PS imports in Ukraine reduced by 10% in the first six months of 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) in Ukraine were 12,000 tonnes in the first half of the year, down 10% compared with the same time a year earlier, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The largest supplier of HIPS and GPPS in the country was Russia. Total imports of Russian GPPS and HIPS in Ukraine were 9,400 tonnes in January-June of 2014, compared with 9,600 tonnes year on year.
Despite the decline in imports of Russian polystyrene, demand for 585 brand GPPS by Nizhnekamskneftekhim production was good. Imports of 585 brand GPPS to the country were 1,700 tonnes in January-June 2014, up by 150 tonnes year on year. June imports of Russian GPPS and HIPS in Ukraine were 2,050 tonnes, up by 250 tonnes from the May level.

At the same time the concern Stirol, the only Ukrainian producer of GPPS and HIPS, continues to stay idle. The company is located in Gorlovka (Donetsk region). Market sources said that the plant will not be launched in the near future because of the tense situation in the region.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas, announces its plans for the construction of an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) plant at its site in La Porte, Texas, said the company in its press release.

Braskem's UHMWPE products are produced under the trade name UTEC. Groundbreaking of the new plant in La Porte will start during the third quarter of 2014. Construction is expected to last approximately 18 months with a targeted completion date during the first half of 2016. The U.S. plant's output will complement the existing UTEC product line that is produced in Brazil.

The main advantages of UTEC are its excellent mechanical properties, such as high abrasion resistance, impact strength and low coefficient of friction. UTEC is a self-lubricating, high-strength, light-weight machinable product used for semi-finished goods. UTEC is eight times lighter than steel and lasts ten times longer than HDPE. UTEC is used in a vast array of applications in the following industries: construction, agriculture, automotive, textile, pulp and paper, food and beverage, coal and mining, high performance fibers, battery separators and waste water treatment.

"We are excited about today's announcement. We believe our investment reinforces Braskem's dedication to the plastics industry and to our strategic markets and clients," said Fernando Musa, CEO, Braskem America. "This is the next logical step for our UTEC business as we have been providing UTEC to clients in the United States and Europe for over ten years. Further, this new plant will potentially enable Braskem to serve more markets than we have been able to serve in the past," Musa added.

As MRC informed previously, Braskem's Technology and Innovation Center in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul has recently invested RUSD1 million to acquire a new piece of equipment for evaluating the sizes and changes in the polymer chains studied in the laboratories, which are important characteristics for the manufacture and application of the plastic resins developed by the company.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I has been awarded a contract valued in excess of USD60 million by Petrofac Saudi Arabia Co., officials confirmed on Tuesday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction of product storage spheres at a grassroots refinery being constructed in Saudi Arabia.

"We currently are constructing crude oil storage tanks for Petrofac at the same project site," said Luke Scorsone, president of CB&I's fabrication services operating group.

"This new sphere award builds on CB&I's service offerings for our client and the operational excellence we have demonstrated in Saudi Arabia since the 1930s," he added.

As MRC wrote before, Petrofac, an international service provider to the oil and gas industry, Linde and GS Engineering & Construction Corporation have been engaged by KLPE to provide services to the development of its Integrated Petrochemicals Complex and Infrastructure project, in the Tengiz and Karabatan regions of Kazakhstan worth up to USD3.58 billion in total.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil processing firm Unipetrol is to buy out the stake of Italy's ENI in their joint refining firm Ceska Rafinerska, Unipetrol said on Thursday, giving it full control of the Czech refining sector, said Reuters.

Unipetrol, majority owned by Poland's PKN Orlen, said it would pay 30 million euros (USD40.9 million) for the 32.4 percent stake it did not already own in the firm, which operates the country's two refineries at Litvinov and Kralupy. The acquisition, for which Unipetrol had right of first refusal, followed a bid by Hungary's MOL to buy the ENI stake.

Czech refineries have been losing money due to a squeeze on margins and overcapacity among European refineries, and ENI's disposal follows the example of Royal Dutch Shell, which sold its 16% stake in Rafinerska earlier this year, also to Unipetrol.

Unipetrol said its latest acquisition would give it the ability to carry out a deeper restructuring of the company, without giving any details. PKN had been in talks with the Czech government to secure the future of the refining sector and had proposed to merge its operations with Czech oil and oil product pipeline firms, Mero and Cepro.

But the Czech government rejected that option, saying it wanted to keep control over strategic infrastructure.

As MRC wrote before, Unipetrol has acquired technology and production rights for a new polyethylene unit and wants to pick a contractor for the project in the first half of 2014. The company, after posting net losses in 2011 and 2012, laid out plans in June to invest almost USD1 billion over the next five years and make its petrochemical segment the biggest contributor to profit.

Unipetrol , a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 Unipetrol became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the Unipetrol Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people. Unipetrol's refineries have a conversion capacity of 8.7 million tons of crude oil per year, coming through a pipeline from Russia and another link bringing oil from the Adriatic port of Trieste.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two workers were injured after a flash fire Monday night at Chevron Phillips Chemical's plant in Port Arthur, Texas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company has not yet identified the cause of the fire, but said that a team of emergency response professionals had secured the facility and were beginning to assess damages. All employees have been accounted for, including two who were injured. Chevron officials did not comment on the condition of those injured.

"We regret very deeply that this event has occurred. Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured and their families. We ask for your patience as we manage the response to the incident," said Margie Conway, plant manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical. "We will communicate additional information when it can be confirmed."

Local police authorities said a medical worker transported one of the injured two Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

Chevron Phillips said the fire, which began around 8 p.m. local time Monday night and was extinguished by 7 a.m. on Tuesday, did not pose a danger to any area residents.

The Port Arthur plant produces chemicals including ethylene (800,000 tpy), propylene (500,000 tpy), toluene and cyclohexane, according to news reports.

As MRC wrote before, Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) received approval from its board of directors and obtained an environmental permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to expand normal alpha olefins (NAO) production capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas.

Chevron Phillips Chemica, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
MRC