PP imports to Russia grew 5% in Jan-May 2016

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polypropylene (PP) into Russia increased in the first five months of 2016 by 5% year on year, totalling 64,400 tonnes. Homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) and propylene block copolymers (PP-block) accounted for the main increase in supply, according to MRC DataScope report.

Russian companies increased their PP purchasing in foreign markets last month, with imports reaching 15,100 tonnes, compared to 13,800 tonnes in April. Homopolymer PP and PP-block accounted for the main increase in shipments. Overall, Russia imported 64,400 tonnes of PP in January-May versus 61,100 tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Only the segment of statistical propylene copolymer (PP-random) showed a decrease, which was caused by a major rise in the domestic production.

In general, the structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

May imports of homopolymer PP rose to 7,900 tonnes from 7,000 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies continued to increase shipments of homopolymer PP of raffia grade from Turkmenistan. Overall imports of this PP grade rose to 30,900 tonnes in January-May 2016, compared to 26,400 tonnes a year ago.

Last month's imports of PP-block grew to 2,900 tonnes from 2,000 tonnes in April. Producers of injection moulding products and producers of PP compounds raised their purchasing in foreign markets, whereas demand from pipes producers, on the contrary, subsided by several times. Imports of PP-block into Russia rose to 12,600 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up by 15% year on year.

May imports of PP-random were about 2,000 tonnes, compared to 2,500 tonnes a month earlier, local producers of biaxially-oriented polypropylene films (BOPP films) reduced their purchasing. Overall imports of this grade of propylene copolymers decreased by 14% in the first five month of 2016 to 10,600 tonnes. Russian producers pushed imports greatly in the pipe segment.

Imports of other propylene polymers totalled 10,300 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 11,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine increased by 78% in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period in 2015 and reached 49,700 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope.

May SPVC imports into increased to about 9,400 tonnes following the decline in April (8,100 tonnes). Local producers of profile had increased purchases of North American PVC. Total SPVC imports in the country grew to 49,700 tonnes in January - May 2016, compared with 28,000 tonnes year on year.

Structure of PVC imports into Ukraine over the reported period was as follows.

May imports of US SPVC into Ukraine exceeded 5,700 tonnes, compared with 3,300 tonnes in April. Ukraine's imports of US resin totalled 31,200 tonnes in the first fove months of the year, compared with 8,400 year on year. Significant imports of US PVC in February - March of this year resulted from to the desire of some converters and traders to build up cheaper stock inventories for the period of high season.

May imports of European PVC into Ukraine decreased to 3,000 tonnes, compared with 4,100 tonnes in April. The main reason was higher prices than prices for US and Russian PVC. Total imports of European PVC into Ukraine were 14,500 tonnes in the first five months of the year, compared with 14,700 tonnes year on year.
May imports of Russain PVC into the country remained practically at the level of April and reached about 0,700 tonnes. Russian producers have limited exports of PVC since March because of force majeure at the facilities of the second-largest producer. Russia's imports of resin decreased to 3,800 tonnes in January-May 2016, compared with 4,600 tonnes year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LACC LLC, the joint-venture company formed by Axiall Corp. and Lotte Chemical Corp., held a groundbreaking ceremony at its Calcasieu Parish, La. construction site, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This follows a December 2015 announcement that the boards of Lotte and Axiall reached final investment decisions to construct an ethane cracker facility adjacent to Axiall’s existing Lake Charles complex. In addition to constructing the ethane cracker that is expected to produce 1 MMtpy of ethylene, Lotte Chemical will also construct an adjacent plant to produce 700 Mtpy of ethylene glycol (EG).

"Among Korean petrochemical companies, Lotte Chemical is the first to locate a project in the US; as such, this project represents a significant investment by Lotte Chemical," said Soo Young Huh, Lotte Chemical president and chief executive officer.

"For Axiall this commitment marks the next phase of our continued investment in the Lake Charles area," said Tim Mann, Axiall president and chief executive officer. "Our construction site is just west of our largest chemicals plant, where we have operated for nearly 70 years."

The groundbreaking marks the beginning of the construction phase, which follows months of land clearing and preparation on approximately 250 acres at the southwest corner of the interchange of Interstate highways 10 and 210 in the greater Lake Charles, La. area. The groundbreaking ceremony brought together business and government leaders from the Republic of Korea, the State of Louisiana, as well as senior executives of Lotte Group, Lotte Chemical and Axiall Corp.

Building the new chemical facilities is expected to have a positive economic impact on southwestern Louisiana. The total capital investment in the facilities is estimated to be USD3 B. Together, the facilities are expected to create more than 200 new direct jobs and over 1,800 indirect jobs in the community. In addition, an estimated 2,000 temporary construction jobs are expected to be created during the project.

CB&I will execute the main steam cracker contract, using its proprietary technology, following successful completion of front-end engineering and design, and other early-stage engineering works. LACC will engage a number of other firms to execute ancillary offsite facilities developments and tie-ins to existing infrastructure.

The state-of-the-art steam cracking facility will be built adjacent to Axiall’s largest chlor-alkali chemical facility, located in Lake Charles, to take advantage of Axiall’s existing infrastructure, access to competitive feedstock resources, and ethylene distribution infrastructure. The facility’s anticipated start-up would be in early 2019.

As MRC wrote previously, in June 2015, US based Axiall Corporation and South Korean Lotte Chemical Corporation have finalised a joint venture (JV) agreement to construct an ethane cracker. And in December 2015, they made the final investment decision. LACC LLC will invest USD1.9 billion to build the steam cracker adjacent to Axiall’s Lake Charles chlor-alkali manufacturing plants to take advantage of existing infrastructure, competitive US shale feedstock resources, and ethylene distribution infrastructure, according to a series of releases from the JV and Louisiana Economic Development (LED).

Lotte Chemical is a member of the Lotte Group in Korea, which has been listed on the Korean Stock Exchange since 1991. Lotte Chemical is a leading manufacturer of petrochemical products, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, polyethylene, polypropylene, ethylene oxide/glycol, compound resin, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, methyl methacrylate, ethylene oxide derivatives, benzene, toluene, mixed xylene, purified terephthalic acid and purified isophthalic acid among others. Lotte Chemical, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, has manufacturing facilities located throughout South Korea, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, UK and the USA.

Axiall Corporation is a leading integrated chemicals and building products company. Headquartered in Atlanta, Axiall has manufacturing facilities located throughout North America and in Asia to provide industry-leading materials and services to customers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC)-- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced it received a three-year contract from Sahara Petrochemicals (Sahara) to provide general engineering services at Sahara’s Jubail Industrial City facilities in Saudi Arabia, said the company on its site.

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs is expected to provide engineering, procurement, construction supervision, project management, pre-commissioning and commissioning support to a range of small- to medium-sized capital projects for Sahara’s propane dehydrogenation, polypropylene, chlor alkyl, ethylene dichloride and peripheral utilities operating facilities.

In making the announcement, Jacobs Senior Vice President Oil and Gas Bassim D. Shebaro stated, “Jacobs has had a presence in the Middle East for many years serving the Oil, Gas, Buildings and Infrastructure sectors. This contract enables us to expand our presence in Jubail as part of our overall commitment to providing world-class services to our clients across the region."

As MRC informed earlier, Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded a contract to provide engineering services for the expansion of Mitsubishi’s polyester film plant in Greenville County, South Carolina. Mitsubishi Polyester Film is the American subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsubishi Plastics. and the largest polyester film plant in the US.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional and construction services.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Corporation will begin preparations for reopening its specialty polyesters production plant located in Mobile, Ala, as per the company's press release.

The revitalization of the plant is scheduled to be completed in 2018 and will have an annual production capacity of several thousand metric tons. The investment will create new jobs in Mobile, where the group currently has more than 800 employees. Specialty polyesters are focused in the reactive hot melt adhesive market and in the pre-coated metal market as a binder for paints, coil coatings and increasingly, in food can coatings.

Dr. Dietmar Wewers, global head of the Coating & Adhesive Resins Business Line at Evonik, said, "As an innovative supplier of high-quality specialty polyesters we strive to provide a global manufacturing footprint for our polyester platform to support projected market growth."

Demand in the specialty polyester market is driven by the trend towards bisphenol A-free can coating resins. Specialty polyesters are also highly desired in the automotive market, supporting the increased use of adhesives for mixed material bonding and lightweight fuel efficient designs.

Andreas Kripzak, vice president, Coating & Adhesive Resins Americas, added, "As the solutions partner for the coatings, adhesives and packaging industry, we will reinvest in the United States to become a local, reliable supplier fully committed to our customers’ needs and growth."

Evonik is one of the world’s leading suppliers of polyesters for pre-coated metals and reactive hot melts. The company has production facilities at its sites in Marl and Witten, Germany and Shanghai, China. Polyesters from the DYNAPOL brand serve as binders for paints. In addition to coil coatings, they are also increasingly used for food can coatings as well as in flexible packaging. Polyesters from the DYNACOLL brand are used in reactive hot melt applications.

As MRC informed earlier, Essen-based Evonik Industries invested over EUR400 mln in its plants in Germany in 2015. Last year, Evonik once again demonstrated its considerable power to create at its German sites. Thus, according to a recent projection, the company invested more than EUR 400 million in its domestic production plants. The lion’s share of the funds (around two-thirds) was divided among Evonik’s five-largest sites in Germany: Marl (hundreds of millions of euros), Hanau, Essen, Darmstadt, and Wesseling (tens of millions of euros at each site).

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2013 more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around EUR12.9 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about EUR2.0 billion.
MRC