Ufaorgsintez increases PE and PP prices from 15 December 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ufaorgsintez, owned by United Petrochemical Company has announced an increase of Rb1,400-2,000/tonne in contract prices of polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) for shipments starting from 15 December, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The company's customers said prices of all LDPE grades rose by Rb1,400/tonne from the level as of 1 December. Prices of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) of raffia grade grew by Rb1,500/tonne, prices of injection moulding homopolymer PP increased by Rb2,000/tonne, whereas prices of block copolymers of propylene (PP-impact) rose by Rb1,500/tonne.

The price rise was mostly caused by the rapid devaluation of the rouble, which led to a proportional price increase of feedstocks used for polymers production. At the same time, a drop in oil prices in foreign markets was not as dynamic as the weakening of the rouble.

Ufaorgsintez OAO was founded in 1956 and is based in Ufa, Russia. Ufaorgsintez OAO manufactures organic synthesis products in Russia and Europe. Its products include ethylene, propylene, ethanol, cumol, ethyl benzol, phenol, acetone, copolymer rubber, polyolefines, poly vinyl chloride and polyethylene items, thinners, and dilutants. The company was incorporated in 1984. United Petrochemical Company owns 87.76% of Ufaorgsintez's capital. Bashneft sold Ufaorgsintez to United Petrochemical Company in May 2013.

According to MRC ScanPlast report, the plant's overall PE and PP production totalled 75,300 tonnes and 111,600 tonnes, respectively, over the first eleven months of 2014.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese petrochemical producer Sunchem is in plans to start a new styrene monomer (SM) plant, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to be started in late 2016.

To be located in Dalian, China, the plant will have a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp (GPPC) is likely to shut its SM plant in Taiwan for maintenance turnaround in November 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month. Located in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 130,000 mt/year.

Earlier, in April 2014, GPPC shut down its SM plant in Taiwan for maintenance turnaround in late April. It remained off-stream for around one month. Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

Besides, Styrindo Mono Indonesia (SMI) shut its No.1 SM plant in Indonesia for maintenance turnaround in H2 November 2014. The plant will be shut for around one month. Located in Merak, Indonesia, the plant has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced the opening of a new sales center in Istanbul, Turkey, to support customer growth of the company's intermediate chemistry, engineered materials and emulsion polymers portfolio in Turkey and the greater European region, reported the company on its site.

"As a leading global supplier of specialty chemicals, high-performance engineering polymers and emulsion polymers products designed to drive growth and innovation across all industries, Celanese will focus the full power of our development support services, advanced products and deep technical knowledge on the success of our customers in Turkey and in the region," said Todd Elliott, vice president and general manager, Global Sales for Celanese.

The Celanese sales center in Istanbul will serve industries such as automotive, appliance, and medical devices, as well as industrial segments including paints, coatings and adhesives. A team of talented Celanese representatives will support customers in the region who are accelerating global product innovations within these key industries.

"This region is an important growth market and a focus for Celanese. For example, Turkey is one of the largest major appliance producers in the greater EMEA region and second largest worldwide," said Maria Ciliberti, vice president, European Sales for Celanese. "The Celanese sales team based in Istanbul will represent our company's full product portfolio and technical expertise across all business lines to help drive our commitment to be the first-choice chemistry solution source for our customers."

As MRC informed earlier, Celanese Corporation has recently introduced a range of detectable polymer technologies that can help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers ensure products contain components and parts that meet their material specifications.

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) -- SIBUR-Khimprom (a subsidiary of SIBUR Holding) and Air Products have entered into an agreement to build a new air separation unit in Perm and to supply the facility with locally produced gases, said the producer in its press release.

The document was signed by Air Products CEO Robert Peter Mills and SIBUR-Khimprom CEO Gennady Shilov.
Under the deal, Air Products will supply industrial gas to SIBUR's Perm subsidiary as agreed and invest its own cash to build and operate the new air separation unit.

SIBUR-Khimprom will build relevant facilities and utilities, lease out the site and act as the buyer under fixed price off-take contracts. This deal will help SIBUR-Khimprom cut down on industrial gas pricing, improve supply and focus on developing its new and current core operations.

The unit will comply with the most advanced usage, safety and efficiency standards. Its capacity will be c. 30,000 cu m of gaseous nitrogen per hour and c. 6,000 cu m of dry compressed air per hour, meeting the needs of SIBUR's Perm facility. The unit is set to come on stream in 2016. After the commissioning Air Products will supply industrial gases for SIBUR-Khimprom over the next 20 years.

This is the fourth SIBUR partnership for industrial gas production. Similar projects include facilities in Voronezh (in partnership with Air Products), Dzerzhinsk (with Linde Gas) and Tomsk (with Cryogenmash-Gas).

As MRC wrote before, SIBUR said in September that following the completion of the front-end engineering design (FEED) contracts and assessment of the design documentation, it is proceeding with the previously announced mega ZapSibNeftekhim project at Tobolsk, Russia. ZapSibNeftekhim's project is designed to operate a steam cracker (by Linde AG, Germany) with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa of ethylene, around 500 ktpa of propylene and 100 ktpa of butane-butylene fraction (BBF), along with units with a total capacity to produce 1.5 mtpa of various grades of polyethylene (by INEOS, UK) and a polypropylene unit of 500 ktpa (by LyondellBasell, Netherlands).

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. SIBUR owns and operates Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes, and is a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Spanish oil company Repsol said it had reached a deal to buy Talisman Energy, Canada's fifth-largest independent oil producer, for USD13 billion, said Reuters.

The proposed acquisition will boost Repsol's exploration and production arm and fill a funding gap after the seizure of its Argentine business in 2012. It will also help to reduce the firm's reliance on high-risk oil producing areas such as Libya.

The oil price drop has lowered price tags on producers like Talisman, spurring interest from Repsol which has been on the search for oil and gas targets in North America or other countries with stable regulation.

The Spanish company said the acquisition would boost its oil production by 76% to 680,000 barrels per day while its reserves would increase 55%. It also said the acquisition would bring annual benefits worth USD220 million and would be neutral for its earnings in 2016 and become accretive in 2017.

The board of Talisman has approved the transaction and recommended shareholders accept it, Repsol said in a statement to Spain's stock market regulator.

Previous merger talks between the two companies broke down last summer because of Talisman's underperforming North Sea operations, much of which are in a joint venture with China's Sinopec.

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2014, Mexico's national oil company Pemex announced that it would sell a 7.9% stake in Spanish oil firm Repsol, worth about 2.2 billion euros (USD3.0 billion). The sale ends a long relationship between Pemex and Repsol that had run into trouble in recent years over disagreements on policies ranging from top management to the handling of Repsol's investments in Argentina.

Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
MRC