Kazakhstan tightens requirements for PE pipes

MOSCOW (MRC) – The Water Resources Committee of Kazakhstan has changed requirements for producers of PE pipes for water supply. The proposed changes will toughen requirements for raw materials and PE pipes production, report MRC analysts.

At the end of last week the Water Resources Committee of Kazakhstan changed the requirements for PE pipes producers and for PE pipes procured as part of the state water supply program. The proposed changes will tighten the control over production and raw materials for PE pipes production.

The changes include the following list of basic requirements for polyethylene pipes:

- the usage of exclusively black polyethylene PE100 of European manufacturers for the production of polyethylene pipes;

- the license of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, confirming the quality of the used raw materials and the right to duty-free importation;

- a certificate of domestic producers (CT-KZ) and the quality certificate ISO 9001;

- providing warranty for polyethylene pipes for 50 years and the terms of their replacement in case of finding defects.

According to local market participants, new requirements might dramatically alter Kazakh market of PE pipes, in particular, the geography of supplies since Russian and Asian makers are the main suppliers of pipe PE100 to the local market.

It is also worth mentioning that the Water Resources Committee provided about 70% of all orders for PE pipes in the country.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In August, import of suspension PVC to Ukraine expectedly increased to 11,000 tonnes. Over the eight months of 2012, the total import of suspension made about 55,100 tonnes, down 37% year on year, as per MRC analysts.

Expectedly in August, the import volumes of PVC to the Ukrainian market increased significantly. Last month, the total amount of imports of PVC to Ukraine increased to 11,000 tonnes, while in July this figure made about 8,800 tonnes. The main increase in imports of resin was provided the material from the United States.

Last month, imports of resin from the U.S. increased to 5,500 tonnes, from 2,200 tonnes in July. The imports from the U.S. increased due to a serious decline in export prices from North American manufacturers in May and June. As a result, Ukrainian companies have been actively buying PVC in the U.S.

Limited export quotas in Europe over the last two months did not allow Ukrainian companies to increase seriously the purchases. The import of European resin in August exceeded 5,000 tonnes, while in July the figure made about 5,800 tonnes.

In general, over the eight months of this year, the total volume of import PVC to Ukraine amounted to about 55,100 tonnes, down 37% compared to the same period a year ago.


MRC

(specchem) -- Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI) listed AkzoNobel in first place in the Chemicals 'supersector. AkzoNobel has been in the top three companies in the supersector every year since 2007, when it was last on top. Overall, there were 11 chemicals companies in the World Index this year, with others in the separate North American Index.

Another regular high-scorer to appear this year and for the 12th time overall was Dow Chemical, which had an improved total of 88% and was the highest sectoral score for its environmental policy management system. This mark, the company noted, put it in the 97th percentile for all companies in the sector.

Also appearing for a 12th time was BASF, which said that it had been 'recognised for its sustainability engagement in areas such as climate strategy, risk and crisis management, as well as human capital development'. BASF was once again the top scorer in the Materials sector, as well as being included in the Carbon Performance Leadership Index for the third time.

The DJSI, which is announced every year in September, is carried out for Dow Jones by Sustainable Asset Management (SAM), a Swiss-based specialist in sustainable and responsible investing. It is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious indices in the field, covering the world’s largest 2,500 largest companies from 57 sectors. The top 10% of companies are named within it.

To achieve this, companies must respond to surveys regarding their sustainability performance, benchmarking their sustainability performance based on environmental, social and economic criteria in areas like corporate governance, water-related risks and stakeholder relations. These criteria look at both general and industry-specific sustainability trends. SAM notedsaid that the overall participation rate in this was 8.4% higher than last year.
MRC

(chemistryviews) -- Sabic has signed a multi-year agreement with the University of Cambridge, UK, to allow Sabic researchers to work with world class teams of scientists in the areas of chemical engineering, biotechnology, energy, functional materials and modeling.

Sabic signed four other research collaboration agreements earlier this year - with the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, National Research Council, Italy, and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Germany.

SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene (PE) manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene (PP) manufacturer. SABIC is also the world’s largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol (MEG).
MRC

(ccfgroup) -- Thailand's largest petrochemical maker, PTT Global Chemical Pcl said on Thursday it expected to begin operations of its mono ethylene glycol (MEG) plant at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate in October after a two-year delay.

The plant, one of the projects suspended due to environmental concerns since late 2009, has the capacity to produce 95,000-96,000 tonnes annually, PTTGC Chief Executive Anon Sirisaengtaksin told reporters.

PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited is one of the leading petroleum refiners and suppliers of refined petroleum products in Thailand. The Polymer product business produce a wide range of plastic products for use in various industries. Among the main products are HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, PS.
MRC