Alco-Naphtha shut down PET production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Kaliningrad plant Alco-Naphtha, Russia' largest plant for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), shut down its production of PET chips for a scheduled turnaround on 11 November, 2013, according to MRC price report.

The plant's plans to shut down its production became known on 18 October, they were also stated on the company's official site, however, the exact dates of the outaged were not disclosed. According to preliminary information, the maintenance works will last for two-three weeks. It should be noted that all the contractual obligations for shipments of material will be carried out in time because of the already built up stocks of PET chips, sources at the plant said.

To date, Alco-Naphtha is the largest PET plant in Russia. The plant's annual production capacity is 220,000 tonnes.

At the moment, already three plants in the CIS countries are shut down for maintenance, two of which are situated in Russia (Alco-Naphtha and Senege) and one is in Belarus (Mogilevkhimvolokno).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ningbo-based Keyuan Petrochemicals has announced plans to build a new S-SBR production ­facility and expand its existing ethylene-styrene copolymer plant, according to GV.

Keyuan, citing increased demand for S-SBR in the tyre market, said it is building a 150,000 t/y facility that will utilise its own production technology.

The project, for which location and construction schedule were not given, is estimated to have a cost of USD 99.5 million. Additionally, Keyuan is expanding the capacity of its ethylene-styrene copolymer plant to 200,000 t/y from 80,000 t/y, allowing for the sale of 120,000 t/y to down-stream petrochemical producers. This ­facility can be considered the bridge between original products and high-value added products and will complete the integration of internal resources, Keyuan said.

As MRC wrote previously, Regarding Keyuan’s previously announced plans for a new 400,000-t/y acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant in China’s Guangxi Province, the company said it is currently going through the government approval process and design phase. Keyuan now expects the first phase of the project to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2014.

Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc., established in 2007 and operating through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Keyuan Plastics, Co. Ltd., is located in Ningbo, China and is a leading independent manufacturer and supplier of various petrochemical products. The company is located in Qingshi Industrial Park, Ningbo, China and has annual petrochemical manufacturing design capacity of 720,000 metric tons for a variety of petrochemical products, including BTX aromatics, propylene, styrene, MTBE and other chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exports of PC chips from Russia in January-October, 2013, fell by 39% year on year and totalled 2,400 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

China is the main export destination. 11,400 tonnes of PC chips were exported to China in January-October, 2013, down by 37% year on year.

The countries in the European Union accounted for 13% of the total exports of PC chips, which also declined by 56% year on year and totalled about 1,800 tonnes.
Injection moulding grades for the production of electrical components accounted for 82% of PC chips exported from Russia. The share of construction grades for the production of PC sheets was about 7% (920 tonnes).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to Russia fell by 7% (down by 11,400 tonnes) to 146,600 tonnes in January-October 2013 year on year, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Total imports of PET chips to Russia decreased by 9% to 140,000 tonnes in the first ten months of this year. PET imports have been increasing for the second consecutive year because of increased production in the domestic market.

Supply of domestic PET chips increased by 18,400 tonnes to 314,000 tonnes in January-September 2013, compared with the same period a year ago.
Imports fall traditionally in the fourth quarter on the back of a seasonal decline in market of drinks, beer and water. The situation is exacerbated by the significant stock inventories despite the long shutdowns of PET chips plants. That is why MRC analysts do not expect sales to change significantly this year, with the trend of import substitution remained. According to MRC estimates imports of PET chips to Russia will be about 166,000 tonnes in the end of 2013.

The consumption of recycled PET has grown in 2013. The main importers of PET flex in Russia were the producers of polyester fibers. Imports of recycled PET increased by 55% (up by 2,400 tonnes) to 6,800 tonnes in January-October 2013.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical Corporation has reported record quarterly net income of USD170.3 million, or USD2.54 per diluted share, on net sales of USD1,004.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, reported the company in its press release.

This represents an increase in net income of USD83.3 million, or USD1.24 per diluted share, compared to the quarter ended September 30, 2012 net income of USD87.0 million, or USD1.30 per diluted share, on net sales of USD821.2 million. Q3 net sales mainly increased because of higher sales volumes for styrene and caustic, higher sales prices for most of our major products and sales contributed by the company's specialty PVC pipe business, which Westlake acquired in May 2013. Styrene sales volumes for the third quarter of 2012 were negatively impacted by a turnaround of the styrene plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Income from operations was USD266.6 million for the third quarter of 2013 as compared to USD142.5 million for the third quarter of 2012. Income from operations for the third quarter of 2013 benefited primarily from improved olefins and vinyls integrated product margins, largely due to higher sales prices for most of our major products and lower overall feedstock costs as compared to the prior year period.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, net income was USD439.5 million, or USD6.54 per diluted share, on net sales of USD2,807.9 million. This represents an increase in net income of USD149.2 million, or USD2.21 per diluted share, from the nine months ended September 30, 2012 net income of USD290.3 million, or USD4.33 per diluted share, on net sales of USD2,770.0 million.

Net sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 increased by USD37.9 million compared to the prior year period mainly due to higher sales volumes and sales prices for styrene, PVC resin and caustic, higher polyethylene sales prices and sales contributed by our specialty PVC pipe business, mostly offset by lower feedstock, ethylene and ethylene co-products sales volumes.

Income from operations was USD695.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 as compared to USD459.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in income from operations was primarily attributable to higher olefins and vinyls integrated product margins.

EBITDA (earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) of USD307.0 million for the third quarter of 2013 increased by USD131.4 million compared to EBITDA of USD175.6 million for the third quarter of 2012.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in October 2012 Westlake announced the expansion of its PVC plant in Calvert City, Kentucky, as well as its plans to increase the production of ethylene a this unit from 450 to 630 million pounds a year.

Westlake Chemical is a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of basic chemicals, vinyls (PVC), polymers (PE) and fabricated products.
MRC