Sadara signs 20-year agreement to supply Halliburton & TAQA new Jubail plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sadara Chemical Co. has signed a 20-year supply agreement with Energy Chemicals Sources Co. (ECSC), a new joint venture of Halliburton and The Industrialization & Energy Services Co. (TAQA), to supply feedstock to ECSC's planned chemical production facility to be built in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as per GV.

Under the agreement, Sadara will supply 60,000 t/y of ethylene oxide and 20,000 t/y propylene oxide via pipeline to the new specialty chemicals complex, which will be located in PlasChem Park. Construction on the facility is planned to begin this year with production expected in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The agreement with ECSC "is a key step forward in the development of the local oil and gas chemicals market," said Sadara Chief Executive Ziad Al-Labban. "Capitalizing on TAQA and Halliburton's combined knowledge and experience, and utilizing the chemicals that Sadara will be producing, we will together support the Kingdom's oil and gas industry through the manufacturing of essential oil and gas chemicals locally," he added.

PlasChem park is being developed under the collaborative efforts of Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Located next to Sadara's new USD 20-billion petrochemical complex, the park is devoted exclusively to chemical and conversion industries.

As MRC wrote previously, in June 2013, Dow Chemical, an American multinational chemical corporation, announced the signing of the main financing for the Sadara project. Sadara Chemical Company (Sadara), Dow's joint venture with Saudi Aramco, entered into definitive agreements with certain export credit agencies, commercial banks and the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for approximately USD10.5 billion of additional project financing.

Sadara is building a world-scale, fully integrated chemicals complex in Jubail Industrial City 2, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The complex will be comprised of 26 manufacturing units, will possess flexible cracking capabilities and is expected to produce more than 3 million metric tons of high-value performance plastics and specialty chemical products. The first production units are expected to come on-line in the second half of 2015, with full production starting in mid-2016.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan fell over the first four months of 2015 by 49% year on year and totalled little more than 9,300 tonnes, reported MRC analysts.

April imports of unmixed PVC to Kazakhstan virtually remained at the level of March and totalled 3,100 tonnes. The overall imports of resin decreased to 9,300 tonnes from January to April 2015 versus 18,100 tonnes over the same period of 2014. Such a major fall in PVC imports to Kazakhstan was caused by both weaker demand for resin from local producers and virtually complete cessation of further re-import of resin to Russia.

The main PVC suppliers to the local market are producers from China because of the geographical factor, their share was about 98% of the local market over the stated period. Small PVC quantities were also supplied from Turkey.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG will globally increase the prices for selected product types of its PMMA molding compounds, which it markets under the PLEXIGLAS and PLEXIMID trademarks (ACRYLITE and ACRYMID in the Americas), as per the company's press release.

As far as permissible under existing agreements and according to the product type, the increase will amount to up to a double-digit percentage.

Earlier, in May 2015, Evonik announced that, effective June 1, 2015, Evonik Industries AG would increase the prices of its PMMA sheets and blocks, which it markets under the PLEXIGLAS and DEGLAS trademarks, and the ACRIFX products by 6.5%. The reason for this step is the ongoing considerable rise in the cost of upstream products, especially raw materials.

Evonik Industries is a worldwide manufacturer of PMMA products sold under the PLEXIGLAS trademark on the European, Asian, African and Australian continents and under the ACRYLITE trademark in the Americas.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2015, Evonik Industries presented PLEXIGLAS Resist AG 100 - a new specialty molding compound for manufacturing vehicle glazing.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2014 more than 33,000 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR1.9 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price increase for natural polycarbonate (PC), reported the company on its site.

Effective immediately, or as existing contract terms allow, the June contract and spot prices for the product listed below will increase as follows:

- CALIBRE polycarbonate resins - by EUR430 per metric ton;

This price increase is in response to escalating costs of key raw materials used in the production of polycarbonate and aims to restore balance to Polycarbonate supply and demand globally.

"Margins in the PC industry have been excessively low in the last three years which has triggered limited reinvestment, leading to an opportunity now for margin expansion in order to restore acceptable profitability levels," said Nicolas Joly, Global Business Director, Polycarbonate at Trinseo.

As MRC informed previously, Trinseo last raised its prices of natural PC from 3 March, 2015, as follows:

- CALIBRE polycarbonate resins - by EUR350/tonne.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo’s technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo is completing its renaming process in 1Q 2015.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's high density polyethylene (HDPE) market is poised for a slight surplus in 2015 with new plants coming on stream in two months, and the excess would likely be shipped out to China, as per Plastemart.

India's 2014 HDPE production was pegged at 1.264 mln mt, while imports were pegged at 0.569 mln mt, according to India's Chemicals & Petrochemicals Manufacturers' Association.

The total supply was more or less in line with India's demand for the product. 2015 will see new projects coming on stream in India. These will include ONGC Petro additions' two 360,000 tpa high density polyethylene/linear low density polyethylene swing plants and a standalone HDPE plant with a capacity of 340,000 tpa at the Dahej Special Economic Zone in Gujarat. Both new plants will come online by July.

In addition, there is Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited's 220,000 tpa HDPE/LLDPE swing facility and GAIL's 400,000 tpa polyethylene plant at its Pata facility in Uttar Pradesh, which are expected to start up by July.

India's HDPE production will increase with new plant startups, possibly leading to a slight surplus this year, possibly to the tune of less than 16,000 mt of HDPE , and 10,000 mt for linear low density polyethylene. Market sources said HDPE and LLDPE prices in India may fall if there is indeed a surplus, or some product might be exported to China or Southeast Asia instead.
MRC