Sinochem gets approval for preliminary work for a 1 mln tpa ethylene project in Quanzhou

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned Sinochem has got approval from the National Development and Reform Commission for preliminary work for a 1 mln tpa ethylene project in Quanzhou of the southeastern Fujian province, as per Plastemart.

Sinochem started test runs at its 240,000 bpd Quanzhou refinery in January.

Besides, here is the table, which lists ethylene plants under construction and planned:

- Sinopec/Exxon/Fujian - 200,000 tons;
- CNOOC Huizhou - 1,000,000 tons, start up in 2015/16;
- Sinopec/Kuwait Zhanjiang - 1,000,000 tons, start up in 2014;
- Sinopec Nanjing - 800,000 tons, start up in 2015;
- PetroChina Lanzhou - 1,000,000 tons;
- PetroChina/Shell Taizhou - 1,200,000 tons;
- Sinopec Hainan - 1,000,000 tons, start up in 2015/16;
- Sinopec Qingdao - 1,000,000 tons;
- Sinochem Quanzhou - 1,000,000 tons.

As MRC reported before, in August 2013, SINOPEC Wuhan Company’s ethylene project with a capacity of 800,000 tonnes per year produced first batch of qualified products, marking its successful commissioning and startup.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical companies with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its refining and ethylene capacity ranks No.2 and No.4 globally. The Company has 30,000 sales and distribution networks of oil products and chemical products, its service stations are now ranked third largest in the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Prices for polypropylene (PP) in the Russian market have increased this week again. The situation was aggravated by the temporary restrictions of truck movement in many regions, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Many Russian producers announced increase in contract PP prices for April delivery of Rb500-2,000/tonne in the last week of March. SIBUR (parent group of Tomskneftehim, Tobolsk-Polymer and Neftekhimiya (Kapotnja) has announced another increase in PP prices of Rb1,000/tonne this week. The situation is aggravated by the increase in the transportation fees in many regions of Russia.

Ufaorgsintez plans to announce PP contract prices for the second half of April on Friday. The producer suspended the sales of PP in the beginning of last week, because the number of orders exceeded its capacities.

The restrictions in the transportation, which is traditional for spring, complicated the situation. This restrictions have already come into action from the beginning of April in Siberia and Bashkortostan. As a consequence, transportation fees increased in the range of 25%-43%, beside there were difficulties in chartering trucks. Some market participants said they had to suspend their PP purchases because of the difficultiy in their delivery.

Buying activity in the spot market this week was poor. Price offers for raffia were heard in the range of Rb63,000-65,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. Price offers for injection moulding homopolymer PP were in the range of Rb66,000-67,500/tonne FCA, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Designed specifically to help customers in the beverage industry reduce transportation losses, SABIC has broadened its stretch film portfolio to include one of the first commercially available materials in Europe to combine polypropylene (PP) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), according to the companie's press release.

The film’s high holding force (up to 12% compared to current solutions) for superior load stability is ideal for protecting heavy loads and is the result of SABIC’s constant focus on innovation and expertise in combination know-how. This film solution helps customers meet the demand for high-performance and optically-clear solutions, and can help them reduce costs.

"SABIC is proud of how we are helping our customers protect their goods during storage and transit with this unique blend of PP and LLDPE which offers a balance of increased strength and clarity and reduced thickness. Our customers’ distribution flows are highly dependent on an efficient supply chain relating to cargo securing and load protection. SABIC’s improved industrial stretch film for pallets ensure goods' stabilization and protects against the elements." said Lucio Baccaro, Technical Marketing Engineer LL-LDPE at SABIC.

By combining the properties of PP and LLDPE, SABIC’s new film solution competes on maximum yield efficiency with existing alternatives, with its improved mechanical properties offering opportunities for downgauging. Thus customers use less plastic to wrap their pallets, resulting in reduced use of material and lower overall plastic consumption.

The film’s improved transparency allows easy bar code reading and enables constant brand exposure. During transportation or on display on warehouse floors, the improved film provides a clear view of product names and brand logos, allowing customers to seize branding opportunities and a larger share of voice in the highly competitive marketplace.

"SABIC holds a leading position in the European film market in terms of market developments and portfolio", de Vries continued, "comprising PP, HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE resins for use in food and beverage, industrial, agricultural and healthcare applications. Our extensive in-house capability, via a ‘film development’ team of technical engineers, continues to provide innovative and sustainable solutions to our customers’ specific requirements, focusing on downgauging of film concepts and improved film functionality".

As MRC wrote before, SABIC developed a new grade of high density polyethylene (HDPE) - SABIC HDPE PCG4906 - for large containers used in healthcare applications in close cooperation with Mauser, a well-known supplier of blow moulded industrial packaging solutions.

SABIC is a diversified manufacturing company, active in chemicals and intermediates, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest public company in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest company in the Middle East.
SABIC is currently the second largest global ethylene glycol producer and is expected to become number one after the introduction of these new projects. SABIC is the third largest polyethylene manufacturer, the fourth largest polyolefins manufacturer and the fourth largest polypropylene manufacturer. It is also the world's largest producer of mono-ethylene glycol, MTBE, granular urea, polyphenylene and polyether imide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian government announced the new anti-dumping duties on PVC imports following sunset investigations, said Plastemart.

Anti-dumping duties on PVC imports expired on January 23, 2014 and they had been suspended since then as the sunset investigation was extended several times. Players reported that the Indian government has implemented anti-dumping duties on PVC imports, with the variation in duties from the same country due to the assessment of anti-dumping duties according to individual producers.

A trader commented, "We heard that PVC imports from Formosa, Hanwha, LG, Vietnam and Iran would be exempted from anti-dumping duties. The anti-dumping duties on US cargoes were lowered from USD45/ton to USD30/ton and duties on Japanese PVC were reduced from USD130/ton to USD15/ton. Meanwhile, the anti-dumping duties on Chinese PVC were raised to USD90-130/ton."

Regarding European material, the new anti-dumping duties are set as USD190/ton while imports from Ineos will be subject to duties of USD48/ton. The anti-dumping duties on US PVC imports are set as USD38/ton for Westlake Chemical and as USD119/ton for OxyChem.

In 2013, the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) Government of India vide its Notification No. 25/2013 -Customs dated 8th May 2013 increased the Customs Duty on Plastic Polymers (except Polycarbonate) from 5% to 7.5%.

Import PVC prices are holding steady in India while trading activities remain muted as buyers were taking a cautious stance towards import cargoes during the period when the anti-dumping duties were suspended. Traders confirmed that demand was slower compared with the same period of last year during the period but added that they expect to see an improvement in buying interest now that the government has made an official announcement on the subject. However, general elections will be held in India between April 7 and May 12 which will also influence demand conditions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer and the world’s second leading producer of organic peroxides, has developed two new grades - Luperox organic peroxides and Kynar Flex PVDF resins -specifically designed for electric and electronic wires and cables applications, accoridng to the company's statement.

Arkema will present its latest innovative functional polyolefins at trade fair WIRE 2014 among its extensive range (Orevac, Lotryl, Lotader and Evatane trade names) used to manufacture all types of cables whatever their end-application: halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR) cables compliant with the latest fire standards in buildings, cars and telephone networks, medium and high voltage cables, telephone and photovoltaic cables.

As MRC informed previously, in January 2014, Arkema announced the construction of a new organic peroxide plant on its Changshu site in China. By doubling its production capacity in China, Arkema will continue to support the strong growth in the organic peroxide market in Asia, a region in which the Group is also a producer in India, South Korea and Japan. The new Changshu plant is due to come on stream in early 2016.

Besides, in November 2013, Arkema officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform. The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR6.4 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc. Arkema operates 11 organic peroxide plants on the three continents.
MRC