PP imports in Ukraine decreased by 9% in January - April 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) in Ukraine decreased to 29,300 tonnes in January-April 2015 , down 9% year on year.
The greatest decrease in imports occurred for PP block copolymers, according to MRC DataScope.

April imports of polypropylene in Ukraine reached 7,600 tonnes, compared with 7,800 tonnes in March, because of a lower demand for propylene copolymers. Total PP imports in the country decreased to 29,300 tonnes in January - April 2015, compared with 32,100 tonnes in the same time a year earlier. The largest drop occurred in the supply of PP block copolymers because of the reduction in the for injection moulding and pipe extrusion sectors.

Structure of PP imports in the country looked as follows. April imports of homopolymer PP in Ukraine increased to 6,400 tonnes, compared to 6,400 tonnes in March, with the increase in supplies occurred for the injection moulding sector. Imports of homopolymer PP decreased to 22,500 tonnes in the first four months of 2015, down 8% year on year.

April imports of block copolymers of propylene decreased to 422 tonnes, compared to 658 tonnes in March, because of the reduction in demand in the sector of injection moulding. Total imports of PP block copolymers in the country fell to 2,800 tonnes in the first four months of the year, compared with 3,800 tonnes year on year. The greatest decrease in demand occurred for injection moulding and pipe extrusion sectors.


April imports of stat-propylene copolymer (PP-random) in Ukraine were slightly less than 600 tonnes, compared to 800 tonnes in March on the reduction of purchases from the local producers of moulded goods and pressure pipes. Total imports of PP random copolymers in Ukraine were about 3,100 tonnes in January - April 2015, compared with 2,800 tonnes year on year. The demand has increased from the producers of pipes and biaxially oriented polypropylene film (BOPP).

Total imports of other propylene copolymers in the reporting period were about 945 tonnes, compared with 717 tonnes year on year.


MRC

Celanese names presidents of Acetyl Chain and Materials Solutions Business Units

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation (CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, announced the appointment of Pat Quarles as executive vice president and president, Acetyl Chain and Integrated Supply Chain, and Scott Sutton as executive vice president and president, Materials Solutions, effective June 1, 2015, said the company.

Both executives will report to Celanese chairman and chief executive officer Mark Rohr.

Quarles joins Celanese from LyondellBasell where until recently he led that firm's intermediates and derivatives business. Sutton is currently vice president and general manager of Celanese’s engineered materials business.

As MRC reported earlier, in May 2014, Celanese Corporation announced its intent to construct a EVA emulsions production unit in Southeast Asia. The unit is expected to begin production by mid-2016.

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 7,500 employees worldwide and had 2014 net sales of USD6.8 billion.
MRC

Chemours appoints new president of titanium technologies

МОSCOW (MRC) -- The Chemours Company ("Chemours"), a wholly owned subsidiary of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont"), announced that, effective immediately, E. Bryan Snell will assume the role of President of the Titanium Technologies business, said the company.

Snell has extensive experience in the Titanium Technologies business having first joined Titanium Technologies in 1992 as production unit manager. Since that time, Snell has held a variety of global leadership roles in the Titanium Technologies business. His previous position as senior vice president of productivity and strategy will be eliminated.

"Bryan's robust business acumen, as well as his impressive sales, marketing and manufacturing experience will prove invaluable in furthering the growth and development of Titanium Technologies," stated Mark P. Vergnano, executive vice president, DuPont and CEO Designate of Chemours.

Mr. BC Chong, who led the Titanium Technologies business since January 2011, has made the decision to pursue new career opportunities.

As MRC informed earlier, last Wednesday, Dupont shareholders flatly rejected a contentious campaign by Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management L.P for seats on the board of the 212-year-old company. That fight led DuPont to move up its public relations campaign about the upcoming spinoff of Chemours. The spinoff is expected to occur July 1.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of DuPont, The Chemours Company is a global leader in titanium technologies, fluoroproducts and chemical solutions, providing its customers in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. Chemours ingredients are found in plastics and coatings, refrigeration and air conditioning, mining and oil refining operations and general industrial manufacturing.

DuPont is an American chemical company that was founded in July, 1802. The company manufactures a wide range of chemical products, leading extensive innovative research in this field. The company is the inventor of many unique plastics and other materials, including neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Kevlar, Mylar, Tyvek, etc. DuPont was the developer and main producer of Freon used in the production of refrigeration equipment.
MRC

Shell to sell French LPG business to DCC Energy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell will sell its French liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business for about 464 million euros (USD519 million) to DCC Energy, adding to more than USD2 billion of disposals this year following the collapse in oil prices, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Butagaz unit will give DCC Energy a quarter of France’s LPG market and make it Europe’s third-largest distributor of the fuel, it said in a statement Tuesday. Shell is exiting the LPG business globally and focusing its refining and fuel marketing operations on smaller areas, it said in a separate statement.

Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden is speeding up asset sales and spending curbs to cope with a slump in oil prices. The Anglo-Dutch company has sold oil fields in Nigeria, axed a USD6.5 billion petrochemicals plant in Qatar and stalled a liquefied natural-gas (LNG) project in Australia.

In January, Shell said that it would cut USD15 billion of investments over the next three years and curtail exploration.

DCC Energy is part of Dublin, Ireland-based DCC, which operates energy, technology and health care businesses. DCC rose 9.6% to 4,811 pence by 8:47 a.m. in London. Shell’s B shares, the most widely traded, dropped 0.2%. The deal is expected to be completed this year. Shell will continue its aviation fuel and lubricants businesses in France.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) is an independent oil and gas company, based in the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Corporate. Upstream combines the operating segments Upstream International and Upstream Americas, which are engaged in searching for and recovering crude oil and natural gas, the liquefaction and transportation of gas, the extraction of bitumen from oil sands and converting it into synthetic crude oil, and wind energy. Downstream segment is engaged in manufacturing, distribution and marketing activities for oil products and chemicals. Royal Dutch Shell said that its earnings for the first quarter fell by 56 percent compared with a year earlier.
MRC

PC production in Russia dropped by 5% from January to April 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production of polycarbonate (PC) in Russia decreased over the first four months of 2015 by 5% year on year and totalled 23,400 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast report.


At the same time, production of PC granules for sheet extrusion increased by 8% and reached 20,300 tonnes, whereas production of injection moulding grades fell by 42% to only 1,400 tonnes.

Kazanorgsintez, the only PC producer in the CIS, is focused on imports substitution and work with the domestic market. The plant refused to supply to foreign markets and made structural changes, which meet the demand in the Russian market, to its production range.

Thus, Kazanorgsintez's share in the extrusion PC segment rose to 83% over the stated period (versus 69% last year), and the plant's share in the injection moulding segment went up to 68% (versus 46% a year earlier).

April and May are traditionally the months of strong seasonal demand. Therefore, Kazanorgsintez plans to postpone a scheduled shutdown for maintenance until summer.

MRC