TDI prices in China are expected to rise further in April

(ICIS) -- Toluene di-isocyanate (TDI) prices in China are expected to rise further in April on supply concerns and speculative trading in the wake of the 11 March earthquake in Japan, industry sources said on Thursday.


Spot TDI prices were assessed USD150/t higher on 23 March at USD 2.650-2.750/t CFR China Main Port (CMP)/Hong Kong, from the previous week, ICIS data showed.


Many players in China said they were worried about TDI supply because major supplier Mitsui Chemical has shuttered its TDI unit in Kashima, Japan, following the earthquake. Mitsui Chemical has kept its 120 KTa Kashima-based TDI plant shut since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit northeast Japan on 11 March and has not set a restart date yet.


In the meantime, the producer would use its 120 KTa Ohmuta-based TDI unit, which was unaffected by the earthquake, to cover both its domestic and export needs, the source said.


Chinese producers withdrew their spot offers after the earthquake hit Japan, while traders based in mainland China and Hong Kong took positions to stock up on cargoes as they expected TDI prices to rise in the wake of the natural disaster, local players said.


MRC

SIBUR and Lukoil signed an agreement for the supply of APG

(SIBUR) -- The petrochemical holding company SIBUR and the Lukoil Oil Company have signed a long-term agreement for the supply of associated petroleum gas (APG). According to the terms of the agreement, Lukoil will supply APG from the fields of Lukoil-Western Siberia to Nyagangazpererabotka. In the period from 2011 to 2015 the total volume of APG supplied will be over 2.5 billion cubic meters.


Currently, the capacity of Nyagangazpererabotka is designed to accept up to 2.14 billion cubic meters of associated gas per year. The volume of APG processed in the company in 2010 amounted to 1.3 billion cubic meters.


MRC

Wacker presented innovative polymer dispersions

(Wacker) -- At the 10. International Fair of Machines, Raw Materials and Accessories for the Furniture Industry (FIMMA Brasil), Wacker will showcase innovative polymer dispersions for high performing wood adhesives: Vinnapas EP 1400 is a vinyl acetate/ethylene-based (VAE) copolymer dispersion ideal for formulating cost-competitive adhesives, for instance for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) lamination, veneering and membrane pressing. Further emphasis will be on Vinnapas DPX 271, a low formaldehyde, non discolouring PVAc (polyvinyl acetate) homopolymer binder for wood and furniture adhesives suppressing the need of external crosslinkers. These products further advance Wacker's leading position in the field of dispersions for adhesives.


MRC

Sour gas has flowed for the first time into the Pearl GTL

(ICIS) -- Sour gas has flowed for the first time into the Pearl GTL (gas to liquids) plant at Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar, Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Shell said on Wednesday. Shell is the operator of the unit, which is the largest GTL plant in the world, and said it had opened natural gas wells offshore to allow the gas to flow into the facility. ⌠Sections of the Pearl GTL plant will be started up progressively over the coming months, it added in a statement.


The giant energy project consists of two offshore platforms 60km off the coast of Qatar connected by pipeline to the GTL plant, which uses Fischer Tropsch technology to convert synthesis gas into long-chain hydrocarbons.


Pearl will produce 1.6bn cubic feet of gas a day from Qatar's North Field when fully operational, Shell said. The gas will be processed to generate 120.000 bbl/day of GTL gasoil, kerosene, base oils, n-paraffins and naphtha.


MRC

Exxon Mobil to donate USD 1 mln to the Japanese Red Cross Society

(ExxonMobil) -- Exxon Mobil Corporation said it would donate USD1 mln to the Japanese Red Cross Society to provide disaster relief assistance in response to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The company has also implemented a worldwide program to match employee, retiree, dealer and distributor donations to Japanese disaster relief, up to a further USD 2 mln.


ExxonMobil affiliates employ approximately 2.900 people in Japan, and have petroleum and petrochemical refining and distribution, gas and power marketing and project engineering businesses in the country.


ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha and TonenGeneral, ExxonMobil's affiliates in Japan, are working closely with Japanese authorities to ensure adequate fuel supply to emergency responders and the areas hit to assist in the recovery.


MRC