Asia PX may extend falls as May supply grows

(ICIS) -- Spot paraxylene (PX) prices in Asia are under strong downward pressure with a flood of supply seen hitting the market in May, market players said on Tuesday.

Offers for May deliveries are at around USD1.630-1.635/tonne (EUR 1.125-1.128/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) Taiwan and/or CMP (China Main Port), while buying notions from end-users are pegged slightly under USD 1.600/tonne CFR Taiwan and/or CMP, market sources said.

PX prices have fallen nearly 10% since mid-March, when it reached a record high of USD 1.815/tonne (EUR 1.252/tonne) CFR (cost & freight) Taiwan and/or China Main Port (CMP), according to ICIS data.

Supply will get a boost from South Korea's S-Oil, which just achieved on-spec aromatics production at its new unit in Onsan. The plant can produce 300 KTa of benzene and 900 KTa of PX.

Meanwhile, Japanese aromatics major, JX Nippon Oil & Energy, is expected to resume 100% delivery of contracted PX volumes in May, although its available spot material will likely remain limited.

MRC

(BASF) -- Effective April 15, 2011, or as contracts allow, BASF will increase prices in Europe, Africa and Western Asia for polymer dispersions as well as additives by EUR 110/MT and acrylic resins and redispersible powders by EUR 180/MT. The price adjustments are necessary due to significantly increased raw material costs. The products affected by the price increase are used as polymers for adhesives, fiberbonding , architectural coatings and construction chemicals.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company:. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. BASF posted sales of about EUR 63.9 bln in 2010 and had approximately 109.000 employees as of the end of the year.

MRC

(BP) -- BP announced the arbitral tribunal had ruled that the interim injunction prohibiting closing of the share swap transaction with Rosneft will remain in place until further notice. However BP is now able to discuss the possibility of an extension of the April 14 deadline under which the share swap agreement will terminate. The Arctic opportunity remains under injunction pending further hearings. The share swap and the Arctic opportunity announced January 14 remain subject to the final decision of the arbitral tribunal.

MRC

(Indorama) -- The Board of Directors of Indorama Ventures PCL at their meeting dated April 05, 2011, has approved a Brownfield expansion of PET polymers production in Europe with a capacity
increase of 220 KTa. This expansion, which is expected to be completed in
2013 will be very cost competitive and take IVL's total capacity in Europe of PET Polymers
up to 1.300.000 mtpa. per annum through its five strategically located operating units. The
decision to approve the expansion was motivated by the supply/demand dynamics within EU
and the need for competitive assets to improve service to customers.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Kuwait National Petroleum Co has signed a USD 552 mln contract with Korea's GS Engineering & Construction Corp. to build 10 storage tanks for butane and propane gases, an official said, according to Bloomberg.

The tanks will have a capacity of 723.000 cubic metres and will be built in the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, Mohammed Al Ajmi, a spokesman for the state-run refinery operator said. The contract will be for 36 months, he said.

Mina Al Ahmadi, located south of Kuwait City, is the country's largest oil-processing plant with a capacity of about 460.000 barrels a day.

Kuwait, holder of the world's fifth-largest oil reserves and the fifth-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped 2.4 million barrels of crude a day in March, according to Bloomberg data.

MRC