PS production in Russia grew by 25% In the first half of 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) in Russia increased to 191,000 tonnes in the first half of 2014, up 25% year on year, as per MRC ScanPlast.

Russian PS production increased because of the expansion at Nizhnekamskneftekhim. The increase in the Russian PS production helped to displace imported volumes.

Russia's PS imports decreased to 25,600 tonnes in the first six months of the year, down 35% year on year. Russia's production of GPPS and HIPS reached 33,200 tonnes in the first six months of the year.

PS output is expected to decrease in July. Gazprom neftekhim Salavat has been shut for a turnaround since early July. Only Nizhnekamskneftekhim produces PS in July. Russia's GPPS and HIPS output will decrease by 3,000 tonnes to about 30,000 tonnes in July.

GPPS production at Penoplex was 4,500 tonnes in June. Polystyrene, produced by Penoplex was used at the own production of XPS-plates.

As previously reported, the production growth of PS in Russia contributes to the exports increase. GPPS and HIPS exports from Russia were 45,100 tonnes in the first half of 2014, compared with 20,000 tonnes year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The overall imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into the Republic of Belarus decreased by 17.2% over the first five months of 2014, according to MRC DataScope.

May PVC imports to Belarus increased to 4,400 tonnes (about 4,000 tonnes in April) on the back of seasonal factors. The overall PVC imports to the country fell from January to May 2014 to 14,700 tonnes from 17,700 tonnes a year earlier.

Weaker demand for finished products from PVC both in the domestic and export markets was the main reason for lower imports. Thus, only export sales of Belarusian shaped and linear articles dropped by 9% to 7,800 tonnes.

German producers are key PVC suppliers to the local market. 7,200 tonnes of PVC were imported from Germany over the stated period.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lukoil plans to resume polypropylene (PP) production at Stavrolen. The start-up of the plant might take place in the near future, reported MRC analysts.

Lukoil's officials already announced in June technical possibilities of resuming PP production at Stavrolen on 1 July 2014. However, actual dates of the production launch were not announced because of issues in the feedstock market. The situation has slightly improved in the feedstock market (the prolylene market) by late July, which might lead to the resumption of production at the plant in late August - early September.

As reported earlier, Stavrolen was forced to shut down its polyethylene (PE) and PP production because of the accident at the plant's ethylene complex on 26 February 2014. The plant's PE and PP annual production capacities are 300,000 tonnes and 120,000 tonnes, respectively. At the same time, polyolefins production was not affected by the accident.

Given the potential of the propylene market in Russia and the CIS countries, there is a possibility of resuming PP production at Stavrolen on imported feedstock, however, to talk about the exact start-up dates and probable capacity utilisation is still too early because of many unknown factors, including the stability of operations at SIBUR Kstovo's (SIBUR) ethylene complex.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nine Petroleos Mexicanos employees have reported minor injuries after a storage tank at a refinery in Ciudad Madero caught fire late on Tuesday night, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Seven workers have been treated for dehydration and two for minor burns, according to a Pemex press official who declined to be named because of company policy.

Emergency services crews continue to work to extinguish the fire at the state-owned oil producer’s refinery 500 kilometers (311 miles) north of Mexico City in the Tamaulipas state. No serious injuries have been reported.

The refinery has production capacity of 190,000 bpd.

The blaze is at least the third accident at the site this year. A fire at the unit’s coker plant limited operations for five days in May, less than a month after a boiler exploded because of an excessive pressure build-up in April. No injuries were reported in either incident.

The Ciudad Madero refinery, the smallest of Pemex’s six national refineries, processed 129,763 bpd in 2013, and 128,293 bpd in May.

As MRC wrote previously, in early 2013, a powerful explosion rocked the Mexico City headquarters of state-owned oil giant Pemex, killing 37 people, injuring more than 100 and trapping others inside.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I has been awarded a contract valued in excess of USD50 million by the Daelim-Petrofac venture for the design and supply of delayed coking, hydrocracking, crude and vacuum heaters and a steam reformer for the Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Co. (Orpic) project located in Sohar, Oman, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under separate contracts with Orpic, CB&I provided the process technology for the delayed coker unit and its Chevron Lummus Global joint venture provided the technology for the hydrocracker unit.

CB&I also performed the FEED, as previously announced, and is serving as project management consultant to Orpic for the project.

"We have successfully executed a range of projects for Orpic," said Daniel McCarthy, president of CB&I's technology operating group.

"This is another contract that emphasizes our ability to provide a complete supply chain solution for our customers," he added.

As MRC informed earlier, CB&I and Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, have recently announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015. The partnership strengthens both companies' position in polypropylene catalyst and technology by leveraging Clariant’s catalyst research and development and production know-how together with CB&I’s vast knowledge in catalyst, process design and licensing of polypropylene plants.
MRC