Westlake Chemical inaugurates new chlor-alkali facility in Louisiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical held a dedication ceremony on Wednesday for its new chlor-alkali plant in Geismar, Louisiana, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This ceremony was attended by Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, James Chao, board chairman of Westlake Chemical, and Albert Chao, CEO of Westlake Chemical. They were joined by various state and local officials, local industry guests and executives and employees of the company.

This new chlor-alkali plant has the capacity to produce 350,000 electrochemical units (ECU's) annually and utilizes state of the art membrane technology. The plant is adjacent to the existing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) facilities at the Geismar complex and has added approximately 70 full-time positions at the site. At its peak over 2000 constructions personnel were utilized in building the new plant.

"We have enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with Louisiana, operating since 2002 in Geismar and in Louisiana since 1986," says Chao.

"Our Louisiana operations are a vital hub for our enterprise and we are proud to be a responsible corporate citizen of the great State of Louisiana," he added.

"We were honored to have Governor Jindal join us today and appreciate the long-standing support of the various state and local officials in the development and growth of our operations in Louisiana. We also thank our employees in Louisiana, as well as our project team for the successful completion of this project."

The new plant created 70 additional permanent positions in Geismar and at the peak of construction created over 2,000 construction jobs.

During Westlake Chemical's time in Louisiana, it has invested over USD2.5 billion in the state, in grassroots construction and other capital expansions.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC resin and PVC building products including pipe and specialty components, windows and fence.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's JSR Corporation has announced that Styron Europe GmbH and JSR have reached an agreement to terminate the capacity rights agreement for the production of solution styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR), reported JSR on its site.

This termination is effective as of March 31, 2014 and expected to have a minimal impact on the consolidated business results of JSR, which was reported on January 27, 2014.

In 2007, JSR obtained the capacity rights to produce 30, 000 tons of S-SBR from Styron Europe GmbH (formerly Dow Europe) and started to supply JSR S-SBR including the products made in Europe to European tire market.

Last November, JSR reached an agreement with MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas Public Limited Company (MOL) to establish a joint venture in Hungary to manufacture S-SBR.

Considering the circumstances, JSR has concluded that it is the most appropriate course of action to consolidate production capacity in Europe to the new joint venture to establish an optimum supply system for customers in Europe.

As MRC wrote previously, JSR Corp. and MOL have recently received European Commission approval to form Vierium Investment, a new joint venture company to produce 60,000 t/y of solution polymerized styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR) in Tiszaujvaros, Hungary. The venture, owned 51% by JSR and 49% by MOL, will utilize MOL's existing plant infrastructures and JSR's S-SBR production technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Consumption of the Russian market of polycarbonate (PC) increased by 9,700 tonnes in January 2014, up 40% compared to December 2013, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Russia's PC consumption in January 2014 was 9,700 tonnes, up 34% from January 2013. Exports volumes of Russian PC in January 2014 was 174 tonnes, which is 83% below the level in December 2013. Russia's PC imports increased to 4,400 tonnes in January 2014 up by 72% from December 2013.

PC production in Russia was 6,200 tonnes in January 2014, down 6% from December 2013. Stronger demand for PC in the Russian market stimulated the imports growth and decrease in exports.

Demand for extrusion blends PC has increased since late January. Demand for injection moulding PC grades remains stable. Russian converters prefer to buy European PC for injection moulding and extrusion.

Because of decrease in PC price in Europe, the devaluation of the rouble against the euro did not affect the level of domestic prices. Therefore, customers were not affected by price pressure and current demand reflects the real needs of the market.

Demand for blow moulding PC weakened because of rise in price, driven the dollar rate growth and higher export quotations from Asian producers. Almost all feedstock for the processing technology is imported into Russia from Asia.
The biggest share in the Russian PC market occurs for extrusion sector with more than a half from the total market and it continues to grow. The share of extrusion PC grades in January imports was close to 75%, reaching 3,300 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian producers raised spot prices of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) this week by Rb1,000/tonne, following the weakening of the rouble against the dollar, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Russian plants announced price increases for the domestic market, following the weakening of the rouble and a consequent rise in imported PET prices. The plants' offer prices were heard in the range of Rb65,000-66,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Small deals took place in February at Rb68,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, said a PET producer. However, such sales were scarce and, generally, did not affect the average PET price in the market.

Converters said purchases were virtually absent in the spot market in February. Sources said processing plants use imported material and contract quantities for their operations at the moment. In its turn, buying activity is also very low in the PET preforms market.

As reported previously, January PET imports into Russia surged by 68% from December 2013 and totalled 25,500 tonnes, which is abnormally high for the imported PET market in this period of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Buying activity in the Russian polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market fell noticeably in late February. Many local converters completed all their deals and anticipate March negotiations of contract prices, following another surge in the dollar exchange rate and higher prices in foreign markets, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

After a disastrous January, demand for suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) increased slightly in February in the Russian market. Many local converters were actively replenishing their inventories in early February, after long January holidays. Many companies have completed all their deals for February PVC shipements by late February and cautiously await March negotiations of contract prices from Russian producers, which will begin next week. The situation is aggravated by limited working capital of the most market participants and the next surge in the dollar exchange rate amid higher PVC prices in the foreign markets.

The dollar exchange rate against the rouble jumped to Rb35.6 in the second half of the week. North American PVC suppliers announced a further price increase for March shipments. Thus, purchase prices of North American resin for Russian companies will be in the range of Rb51,000-53,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, given new PVC prices in the US and the dollar exchange rate. Chinese producers also do not rule out the possibility of price rises in March. But, even given the current prices and the dollar exchange rate, prices of Chinese acetylene are at about Rb49,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Such a sharp price hike of imported material and an anticipated increase in Russian PVC prices will be a major endurance test for many local converters. Demand for finished products was very low because of seasonal factors, resulting in converters' lower cash flows, which could not even cover the February PVC purchasing.

Negotiations over Russian PVC contract prices will begin next Monday, and local converters hope prices not to rise as sharply as those of imported material. Russian producers tried to raise contract prices by more than Rb3,000/tonne in February, but converters managed to limit the price increase (deals for February shipments were done in the range of Rb44,000-47,600/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, for K=64/67).
MRC