Europe naphtha goes to Asia as petchem producers favour LPG

(ICIS) -- European naphtha continues to be sent to Asia because demand from the region's petrochemical sector remains low because economics currently favour the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a feedstock, market participants said on Wednesday.

Traders said Asia would receive around 500,000 tonnes of naphtha in February. However, one market player said this was not an unusual amount to have gone when there was an open arbitrage between the two regions. The trader noted that around 600,000 tonnes was sent to Asia in December.

Poor economics for gasoline blending have added to the low petrochemical demand, traders said.

At 11:45 GMT, the naphtha flat price was assessed at $847-855/tonne CIF (cost, insurance and freight) NWE (northwest Europe), slightly lower compared with the previous day's range of $859-867/tonne.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. plans to flare gases from an ethylene unit at its Port Arthur facility in Texas, according to a filing with state regulators. The flaring will continue until Feb. 1, and is related to ⌠planned maintenance activity on an acetylene converter. Flaring is a safety measure that prevents excessive pressure from building up in processing units that are being shut down or started up.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asian prices of polysilicon - the main material used in solar cells and panels - are expected to increase this year, as demand outstrips supply, especially in a burgeoning spot market, industry players said on Thursday.

One megawatt of photovoltaic power requires seven tonnes, or 7,000kg, of polysilicon material. Polysilicon is traded in chunks, rods and granules.

In a sign of a firm market, China's LDK Solar - which manufactures polysilicon, mono and multicrystalline ingots, wafers, modules and cells - raised its outlook for the fiscal year 2011 earlier this week.

The global solar-grade polysilicon capacity rose to 140,000 tonnes in 2010, up from 90,000 tonnes in 2009, according to an ICIS survey.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Epoxy resins price hikes in the Americas are supported by strong demand, which is likely to increase late in the first quarter as construction activity in North America picks up, a producer said on Wednesday.

US producers Dow Chemical and Momentive Performance Materials announced 7 cent/lb ($154/tonne, ┬119/tonne) increases for January and 10 cent/lb increases for February.

Huntsman announced a 10 cent/lb increase effective 15 January, and sources said the company would likely consider an additional price initiative.

Market participants said producers were firm on the January price increase, but the February increase would depend on demand.

With January increases pending, US domestic liquid epoxy resin (LER) sales to mid-volume customers were $1.52-1.60/lb DEL, as assessed by ICIS.

MRC

Traditionally, more than 60% of total imports of HDPE fall on two sectors: extrusion cover of steel pipes of large diameter for oil pipe line and PE pipes. The most considerable gain in HDPE imports regarding the results of last year was marked in the sector of film PE.

mrcplast.com