RusVinyl shut down PVC production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RusVinyl, Russia's largest polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer (Nizhny Novgorod region), a joint venture of SIBUR Holding and Belgian group Solvay, shut down its PVC production for a scheduled turnaround, reported MRC analytsts.

The plant's representatives said RusVinyl took off-stream its PVC production for a scheduled maintenance last weekend. The outage will not be long and will last approximately until 5 May. RusVinyl's design capacity is 300,000 tonnes/year of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) and 30,000 tonnes/year of emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC).

This is the first scheduled shutdown for maintenance at Russian PVC plants this year.

SayanskKhimPlast will be the second one to shut down its production capacities for a turnaround. The exact dates of the outage have not been announced by the Sayansk producer yet, but the turnaround is scheduled for July and will last for about a month. The plant's annual production capacity is 300,000 tonnes.
MRC

PE imports to Belarus rose by 0.7% in January-February

MOSCOW (MRC) - Overall imports of polyethylene (PE) into Belarus grew by 0.7% year on year in the first two months of this year, reaching 20,200 tonnes. Local companies have increased the volume of purchases of only high density polyethylene (HDPE), as per MRC DataScope.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Belarus, February 2018 PE imports to Belarus dropped to 9,300 tonnes from 10,900 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies reduced their purchasing of PE in Russia and Ukraine. Overall PE imports reached 20,200 tonnes in January-February 2018, compared to 20,070 tonnes a year earlier. The demand for HDPE has increased, while the demand for low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) has declined.

The structure of PE imports to Belarus by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

February LDPE imports decreased to 1,900 tonnes from 2,100 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies reduced slightly their PE purchasing in Russia. Overall imports of this PE grade into Belarus totalled about 4,000 tonnes in January-February, compared to 5,600 tonnes a year earlier.

February LLDPE imports were 1,900 tonnes versus 2,500 tonnes a month earlier, local companies significantly reduced their purchasing of Middle Eastern butene PE. Thus, overall LLDPE imports exceeded 4,400 tonnes in January - February 2018, whereas this figure was about 8,100 tonnes a year earlier.

February imports of HDPE into Belarus decreased to 4,400 tonnes against 5,700 tonnes in January. Local companies decreased their purchasing of PE in Russia and Ukraine. Overall HDPE imports into the country were about 10,700 tonnes in January-February 2018, up by 58.5% year on year.

MRC

PP imports to Belarus rose by 17.4% in January-February

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) into Belarus increased to about 14,900 tonnes in first two months of this year, up 17.4% year on year, compared to the same period of 2017. Demand for all PP grades increased, as per MRC DataScope.

February PP imports into Belarus exceeded 8,000 tonnes against 6,900 tonnes a month earlier, local converters increased their purchases of injection moulding propylene copolymers. Total PP imports into the country reached 14,900 tonnes in January - February, compared with 12,600 tonnes year on year.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

February imports of homopolymers of propylene to the Belarusian market rose to 5,300 tonnes against 5,000 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased the volume of purchases of injection moulding PP in Russia. Thus, overall homopolymer PP imports reached 10,300 tonnes in January-February, up by 21% year on year.

Russian producers with the share of about 86% of the total shipments were the key suppliers. February imports of propylene copolymers to Belarus increased to 2,700 tonnes from 1,900 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their procurement of injection moulding statistical copolymers (PP random copolymers) in Russia. Thus, overall imports of propylene copolymers reached 4,600 tonnes in January-February 2018, whereas this figure was 4,100 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

Valero Texas City refinery hit by explosion, fire

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion set off a huge fire at Valero Energy Corp’s 225,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Texas City, Texas, refinery on Thursday afternoon but the fire was quickly contained, according the City of Texas City Emergency Management office, as per Reuters.

Smoke rises from Valero Energy Corp's refinery plant in Texas City, Texas, U.S., April 19, 2018, in this still image from video obtained via social media. No injuries were reported and the blaze, which was burning light hydrocarbons, was contained about an hour and a half after it broke out, Texas City Emergency Management said.

Sources familiar with plant operations said the explosion at about 5 p.m. (6 p.m. EDT/2200 GMT) was on a 12,000-bpd alkylation unit. It was unclear if other units had been affected. Alkylation units convert refining by-products into high-octane components blended into gasoline.

Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said the company was cooperating with local, state and federal agencies in responding to the fire, which was being fought by the refinery’s firefighting team.

"At this time, Valero has very little information as to the cause of the fire,” Riojas said. “Our primary concern is for the safety of our workers."

Firefighting units from Texas City and the neighboring Marathon Petroleum Corp refinery were called to the Valero plant, the sources said.

Workers at the Valero and Marathon refineries, adjacent to each other on the south side of Texas City, were told to shelter-in-place, though no such order was issued for the entire city, 42 miles (68 km) south of Houston.

The explosion was heard 5 miles (8 km) away from the Valero refinery and rocked buildings within a mile (1.6 km) of the plant, according to local media reports.

Texas City was the site of the deadliest industrial explosion in U.S. history when on April 16, 1947, a ship carrying more than 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, setting off blasts on other ships and nearby oil storage tanks and killing 581 people.

The deadliest U.S. refinery explosion in the 21st Century took place on March 23, 2005, at the BP Plc Texas City refinery (now owned by Marathon), killing 15 workers and injuring 180 people.
MRC

Saudi Kayan announces financial results for Q1

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company on Sunday reported a 74.3% year-on-year jump in its profits for the first quarter of 2018, as per Mubasher.

Kayan’s profits amounted to SAR 462.6 million during Q1-18, compared to SAR 264.5 million in Q1-17, according to a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

The Tadawul-listed firm attributed the rise in its first-quarter profits to a growth in an average of sales prices, as well as a decline in operating costs.

Sales’ revenues increased 2.25% to SAR 2.7 billion for the three-month period ended 31 March 2018, compared to SAR 2.67 billion in the year-ago period.

The company’s total income surged 83% to hit SAR 485.04 million during Q1-18 versus SAR 265.46 million for the same period in the prior year.
MRC