India not the only location for USD1bn petrochemical project

(fibre2fashion) -- A UAE-based major polymer and petrochemical trading firm has evinced interest in setting up a petrochemical complex in any of the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) across India.

The UAE-based company is planning to set up a 150ktpa capacity petrochemical complex, worth nearly Rs 55bn (USD1m), by using foreign direct investment to produce caustic soda, ethylene, chlorine, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and PVC compounds.

At present, Uniplas Petrochemical Ltd is exploring the option of setting up a greenfield petrochemical complex in the PCPIR’s located either in Gujarat, Orissa or any other PCPIR.

The proposed plant is expected to have a capacity of 150 kilo tons per annum and will produce polymers & textile finishing chemicals and is estimated to cost around USD1 billion and also export a few specialty chemicals.

Alongside India, the company is also exploring other locations in China and other countries, the source revealed. A back of the envelope calculation indicates that a project of this size could provide direct and indirect employment for between 5,000-7,000 people.

Speaking about the investments which PCPIRs have attracted till date, the source reveals, "As of date, no project has been finalised, but Gujarat has attracted a good number of proposals of which 1 or 2 are in the finalization stage, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc".
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In October, import of PET granulate to the Russian market kept decreasing. Last month, Russian companies purchased the material by 1,500 tonnes less compared to September, according to MRC DataScope.
Imports of PET granulate to Russia have been falling for the fourth consecutive month. In October, 8,500 tonnes of PET granulate arrived in the Russian market. Decline in import supplies in Autumn is no surprise since this is due to the global reduction of soft drinks and beer consumption.

Also, export volumes of the material decreased in October. Last month, 1,800 tonnes of bottle PET granulate were shipped to the foreign markets, which is by 2,900 tonnes less than in September. We remind that about 5,350 tonnes of PET were exported in October, 2011. Unfavourable macroeconomic situation in the European countries and decline in consumption related to this have resulted in impossibility for Russian makers to sell the material in the European market maintaining the necessary profit margin.

In January-October, 2012, about 133,000 tonnes of PET arrived in the Russian domestic market, down 47,5% year-on-year. This year, Russian converters were cautious with regard to making purchases in order not to make last year’s mistakes and avoid the surplus of the material and the finished preforms at their warehouses.

Also, Russian PET producers contributed to import substitution, providing a loyal pricing policy and the stability of the PET price offer this year. Imports might increase in November-December in anticipation of bottlers’ preparation to New Year holidays. However, this surge will be insignificant and, in general, it will not considerably influence the situation with poor sales by Asian PET suppliers in Russia.

MRC

(pressreleasefinder) -- Sabic has commissioned the construction of two sea going gas tankers powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) to transport its olefins products, in anticipation of a European Union directive to drastically reduce sulphur emissions from vessels operating in the North Sea by 2015.

Switching to alternative fuels for ships, such as LNG, which is far more environment-friendly than traditional fuel oils is one of the solutions identified to meet the European Union directive.

SABIC’s two gas carriers will be used to transport olefins from a major plant on Teesside, England, to ports in North-West Europe and Scandinavia. SABIC is the first chemical company in the world to order gas carriers running on LNG.

Sabic is ranked among the world's largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. The comany manufactures chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer. Among its products are propylene, paraxylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer.
MRC

(Platts) -- Japan's ethylene output rose 1% month on month in October to 500,000 mt, but fell 10% from a year earlier, the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association announced Thursday.

The month-on-month increase in output coincided with the end of turnarounds at various steam crackers.

JX Nippon Oil & Energy restarted its sole steam cracker at Kawasaki on October 11, after an extended maintenance that began August 13, a company source said in October. The steam cracker can produce 404,000 mt/year of ethylene.

In addition, Idemitsu Kosan restarted its steam cracker at Tokuyama, Yamaguchi Prefecture, at the end of October after scheduled maintenance that had been going on since September 4. The cracker can produce 623,000 mt/year of ethylene.
MRC

(hydrocarbonprocessing) -- Mitsui Chemicals is considering investing in the US petrochemical business using cheap natural gas there as a feedstock, the company's president said Thursday.

"We're in talks with several companies," Toshikazu Tanaka told reporters. "The US is a very big market. We're interested."

Low natural gas prices resulting from the US shale-gas boom are stimulating new investments iin petrochemical plants there.

In March, Royal Dutch Shell said it would build a USD2 billion petrochemical plant in Pennsylvania near the Marcellus Shale formation and would use natural gas as a primary feedstock.

Also in March, Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris said his company, which processes around 850,000 bpd of oil equivalent into plastics and other products, is focusing on increasing its US presence due to the lower natural gas prices.

In July, Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, president of rival Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, said the company had been looking for a good opportunity to build a factory in North America to take advantage of the cheap natural gas.
MRC