July PVC output in Russia grew by 1%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The total output of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Russia increased by 1% in July, despite an emergency shutdown of production at Khimprom (Volgograd) and reduced capacity utilisation at SayanskKhimplast, according to ScanPlast MRC.

The July production of unblended PVC (emulsion and suspension) in Russia rose to 53,830 tonnes from 53,200 tonnes in June. The increased capacity utilisation of the Bashkir Soda Company (formerly Kaustik (Sterlitamak) allowed to offset lower production at SayanskKhimplast and Khimprom (Volgograd).

The July production indices in volume terms are, as follows:

Russia's largest PVC producer SayanskKhimplast reduced capacity utilisation by 5% last month, its PVC output fell to 26,600 tonnes. The Bashkir Soda Company increased its PVC capacity utilisation in July by 7% from June to 18,400 tonnes. Kaustik (Volgograd) kept the June's level of capacity utilisation, its PVC production amounted to 7,870 tonnes.

As already mentioned, Russia's only producer of emulsion PVC Khimprom (Volgograd) was forced to stop production of polymer on 15 July because of the collapse of part of the roof at the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) unit. The Volgograd plant produced less than 1,000 tonnes of emulsion PVC in less than a month period.

The overall output of unblended PVC in Russia totalled 381,700 tonnes in the first seven months of 2013, an increase of 3% year on year. The output of suspension PVC rose to 361,400 tonnes and, on the contrary, the production of emulsion PVC dropped to 10,000 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The polypropylene (PP) output in July 2013 fell by 4% from June. The decline in production was caused by an outage for maintenance at Tomskneftekhim (SIBUR group), according to MRC ScanPlast.

The PP production in July totalled 71,200 tonnes, while in June, this index reached 73,800 tonnes. Tomskneftekhim shut down its production for three weeks of scheduled maintenance works since 19 July. The Tomsk plant managed to produce about 5,800 tonnes in less than three weeks of July(10,900 tonnes in June).

Last month, Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Stavrolen kept the June's level of capacity utilisation. The PP output by these plants amounted to 18,500 tonnes and 11,200 tonnes, respectively.

Neftekhimia (Kapotnya) and Ufaorgsintez showed a slight reduction in their output. The plants decreased their capacity utilisation by 5% and 6% from June, respectively, the PP production amounted to 10,5 tonnes and 9,400 tonnes, respectively.

Polyom (Titan Group) reached 100% capacity utilisation in July. The PP output by the Omsk plant reached 15,800 tonnes. The Omsk plant produced about 60,300 tonnes of polypropylene in less than six months of the year. According to preliminary information, Polyom plans to stop its production for a two-week scheduled turnaround from 4 September.

Overall, the PP output in Russia exceeded 473,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2013, up 27% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The board of directors of Westlake Chemical Corporation has declared a dividend of 22.5 cents per share, an increase of 20% from the 18.75 cents per share paid in the second quarter of 2013, according to the company's statement.

The increased dividend will be payable on September 25, 2013, to stockholders of record on September 10, 2013.

This is the 36th successive quarterly dividend that Westlake has declared since completing its initial public offering in August 2004.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2013, Westlake Chemical agreed to acquire the PVC pipe and fittings unit of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA's CertainTeed Corp. for USD175 million. CertainTeed's pipe and foundation group produces PVC pipe and fittings for municipalities, water wells, mining, agriculture and irrigation.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC and PVC pipe and specialty components, windows, and fence. Westlake Chemical's second-quarter 2013 profit shot up 26% year over year to USD145.8 million as the company gained from lower cost natural-gas based ethylene production stemming from North American shale gas and oil production
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Munich-based chemical group WACKER has registered a further 67 substances with the European regulatory framework for chemicals REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals, reported the company on its site.

The required substance dossiers were recently submitted on time to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki, Finland. WACKER thereby meets the requirements for continuing production of these substances and exporting them to other EU countries. The term for registering substances produced in quantities of between 100 and 1,000 metric tons expired at the end of May.

In 2009, WACKER already submitted the first dossiers for "phase-in" substances produced in amounts of 1,000 metric tons or more annually. By the end of the first registration phase in November 2010, the number had increased to 86. In May of this year, a further 67 assessments were added. About half of the substance dossiers to be submitted to the European Chemicals Agency have thus been registered.

"This ensures that we can continue to not only produce these substances and the products manufactured from them at our sites within the EU, but also import them into other EU countries," said WACKER Executive Board member Auguste Willems, marking the successful conclusion of the second registration phase.

REACH legislation, which came into force in 2007, governs the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals within the European Union. REACH imposes high requirements on the manufacturers, importers and users of chemical products. All substances on the European market that are produced or imported in annual quantities exceeding one metric ton must be registered and evaluated.

The third and final phase of registration of phase-in substances has now begun. By June 2018, all substances produced in amounts up to 100 metric tons annually must be registered. WACKER is preparing 160 substance dossiers for this phase.

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2013, BASF, the largest diversified chemical company in the world, successfully completed the second phase of registration for REACH under EU chemical law. In this phase, BASF submitted around 550 substance dossiers to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) - more than any other company. By the end of the final transition period in the year 2018, BASF is expecting a total of approximately 3,500 registrations.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft and ExxonMobil are progressing on their proposed LNG project in the Russian Far East with the launch of the contractor selection process for design and engineering work, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil said that in 2013 and 2014, they plan to complete design work, including selection of a liquefaction technology and identification of major equipment requirements.

Also in that timeframe, the companies plan to perform engineering surveys and develop front-end engineering and design (FEED) and Russian Proyekt documentation for the LNG plant, hydro-technical marine facilities and a source gas pipeline.

“Rosneft’s offshore license areas hold massive hydrocarbon resource potential, most of which is natural gas," said Rosneft president Igor Sechin. "Given the fact that offshore fields are difficult to reach and are not connected to the national gas supply system, the most efficient way to monetize these resources is to liquefy the natural gas and sell the LNG in export markets."

Capacity of the LNG project to be located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East is expected to be 5 million tpy, subject to further expansion. The liquefaction plant, the launch of which is scheduled for 2018, will receive natural gas from Rosneft’s reserves in the Far East and other Sakhalin gas reserves.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in May 2013, Rosneft and Mitsui signed an agreement to jointly develop the massive Far East Petrochemical Company (FEPCO) project. FEPCO, a subsidiary of Rosneft, is developing the project. Processing capacity of the petrochemical complex is planned at 3.4 million tpy of hydrocarbon feedstock, predominantly naphtha. The capacity of ethylene and propylene production unit is planned at 2 million tpy. The complex is expected to be started up in 2017.
MRC