Celanese raises October prices of VAM and EVA emulsions in Middle East and Africa

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation), a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase October list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) and Vinyl Acetate Ethylene (EVA) emulsions sold in the Middle East and Africa, as per the company's press release.

The price increases will be effective October 1, 2017, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to previously announced increases. The following price rise will apply:

- VAM - by USD400/mt;
- EVA - by USD110/mt;
- VAM Homopolymers (PVAC) - by USD110/mt;
- VAM Copolymers - by USD110/tonne;
- Pure Acrylics - by USD145/tonne;
- Styrene Acrylics - by USD110/tonne.

As MRC wrote earlier, on 6 and 13 September 2017, Celanese increased its prices of VAM emulsions in Asia. Thus, each time the company raised the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in China by CNY500/mt and in Asia (outside of China) - by USD100/mt.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,300 employees worldwide and had 2016 net sales of USD5.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Sri Lanka is in talks with two Chinese companies about investing up to USD3 B to build in a new refinery at its Chinese-controlled port, said Reuters citing a top government official.

Sri Lanka wants to build a new refinery in its southern Hambantota port, where China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPH) has a 99-yr lease to handle commercial operations. Located near the main shipping route from Asia to Europe, Hambantota port is likely to play a key role in China's "Belt and Road" trade route initiative.

Mangala Yapa, a director at the state-run Board of Investment, said two Chinese companies had put forward a joint venture proposal for the refinery, which is expected to produce 5 MMtpy with an investment between USD2.5 B and USD3 B. He did not name the Chinese firms.

"The investment is large and we are discussing with the two companies on that basis," he told Reuters, adding the joint venture plan was chosen from three bids including one from a US company through a local partner. "The refinery needs around 500 acres of land and we can't reserve the land. Many people try to get the land first and then look for investors."

Yapa did not elaborate on the plans of the proposed refinery. China's influence over Hambantota port has sparked widespread anger in Sri Lanka.

The deal with CMPH, which has a majority stake in the lease, fueled speculation the port could be used for Chinese naval vessels. CMPH is also in talks with the government to develop an industrial zone next door.

This year, the government revised its original deal with CMPH to give greater influence to the Sri Lankan Ports Authority to try to allay concerns—including from Japan, the United States and India—that the port might be used for military purposes.

The investment zone deal is yet to be signed. The Hambantota refinery will be the second new refinery the island nation has planned in the country.

Sri Lanka already has a deal for a 100,000-bpd-plus refinery with Indian Oil Corp at the country's eastern port city of Trincomalee with the aim of exporting fuel.

Sri Lanka's sole oil refinery, state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation's decades-old 50,000 bpd plant, was originally configured to run on Iranian crude and Sri Lanka had to import more refined oil products after US sanctions led it to stop imports from Iran.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) has announced BASF, The Chemours Company, and Covestro as the three finalists for the Polyurethane Innovation Award, reported GV.

The award recognizes the past year’s most inventive commercial technology in the polyurethanes industry and will be presented during the 2017 Polyurethanes Technical Conference in October 2017 in New Orleans, LA, USA.

"When we think about the best aspects of the polyurethanes industry, we mean our commitment to developing and advancing technologies that enhance the quality of life" said Lee Salamone, CPI senior director. "And the Polyurethane Innovation Award aims to honor companies in that pursuit. CPI congratulates BASF, Chemours and Covestro on their innovations, and we look forward to their presentations during the Polyurethanes Technical Conference’s Opening Session."

The innovations as described by the 2017 finalists are:

- BASF’s Irgastab PUR 70: A novel amine-free, aromatic solvents-free, anti-scorch system for Polyol and PUR foams, significantly reducing VOC, s-VOC and aldehyde emissions in automotive interiors.
- Chemours’ Opteon 1100: A hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) blowing agent that addresses critical PU industry needs including formulation stability and flexibility with existing components, excellent materials compatibility, exceptional long-term insulation performance, and a sustainable solution to meet changing regulatory requirements for low GWP products.
- Covestro’s PUReWall: A new, highly structural spray polyurethane foam (SPF) formulation that allows for residential wall panel production, using polyisocyanurate (polyiso) rigid foam board and SPF instead of oriented strand board sheathing for structure.

We remind that, asAs MRC wrote previously, in April 2016, BASF inaugurated its new facilities for the production of Ucrete in Bukit Raja, Klang/Malaysia. It is the first manufacturing hub in Asia Pacific to produce all four components of the Ucrete polyurethane concrete flooring system in Asia Pacific. BASF has a similar plant in the United Kingdom. Ucrete is a polyurethane resin technology that gives floors resistance to aggressive chemicals, as well as mechanical and thermal conditions. It is ideal for the most demanding industrial environments and non-tainting.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc.

The Chemours Company, commonly referred to as Chemours, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 2015 as a spin-off from DuPont. It has its corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, United States.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) -- Kaustik (Volgograd, part of Nikokhim group) shut down its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production capacities for a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC's Price report.

The plant's representatives said the shutdown took place on 24 September. The outage will be quite long, the resumption of PVC production is scheduled for 18 October. The plant's annual production capacity is 90,000 tonnes.

As reported earlier, Kaustik Volgograd's overall output of resin reached 61,300 tonnes in the first eight months of 2017, compared to 57,200 a year earlier.

PVC production was launched at Kaustik Volgograd in December 1972 with the assistance of the Japanese firm Kureh's specialists.

Nikokhim Group is one of the leaders of the Russian chemical industry, the main production assets of which are located in the southern industrial hub of Volgograd.

JSC "Kaustik" is the group's main plant, which produces basic products - caustic soda, chloroparaffins, synthetic hydrochloric acid, chlorine trademark, polyvinyl chloride, sodium hypochlorite, etc.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Japan's Idemitsu Kosan shut the 414,000 tpy Chiba naphtha cracker on Friday to increase its capacity to process propane, an industry source familiar with the matter said, said Reuters.

The shutdown will last about a month, the source added. The company last year announced the upgrade would boost the cracker's capacity to process propane as feedstock by three or four times.

The company had said the cracker would be shut for more than a month around September–October.
MRC