of 2015.

Thai Oil last year announced plans to build a USD300-million, 100,000-t/y LAB facility in Chon Buri’s Si Racha district of Thailand.

As MRC wrote earlier, Mitsui Chemicals is considering investing in the US petrochemical business using cheap natural gas there as a feedstock. Low natural gas prices resulting from the US shale-gas boom are stimulating new investments iin petrochemical plants there.

Thai Paraxylene Company Limited (TPX) manufactures and distributes aromatic products such as paraxylene, which is used as a raw material in producing purified terephthalic acid (PTA). TPX was established in 1996 and is headquartered in Sriracha, Thailand. As of 10/31/2004, Thai Paraxylene Company Limited is a subsidiary of Thai Oil Public Co Ltd.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Flint Hills Resources Corpus Christi Refinery in Texas experienced a brief, unplanned shutdown of a second stage recycle compressor at the plant's hydrocracker unit, according to a filing made public to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The incident ended after 10 minutes in the West Plant section of the refining complex.

Upon identification of this incident, FHR initiated prompt measures to assess, minimize, and correct the upset conditions," the filing said.

The current operating status of the compressor and hydrocracker unit wasn't clear. A company spokesperson wasn't immediately available and typically doesn't comment on day to day refining operations.

As MRC wrote before, US expandable polystyrene (EPS) producer Flint Hills Resources is exploring the potential sale of its 120,000 tonne/year unit in Peru, Illinois.

Flint Hills Resources is US refining, chemicals and biofuels company. Its refineries produce fuels that power much of Texas, the Midwest and the Alaska interior. The company's ethanol and biodiesel plants produce fuels that are used across the United States. Its petrochemicals are used to manufacture goods from plastics to building products to packaging materials.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has announced that it has signed a long-term supply contract with OMV, according to the company's press release.

From 2015, the Austrian oil and gas company will supply Clariant’s site in Gendorf (Germany) with ethylene. This agreement will enable Clariant to source most of its requirements for this important basic chemical in southern Bavaria.

The Clariant plant in Gendorf is part of the Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS) Business Unit and, with around 700 employees, is the Business Unit’s largest production site. The specialty chemicals company produces on the site ethylene oxide, for which ethylene is a major raw material. Ethylene oxide is used to manufacture well over 500 different products on the site for use in Crop Care, Home Care, and Personal Care, and in industrial applications such as lubricants or construction chemicals.

Over the last years, the Gendorf site has been constantly expanded within the defined BU ICS global strategy. As well as increasing production capacities, particular emphasis has also been placed on expanding the product range and raising the already very high quality standard. As part of the BU ICS global quality initiative, the Gendorf site is not only ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified but has also recently obtained cosmetics GMP ISO 22716 certification.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, earlier this year, DKSH, a leading Swiss producer of chemicals, and Clarian had entered into a strategic alliance by signing a distribution agreement, under which DKSH will supply Clariant's paints and coatings products to Asia, namely, India, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC