Egypt eliminates protection fees on homo-PP imports

(plasticsinfomart) -- In Egypt, the former Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Mahmoud Essa had approved a decision imposing 15% or USD267/ton in protection fees, whichever was higher based on the total import sum, on homo-PP imports effective as of June 5 until December 22, 2012, for 200 days, upon the local PP producer EPPC’s request.

In return for imposing the duties, an agreement was signed between EPPC and the government as of June 27. According to the agreement, the local producer was required to provide all of the market’s homo-PP needs and they would have to keep their prices in line with monthly global price announcements. The agreement also required a minimum monthly order amount of 50 tons from local buyers purchasing from EPPC.

However, market players have since been complaining that the producer has not been able to meet the needs of the market apart from raffia grade and that they failed to provide film grade. A film and injection products maker had previously complained, “EPPC cannot make all of the grades needed in the market. The market remains short of material despite the producer’s promises.” Regarding PP injection, some converters were considering substituting HDPE injection for homo-PP injection in their manufacturing process since the new duties pushed PP injection to uncompetitive levels.
MRC

PetroLogistics seeks permission to double propylene output in Houston

(plastemart) -- PetroLogistics LP , operator of the only dedicated U.S. propylene plant, is seeking permission to double the Houston factory’s output as supplies fall and competitors including Dow Chemical Co. plan similar facilities, as per Bloomberg. PetroLogistics wants to add six combustion units to the five currently producing propylene, an ingredient in plastics, nylon and detergents, the Houston-based company said in an application to the Environmental Protection Agency.

PetroLogistics has not arrived at a final decision on whether to invest in the project
Dow and Enterprise Products Partners LP are among companies planning to open similar facilities by mid-decade because of relatively low U.S. gas prices and tighter supplies of propylene. Annual U.S. propylene output has declined as much as 5 bln lbs since 2005 when ethylene makers began switching from oil to cheaper gas-based feedstocks that yield less propylene as a byproduct.
MRC

PDVSA to restart catalytic cracker at Amuay Refinery today

(fuelfix) -- Petroleos de Venezuela SA will restart the catalytic cracker at the Amuay refinery today after an explosion Aug. 25 halted operations at the country’s largest plant, said Rafael Ramirez, president of the state company.

Amuay is currently processing 330,000 barrels a day at four of its five distillation units and has restarted the flexicoker, Ramirez, who is also the South American country’s oil minister, told reporters today in Caracas.

PDVSA, as the Caracas-based company is called, has sufficient inventories and hasn’t slowed any exports of crude or refined goods, he said. Amuay, which has a capacity of 645,000 barrels a day, was processing about 450,000 of barrels a day before the accident, Jesus Luongo, the state oil company’s director of refining, said on Sept. 6.

"The international oil market is well supplied," Ramirez said.

A gas leak at the refinery in western Venezuela caused an explosion Aug. 25, engulfing nearby homes and a National Guard post in flames and killing 42 people. Firefighters worked for four days to extinguish flames at storage tanks holding refined products. Nine tanks were damaged from the incident.

Venezuela is currently producing around 3 million barrels of oil a day, Ramirez said.

MRC

Import PVC prices rise in India, high end fails to find support

(plasticsinfomart) -- Players in India report that initial October PVC prices have been announced with increases from September on the back of firm upstream costs and limited regional availability. However, prices at the upper end of the new import range are struggling to find support as a major Taiwanese producer’s new prices stand close to the lower end of the import range, pressuring sellers at the higher end to moderate their hike targets.

A trader based in Taiwan reported, "We have increased our prices for October and we feel that prices are close to their peak now as buyers are showing strong resistance to any additional increase proposals."

An Indian trader commented, “We purchased some October cargoes from the Taiwanese producer to keep our stocks at normal levels. After the Taiwanese producer’s price announcement, a Northwest European seller lowered its prices to India to stay competitive with Taiwanese cargoes.” Another trader based in Mumbai told ChemOrbis, “We raised our prices in line with the Taiwanese producer’s price hike. We believe that the producer will shift some of their allocations from China to India for October and is therefore attempting a relatively modest increase.

India may be expected to absorb more imports next month as the week long National Day holidays in China will dampen China’s PVC consumption.” An Indian converter in the packaging sector stated, “We are not interested in the offers we received for South Korean PVC as we find offers for Taiwanese material to be more competitive.” An Indian PVC pipe converter stated, “We are sourcing our needs from the local market rather than the import market as local prices were stable this week while import prices moved higher. We have reduced the operating rates of our plant as we are not anticipating seeing strong demand for our end products this month.”
MRC

Exxon Mobil reports emission of pollutants after leak at Texas refinery

(xinhuanet) -- Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. energy company, has reported inadvertent emissions of large amounts of pollutants at its flagship refinery near Houston, U.S. media reported Thursday.

The Baytown refinery of Exxon Mobil reported a leak in a heat exchanger tube on Tuesday and the incident prompted the shutdown of a unit that separates heavy oils into fuels, according to local TV channel ABC13.

In an emission event report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Exxon Mobil reported that the shutdowns resulted in releases of hydrogen sulfide, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide exceeding the plant's permit limits.

The event could continue for several more days, according to the Exxon Mobil report to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The Exxon Mobil refinery is already the subject of a lawsuit by Texas' environmental advocacy organization, Environment Texas, and the Sierra Club, one of the largest grassroots environmental organizations in the U.S., according to local media reports.
MRC