ARLANXEO increases prices for its Keltan (EPDM) products

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ARLANXEO raises its prices for Ethylene propylene diene rubber grades (EPDM) globally, as per the company's press release.

In Europe, Middle East and Africa the price adjustment will be up to 125 EUR per metric ton and effective as of January 15th, 2018.

In Latin America and APAC (excl. Greater China) will be up to 150 USD per metric ton and effective as of January 15th, 2018.

In Greater China ARLANXEO has contacted its customers individually regarding a price increase in December.

ARLANXEO distributes EPDM rubber under the brand name Keltan. EPDM products are used in applications like automotive, building and construction, plastics modification, consumer goods, cable and wire, and tubes.

Arlanxeo was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of Lanxess - a world-leading specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany - and Saudi Aramco - a major global energy and chemicals enterprise headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The two partners each hold a 50-percent interest in the joint venture. The business operations of ARLANXEO are assigned to the High Performance Elastomers and Tire & Specialty Rubbers business units. As MRC wrote before, in September 2015, Lanxess was in talks to put its main synthetic rubber business into a joint venture with petrochemicals group Ineos. Lanxess also held talks with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and Russia's NKNK and Sibur.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company’s biggest, since January, as a new supply agreement has come into effect, a senior industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, is expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude this year, up by about 85 to 90 percent from last year’s level, the source said. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia’s top oil producer Rosneft will supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would represent an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes. The additional oil sent to Dalian is about 120,000 bpd and will make up the bulk of the Russian increases.

The increased pipeline supplies will displace seaborne shipments of ESPO crude through the Far East port of Kozmino and shipments from the Middle East that Dalian has previously taken, the source said. “The plant will be processing pipeline crude only this year,” said the source, adding that the plant also takes in pipeline crude from the PetroChina-run Daqing oilfield in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. A PetroChina spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment.

PetroChina has designated three refineries in northeast China - Dalian, Liaoyang and Jilin - as the main receiving points for the increased Russian supply. Liaoyang will begin taking more crude once a major upgrade is completed at the end of this year. The new volumes will flow as a result of Russia and China expanding the East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline that starts at Rosneft’s oilfields in East Siberia and enters China at border town of Mohe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SP Chemicals has restarted a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant following an unplanned shutdown, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has resumed operations at the plant last weekend. The plant was shut on January 10, 2017 owing to power disruption.

Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, SP Chemicals undertook a planned shutdown at its styrene monomer (SM) plant at Jiangsu on November 6, 2017. The plant remained under maintenance for about 4 weeks. Located at Taixing in Jiangsu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 320,000 mt/year.

SP Chemicals, a Singapore-based company is one of the largest ion-membrane chlor-alkali producer and aniline producer in the PRC. SP Chemicals engages in the manufacture and sale of the chemical industry's basic building blocks - caustic soda, chlorine, hydrogen and its related downstream products. The company's products include: aniline, caustic soda, chlorine, chlorobenzene, nitrochlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). To further drive its growth, SP Chemicals plans to invest approximately RMB1.1 billion in facilities for the production of styrene monomer, an intermediate raw chemical used in making polystyrene plastics, protective coatings, polyesters and resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is planning to increase its crude refining capacity in UAE by at least 60 per cent and triple its petrochemical production as part of its future growth strategy, its chief executive officer said in Abu Dhabi, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“This proposed expansion will create a single largest integrated refining and chemical site in the world in Ruwais in the UAE,” said Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum that got underway in Abu Dhabi.

“Once complete we will convert almost 20 per cent of our crude into chemicals, diversifying our range of higher value products and providing a natural hedge to oil price movements.” He also said hydrocarbons will continue to play a vital role to meet global energy demand despite increase in the diversity of energy mix.

Gulf energy ministers as well as top executives from different companies are taking part in the two day forum that will focus on geopolitics of the energy transformation and developments in oil and gas and renewable energy industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As part of DowDuPont Materials Science Division’s ongoing commitment to provide customers with greater access to expertise and products, the company announced that the technologies of Dow Corning Polyurethane Additives (PUA) will be incorporated into the Dow Polyurethanes portfolio under the Vorasurf polyurethane additives brand name, as per GV.

Vorasurf polyurethane additives will serve the ComfortScience, InsulationScience and DurableScience markets of Dow Polyurethanes, helping to meet growing demand for products like bedding, spray foam and footwear. Now, in addition to the proven silicone surfactants customers depend on to produce flexible, rigid and microcellular polyurethane foams, customers in these markets will have access to a rich portfolio of global polyurethane solutions, systems and capabilities - all backed by Dow’s polyurethane expertise.

“We are adding over 100 Dow Corning PUA products to the polyurethanes portfolio, expanding our already extensive toolbox of proven silicone surfactants for high-performance polyurethane foam," said Richard James, global segment leader for polyurethane additives. "In addition to expanding our portfolio, we are continuing to innovate with advanced products like low volatile organic compounds (VOC) automotive surfactants and new hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) compatible products."

The transition to the Vorasurf brand name will begin in November 2017 and will be fully transitioned by the end of 2018. All Dow Corning PUA products will still be offered, but to help ensure a smooth transition, updated product names will feature Dow Corning’s DC and retain the original product grade numbers (i.e. DC 193, DC 2525, DC 5950, etc.). A full listing of all updated product names can be found in the Dow Corning information center.

As MRC wrote before, in 2012, three major chemical companies: Dow Chemical, Formosa Plastics, and Chevron Phillips Chemical had unveiled their expansion plans in North America basing on deposits in the Marcellus Shale Formation in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. One of the upcoming projects of Dow Chemical basing on attractive price of shale gas is propylene project in Freeport, Texas.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC