PE imports in Ukraine decreased by 5% in Q1 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) - Ukraine's imports of polyethylene (PE) decreased to 59,300 tonne in first three months of this year, down 5% year on year, compared to the same period of 2016. The decrease in imports accounted for the deliveries of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), according to MRC DataScope.

March PE imports into Ukraine decreased to 19,500 tonnes, contrary to the experience of the past, compared to 21,500 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies decreased purchases of LDPE and low density polyethylene (LDPE). In general, January-March imports into Ukraine totalled 59,300 tonnes compared with 62,600 tonnes year on year; supply of LLDPE and ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) increased.

Structure of PE imports over the reported period was as follows.

Imports of HDPE into Ukraine increased in March, despite the low demand in some processing segments, the final figure was about 9,000 tonnes against 6,800 tonnes in February. Local companies increased their purchasing of film and pipe grade HDPE. Overall HDPE imports of HDPE exceeded 24,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2017 versus 30,000 tonnes a year earlier, shipments of film grade HDPE fell by almost a third, deliveries of injection moulding PE decreased by 20%.

March imports of LDPE decreased to 4,500 tonnes against 6,600 tonnes, resulting from a significant reduction of export quotas from Russian and Middle Eastern producers. Overall LDPE imports exceeded 16,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 8% year on year.

Last month's LLDPE imports were 4,100 tonnes, compared to 6,700 tonnes in February, shipments of film grade PE fell by almost 2 times.
Overall LLDPE imports grew to 14,900 tonnes in January-March 2017 from 12,800 tonnes a year earlier. The main increase in demand was provided by producers of film products and cable-conductor products.

Imports of other PE grades, including ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA), totalled 4,100 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 2,000 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US-based paints and coatings group PPG Industries added pressure to its increasingly hostile attempt to take over rival AkzoNobel by sending an open letter to Akzo shareholders, said Dutchnews.

The letter added fuel to the fire ahead of Akzo’s planned announcement of its new corporate strategy in London on Wednesday. In the two-page document, PPG chairman Michael McGarry once again outlined his belief that combining the two companies would have great benefits for both.

McGarry also revealed that PPG approached Akzo in 2013 and discussed plans to merge the companies, adding Akzo was not interested and did not react at the time. Nor has Akzo reacted to PPG’s two bids for the Dutch company made since 2 March. PPG’s second, sweetened offer valued Akzo at EUR22.4bn. Refusing any discussion, Akzo termed PPG’s offer ‘too low and too risky’ and said it substantially undervalues the company.

McGarry said PPG had made 50 acquisitions in the past 15 years and all were now well integrated into the group. PPG has five production facilities in the Netherlands, with a total payroll of 1,000. Akzo employees and unions have said they feared job losses with a PPG takeover.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technology, engineering and project management company Neste Jacobs and refinery and petrochemical group Unipetrol have signed an agreement for Neste Jacobs to perform a comprehensive energy efficiency study of Unipetrol's Litvinov oil refinery in Czech Republic, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The energy efficiency study will be performed by utilizing Neste Jacobs' proprietary NAPCON energy performance analysis, that is a combination of high level process know-how and modeling skills, pinch-technology, equipment expertise and automation solutions. Neste Jacobs' energy analysis with a modular approach will identify the feasible improvement potential and create an action plan to implement the improvements.

The study will review existing energy consumption and production within the refinery process units. This includes pinch-analysis to identify opportunities to improve heat integration of the process. This is combined with fired heater optimization to maximize the benefits. On top of energy efficiency, the study includes waste water optimization assessment to minimize the water usage and recycling of waste water.

"We are happy to provide our extensive energy efficiency and water management knowledge in the form of an energy study for Unipetrol's refinery in Litvinov," said Jarmo Suominen, CEO of Neste Jacobs. "Our excellent project team will provide systematic study to Unipetrol to discover solutions, which are both practical and lucrative."

As MRC informed before, in October 2016, Neste Jacobs and Borealis signed an agreement for Neste Jacobs to perform an energy screening for all production units at Borealis’ site in Porvoo, Finland. Neste Jacobs utilized its unique NJe2 technology, part of Neste Jacobs proprietary NAPCON offering for the project. The project started in autumn 2016 and the recommendations will be implemented in the upcoming projects.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India's petrochemical major, is likely to brought on-stream its cracker in Hazira, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source informed that the company is expected to complete the maintenance at the cracker in end-April 2017. The cracker was taken off-line on March 24, 2017.

Located at Hazira near Surat in Gujarat, the cracker has a production capacity of 1.1 mmt/year.

As MRC informed previously, RIL has delayed the start-up of its new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant until Q2 2017. The company scheduled to commence operations at the plant in Q2 2017. As per the earlier plans, the plant was to be started in December 2016. Located at Jamnagar, Gujarat in India, the plant has a production capacity of 750,000 mt/year.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company is engaged in a wide range of activities, ranging from oil and gas production to production of polyester and polymer goods, including the production of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and textiles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bechtel, a company in engineering, procurement, and construction, announced that the company has been awarded two contracts by Carbon Holdings of Egypt: one to provide project management services for the Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex at Ain Sokhna, Egypt, and one to build two new polypropylene units at an adjacent site, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In its project management role, Bechtel will have oversight of project execution and contractor performance on what will be the largest petrochemicals complex in Egypt.

"For decades we have partnered with customers, contractors, and suppliers in Egypt and the region to safely deliver quality industrial facilities. These awards allow us to continue the legacy with the delivery of world-class facilities for Carbon Holdings," said Joe Thompson, general manager of Bechtel's Downstream and Chemicals business. "At the same time, the project will use goods and services from the United States, supporting jobs and creating opportunities for small businesses in the country."

Bechtel will also design, build and procure all the equipment and materials for the polypropylene production expansion at the complex's existing Oriental Petrochemicals site.

Bechtel has delivered complex petrochemical projects for more than 60 years, including signature projects such as the Borouge Petrochemical Complex in Abu Dhabi, CSPC Nanhai in China, and LP-7 in Canada. The company is currently building an ethylene plant in Texas for ExxonMobil.
MRC