ExxonMobil: Fire at Baytown refinery confined

(marketwatch) -- ExxonMobil Corp. said Wednesday that it has confined a fire that broke out at about 5 p.m. CDT at its Baytown, Texas refinery to a process unit.

The fire was put out by 8.30 p.m. CDT, spokeswoman Rachael Moore said in a statement.

"There were no injuries and everyone is accounted for," Ms. Moore said.

The rest of the plant's operations weren't impacted. The company's industrial hygiene staff are monitoring air quality around the complex in the community and have found no adverse impact, she said.

The refinery fire posed no threat to the public and there was no need to shelter in place, according to Exxon officials. They were monitoring the air quality as a precaution. The Irving-based energy giant said their own emergency response teams were fighting the flames.

The complex has a 584,000 bbl/day refinery and two chemical plants that make butyl rubber and polypropylene (PP), making it the largest operating refinery in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.
MRC

(gv) -- LyondellBasell has announced the launch of a new family of 5th generation non-phthalate catalysts for polypropylene production. These catalysts will be sold under the existing Avant trade name and complement the company's 3rd-, 4th- and 5th generation Ziegler-Natta PP catalysts.

Jim Seward, LyondellBasell Director of Catalyst and Licensing Business said: "This development aligns with a continued market interest in using existing fifth-generation diether and succinate catalysts for a range of product applications. For example, there is a market trend to extend the use of diether catalysts, already the established benchmark for the production of polymers used in spun-bond fiber, high melt flow impact copolymers and random copolymer, to also produce BOPP and raffia grades."

LyondellBasell Industries is a public multinational chemical company based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest producer of polypropylene and polypropylene compounds; a leading producer of propylene oxide, polyethylene, ethylene and propylene; a global leader in polyolefins technology; and a producer of refined products, including biofuels. Additionally, LyondellBasell is a leading provider of technology licenses and a supplier of catalysts for polyolefin production. LyondellBasell produces polyolefin catalysts in Ferrara, Italy, Frankfurt and Ludwigshafen, Germany and Edison, N.J.

The Avant catalyst range comprises of the following families:

Avant ZN - Ziegler-Natta catalysts for polypropylene
Avant Z - Ziegler catalysts for polyethylene
Avant C - Chromium catalysts for polyethylene
Avant M - Metallocene catalysts for polypropylene
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The growth of the cost of import PET in China makes traders raise prices of the material for the domestic market of Kazakhstan. In October, Kazakh traders are going to increase PET price offers on average by Tenge 2,250/tonne, report MRC analysts.

This week, price offers of the material in the spot market made Tenge 312,000-315,000/tonne, CPT Almaty, including VAT. By mid-month, local traders plan to increase Asian PET prices up to the level of Tenge 312,000-319,500/tonne, CPT Almaty, including VAT.

The rising cost of PET in the domestic market was caused by an increase in purchasing prices, but not steady sales. Given that prices are going up, sales volumes are still small enough, said a source. Also, traders do not exclude the possibility of the further rise in prices, however this will depend on the already existing demand from converters.

In the first week of October, sources reported that demand in the domestic market of Kazakhstan is going down due to a seasonal factor. According to market players, by the end of September, consumers’ buying activity had dropped by about 50% from August. Therefore, the sales of the polymer also declined.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The contract price of propylene in Europe decreased by EUR 20/tonne for October, some companies have achieved EUR 40/tonne decrease in PP export prices, as per MRC analysts.

The contract price of propylene in Europe for October delivery was reduced by EUR20/tonne, from September. The negotiations on export prices of polypropylene (PP) for October supplies in to the CIS markets began this week.

Some market participants reported that they were able to achieve a reduction in export prices by EUR40/tonne, compared to the September level. Though some producers still limit their export quotas as they did over last two months.

This week the price of European PP-homo was discussed at EUR1,300-1,340/tonne, FCA. At the same time, some market participants reported that they could achieve a lower price level.

MRC

(plasticsinformart) -- Styron has unveiled the first full-thermoplastic, mono-material lift-gate ever produced in series on a commercial vehicle featured in the New Renault Clio.

After a two-year development project with Styron, Renault is now launching the New Renault Clio with a thermoplastic lift-gate made with Styron’s material solutions. The lift-gate is manufactured in thermoplastic from three separate parts:

- the inner skin is injection moulded using a talc filled polypropylene compound from Styron and connects to the structural part;

the structural part is produced with long glass fiber polypropylene resin (LGF-PP) concentrate developed by Styron. This concentrate is diluted directly on the moulding machine with appropriate PP copolymer resin through dry-blend directly;

- the outer skin is made with Styron’s INSPIRE at-press talc masterbatch concept, which injection moulds through blending of the different components (polypropylene impact copolymer, specifically designed 70% talc masterbatch and the required color concentrate), allowing for a tailored mechanical performance to meet the OEM specific application requirements.

Styron LLC is a plastics (including polystyene, ABS and compounds&blends), rubber, and latex producer.
MRC