PVC production in Russia up by 6% in Jan-Nov 2018

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) rose in the first eleven months of 2018 by 6% year on year to slightly over 871,000 tonnes. All producers increased their output, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

November total production of unmixed PVC grew to 86,100 tonnes from 85,000 tonnes a month earlier, Bashkir Soda Company increased its capacity utilisation. Overall PVC output reached 871,000 tonnes in January-November 2018, compared to 820,500 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their production, with RusVinyl accounting for the greatest increase in the output.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced 29,800 tonnes of PVC in November, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,700 tonnes, compared to 32,200 tonnes a month earlier. RusVinyl's overall output of resin reached 305,200 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018, up 8% year on year.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 26,700 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was only 27,600 tonnes in October. The Sayansk plant managed to produce 251,600 tonnes of resin in the first eleven months of 2018, compared to 238,700 tonnes a year earlier.

The Bashkir Soda Company produced 22,400 tonnes of suspension in November versus 17,300 tonnes a month earlier (the plant had to reduce its capacity utilisation in the second half of September-early October due to technical problems). However, the Bashkir plant's overall production of resin reached 229,700 tonnes in January-November 2018, up by 4% year on year.

Kaustik (Volgograd) slighlty reduced its production last month, the plant's output was 7,200 tonnes, compared to 7,800 tonnes in October. The plant's overall production of resin reached 84,500 tonnes over the stated period versus 79,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia were about 15,300 tonnes in January-November 2018, down by 67% year on year. Russian producers increased exports by more than one and a half times, according to MRC's DataScope report.

November imports of suspension PVC (SPC) rose to 1,300 tonnes against a minimum of 176 tonnes in the current year in October. A slight increase in the external supplies was a result of a significant decrease in prices on foreign markets. Thus, overall imports of PVC to Russia totalled about 15,300 tonnes in the eleven months of 2018, compared to 46,900 tonnes a year earlier.

Chinese producers were the key foreign suppliers of resin, overall imports of acetylene PVC were 12,100 tonnes in the eleven months of 2018 versus 42,800 tonnes a year earlier.

The second largest foreign supplier was a producer from Germany with a volume of 1,900 tonnes for the period in question.

At the same time, the decline in the demand for PVC from the domestic market over the past few years and the high utilisation rates of existing capacities have become the main cause of record volumes of PVC exports from Russian producers this year.

A record volume of Russian SPVC was shipped for export in November - more than 29,000 tonnes (excluding the countries of the Customs Union) against 14,600 tonnes a month earlier. 131,900 tonnes of SPVC were shipped for export in January-November 2018, compared to 83,800 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ben Korving is the winner of the Create Your Canada contest, which allows people to submit ideas for new laws – and his idea was to reduce single-use plastics in food packaging, as per Canplastics.

hanks of a unique contest, a Terrace, B.C. man now has the chance to possibly influence the use of single-use plastics in food packaging.

Ben Korving is the winner of the Create Your Canada contest, which allows people to submit ideas for new laws – and his idea was to reduce single-use plastics in food packaging.

Started by Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen in 2009, the contest was originally designed for high school students in his riding to participate in the law-making process. This year, constituents of all ages were allowed to participate.

"My biggest frustration is with packaging in general, specifically the [plastic] … that has to get tossed into the garbage after one use because they have no subsequent life,” Korving told the CBC. “And if you look at your day-to-day examples, you’ll probably find dozens within the span of a few minutes: food packaging, Styrofoam, various metals, etc."

Korving’s idea to ban all single-use plastics in consumer products that aren’t either recyclable or compostable beat more than 100 other entries to win this year’s contest, having been picked by a panel of judges made up of community leaders across northwestern B.C.

Korving will be flown to Ottawa in early 2019 to present his idea and have it turned into a private member’s bill and tabled in the House of Commons.

In Canada, a private member’s bill is a bill introduced in the House of Commons by a member of parliament who is not a cabinet minister. A private member’s bill follows the same legislative process as a government bill, but the time allocated for its consideration is restricted. Private Members’ Bills may be considered only during one of the daily Private Members’ Hours. (As a rule, very few private member’s bills become law.)
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Egypt’s Carbon Holdings has secured USD1.25 billion in financing to build a giant petrochemicals complex in the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna, reported Reuters.

The Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex, a USD10.9 billion project, would be the largest in the Middle East and is expected to create 48,000 jobs.

Carbon signed the financing contract with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a Lagos-based development financier, on the sidelines of an Africa business forum in the resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement cited Carbon Holdings CEO Basil El-Baz as saying the company had signed several financing agreements worth USD5.4 billion.

Sanjeev Gupta, AFC executive director for financial services, was quoted in the statement as saying: "We are proud of our partnership with Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex which will be a major breakthrough in one of the most important petrochemical industries in the region."

Carbon, a private company, signed the contract to build the complex in June. Work is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2019.

El-Baz told Reuters last year he saw the project helping to double Egypt’s exports within one year of coming online.

Tahrir will have to export all its production in the first year but as output increases, domestic manufacturers will be encouraged to expand and foreign ones will consider setting up next to the Suez Canal, he had said.

Carbon Holdings already has a polypropylene plant and a mining grade ammonium nitrate plant.

The government says the 460-square-km economic zone around the canal will be used to develop an international industrial and logistics hub to attract foreign investment.

The Tahrir Petrochemicals Complex, which is being funded by credit agencies in the United States, Britain and Germany, is Egypt’s first naphtha cracker and will produce different types of petrochemicals used to make various consumer and industrial goods.

Egypt aims to step up exports and reduce imports to revive the economy, which was hit by unrest that followed the 2011 popular uprising.

As MRC informed before, in February 2015, CB&I was awarded a contract by Carbon Holdings for the license and engineering design of a polypropylene (PP) unit to be built in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. The unit will be aligned to the Tahrir petrochemical complex and use CB&I's Novolen technology to produce 350,000 tpy of polypropylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Duqm Refinery announced its project’s financial close at a gala dinner held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Muscat, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Achieving a multi-source project financing for the Duqm Refinery project was a major milestone for the project. Speaking on the occasion, the President of Kuwait Petroleum International and Chairman of Duqm Refinery, Mr. Nabil Bourisli, said: This achievement reflects the strength and stability of the Omani and Kuwaiti economies. It also reflects the trust and confidence of local, regional and international financial institutions in our economic ties that are deeply rooted in history. He added, “Our Vision is aiming at maximizing the value of our natural resources and driving the two countries toward expanding their economic potential that leads to balanced economic growth."

Eng. Hilal Al Kharusi, Vice Chairman of Board of Directors of Duqm Refinery commented on the occasion: "this is indeed a very important milestone for the project. It reflects the trust that financial institutions have placed in the project which with no doubt will be one of the key economic drivers for SEZAD. He further added “Setting up Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company is an important milestone for petrochemical industries and key to establishing new downstream industries and the creation of job opportunities."

Eng. Khalid Al Mushaileh, vice president of Kuwait Petroleum International stated “Kuwaiti banks were effectively involved in financing the project achieving 32% of the total loan amount. This is driven by the importance of the project as well as the strategic partnership between the two brotherly countries. He added, “this project is in line with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation 2040 strategy and it is at the same time a great opportunity to involve skilled Kuwaiti workforce to be part of these external investments".

"The USD4.6 Billion multi-sourced financing signed for the Project is not only the largest project financing in the Sultanate of Oman, it also includes the largest sharia compliant facility awarded to a green field project in the country provided by a consortium of Islamic financing institutions” said Mubarak Al Naamany, Chief Financial Officer of Duqm Refinery. He further stated “facilities have been provided by 29 reputed financial institutions from 13 countries and guarantees from 3 major ECAs. He concluded that achieving a Debt to Equity ratio of 55% with uncovered facilities of 70% of total debt, is a testament of confidence placed by international, regional, and local lenders on the Sultanate of Oman, the shareholders, and the project".

The USD 4.6 Billion senior debt facilities comprise of seven agreements that includes (i) a US$ 1.43 bn International Commercial Facility, (ii) a US$ 490 million Onshore Commercial Facility, (iii) a US$ 890 million Islamic Facility, (iv) a US$ 700 million UKEF Covered Facility, (v) a US$ 500 million CESCE Covered Facility, (vi) a US$ 600 million K-EXIM Covered and K-EXIM Direct Facilities. Regional banks have played a big role in this deal with funding from Kuwaiti and Omani banks representing 43% of total debt.
MRC