PVC imports to Ukraine fell by 20% in Jan-May 2017

Last month's SPVC imports to Ukraine grew to 11,400 tonnes from 7,100 tonnes in April. Local companies partially offset a shortage of resin from European producers by higher shipments from the US. Overall SPVC imports were about 39,400 tonnes in January-May 2017, compared to 49,200 tonnes a year earlier. Demand for suspension from local pipes and window profile producers subsided significantly.

The structure of PVC imports into Ukraine by countries looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's SPVC imports from the United States rose to 6,400 tonnes from 3 tonnes in April, local companies were forced to increase their purchasing of North American resin because of the restrictions of European producers in the past three months. Imports of North American resin totalled 13,100 tonnes in January-May of 2017 versus 31,200 tonnes a year earlier.

May shipments of European PVC to the Ukrainian market remained at the level of April and were 3,100 tonnes. Overall imports of European PVC to Ukraine totalled 18,500 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 13,900 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's imports of Russian SPVC grew to 1,900 tonnes from 761 tonnes in April. Despite the introduction of a ban on shipments of resin from two producers, other manufacturers still managed to increase their presence in the local market. Shipments of Russian resin were 7,600 tonnes in the first five months of 2017, compared to 3,800 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Dow Chemical Company and 1QB Information Technologies (1QBit) announced a collaboration agreement to develop quantum computing tools for the chemicals and materials science technology spaces, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The two companies will accelerate the deployment of quantum computing across a range of applications relevant to the chemical sector.

"Our preliminary work with 1QBit has been very encouraging," said A.N. Sreeram, senior vice president, R&D, and chief technology officer for Dow. "Together with 1QBit, we have achieved ‘proof of concept’ for the application of quantum computing in areas relevant to Dow. With this new, multi-year agreement, we intend to develop a robust capability in the quantum computing space, further advancing our world-class innovation capabilities and maximizing shareholder return."

The collaboration will augment Dow’s discovery process by building fundamental understanding of new chemicals and materials. The combination of next-generation computational methodologies with experimental design will drive new acceleration of product and process development.

"We are pleased to be working with Dow on leading-edge quantum computing software development for the material sciences," said Andrew Fursman, chief executive officer for 1QBit. "Dow brings a powerful science machine and global market access in the chemical and materials sectors. We have been very impressed with the quality of the opportunity uncovered in the initial phases of this collaboration."

Over the last four years, 1QBit has developed new methods for machine learning, sampling, and optimization based on reformulating problems to meet the unique requirements of interfacing with quantum computers and leveraging their capabilities.

The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of chemical products increased by 7.5% in the first five months of the year.
The largest increase in output accounted for the benzene and caustic soda, as per the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat).

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, last month's production of basic chemicals grew by 9.7% from May 2016. Total production of key chemicals in the country grew by 7.5% in the stated period.

May production of ethylene was 260,000 tonnes compared with 234,000 tonnes in April on the back of scheduled maintenance works at Kazanorgsintez and Stavrolen. Overall, over 1.267 m tonnes of this olefin were manufactured in the first five month of 2017, up by 9.2% year on year.

Last month's production of benzene grew to 114,000 tonnes from 105,000 tonnes in April on the back of shutdown at two productions. Overall output of this product exceeded 597,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 12.5%year on year. The main increase in production was provided by Angarsk Polymers Plant.

May production of xylenes was 51,400 tonnes, compared to 43,600 tonnes a month earlier. January-May output of xylenes was 241,600 tonnes, down by 3.3% year on year.

May production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 108,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance), up by 9.2% year on year. Overall output of caustic soda grew to 514,800 tonnes in January-May 2017, up by 11.9% year on year. In February 2016, due to force majeure for ethylene supply, SayanskKhimplast was forced to shut down its caustic soda production, the outage continued until July.

Last month's production of mineral fertilizers was 1.91 mln tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients), up 5.5% from April.
Nevertheless, Russian plants produced over 9.0 mln tonnes of fertilizers in the first five months of 2017, up by 9.9% year on year.

Production of all types of fertilizers increased, with potash fertilizers, the output of which grew by 16%, accounted for the greatest increase.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SINOPEC, the biggest integrated refining and chemical company in China, and The Linde Group, a world-leading industrial gases and engineering company, today announced that they have established a EUR 145 million joint venture to supply vital industrial gases to local customers from key industries such as petrochemical, steel and electronics, within the Ningbo Chemical Industrial Zone in China's Zhejiang province, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

SINOPEC Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company (ZRCC) and Linde will each hold a 50% stake in the newly formed Ningbo Linde-ZRCC Gases Company Ltd (Linde-ZRCC), the sixth consecutive joint venture between the companies. The agreement will see Linde-ZRCC acquire two existing air separation units (ASUs) from ZRCC and construct a third for a combined 150,000 m3/h of oxygen capacity. The new ASU, expected to be on stream in 2018, will incorporate Linde's intelligent solutions for remote operation, diagnostics and analytics, as well as a modular design to increase efficiency, reduce energy requirements and enhance flexibility of production.

These three additional ASUs will double Linde production capacity of air gases in the Ningbo cluster and will be connected to Linde's pipeline supply network across Ningbo.

Sanjiv Lamba, Member of the Executive Board, Linde AG and Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific, said, "Linde is excited about the growth opportunities in China and further strengthening of our partnership with SINOPEC. Today's Linde-ZRCC agreement underscores not only the trusted long-term partnership Linde has with SINOPEC, but also highlights the advantage of world-class technology and operating expertise that Linde brings to our customers. Linde remains fully committed to supporting our customers in China in their growth aspiration. This year alone, we have signed multiple projects for major investments across China, which represents a significant part of Linde's strategy for growth in Asia."

"Linde operations in Ningbo is an excellent example of our cluster strategy in action. Leveraging Linde's gas and engineering expertise and innovations, we are able to consolidate our plant operations which enables our cluster customers to benefit from economies of scale - improved energy efficiency, better quality management, and safer and even more reliable service," said Steven Fang, Regional Business Unit Head, Linde East Asia. He added, "Linde's approach is well aligned with the Chinese government's plans to develop Ningbo into a modern petrochemical hub."

Linde's Engineering Division will design and construct the new air separation unit. Linde's world-leading technology in air separation design offers high energy efficiency and operational reliability.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I announced it has been awarded a contract by TOO Hill Resources (HILL) for the license and engineering design of a grassroots Lube Base Oil plant in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

The plant will use Chevron Lummus Global's (CLG) proprietary ISOCRACKING, ISODEWAXING, ISOFINISHING and Solvent Deasphalting technologies for the production of high-quality base oils and clean fuels. CLG is a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and CB&I.

"This multi-technology contract is another example of CB&I's breadth of technology portfolio at work," said Daniel M. McCarthy, CB&I's Executive Vice President of Technology. "This award is CLG's first award in Kazakhstan and symbolizes additional growth for the Central Asia region."

CB&I is a leading provider of technology and infrastructure for the energy industry. With over 125 years of experience and the expertise of more than 40,000 employees, CB&I provides reliable solutions to our customers around the world while maintaining a relentless focus on safety and an uncompromising standard of quality.
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