Petkim to increase its ethylene and PTA output capacity in 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The production capacity of the Turkish Pektim Petrochemical Holding where SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s state energy company has equity participation will increase from 3.2 million tons to 3.6 million tons in 2014, reported Yarns&Fibers.

An increase in production capacity will be possible thanks to the improved capacity of ethylene and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) production enterprises.

In particular, the ethylene production enterprise's capacity will increase from current 520,000 tons to 587,000 tons by late 2014. The PTA production capacity will increase from 70,000 tons to 105,000 tons which will require investments worth USD25 million.

Petkim also said that the first stage of construction of a wind power station will be completed in November 2014 in the petrochemical complex.

The technical evaluation process of the power station establishment project has already been completed. The implementation of the first phase is planned to be launched this year.

The total capacity of the power station will reach 50 MW and the output will be 25 MW in the first phase.

As MRC wrote previously, Petkim together with its key owner, Socar plans to transform Aliaga into an industrial cluster. The transformation has several positive effects on Petkim. Star refinery, Petlim and Petkojen projects are the key earnings drivers. Among these initiatives, the building of Star refinery by Socar-Turcas, the container port project Petlim and co-generation plant project Petkojen are the key additions. Star refinery allows Petkim to receive feedstock at lower cost and better quality. Petlim utilizes the port area belonging to the company more efficiently. Petkojen lowers the overall energy cost of the company by turning the boilers to dual mode.

Petkim is the leading petrochemical company of Turkey. Specializing in petrochemical manufacturing, the company produces ethylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and other chemical building blocks for use in the manufacture of plastics, textiles, and other consumer and industrial products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kem One, Europe’s third-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has announced an increase in January prices of suspension PVC (SPVC) grades and mass PVC (MPVC) grades, according to the company's press release.

The increase for the products stated above was EUR50 per metric tonne.

As MRC informed previously, in late December 2013, the Lyon commercial court designated the new owner of the company Kem One SAS, and put to an end the insolvency proceedings opened on 27 March, 2013.

The commitment of all stakeholders involved, under the aegis of the public authorities, has enabled the takeover of the company and the continuation of its business as part of a takeover bid validated by the commercial court and with the full support of the French government.

Kem One, a fully integrated vinyl production company, was established mid-2012 following the acquisition of Arkema's vinyl products division by the Klesch Group. The company employs 2,600 people at 22 manufacturing sites, primarily in Europe but also in Asia and North America. Europe’s third-largest producer of PVC with revenues in excess of one billion euros, KEM ONE continues to grow and build on its numerous strengths with a view to becoming market leader for integrated vinyl solutions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iran's petrochemical industries earned approximately USD9.19bln from exporting petrochemical products to the international markets in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2013-January 20, 2014), reported Ein News with reference to data from Iran Customs Administration.

The data showed that gas condensate made up USD8.52bln of Iran’s petrochemical exports.

In terms of non-oil exports, Iran exported USD5.905 bln of various products to China, USD4.79 bln to Iraq, USD2.923 bln to the United Arab Emirates, USD2.128bln to India and USD2.22bln to Afghanistan.

Iran’s non-oil exports, which weighed 75.51mln tons, were 15.33% higher than a year ago.

Iran earned USD12bln from exporting petrochemicals in the last Iranian calendar year which ended on March 20, 2013.

Nearly 60 countries, mainly from South and Southeast Asia, imported Iran’s petrochemical products in the previous Iranian calendar year.

The country has significantly expanded the range and volume of its petrochemical production over the past few years, and the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) has become the second largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals in the Middle-East after Saudi Arabia.

As MRC wrote previously, the European Union is set to temporarily ease restrictions on Iranian exports of petrochemical products, but a prohibition to sell technologies related to the sector into the Islamic Republic will remain in place. Sanction-relief measures will allow EU-based companies to buy, import, insure and transport petrochemicals from Iran - all prohibited since 2012.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Due to lower petrochemical and refinery production sales, as well as refining margins, revenues of Unipetrol (PKN Orlen's affiliate) decreased by 5% year on year and in Q4 amounted at CZK 25.070 bn, according to the company's report.

The results were also negatively influenced by difficult refining macroeconomic conditions. Petrochemical segment continued to be the key profit maker of the group. Company also recorded improvement in performance of retail segment.

"We are consequantly aiming at improvement of our financial performance. In Q4 2013 Unipetrol achieved some significant milestones important for realization of our strategy for the years 2013-2017. We signed purchase agreement with Shell, which increased our share capital in Ceska Rafinerska to 67.555%. The transaction broughts Unipetrol the qualified majority of votes, allowing significant improvement of the company's operational management," said the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Unipetrol, Marek Switajewski.

In Q4 Unipetrol Group posted operational profit EBITDA LIFO of CZK 252m.

Operational profit EBITDA LIFO in the petrochemical segment amounted to CZK +514m in 4Q13. The results of the segment were positively affected by very good petrochemical margins, development of FX – stronger EUR vis-a-vis CZK and USD, higher steam cracker utilization and fixed and variable costs savings within operational excellence initiatives. In year on year comparison the company recorded negative impact of lower olefin margins, higher renewable energy surcharges and negative impact of CO2 allowances. Company recorded sales decrease of petrochemical products to 420,000 tonnes in Q4 (-7% year on year) due to slightly lower sales of polymers.

As MRC wrote before, on 3 October 2013, Unipetrol signed a license agreement with Ineos, based on which it acquired the right to use a production process and technology for the new polyethylene unit (PE3). Purchase of the license is the first achieved milestone and represents the official start of the project’s execution. The new polyethylene unit will assist in the process of increasing utilization of the steam cracker and it will contribute to a better interconnection between the petrochemical and refinery segments of the Unipetrol Group. The most modern technology will also improve production safety and reliability.

Within next years, as communicated in Unipetrol Strategy, the majority of investments will be undertaken in petrochemical area. Thus, Czech downstream oil group Unipetrol expects petrochemicals to become the largest source of revenue for the company in 2013-2017.

Unipetrol , a.s. is a group of companies operating in the petrochemical industry in the Czech Republic. In 2005 Unipetrol became a part of the PKN ORLEN Group, the largest oil processor in Central Europe. The UNIPETROL Group is oriented mostly towards oil processing, fuel distribution and petrochemical production. In all of these business areas the Unipetrol Group is among the key players both in the Czech Republic and on the Central European market. The Group ranks among the leading firms in the Czech Republic in terms of its revenues, and employs almost 4,000 people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United Arab Emirates, a Gulf Opec oil producer, said it was looking at the possibility of importing natural gas from North America, in what would be one of the most striking developments since the start of the US shale boom, according Upstreamonline.

The United States and Canada are producing record amounts of gas from shale rock formations, pulling down North American prices to levels that have attracted the interest of foreign buyers.

Around a dozen long-term deals, each worth billions of dollars, have recently been signed behind closed doors between US producers and buyers in China, Japan, Taiwan, Spain, France and Chile as global demand for gas increases.

"We may follow the same trend of considering investments in the United States and Canada to bring some of that gas back home," UAE oil minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui told the news wire on Monday at an energy conference in London.

Rapidly rising demand and slow production growth have made the Opec member a net importer of gas over the past few years.

The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Energy Company has already invested in Canada's oil and gas sector but so far has not been publicly involved in North American natural gas export projects. "The United Arab Emirates is seriously thinking about that now," the minister said.

The UAE last year awarded a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Fujairah on its east coast. It already gets a modest volume of Qatari gas by pipeline, which helps feed its power and desalination plants.

As MRC wrote before, the growth in U.S. shale-gas exploration and production has lowered domestic gas prices and enables producers there to use gas as feedstock. That has put pressure on petrochemical producers in Saudi Arabia who get gas for a government- subsidized price of USD0.75 per million British thermal units.
As MRC wrote before, Saudi Arabia intends to remain a world energy powerhouse for the foreseeable future, partly by exploiting new technology which has unlocked vast quantities of oil and natural gas in North America. Saudi Arabia will push ahead this year with exploratory drilling of shale and other unconventional gas reserves which could be twice the size of its conventional gas reserves, which total 286 trillion cubic feet.

MRC