BASF to raise prices for styrenic copolymers in Europe

April 1 (BASF) -- BASF will be raising prices for different plastics in its styrenic copolymer product range in Europe and in all regions supplied from Europe, effective April 1, 2010, or as contracts allow. The price increases amount to 200 Euro per metric ton for Terluran (ABS), 175 Euro per metric ton for Styrolux (SBC) and 150 Euro per metric ton for Luran (SAN). This measure is due to the significant rise in the cost of all relevant raw materials.

MRCMRC Reference

BASF. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PS - 9.1% (GPPS - 5.9%, ABS - 11.4%, EPS - 10.6%).

Annual sales growth in Russia over the 5 years:
PS - 15%.

Imports by polymers processing technologies:
foaming;
injection molding.

April 1 (yarnsandfibers) -- Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited, said Tuesday that its ethylene output is to reach 950,000 tonnes in 2010, but the company did not give details of its ethylene production in 2009.

The company said its capital expenses would touch 2 billion yuan in 2010, compared with 2.1 billion yuan in 2009. Shanghai Petrochemical announced its 2009 annual report during the weekend that its net profit hit 1.591 billion yuan in the past year, down 74.5 percent year on year according to international accounting standards.

The company's crude oil throughput reached 8.758 million tonnes in 2009, down 5.20 percent over the previous year, while product oil (gasoline, diesel and kerosene) output declined 11.16 percent year on year. Shanghai Petrochemical is a flagship petrochemical muscle of Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner.

MRC

April 1 (adsalecprj) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), the world's sixth largest petrochemical company, has developed a more advanced technology for the manufacture of polypropylene. This is a fourth generation catalyst which can be used in several vital applications, the most important of which are packaging, carpets, piping, and automotive parts.

This catalyst is a technological breakthrough, being the first of its kind developed in the Gulf and Middle East. Experiments conducted by SABIC at its plants Saudi Arabia and Europe confirm the catalyst's ability to provide impressive results, making it superior to other catalysts currently used in the same area. This discovery will contribute to increased productivity, enhanced quality and new product development. It opens many windows for possible future application.

The new catalyst has been applied commercially in the SABIC affiliate, Saudi European Petrochemical Company (IBN ZAHR), and has demonstrated superiority over the previously used catalyst. By using the catalyst, production reached nearly 30,000 tons of polypropylene as at end of March 2010. This quantity was sold to local and international markets.

MRC

MRC Reference

Sabic. The share in the Russian market in 2008:
PE - 0.2%;
PP - 0.4%;
PS - 0.2%.

Annual sales growth in Russia over the last 5 years:
PE - 33%;
PP - 62%.

March 31 (yarnsandfibers) -- Mitsui Chemicals Inc. said Friday that it resumed operations at its ethylene plant near Tokyo earlier in the day after a temporary suspension for maintenance.

The Japanese chemical maker said the plant's operations are now back to normal.

The company suspended operations at the plant earlier this month to repair the facility's heat converter. The plant is capable of producing 553,000 metric tons of ethylene per year.

MRC

March 31 (adsalecprj) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical company and specialist in emulsion polymers, announced yesterday (March 30) that it will increase the price of all VAE (vinyl acetate ethylene copolymer) emulsions sold in Asia, effective April 6, 2010, or as contracts allow.

All VAE emulsions will increase US$80 per ton. This increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, paper, nonwovens and textiles.

MRC