PP prices increased in Russia in November

Moscow (MRC) - Prices for polypropylene (PP) increased in the Russian market in November, contrary to the experience of the past. The average price increase was about roubles (Rb) 3,000/tonne, depending on the supplier, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

In previous years Russia's PP prices decreased in November under the pressure of the seasonal factor. The demand for polymer had weakened, while the supply of material in the market increased after the end of the period of scheduled maintenance works of key producers.

The situation in the market has changed this year, lower prices in the first half of the month changed to growth in the second half of November. Demand for polypropylene in the first half of November declined, and this factor began to put pressure on prices.

Price offers for the supply of the Central Asian homopolymer PP raffia reached a level of Rb84,000/tonne FCA, including VAT; the Russian parity was on average by Rb1,000/tonne more expensive. The largest supplier of polypropylene in Russia - SIBUR announced an increase in prices for homopolymer PP by Rb3,000/tonne. Other suppliers reacted moderately to such a tangible price increase, raising prices on average by Rb1,000/tonne before the end of the month.

The market for propylene copolymers was more complicated. Supply of extrusion PP block copolymers and injection moulding PP random copolymers was tight in November. Prices for injection moulding PP random copolymers in some cases reached 120,000/tonne FCA, including VAT.

Prices for injection moulding PP block copolymers and extrusion PP random copolymers were steady in November, as weaker demand and sufficient supply did not allow prices to rise.
MRC

PTTGC likely to shut HDPE plant for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is expected to shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company is likely to shut the plant in February/March 2018, for a maintenance turnaround. The plant is expected to remain offline for around 2 weeks.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT will start up the plant by the end of this year.

PTT currently has a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of HDPE, 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

JGC wins EPC contract for gas processing plant project in Indonesia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- JGC Corporation, in partnership with JGC Indonesia, a subsidiary of JGC Corporation, and PT Rekayasa Industri of Indonesia, has received an order for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the construction of a gas processing plant in Bojonegoro, East Java Province, Indonesia, said Refiningandpetrochemicals.

The lump-sum turn key contract, valued at approximately100 billion Japanese Yen, of which the JGC Group share is approximately 40 billion Japanese Yen, was awarded by PT Pertamina EP Cepu (PEPC), a subsidiary of PT Pertamina (Persero) (Pertamina), Indonesia’s state-owned energy company.

The project contract calls for the design and construction of a plant to process 330 mmscfd natural gas (with 1% H2S and 34% CO2 content) for the production of 172 mmscfd sales gas, condensate and so on, from natural gas produced by the unitized Jambaran - Tiung Biru gas field in the Bojonegoro area developed by PEPC and its partners.

The Indonesian government has decided, as one of its important policies, to develop a domestic gas supply network to respond to the increasing energy demand in the country, and the project is listed as a strategic program following that policy. Plan is for the produced sales gas to be used principally by a gas-fired power plant of Indonesia’s state-owned electric power company in East Java Province.

Since the 1970s, JGC has carried out numerous projects for Pertamina. JGC understands that the contract has been awarded to JGC on the basis of its experience in Indonesia and the high evaluation accorded to its project execution capabilities, in addtion to its cost-competitive proposal.

In Indonesia, some additional big projects, such as brown and green field refinery projects planned by Pertamina, are under consideration. Through successful completion of this projeject and active sales activity as an engineering company which is able to respond to the various needs of clients in Indonecia, JGC intends to contribute further to the development of industries and improvement of living conditions in Indonesia.
MRC

Akzo Nobel shareholders approve chemicals split

MOSCOW (MRC) - Akzo Nobel gained shareholder approval on Thursday to spin off its 10 billion euro (USD11.9 billion) chemicals division as part of plans to placate investors after the Dutch paintmaker rejected a takeover offer from rival PPG Industries (PPG.N), said the company on its web-site.

The sale of the chemicals operation was described by Chief Executive Thierry Vanlancker as "essential" for further growth of the company and was backed by 99.9 percent of shareholders in a vote in Amsterdam.

Akzo had clashed with a large part of its shareholder base this year after management refused to negotiate with PPG over a 26 billion euro offer.

The company said at the time that it wanted to "unlock value" by spinning off its chemicals business, either through a direct sale or an initial public offering (IPO). The majority of the proceeds are earmarked for investors, starting with a special dividend of 1 billion euros in December.

Akzo expects the separation of the chemicals division, which has annual revenue of 4.8 billion euros and more than 9,000 employees worldwide, to be completed in April.
MRC

BASF introduces FCC catalyst to help refiners increase liquid product yields with heavy resid feeds

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has announced the launch of Fortress NXT, the next generation of the industry-leading Fortress Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst for heavy residuum (resid) oil feedstock applications for the refining market, as per the company's press release.

Fortress NXT has been optimized to deliver superior metals passivation and activity maintenance, while keeping hydrogen and coke production low. For refineries, this creates the opportunity for profit maximization.

Fortress NXT has shown excellent results in refinery trials. Refineries that used Fortress NXT in their FCC units achieved optimal results with lower coke and gas. Refineries also sustained Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and gasoline outputs and bottoms upgrading while exploring new feedstocks with higher resid content. It builds on the BASF Fortress FCC catalyst technology that has been established in the Refinery markets for many years, and has been successfully used in FCC units all over the world.

"The introduction of Fortress NXT adds an innovative new product to BASF’s advanced refinery catalysts portfolio," said Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President, Process Catalysts at BASF. "Customers that already used Fortress NXT during plant trials have seen clear gas and coke reduction and the ability to increase the residue content of their feeds by up to 7%. This shows Fortress NXT’s capability to help refiners optimize their operations and maximize profits."

Fortress NXT resumes the path of continuous innovation of BASF’s refinery catalysts portfolio and builds on successful product introductions. The unique BoroCat™ technology, introduced in 2016, was recently awarded with the 2017 Hydrocarbon Processing Award for best catalyst technology and the 2017 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for outstanding environmental contributions. In 2017, Borotec was introduced in the market, the second innovation using BASF’s unique Boron-Based Technology (BBT) platform.

"Our goal is to make our refining customers worldwide more successful by offering catalysts that minimize unwanted side reactions and increase their output. That is why we will continue to work on innovative FCC catalyst solutions with unique properties," added Jim Chirumbole, Vice President, Refining Catalysts at BASF.

As MRC wrote previously, within the next five years, BASF SE (Ludwigshafen, Germany) plans to invest globally more than EUR200 million in its plastic additives business, approximately half of which in Asia, focusing on capacity expansions and operational excellence. Plastic additives improve product properties such as scratch resistance or light stability, and optimize plastics manufacturing processes. As the leading global supplier of plastic additives with manufacturing assets in all regions, BASF is a major partner to the plastics industry.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC