Ukrainian PP imports grew by 37% in the first half of 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) - Ukrainian market became completely dependent on polypropylene (PP) imports following the shut down of PP facilities of LINIK in April 2012. As a result, Ukrainian PP imports increased to 66,800 tonnes in the first half of 2013, up by 17% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

PP imports to Ukraine in June totalled about 10,800 tonnes. The main increase in PP import supplies accounted for homopolymer PP because of the stoppage of PP production of LINIK.

Imports of homopolymer PP to Ukraine totalled about 51,500 tonnes in the first half of 2013, up by 55% year on year. PP producers from Russia, Asia and the Middle East increased their sales of PP to the Ukrainian market significantly.

The main increase in demand occurred from the producers of injection moulding products. Imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP-block) in January - June of this year, by contrast, declined by 16% due to the weaker demand in the sector of injection molding. About 85% of the total imports accounted for European copolymers of propylene.


Imports of stat-propylene copolymer (PP-random) grew to 5,400 tonnes in the first half of the year, up by 15% year on year. The main increase in demand provided the producers of pressure pipes and injection moulding products, demand in these sectors grew by 56% and 26%, respectively.

Imports of copolymer of propylene to the Russian market made about 2,400 tonnes In the first quarter of the year, up 3% year-on-year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Weekly news

1. PE imports to Ukraine increased by 1% in the first half of 2013
August 02/2013
MOSCOW (MRC) - After the surge in April polyethylene (PE) imports to Ukraine is gradually going down on the back of a general decline in consumer activity. PE imports to Ukraine in the first half of the year grew only by 1%, according to MRC DataScope. PE imports to Ukraine in June 2013 fell to 26,000 tonnes, while in May it was 27,100 tonnes. Ukrainian PE imports in the first half of the year totalled about 156,000 tonnes, up by 1% year on year.
Such a small increase in demand resulted from the general economic situation in the country (the index of processing industries declined in the first half of the year by 7.4%), while in the previous two years, the average annual increase in demand for polyethylene was 5%.

2.PET imports to Ukraine increased by 13% in the first half of 2013
August 02/2013
MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of bottle grade PET to Ukraine have increased on the back of stronger demand. Thus, imports of PET granulate to Ukraine in the first half of the year grew by 13%, according to MRC DataScope.
In general, Ukrainian PET imports in January-June 2013 totalled 101,000 tonnes, compared with 89.500 tonnes year on year. PET imports to Ukraine in June decreased by 5,400 tonnes from May level and was 14,000 tonnes. The decline in imports was seen for the second consecutive month and resulted from the two main factors. Firstly, converters have built up large stock inventories following the surge in imports in April. Secondly, converters anticipated significant fall of Chinese PET prices in June. The buyers feared a repetition of the situation in 2012, so they did not increase their PET purchases.

3. Ukrainian SPVC imports grew by 74% in the first half of 2013
August 01/2013
MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to Ukraine increased by 74% in the first half of this year, according to MRC DataScope report. Imports of SPVC to Ukraine in June on the back of seasonal factors rose by one-third compared with the May figure and totalled about 13,000 tonnes. The shutdown of Ukrainian producer Karpatneftekhim (group Lukoil) in the current year has led to an increase in imports of SPVC to 61,000 tonnes, up by 74% compared with 2012. US producers producers accounted for the largest increase in SPVC supply, with more than 31,000 tonnes, which accounted for 53% of total Ukrainian SPVC imports. SPVC imports from Hungary and Poland in the first half of the year totalled 13,500 tonnes and 10,400 tonnes, accounting for 23% and 18% respectively of the total imports.

4. PVC imports to Kazakhstan grew by 20% in H1 2013
July 31/2013
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (PVC-S) to Kazakhstan in the first six months of 2013 rose by 20%, according to MRC DataScope. Kazakh companies in June increased imports of PVC-S up to 4,000 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes in May. Overall, imports of PVC to Kazakhstan in the first half of the year totalled 12,900 tonnes, whereas last year this index amounted to 10,800 tonnes.

5. HDPE imports to Kazakhstan increased by 2% in first half of 2013
July 31/2013
MOSCOW (MRC) - Kazakh imports of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in the first half of 2013 grew only by 2% on the back of a weaker demand from the main consuming sectors, according to MRC analysts. Imports of HDPE to Kazakhstan in June 2013 exceeded 8,500 tonnes, while in May it was 7,400 tonnes. In general, HDPE imports in the first half of the year 2013 to Kazakhstan totalled about 48,000 tonnes, from 47,200 tonnes year on year. Such a small increase in demand for HDPE in the first half of the year resulted from a sluggish demand for polyethylene from the producers of pipes (the share of pipe HDPE in the total consumption of the country accounts for more than 70%) and overall situation in the industry (production of polymers and rubber have risen in the first half of the year only by 1 , 2%).


6. Prices of Chinese PVC continue to rise for the Russian market
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese producers of acetylene polyvinyl chloride (PVC) again raised the export price for the Russian market by USD20/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report. After a prolonged stable pricing Chinese producers of acetylene PVC firstly increased exports prices in mid-July by USD20/tonne. The second price increase was announced last week and also made USD20/tonne. As a result, export prices of Chinese acetylene PVC for the Russian market grew to USD930-960/tonne DAP Dostyk. Chinese producers explained the necessity of price increase by the uptrend in the domestic market. Russian companies significantly reduced their purchases of Chinese resin in May and June because of the weaker prices and oversupply in the Russian PVC market. In July they continued to cut PVC purchases.


7. Prices of Russian PVC will rise in August
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers are going to raise contract PVC prices in August, according to ICIS-MRC Price report. Negotiations on Russian contract PVC prices for August began this week. SayanskKhimPlast has already announced an increase in its August contract prices by USD1,000/tonne from July. Other Russian producers - Bashkir Soda Company (formerly Kaustik, Sterlitamak) and Kaustik (Volgograd) - intend to increase contract prices as well. Russian producers (particularly, SayanskKhimPlast) explain the necessity of the growth of contract PVC prices by both increasing demand on the back of tight supply and higher prices for imported material (devaluation of the rouble has increased prices of imported PVC by more than 3%).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Export prices of Asian PET increased by USD65-90/tonne in July, on the back of rising feedstock costs and stronger buying actoivity, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

In the late July spot quotations of paraxylene, PTA and MEG rose again because of booming demand in Asia. In comparison to the previous week price of bottle grade PET from Asian plants increased by USD10-20/tonne.
Prices of Chinese PET for CIS countries were in the range USD1,415-1,440/tonne FOB China. Prices of Korean PET were heard at USD1,430-1,460/tonne FOB South Korea. Major buyers said they could achieve a discount of USD5/tonne from the initial price.

The most attractive prices of PET this year were quoted in the last week of June, when the minimum export quotations of Chinese bottle grade PET for Russian and Ukrainian buyers were at USD1,350/tonne, FOB China.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rising costs, oil theft in Nigeria and weak U.S. shale liquids production have hurt profits at Royal Dutch Shell, adding both to upward pressure on spending and to uncertainty on output growth, said Financial Post.

These pressures prompted outgoing chief executive Peter Voser to abandon the company’s target to deliver 4 million barrels a day of production by 2017. His action brings Shell into line with other oil companies, and shows how the industry is struggling to translate investment into oil.

Voser called the company’s second quarter result, published on Thursday, "disappointing." But he said a financial target to achieve USD175-200 billion of cash flow from operations for the period 2012 to 2015 was intact.

The company’s stock fell 5.1% – a big drop by the standards of normal trading day in Europe’s biggest oil company – as analysts geared up to cut annual profit forecasts.

Shell said it took a USD700 million hit for Nigeria thefts and other issues in the country – which it said cost Nigeria itself USD12 billion a year – and for the tax impact of a weakening Australian dollar. Shell has put more of its Niger Delta activities up for sale.

Adjusted second quarter net earnings on a current cost of supply (CCS) basis came in at USD4.6 billion, down from USDE5.7 billion a year ago and below analysts’ expectations of around last year’s figures.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. The present Shell’s strategy is to concentrate its global downstream businesses where it can be most competitive. Recent examples include the sale of refineries in the UK and Germany and downstream businesses in Finland and Sweden, as well as the establishment of joint ventures in Brazil and across Africa.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rominserv Valves Iaifo Zalau, the general contractor of Romanian second-largest oil group Rompetrol, was awarded a USD1.07 billion contract to modernize and upgrade the Pavlodar refinery in Kazakhstan, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project targets increasing the refinery's processing capacity to 7 million tpy of oil, up from 5 million tpy presently. The works are slated for completion in 2018.

Built in 1978, Pavlodar is the largest oil refinery in Kazakhstan.

Both Pavlodar and The Rompetrol Group are controlled by Kazakh state-run oil company KazMunaiGas.

As MRC wrote before, KazMunaiGas selected technology from Honeywell's UOP for the modernization of its facility. The Pavlodar Oil Chemical Refinery (POCR) of KazMunaiGas will use a range of UOP processes and services to upgrade its facility in Northeast Kazakhstan Province, allowing it to meet Euro-5 standards aimed at reducing motor vehicle pollution.

MRC