European PVC prices remained steady for CIS markets in September

MOSOCW (MRC) - Negotiations on European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices for September delivery to the CIS markets have begun this week. European producers in most cases rolled over the August export prices, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

September contract price of ethylene was agreed at the level of August, which did not affect the net cost of PVC production. Taking this into account, European producers announced the rollover of the August export PVC prices for supplies to the markets of the CIS countries in September, while in some cases it was reported about price cut of EUR5/tonne.

The demand for PVC from the main consumers from the CIS countries is low and mainly accounted for specific grades, in particular, with K70 and K58 PVC. Some European producers shut their capacities for turnaround in July and August, and there were equipment interruptions at some plants in August.

All these factors continue to affect the export quotas of some producers. Negotiations on August shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were held in the range of EUR730-790/tonne FCA, whereas deals were done in the range of EUR740-790/tonne FCA a month earlier.

Thus, most deals were rolled over from August, only in a few cases prices were cut by EUR5/tonne for K67 PVC.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. will implement close to CNY110 billion in facility investments for its silicones business, one of its main businesses, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It will expand its production capacity of silicone monomer, the intermediate product of silicones, and various types of silicone fluids, resins and rubber end products at the company’s main bases in Japan and globally.

A wide variety of requests for silicone products have been received, from many customers around the world, and in order to meet these customer requests, Shin-Etsu is implementing a sequential series of new investments. By means of these investments, the integrated production system will be further strengthened, and at the same time, ability to contribute to issue solutions for customers will be fortified.

These facility investments will be implemented in stages over about a period of two-and-a-half years, and the expansion of the production capacity of both silicone monomer and silicone end products will proceed in parallel. The breakdown of investment amounts is expected to be about ?50 billion for the expansion of production capacity of intermediate products such as monomers, about CNY50 billion for the expansion of production capacity of end products and about ?10 billion for the expansion of other secondary facilities such as infrastructure and shipping. The expansion of capacity for silicone monomer will be done at the existing bases in Japan and Thailand, and in addition to Japan, the capacity expansion for the group of end products will be carried out at existing bases in six overseas countries.

In view of the requests coming from customers and the expected demand, the demand for silicone products is expected to increase at a rate surpassing that of the average increase in the world’s GDP. In this way, the company will extensively capture the demand for silicone products for which this kind of steady growth is expected, and at the same time, flexibly meet it. For Shin-Etsu Chemical, silicones have been a strategically important business from the past up to the present and going forward as well, Shin-Etsu will work to further enhance the existence value of silicones. With these investments for strengthening silicones production capacity, The company expects to grow together with customers and will strengthen their position as a leading global silicones manufacturer.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2018, Shin-Etsu started maintenance at its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Kashima. The company had scheduled to shut the plant for turnaround in April 2018 for a period of around six weeks. The exact date of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located at Kashima in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 550,000 mt/year.

Shin-Etsu is the world and US' largest PVC producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced that it has acquired Ortloff Engineers, Ltd., a privately held licensor and industry-leading developer of specialized technologies that drive high returns in natural gas processing and sulfur recovery, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Terms of the acquisition, which closed on Aug. 31, have not been disclosed. There is no change to the Company's guidance for 2018 as a result of the acquisition.

Ortloff will become part of Honeywell UOP's Gas Processing and Hydrogen business, bringing the industry's most advanced expertise in the recovery of high-value natural gas liquids (NGLs) from natural gas streams. Ortloff technologies are specialized to maximize gas separation, providing customers with high operational flexibility and greater returns on their plant investments. Ortloff also specializes in unique technologies for removing sulfur from refinery feedstocks, ensuring greater plant reliability and operability over the refinery lifecycle.

"For decades, Ortloff technology has defined the forefront of gas processing technology. That enables our customers to realize very high returns from their investments in natural gas separation," said John Gugel, president of Honeywell UOP. "This differentiated, highly advanced technology, allows our customers to meet stringent process guarantees, while their operations perform at a best-in-class level. Ortloff also has unmatched expertise in sulfur recovery that tie in extremely well with our gas and refining portfolios."

Honeywell UOP has worked closely with Ortloff since 2002, proving the effectiveness of these technologies with its customer set and establishing a long record of commercial success. This has helped gas processors secure financing for new projects and win long-term supply contracts with customers.

"Ortloff complements our existing offerings perfectly, enabling Honeywell UOP to better meet customer needs for high-recovery NGL extraction plants globally," said Rachelle Goebel, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP's Gas Processing and Hydrogen business. "Our joint technology offerings are installed in more than 50 gas plants around the world, allowing our customers to capture the greatest value from their natural gas resources."

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. demand for NGLs is growing by more than 10 percent annually. NGLs and liquefied petroleum gas are in high demand as petrochemical feedstocks used in the production of plastics, automotive products and detergents.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF said that it will launch two new smartphone apps from xarvio digital farming solutions. This will soon allow farmers to monitor the health of their crops and get recommendations for the application and dosage of crop protection products, helping them be more efficient and profitable, as per Worldofchemicals.

The forthcoming launch of the new apps across Asia will provide the region’s growers valuable new tools for improving crop yield and quality via digital technology. The first app, xarvio Scouting, helps farmers regularly inspect their fields and monitor plant health and signs of potential pest infestations using an advanced algorithm for problem identification. Using just a photo from smartphone, xarvio Scouting can help farmers identify weeds, recognize crop diseases, analyze leaf damage and measure the nitrogen uptake of crops. Armed with this information, farmers can more accurately diagnose issues and select the appropriate treatments.

In addition, the xarvio Field Manager app uses imaging and sensor technology from satellites and other data to monitor the status of their fields, and helps farmers understand potential risks for infestations and provides spray timing and dosage suggestions.

The official launch of xarvio Scouting in Asia is planned for later this year, with Field Manager to follow in 2019. The app currently supports crops such as corn, soy, potatoes, with expanded functionality for other crops such as rice and sugarcane coming soon. Asian language support is also planned.

A new addition to BASF’s agricultural solutions portfolio, the xarvio digital farming solutions platform brings together world-class expertise in digital technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence to develop tools that help grower optimize their operations.

"Farmers in Asia are eager to adopt new methods. With policies such as Thailand 4.0 helping to drive changes in the agricultural sector, we are excited to be preparing to launch these new tools. With these digital technologies, growers can improve crop quality and increase yields”, said Andree-Georg Girg, global head commercial operations for digital farming.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades, as per the company's press release.

Effective September 1, 2018, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR85 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR85 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR60 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PS, ABS and SAN grades on 1 August 2018, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR30 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech HIPS grades - by EUR30 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR30 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR30 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.4 billion in net sales in 2017, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,200 employees.
MRC