Outlook for polyethylene in Europe remains uncertain

(ICIS) -- The outlook for polyethylene (PE) in Europe remains uncertain with some grades faring better than others, but many suppliers and buyers see little chance of a significant upturn before well into the first quarter of 2012, sources said on Friday. ⌠We hope to be able to stabilise the situation in December and work through inventories in January, said one producer. ⌠We might be able to lift prices slightly in January and February, but that's not sure right now.

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Production has been cut back in the PE market for several weeks, and currently low density polyethylene (LDPE) looks in better balance than only two weeks ago. Two large LDPE units in France and Sweden are offline for maintenance, and these have relieved the oversupply seen in early November.


On the other hand, some production that had been heavily reduced is now coming back on line.
US chemical producer Dow's PE plants are ramping up following several weeks of heavy cutting back, and buyers say they see the effect of this in the linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) market, which remains the most fiercely contended sector.


Metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) C6 sellers are still competing for market share at low prices, barely above ┬1,100/tonne ($1,467/tonne) FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) according to some buyers, leading to shifts in product mix between LLDPE grades.
Price ranges reported by buyers are very wide, however, with MLLDPE C6 talked at ┬1,120-1,250/tonne.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Lower pump prices expected to bring more US holiday drivers

(ICIS) -- The recent drop in retail gasoline prices could buoy an increase in the number of US Thanksgiving Day holiday motorists, a market analyst said on Wednesday, but others predicted the shaky economy could dampen travel.


⌠Sentiment is that prices are lower than earlier this year, [despite] that they are much higher than last year, and that's pushing people to view things positively, thus making little or few changes to their plans, said analyst Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com.


On 5 September, the US retail average for unleaded gasoline was $3.643/gal (┬.71/litre), according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). On 21 November, the average price was $3.312/gal, a drop of 9.1%. DeHaan said prices for the holiday would still be at least be 25-50 cents higher than any previous Thanksgiving, but the prices have slowly come down in the past couple of months.


In addition, recent headlines have brightened the US economic outlook, said analyst Stephen Schork, author of the Schork Report.


The past two weeks has shown US unemployment claims under 400,000, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October was higher, indicating increased buying of retail items, including gasoline.
Schork also pointed out, however, that the MasterCard SpendingPulse has reported lower gasoline demand. For the week ended 4 November, gasoline demand was 8.665m bbl/day, according to the report, the lowest weekly demand since 9 September.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Upside for Asia olefins limited on fewer turnarounds

(ICIS) -- The gains in Asia's olefins market may be capped next year because of a lighter 2012 cracker turnaround schedule and concerns over the health of the global economy, market sources said on Friday. Around 16 crackers in the region are scheduled for maintenance in 2012 compared to 33 crackers in 2011.


Based on the nameplate capacities of these crackers, the ethylene production loss is estimated to be at least 865,534 tonnes in 2012, down by more than 50% from levels seen in 2011, according to ICIS.


The market outlook for the ethylene and propylene markets in 2012 is generally bearish, particularly in the first quarter as the Lunar New Year holidays will arrive earlier on 23 January 2012, market sources said. ⌠January business is basically dead. Hopefully demand will pick up in February for March cargoes, a regional olefins trader said.


With the exception of South Korea, crackers in Asia are being operated at reduced rates of 80-90% this month as producers are squeezed by high feedstock naphtha costs and the earlier sharp falls in olefins prices.


South Korean producers are still running their crackers at close to full tilt except for SK Energy, which is operating its 190,000 tonne/year No 1 cracker in Ulsan at 70% capacity this month.
Ethylene margins of producers in northeast Asia based on naphtha feed fell into negative territory at the end of October, but the losses have narrowed in recent weeks partly because of a modest recovery in ethylene, propylene and butadiene (BD) prices, according to ICIS data.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Kuwait and China held a groundbreaking ceremony for a US$9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex

(Arabian and oil gas) -- Kuwait and China held a groundbreaking ceremony for a US$9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in the southern Chinese city of Zhanjiang, with completion scheduled for late 2014, Kuwait News agency reported. "The project is a major pillar that helps spur investments, trade, and the oil industry between the two countries," KUNA quoted Kuwaiti Consul General in Guangzhou Abdulwahab Al-Sager as saying.


"At the ceremony, leaders across the province have expressed happiness in realizing their dream to start this important project, which is vital in the field of energy, and have also shown their interest in future cooperation with Kuwait in other mutually-beneficial projects," the diplomat added.


Under the 50-50 joint venture between state-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and China's top refiner Sinopec, a 300,000 barrel-per-day refinery, a 1 milliont/y ethylene plant, and related utilities will be built in a petrochemical industrial park on Donghai Island of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province. Kuwait has pledged to supply all the crude feedstock for the world-class integrated complex.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC

Shell on the verge of commercialising a technology for the production of diphenyl carbonate

(Plastemart) -- Shell is on the verge of commercialising a technology for the production of diphenyl carbonate (DPC) as a feedstock for the production of polycarbonate, as per theengineer.co.uk. Over recent years, Shell has been in talks with major manufacturers of the engineering polymer, for whom DPC offers a potential replacement to phosgene - a highly toxic feedstock precursor.


Production of polycarbonate is, today, predominantly based on reacting phosgene with bisphenol A (BPA) to produce the polymer (interfacial or solution polycarbonate). Due to its toxicity, though, phosgene requires stringent exposure management and controls. The phosgene-based process, said Shell, is also complex and energy intensive, involving the use of carbon monoxide, caustic soda and a chlorinated solvent, which has its own health and safety issues. During the reaction process the chlorine is converted to sodium chloride, which then has to be removed from the finished polymer in an additional washing stage in order to achieve the material's optical clarity. Disposal of the waste salt presents another issue. These issues have led polycarbonate manufacturers to develop phosgene-free routes to DPC.


Perspectives of development of the polymers markets, pricing issues and other important aspects will be discussed at The Polymers Summit-2011, which will be held in Moscow on November 30, 2011 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. The Summit is organized by MRC with the support of ICIS. The main idea of the Summit is to find a "the golden mean" between producers and converters. When producers receive exactly such margin of production, which helps them to invest in production expansion in order to substitute polymers imports, and the converters receive such price of feedstock that helps them to compete imported finished products. The Summit site gives an access to the live video of the Summit, speakers" presentations, as well as opportunities to ask questions or make appointments to any Summit partcipant.


MRC