PP imports ro Belarus rose by 2% from January to May 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polypropylene (PP) imports into Belarus increased by 2% over the first five months of 2014 on the back of stronger demand for propylene copolymers, as per MRC DataScope report.

May PP imports to Belarus rose to 8,800 tonnes (6,600 tonnes in April) because of a seasonal increase in demand for finished products. The overall PP importsto the local market from January to May 2014 totalled 33,400 tonnes versus 32,700 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for propylene copolymers grew significantly, while demand for propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP), on the contrary, decreased.

The structure of PP imports looks the following way over the stated period.

May imports of homopolymer PP to the local market rose to 6,000 tonnes from 4,000 tonnes in April. The overall imports of propylene homopolymers into Belarus fell over the first five months of the year to 22,600 tonnes from 24,500 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for PP for the production of BOPP-films accounted for the greates decline.

Russian producers with the share of 67% over the said period are the key suppliers of homopolymer PP to the Belarusian market. Producers from Poland and Germany with the share of 10% and 8%, respectively, are the second and third largest suppliers of propylene homopolymers.

May imports of propylene copolymers to Belarus rose to 2,800 tonnes (2,600 tonnes in April). The overall imports of propylene copolymers to the local market grew from January to May 2014 to 10,800 tonnes versus 8,300 tonnes a year earlier. Producers from Germany and the Czech Republic with the share of 60% and 13%, respectively, are the key suppliers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has introduced powerful opportunities to enhance the look, feel and pour of home care products, with new viscosity boosters Hostagel CL for chlorine bleach gel formulations and Hostagel LT for hard-to-thicken detergent formulations added to its Hostagel range, as per the company's press release.

Product aesthetics and performance are key to consumer success in the laundry detergent, dishwashing and consumer and industrial cleaning product segments. Clariant’s Hostagel rheology modifiers offer customers an effective way of introducing the desired degree of viscosity under a broad range of conditions to enhance product delivery, appearance and performance.

New Hostagel CL is an almost colorless, clear liquid that meets the needs of more affordable chlorine gel formulations. Suitable for cold processes, it also offers great cost-to-benefit performance. It is one of the best options available that can thicken from 2-5% of sodium hypochlorite while keeping viscosity high and appearance clear at lower cost than formulations containing amineoxide. The product is being launched to customers in Europe, North-America and Asia.

New Hostagel LT was developed for increasing the viscosity of those systems where traditional thickeners are not enough. For example, for combinations of surfactants that do not respond to sodium chloride or other viscosifiers. It is easy and convenient to handle, does not require melting, and can be used in many different applications. Hostagel LT is available in Latin America, North-America and Asia.

Hostagel CL and Hostagel LT are part of a line of six products that together cover customers’ rheology needs across the board - for every application and pH value.

As MRC wrote before, CB&I and Clariant have recently announced that their new Ziegler-Natta (ZN) polypropylene catalyst plant in Louisville, Kentucky, is on schedule to begin production in 2015.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. has inaugurated its new automotive coatings plant at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China, as per the company's press release.

The expansion of its automotive coatings production capacity with an investment of around EUR50 million further strengthens BASF’s presence in China and its position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive industry.

"BASF is the leading chemical partner for the automotive industry. This investment further signifies our commitment to our automotive customers and to supporting the dynamic growth of China’s automotive market," said Dr. Andreas Kreimeyer, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and Research Executive Director.

The new automotive coatings plant is located adjacent to another new BASF resin and electrocoat plant which will start operation in the second half of 2015. The close proximity of these two plants with access to facilities of BASF Caojing site and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park will allow greater synergies and operational efficiency.

BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between BASF Group and Shanghai Huayi Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., with more than 17 years of successful partnership.

BASF’s Coatings division develops, produces and markets innovative automotive coatings, automotive refinishes and industrial coatings as well as decorative paints. The company operate sites in Europe, North America and South America as well as Asia Pacific. In 2013, the Coatings division achieved global sales of EUR2.9 billion.

As MRC reported earlier, the designers at BASF’s Coatings division have recently published their automotive color trends for 2014/2015. With their collection entitled "Under the Radar", new color ranges are appearing on the trend radar. The development of special effects is setting new accents and opening up unusual color ranges. BASF’s designers are predicting that this will make automotive colors more complex and more individual in the future.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in EVA emulsions, will raise prices of high-polymeric PE grades in Europe, reported the company on its site.

Thus, the price increase of 20 cents per kilogram will be implemented for all GUR and GHR UHMW-PE grades sold in Europe, effective September 15, 2014, or as contracts allow.

As MRC informed earlier, in mid-Junly 2014, Celanese Corporation announced that it would increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in Asia. PVAc homopolymer and vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions will increase by CNY 200/tonne for China and USD30/tonne for the rest of Asia effective July 18, 2014, or as contracts allow.

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building and construction, glass fiber, carpet and paper.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Unipetrol AS, the largest Czech refiner, booked a second-quarter loss after lowering the value of its refinery assets, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The loss widened to 3.5 billion koruna (USD172 million) in the three months ended June 30 from a loss of 429 million koruna (USD21 million) a year earlier, the Prague-based company said on July 23 in an e-mailed statement. Without the impairment charge, Unipetrol would have earned a profit of 346 million koruna (USD17 million).

Unipetrol took an impairment charge of 4.7 billion koruna (USD230 million) on its refinery assets to reflect the worsening economic outlook. The refining segment, Unipetrol’s main source of revenue, remained "very difficult" with a margin of USD0.5 per barrel, the company said.

"We decided to book the one-time impairment of fixed assets because of the worsening mid-term outlook for the refinery segment," CEO Marek Switajewski said in the statement. "We’ve managed to improve revenue in all production segments."

The loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization was 3.5 billion koruna (USD172 million), the company said. Sales jumped 31% to 32.4 billion koruna (USD1.6 million) during the period.

As MRC informed previously, last year, Unipetrol 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 to invest almost USD1 billion over the next five years and make its petrochemical segment the biggest contributor to profit.

Unipetrol expects petrochemicals to become the largest source of revenue for the company in 2013-2017. Unipetrol wants to use the favourable market conditions to reinforce its position on the petrochemical market and optimise its operations.

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.
MRC