Kazakh Neftekhim Ltd to begin production of granulated PP

Moscow (MRC) - Kazakh company Neftekhim Ltd will launch the unit for PP granulation in 2014, said Minister of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan Aset Isekeshev at the meeting of the Ministry of industry and new technologies.

Neftekhim Ltd was commissioned in 2009. The company produces methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and polypropylene.
30,000 tonnes/year PP capacities were launched in 2011; the plant did not have PP granulation unit, PP is produced in the form of powder, which limits its scope.

The producer has to sell all produced PP to export markets, particularly in China, as local producers can not use PP in powder form.

Total PP production in Kazakhstan was 17,800 tonnes in 2013, against 37,700 tonnes a year earlier. Such a serious drop in production in 2013 resulted from a long shutdown for maintenance works from April to July.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Export sales of Chinese polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to foreign markets increased by 540 thousand tons in 2013, up 43% from the level in 2012, according to MRC analysts.

Total exports of PET chips from China was about 1.78 mln tonnes in 2013. Chinese producers increased PET exports on the back of growing production capacities in China.

China increased PET deliveries to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. At the present China is the largest exporter of PET in the world.

As reported previously, despite the decline in imports of PET in Kazakhstan (down 2%), Russia (down 7%), Ukraine (down 3.5%), imports of Chinese PET into these countries grew. Imports of Chinese PET to Kazakhstan increased by 3 tonnes to about 37,000 tonnes in 2013. Imports of Chinese PET to Russia grew by 21,000 tonnes to 94,000 tonnes in 2013. Imports of Chinese PET into Ukraine increased by 21,700 tonnes to 111,000 tonnes in 2013.

More detailed statistics on a monthly balance of the market, PET consumption in Russia can be found in the MRC
ScanPlast.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Capacity of the Ukrainian market of polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics fell by 12% in 2013 and totalled 70,400 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Reduced consumption was registered in all grades of styrene-based polymers. Thus, capacity of the high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) markets dropped by 2% in Ukraine to 31,700 tonnes.

Capacity of the expandable polystyrene (EPS) market fell by 15% and totalled about 30,000 tonnes in 2013. A significant decline in demand was registered in the acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) market. Ukrainian companies produced about 3,500 tonnes of ABS in 2013, while reducing their purchasing in the foreign markets by 14%.

Reduced estimated consumption was caused by the fall in total production and imports of material to the country amid a general slowdown in the processing sector in 2013. More information on the PS grades and production figures can be found in the MRC Monthly report.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Ukraine's imports of polypropylene (PP) increased by 18% in 2013 on stronger demand and shutdown of domestic production, according to MRC DataScope.

Total PP imports to Ukraine rose to 133,100 tonnes in 2013, compared with 113,000 tonnes in 2012. Stronger demand and shutdown of domestic producer LINIK (Rosneft) were the main reasons for such a significant growth in PP imports to the Ukrainian market.
Geography imports grew considerably. Structure of PP imports in 2013 was as follows. Imports of homopolymer PP increased last year increased to 101,300 tonnes, up 28% compared with the 2012 level.

Key suppliers of homopolymer PP to the Ukrainian market were producers from Saudi Arabia, India and Russia. Imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP-block), on the contrary, in 2013 dropped to 16,000 tonnes, from 19,600 tonnes in 2012.

Last year demand weakened in the sectors of injection moulding and pipe extrusion. Imports of stat-propylene copolymers (PP-random) last year increased to about 12,000 tonnes, up 26% from the level in 2012. The greatest increase in demand for PP-random occurred for pipe extrusion and BOPP films production. Import of other polymers of propylene in 2013 decreased to 3,800 tonnes, from 5,000 tonnes a year earlier.

As reported before, the new owner LiNIK - Rosneft plans to resume refining complex in summer. According to unofficial information, the PP production at LINIK may be resumed in September this year. The plant's annual PP production capacity is 125,000 tonnes.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tosoh is in plans to shut a caustic soda plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant is planned to be shut in March 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located in Nanyo, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 1.125 million mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, this plant was shut for maintenance works in mid-May 2013 for a period of month and a half.

Last year, Tosoh's proposed restructuring of operations in Nanyo could lead to a net loss of 320,000 tpa of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) capacity, thereby tightening feedstock supply to the polyvinylchloride (PVC) industry. Almost one year after a fire seriously damaged its complex in Nanyo, Tosoh Corporation (Tokyo, Japan) has touted plans to raise output at the site's number 3 vinyl chloride monomer plant. The building phase of the 200,000 t/y capacity expansion was to kick off in November last year, with completion scheduled for October 2014.

Tosoh is one of the largest chlor-alkali manufacturers in Asia. The company supplies the plastic resins and an array of the basic chemicals that support modern life. Tosoh's petrochemical operations supply ethylene, polymers, and polyethylene.
MRC