Saudi Aramco mulls change of location of petrochemicals complex planned at Ras Tanura

March 19 (plastemart) -- Saudi Aramco is mulling a change in the location of its US$17 bln petrochemicals complex planned at the Gulf port of Ras Tanura, as per Meed. The company is faced with major difficulties with the current site and is working on a feasibility study for other potential locations. These include Jubail to the north of Ras Tanura, and Ras al-Zour- an industrial port 80 km to the north of Jubail. The oil giant is expected to come to a decision over a site for the project by either late March or early April.

MRC

March 19 (plastemart) -- Technical issues have pushed INEOS to declare force majeure from its Grangemouth PP plant in the UK on 16 March. This has compounded an existing tight supply caused by shortage of propylene at LyondellBasell's Carrington, UK, that prompted a force majeure on PP supply earlier in the week, as per ICIS. In addition to this, propylene constraints have also affected PP production.

Polypropylene (PP) availability in Europe has tightened further and buyers will be faced with more increases in April, probably in three-digits.
PP prices had increased by ┬200/ton in Q1-2010, with net homopolymer injection PP prices trading around ┬1,100/ton FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) mid-March. Buyers said that copolymer was more difficult to get hold of than homopolymer, as the effects of SABIC's earlier production issues in Geleen in the Netherlands were still felt in the market, coupled with propylene constraints that also affected supply. The April propylene monomer contract was expected to increase, with initial offers by sellers up by ┬80/ton over the current March level of ┬910/ton FD NEW.
PP inventories are currently low with processors as buyers expected new plants start ups in the Middle East and Asia to provide cheaper material in 2010, but delays in start-up and earlier strong demand from China, along with cutbacks European output, have compelled European buyers to pay higher prices.

Asian PP prices had remained stable but some sources expected PP to be affected by the sharp fall seen in the polyethylene (PE) market. Homopolymer injection prices were in the region of US$1250-1300/ton CFR. Offers of re-exports from Chinese traders to Europe were currently too high to work, but trading sources saw some arbitrage possibilities if Europe continued to rise and Asian prices slipped.

MRC

March 19 (adsalecprj.com) -- LyondellBasell announced yesterday (March 18) the North American commercial launch of a new low density polyethylene (LDPE) resin at the Applied Market Information's Polyethylene 2010 Conference in Daytona, Florida.

Petrothene L3035 LDPE is used in a wide range of blown film applications. Compared to competitive LDPE grades, it features higher stiffness, shrink energy and puncture strength, while still delivering excellent optics and processability. These properties make Petrothene L3035 the resin of choice for high visual impact film applications such as collation shrink film, overwraps and food and medical packaging, among others.

Customers can utilize the performance features of Petrothene L3035 to downgauge their flexible packages, resulting in material savings. "The puncture strength, high stiffness and shrink energy are of particular benefit to collation shrink film, contributing to a tighter, more robust package which enables the elimination of trays," explained Steve Imfeld, LyondellBasell's new business development manager for polyethylene flexible applications in the Americas. The reduced material requirements offer potential cost savings that can benefit both converters and end-users.

The new resin offers customers the flexibility to produce very high quality film. For collation shrink film, the tighter package helps maintain package integrity during transportation, while the enhanced visual appearance presents a more appealing consumer product on the store shelf.

Petrothene L3035 expands the company's broad range of high-performance materials sold to converters for use in a variety of flexible film applications. The resin is now available on a commercial scale and is produced in LyondellBasell's Lupotech T process plant in Morris, Illinois.

MRC

MRC Reference

LyondellBasell. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 1.4% (including HDPE - 2.5%, LDPE - 0.3%);
PP - 4.1% (including block-copolymers - 9.5%).

Annual sales growth in Russia, during the recent 5 years:
PE - 27%;
PP - 88%.

The leader in the following polymers processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

injection molding.

March 19 (prw) -- Specialty chemicals group Lanxess is confident that 2010 will be a good year following on from a strong final quarter in 2009. However, company chief executive Axel Heitmann said recovery will be "gradual" and vary from region to region.

⌠We expect a significant year-on-year improvement in earnings, even if there is currently no sign of a self-sustaining upswing, he said. ⌠Our results in the crisis year show that we passed the stress test.

The company was hit hard by the global downturn in 2009. Group sales fell by 23.1% year-on-year to ┬5,057m due to weak global demand. EBITDA pre exceptionals, at ┬465m, came in at the upper end of the company's target. Lanxess reported net income of ┬40m.

Looking ahead to 2010, the company expects to see the most significant improvement in Asia, with strong demand from China and India, particularly for rubber. Latin America, especially Brazil, should also improve. But there is "persistent uncertainty" regarding the future economic trend in North America and Europe, it said.

MRC

March 18 (straitstimes.com) -- Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell will officially open its highly anticipated multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex in Pulau Bukom on May 4 - a project almost five years in the making.

Chief executive Peter Voser told The Straits Times that the timing of the opening of the complex - estimated to have cost US$3 billion (S$4.2 billion) - was ideal, given the recent recovery of global markets.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be the guest of honour, he said.

Mr Voser shrugged off concerns of a supply overhang with new petrochemical complexes also firing up in Thailand, China and the Middle East.

He said he was confident the market would be able to absorb the plant's output of various widely used chemicals as demand for such products is picking up.

One key competitive advantage of the new Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) is its proximity to Shell's Bukom refinery, which is highly integrated into the new complex, said Mr Voser. This will give SEPC the flexibility to use different feedstock as demand changes.

MRC