Trinseo raises February PC prices in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase for all polycarbonate (PC) grades in Europe, as per the company's press release.

Effective February 1, 2020, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot PC prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR200 per metric ton.

As MRC informed earlier, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PC grades in Europe on 1 January 2021 by EUR300 per metric ton.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled 89,300 tonnes in 2020, up by 14% year on year (78,500 tonnes a year earlier).

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 USD3.8 billion in net sales in 2019, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,700 employees.
MRC

ACC welcomes four new members, two Responsible Care partner companies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Board of Directors today announced the approval of four new regular members as well as two Responsible Care Partner companies, reported Chemweek.

The regular members are Arcanum Infrastructure, LLC (Houston, Texas), CHEMRES (Princeton, New Jersey), EMD Performance Materials (Allentown, Pennsylvania), and Epsilyte LLC (Woodlands, Texas).

Arcanum Infrastructure manufactures Butene-1. CHEMRES is a specialized custom compounder, producing high-performance resins for medical devices and diagnostics, packaging, wire and cable, and industrial applications. EMD Performance Materials is a leader in semiconductor and electronics materials, display and surface solutions, and specialty gases. Epsilyte manufactures expandable polystyrene.

R&S Delivered (St. Louis, Missouri) and C Three Logistics (Newfield, New Jersey) were approved as Responsible Care Partner companies. R&S Delivered is a third-party logistics company specializing in chemical packaged goods in the less than truckload (LTL) and dry van transportation sector. C Three Logistics is a bulk chemical product motor carrier.

As MRC informed before, ACC’s chemical activity barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator and composite index of industry activity, rose 1.5% in January, following a 1.3% increase in December, on a sequential three-month moving average (3MMA). The barometer was up 1.3% on a year-on-year (YOY) basis in January.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC

Indian refiners would buy Iranian oil if sanctions eased

MOSCOW (MRC) --Indian refiners would resume imports of Iranian oil if the United States eases sanctions against Tehran, reported Reuters with reference to the chairman of state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp's statement.

US President Joe Biden's administration is seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute with Iran, which could see sanctions eased.

India, which was Iran's top oil client after China, had stopped oil imports from the OPEC nation in mid-2019 under pressure from the stringent sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump.

"Iranian crude had been in the (import) basket of Indian refineries ... we will be happy to take that crude as and when the situation warrants and the crude is available," M.K. Surana told a news conference.

Washington has been at loggerheads with Tehran for decades and relations between the two countries worsened under Trump, who withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, and imposed more sanctions on Tehran.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the first time hinted that Washington and Tehran should take synchronized steps to return to the Iran nuclear deal abandoned by Trump.

Surana said Iran was previously offering favourable terms for payment and freight discounts among others which made its oil "preferential" compared to other grades.

After stopping purchases from Iran, Indian refiners have diversified their crude imports.

"There are alternatives in the picture after that (sanctions). Now US crude is coming to India," he said.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan last year said India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, wants to diversify its oil imports, including the resumption of supplies from Iran and Venezuela, under Biden's rule.

Surana said refiners evaluate alternative crudes available in the market and the value they generate to maximise revenue. "But yes, there is possibility. If the (Iranian) crude is available people will definitely look at those options," he added.

As MRC informed before, India’s crude oil imports in December soared to the highest levels in nearly three years to more than 5 million barrels per day (bpd) as its refiners cranked up output to meet a rebound in fuel demand.

We remind that India’s Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said in mid-December, 2020, the demand for chemicals and petrochemicals is expected to rise 9% annually, and the size of the industry is likely to grow to USD300 billion by 2025.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC

Borealis starts sale process for nitrogen fertilizer business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis (Vienna, Austria) says it has decided to start a process aimed at divesting its nitrogen business unit, including fertilizer, technical nitrogen, and melamine products, said Chemweek.

Any divestment “would be subject to information and consultation requirements with employee representatives as may be required under applicable laws,” it says. No potential value for the business has been given.

The company, majority owned by OMV (Vienna) with a 75% stake, operates fertilizer manufacturing plants in Austria and France and is one of Europe’s major producers with output of around 5 million metric tons/year of fertilizer products distributed via a network of approximately 60 warehouses in western, central, and southeastern Europe. It is also a market leader in the production of melamine, according to Borealis, with operations in Austria and Germany supplying the product primarily as a raw material to the woodworking industry.

Borealis says its share in the Rosier fertilizer production sites at Sas van Gent, the Netherlands, and Moustier, Belgium, is “presently not being considered within the potential sales process.” Borealis acquired a 56.86% majority share in Rosier in 2013.

The company will “continue to focus on its core activities of providing innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins and base chemicals,” with the aim of extending parent company OMV’s value chain “towards higher value chemical products and the transformation towards a circular economy,” it says.

The start of the divestment process for its fertilizer business follows previous statements by Borealis in 2019 of its search for partners to strengthen its fertilizer business. It placed the fertilizer, melamine, and technical nitrogen business into a separate entity in October 2018, stating at the time it believed more scale and consolidation was required to make a “long-term, sustainable, and healthy fertilizer, melamine, and technical nitrogen business."

In its fourth-quarter 2020 results announced today, Borealis says a rise in natural gas prices and operational issues "negatively impacted" the quarterly contribution of its fertilizers business, with the deteriorating fertilizer market also negatively impacting its full-year 2020 earnings. Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala owns the remaining 25% interest in Borealis.

As per MRC, Borealis has fully resumed production at its steam cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden. Thus, the cracker with the capacity of 625,000 mtyear of ethylene was restarted on 15-17 January, 2021. Meanwhile, the status of the force majeure on the products from this cracker remains unclear at the moment.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

OMV sees no turnaround of refineries in 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Austrian oil and gas group OMV expects a recovery in the oil price in 2021 after its 2020 results were hit by the coronavirus pandemic although it does not see an improvement in the utilization rate of European refineries, reported Reuters.

OMV said on Thursday that its fourth-quarter operating profit fell by a third to 524 million euros ($629.38 million) on revenues down 18% to 4.956 billion euros as pandemic-related travel restrictions keep a lid on fuel demand.

As MRC informed earlier, OMV (Vienna, Austria) says it is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany. The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC