China's September petchem imports slow as economy cools down

(ICIS) -- China's imports of most petrochemical products in September registered annual declines due to the high base last year and a slight moderation in overall economic activities, analysts said on Monday.

Based on data from China Customs, China imported 8% less of ethylene at 74,924 tonnes compared to the same period last year, while imports of propylene and butadiene recorded significant declines of 33% to 81,455 tonnes and 61% to 7,587 tonnes, respectively.

Massive new capacity additions from state-owned petrochemical giant Sinopec in Tianjin and Zhenhai had helped bring down China's olefins import requirements this year, said Wang Qiang, an analyst from Xiang Cai Securities.

The crackers in these two locations that started up this year have capacities of 1m tonnes/year each and were expected to boost supply of olefin derivatives such as polyethylene and polypropylene in the domestic market, Wang said.

Meanwhile, the recent spike in chemical values, on the back of crude price gains, also deterred buyers from procuring materials through imports last month, analysts said.

The case was different for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which was priced lower when imported given that the domestic market was in short supply, analysts said, citing power restrictions at selected provinces that cut production at a number of China's petrochemical plants.

China's imports of PVC in September increased 35% year on year to 142,376 tonnes, based on official data.

MRC

(ICIS) -- LyondellBasell's net income surged to $467m during the third quarter, compared with a net loss of $651m in the same period of last year, on the back of increased demand for polyolefins and higher ethylene sales prices, the polyolefins producer said on Friday.

Sales came in at $10.3bn, up 20% from $8.61bn in the July-September period in 2009. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) soared 53% to $1.20bn.

"We achieved excellent results in the third quarter as most of our segments performed very well," said CEO Jim Gallogly.

In the US, LyondellBasell's olefins and polyolefins results improved significantly compared with the third quarter last year, as the average ethylene sales price increased and polyolefins results rose based on an improved sales mix favouring domestic sales.

In Europe, improved olefins and polyolefins margins accounted for the majority of the improved performance, the company said.

Volume growth in polypropylene (PP) and PP compounding, due in large part to increased demand from the automotive sector, also contributed to the improvement.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In November the Russian converters may face lack of LLDPE, in particular, butane grades, according to MRC Price reports.

Butane LLDPE offer in the Russian market is gradually lowering. Some marketers assume that the converters will face lack of supply in the second half of November. The main reason is the absence of the Russian production as well as limited offer from outside suppliers.

The only Russian LLDPE producer - Nizhnekamskneftehim - finished production early October before maintenance. The next scheduled production is expected only in December. The second largest supplier of butane LLDPE to the Russian market - Shurtanskiy Mining & Chemical Combine - has also suspended production for maintenance this month. Renewal of shipment to the Russian market is expected not earlier than late November, marketers suppose.

As a temporary alternative it could be possible to use the European LLDPE. But high euro exchange rate against ruble makes its cost considerably high for small Russian producers. Also it should be taken into account that butane LLDPE offer in Europe is not that big.

During the last two months many Russian companies-importers faced definite problems during LLDPE imports. Quite often during customs clearance 10% tax is retained at almost zero rate, at the same time the importers have to prove that it is LLDPE that is shipped. All these circumstances seriously complicate the procedure of LLDPE supply to the Russian market and also have an impact on its final cost.

All these factors, according to the experts' opinion, may result in lack of LLDPE C4 offer in the Russian market by mid-November. PE offer is gradually decreasing, small volumes of Nizhnekamsk and Shurtan products are offered on the average for 57.000 - 57.500 RUB/t, including VAT, FCA.

For more detailed information, see Price Reports ⌠Polyethylene in Russia.

MRC

(BBC News) -- Cement used to seal the Macondo well may have contributed to the blowout that caused the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, US investigators have found.

Both BP, which owned the well, and Halliburton, the contractor responsible for the cement, were aware of tests showing it was unstable, they said. Halliburton has denied the claims, saying the tests were invalid as they were on a different kind of cement.

The 20 April blowout led to the worst environmental disaster in US history. Hundreds of miles of coast were polluted. The well was finally capped on 15 July, after an estimated 4.9m barrels of oil (171m gallons) had leaked into the sea, and fully sealed last month.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- The Saudi Ports Authority (SPA) has inked a contract under which it will rent Imdad Company a piece of land of 396,000 square meters inside the King Fahd Industrial Port (KFIP) in Yanbu to construct warehouses and giant tanks to store solid and liquid petrochemicals produced by SABIC.

Imdad is in charge of logistical services in the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC). Under the agreement, Imdad company will set up warehouses and giant tanks to store the solid and liquid petrochemicals produced by SABIC until they are exported through the seaport by containers.

MRC