SABIC opens two compounding plants in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.), Saudi Arabia's petrochemical major, has opened a new engineering thermoplastics compounding facility and a polypropylene compounding plant at its manufacturing facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, reported Suppierbusiness with reference to the company’s statement.

The products to be manufactured at the new facilities are aimed for the consumer electronics, healthcare, transportation, building and construction industries.

New plants are to cater for customers in Middle East, Africa, Turkey, India.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in late March, 2013, SABIC started manufacturing thermoplastic grades at its affiliates in Jubail and Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, and in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. This could revolutionize the domestic pipelines sector with environmentally responsible applications ranging from transporting potable water to gas and sewage. The company is currently engaged with the local authorities, seeking to encourage them to construct pipelines for potable water distribution systems using these plastic grades to enhance service standards for the community.

Sabic is ranked among the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The comany manufactures chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. Among its products are propylene, paraxylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- North American suppliers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) continue to raise prices for the Russian market, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

In early May, export prices of North American PVC for the Russian market were in the range of USD950-970/tonne CFR St Petersburg. But already after the May holidays, suppliers of North American PVC began to increase prices gradually. As a result, this week price offers for the resin to be shipped in early June rose to USD1,010-1,040/tonne, CFR St Petersburg.

Such a sharp increase in export PVC prices in the US after a slump in March-April made many Russian companies temporarily suspend procurement of the raw material. Excessive import volumes of resin to Russia in March-April and weak demand for finished products allowed to build sufficient stocks of material. Some companies have temporarily shifted to purchases of resin in Europe.

In their turn, suppliers of North American PVC expect the rise in export prices to last, at least, till August.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) to Russia in April 2013 fell by 7% to 61,400 tonnes. The decline in imports was seen in the supplies of all PE grades with the exception of low density polyethylene (LDPE), according to MRC DataScope.

Low demand for finished products and large leftovers of feedstock forced many Russian companies to reduce in April the purchases of polyethylene in foreign markets.

In April, imports of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to the Russian market on the back of excess supply from Russian producers and the low demand for finished goods decreased to 27,000 tonnes.

The largest decrease was seen in the supply of HDPE for extrusion coating of large steel pipes for the production by blow moulding.

External supplies of linear polyethylene (LLDPE) in April decreased by 8% compared with March and totalled 18,000 tonnes.

Reduction in imports resulted from the low demand for the finished film products and the reopening of LLDPE production by Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

Imports of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in April made to 10,900 tonnes with the import from Belarus, which was close to the March figure - 10,500 tonnes. Amid sufficient supply of domestic LDPE Russian companies reduced their purchases in Belarus, while the purchases of LDPE in Europe, by contrast, grew up.

Imports of copolymers of ethylene and other compositions of polyethylene in April of this year totalled 5,600 tonnes.

During the first four months of this year, the total volume of imports of polyethylene to Russia made 236,000 tonnes, up 13% compared with the same period a year ago. Import volumes of linear polyethylene (up 45%) and other copolymers of ethylene and PE compositions (up 49%) increased substantially.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil company Total SA has confirmed that it acquired Royal Dutch Shell PLC's fuel retail network in Egypt as part of its strategy to strengthen its distribution position in the country and wider region, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our ambition to pursue our development in Africa and in the Middle East in the retail business," a spokesman for Total said. Asked about the price of the transaction, he declined to disclose any detail.

Total already owns 70 fuel stations in Egypt, representing a 4% market share, and will acquire 85 more from Shell to become Egypt's fourth-largest gasoline retailer, doubling its market share, the company said.

The French company is strengthening its position as the largest gasoline retailer in Africa, the spokesman added.

"The sale is consistent with Shell's strategy to concentrate its downstream footprint on a smaller number of assets and markets," Shell said in a statement. It cited the recent sale of some refineries in the U.K. and Germany and its refining and marketing businesses in Finland and Sweden as examples of this. Besides, as MRC reported earlier, Royal Dutch Shell PLC had announced it plans to sell its only oil refinery in Australia, as the local industry struggles to compete with low-cost operators in Asia.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) Government of India vide its Notification No. 25/2013 -Customs dated 8th May 2013 had increased the Customs Duty on Plastic Polymers (except Polycarbonate) from 5% to 7.5%, as per Plastemart.

In late April, 2013, as MRC wrote, The Finance Ministry has imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on soda ash imports from Russia and Turkey. This anti-dumping duty will be valid for a period of five years.

Earlier, India has lifted an anti-dumping duty on imports of a polypropylene from Saudi Arabia. India had imposed a 6.5% duty on imports of polypropylene from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Singapore. The duty has been removed on imports from Saudi Arabia only.
MRC