Imports of Ineos Styrolution GPPS to Russia doubled in Jan-Oct 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Styrolution's general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) imports into Russia increased in the first ten months of 2019 by 2 times year on year to 10,600 tonnes, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

This figure was 4,900 tonnes in January-October 2018.

Ineos Styrolution is the largest GPPS supplier to Russia.

European material accounted for 45% of the total GPPS shipments over the stated period versus 30% in the first ten months of 2018.

However, October Styrolution's GPPS shipments to the Russian market decreased by more than 2 times to 700 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes a month earlier, the company's imports into the country were 700 tonnes in October 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) to the Russian market fell in the first ten months of 2019 by 2% year on year to 28,000 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was 28,600 tonnes in January-October 2018.

South Korean company LG Chem accounted for about 39% of the total ABS imports. Styrolution and Trinseo shipped the bulk of European ABS. They accounted for 12% each in the total shipments.

October ABS imports to Russia dropped by 4% year on year to 3,500 tonnes from 3,600 tonnes in October 2018. Imports of material into the country were 2,600 tonnes in September 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian polyolefins producer Braskem named the current chairman of the board, Roberto Simoes, as the company's new CEO, replacing Fernando Musa, reported Chemweek.

Musa will remain CEO through 31 December to help Simoes transition to the new role, Braskem said. Simoes's appointment will become effective on 1 January.

Simoes had earlier been CEO of Ocyan from 2014 to 2019. Before that, he was CEO of Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia from 2010-2012. He had been executive vice president of Braskem from 2004-2008.

As CEO of Braskem, Simoes will maintain the competitiveness of all of the company's operations, the company said. He will also increase the company's feedstock flexibility and geographic diversity, steps that are already being pursued by the company.

Musa had headed Braskem's US operations before becoming the company's CEO back in 2016.

As MRC informed before, Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazakh Neftekhim Ltd, Kazakhstan's sole polypropylene (PP) producer, shut its PP production on 18 November for unscheduled maintenance, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

According to the enterprise’s customers, the shutdown of capacities was unplanned and was caused by the cessation of supplies of raw materials from the local refinery. The dates of resumption of PP production have not been announced yet.

It was earlier reported that the Kazakh producer had fully resumed its PP production by 25 October after the outage, caused by termination of feedstock shipments from the Pavlodar refinery. The local refinery shut some of its production capacities for an emergency turnaround from 30 September to 19 October.

Neftekhim Ltd resumed its PP production after the Pavlodar refinery finished the turnaround.

Neftekhim Ltd was commissioned in 2009. The company produces methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and polypropylene (PP). The plant's PP production with the capacity of 45,000 tonnes/year was launched in 2011; the plant did not have PP granulation unit then, polymer was produced in the form of powder, which limited its field of application.
MRC

Supply to Russia amounted to 44% (5,300 tonnes) of total exports in January-September against a share of 66% (5,700 tonnes) for the same period last year.

The share of exports to Russia from Belarus in September decreased to 49% (560 tonnes), in August it amounted to 59% (620 tonnes).

MRC