Output of products from polymers in Russia up 4.9% in H1 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's output of products from polymers continued to increase in June under the pressure of seasonal factors, the increase was 4.5% from May. Thus, this figure grew by 4.9% year on year in January-June 2017, reported MRC analysts.

According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, June production of of plastic pipes, hoses and fittings rose to 52,200 tonnes from 44,400 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of these products totalled 237,400 tonnes in the first half of 2017, down by 1.9% year on year.

Last month's production of unreinforced and non-combined films was 94,000 tonnes, compared to 96,200 tonnes in May. Output of films products grew in January-June 2017 by 8.2% year on year to 504,600 tonnes.

Last month's production of porous boards, sheets and polymer films was 24,300 tonnes, whereas this figure was 23,000 tonnes a months earlier. Overall output of these polymer products fell in the first half of 2017 by 0.1% year on year to 121,500 tonnes.

June production of plastic windows and window sills, and door blocks increased to 2.1 million square metres and 96,800 square metres, respectively, versus 1.8 million square metres and 74,700 square metres a month earlier. Output of these products was 8.7 million square metres in the first six months of the year (up by 2.5% year on year) and 416,500 square metres (down by 3.9% year on year), respectively.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall output of chemicals increased in the first six months of 2017 by 7.4%, despite lower production in May and June, according to Rosstat.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, last month's production of basic chemicals dropped by 1.4% from May 2017. This reduction was 1.5% a month earlier. However, production of basic chemicals grew by 7.4% year on year.

June output of ethylene was 257,000 tonnes, compared to 260,000 tonnes a month earlier, lower production in April was caused by a scheduled shutdown for maintenance at Angarsk Polymers Plant. Overall, over 1.5 m tonnes of this olefin were manufactured in the first six month of 2017, up by 10.2% year on year.

Last month's production of benzene dropped to 106,000 tonnes from 114,000 tonnes in May, which was also caused by the outage at Angarsk Polymers Plant. Overall output of this product exceeded 703,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 11.5% year on year.

June production of xylenes was 35,300 tonnes, compared to 51,400 tonnes a month earlier. 276,900 tonnes of xylenes were produced in the first six months of 2017, down by 7.8% year on year.

June production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 103,000 tonnes (100% of the basic substance), down by 5.2% month on month. Overall output of caustic soda grew to 617,800 tonnes in January-June 2017, up by 12.3% year on year.

Last month's production of mineral fertilizers was 1.93 mln tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients) versus 1.91 mln tonnes in May. Nevertheless, Russian plants produced about 11 mln tonnes of fertilizers in January-June 2017, up by 11.3% year on year. Production of all types of fertilizers increased, with potash fertilizers, the output of which grew by 18%, accounted for the greatest increase.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned refinery Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd are looking for viability gap funding of 2,000 crore to set up a petrochemical plant at a cost of 32,000 crore at Kakinada, according to Plastemart.

Both the companies in the joint venture are in talks with the state government on various aspects of the proposed 1 mln ton ethylene derivatives plant.

The authorities said the government cannot provide such huge funds and instead they can benefit from the State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) to the tune of about Rs 300 crore.

In the joint venture between the companies and the state government, the latter will facilitate permissions. Both companies will get land from GMR company in the Kakinada special economic zone (SEZ).

As MRC wrote before, HPCL and its partner Lakshmi N Mittal will invest about USD3 bln in setting up a petrochemical complex at the Bhatinda refinery in Punjab. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture between HPCL and Mittal Energy Investments Pvt Ltd, Singapore, plans to set up an up to 1.2 mln ton naphtha cracker, expandable to 1.7 mt.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is an Indian state-owned oil and natural gas company with its headquarters at Mumbai, Maharashtra and with Navratna status. HPCL has about 25% marketing share in India among PSUs and a strong marketing infrastructure. The Government of India owns 51.11% shares in HPCL and others are distributed amongst financial institutes, public and other investors.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil and gas company Total said on Monday that crude exports from its Djeno terminal in Congo Republic was ongoing and unaffected following a strike last week and the sinking of a loading buoy in an unrelated accident, as per Reuters.

Traders said on Friday that the company had declared a force majeure on exports of Djeno crude following the incident.

A spokeswoman for Total said: "Exports from Djeno remain unaffected and safely continue with the second available loading buoy," adding that the tanker that was loading at the time of the buoy incident was safely disconnected.

She added that the strike at the terminal ended on Friday, while an investigation into the buoy accident was ongoing.

As MRC informed before, in early July 2017, Total signed a deal with Tehran to develop phase 11 of Iran's South Pars, the world's largest gas field, marking the first major Western energy investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions against it. Total will be the operator with a 50.1 percent stake, alongside Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC with 30%, and National Iranian Oil Co subsidiary Petropars with 19.9%. The project will have a production capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day, or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensate, Total said in a statement, adding that the gas will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Perstorp has acquired food contact use approval for its Capa for Bioplastics product grades 6500D and the new 6800D, as per the company's press release.

By adding Capa 6800D to its product portfolio, Perstorp can now offer a higher molecular weight product to give customers more choices and flexibility in finding the right formulation.

Capa 6500D and Capa 6800D now approved for food contact use in the US. (Food Contact Notification by FDA)
The new Capa 6800D for Bioplastics extends Perstorp’s range of products for biodegradable food applications
Capa for Bioplastics is durable, stable and easy to process as well as offering best-in-class biodegradability
Bioplastics is a focus area for Perstorp. It is an important part of the company’s commitment to the environment and vision for a more sustainable future. Capa for Bioplastics exhibits excellent biodegradability properties and can improve bioplastic solutions, as well as enabling unique product characteristics. In the bioplastics market, Capa is typically used for applications like bags and films, paper cups and packaging.

"We have had food contact approval in Europe (EFSA) already for a few years," says Jesper Fahlen, global product manager Capa. "This approval for our Capa 6500D as well as for the new Capa 6800D verifies that Capa is safe for food applications, enabling bioplastic packaging for a more sustainable future."

The new Capa 6800D grade further extends Perstorp’s Capa portfolio. It is a high molecular weight linear polyester derived from caprolactone monomer. Like Capa 6500D, the Capa 6800D variant does not compromise on performance; being just as durable, stable, and easy to process while offering best in class biodegradability.

"The bioplastics market is rapidly growing and Perstorp sees huge potential for biodegradable packaging and food applications," says Marie Gronborg, Executive Vice President at Perstorp. “"ith the broader portfolio we meet our customers’ need for formulation efficiency by offering different choices of molecular weight. By helping manufacturers move from conventional plastics to bioplastics we are, together, reducing the pollution our planet is facing."

As MRC reported previously, in the first half of 2017, Synthomer plc acquired Perstorp Oxo Belgium AB from the Swedish Perstorp Holding AB for EUR 78 million. Perstorp Belgium is a niche additives business serving the decorative and industrial coatings industries. In 2016, the business generated earnings before interest and tax of EUR 8 million and had gross assets of EUR 21 million. The company operates from a single site in Ghent, Belgium, and has 41 employees, who will all be transferred with the business.

Perstorp is one of the world leaders in various sectors of the specialty chemicals market, it's pioneer in formalin chemistry, plastics and surface materials. Perstorp was founded in 1881 and is controlled by PAI partners,a major European private equity company. The company has around 1,500 employees in with 22 production plants in Europe, Asia and North America.
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