Idemitsu Kosan to shut naphtha cracker in Japan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s largest refining and petrochemical companies, is in plans to shut a naphtha cracker for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant will be shut in September 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 45 days.

Located in Tokuyama, Japan, the cracker has a production capacity of 623,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, Idemitsu Kosan is in plans to shut its aromatics plant for maintenance turnaround in July 2014. It is likely to remain shut for around 50 days. Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a PX capacity of 265,000 mt/year, benzene capacity of 577,000 mt/year and MX capacity of 353,000 mt/year.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into Russia increased by 20,000 tonnes from January to April 2014, up by 32% year on year, and exceeded 85,000 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

April PET imports reached 30,000 tonnes, which is the highest level since June 2011.

Higher imports in spring is traditional on the back of preperations for a season. However, this year's increased imports were caused by more favorable prices in China and restricted contract quantities this year, market players said.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, current prices of Chinese PET, including delivery to ports in the East of the country, are in the range of USD1,247-1,260/tonne CIF, excluding VAT. If the current exchange rate of USD1 = Rb34,6 is taken (given it is stable at the time of delivery), then prices of Chinese PET, including delivery to the Central region, will be at Rb59,500-60,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. At the same time, spot PET prices in Russia start from Rb63,500/tonne.

Chinese grades account for almost 75% of the total imports, if the supply structure is regarded, while Korean grades account for only 10.6%.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia dropped by 10% over the first four months of 2014. The main reasons for lower production were an outage at Stavrolen and Nizhnekamskneftekhim's switch-over for the production of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), according to MRC ScanPlast.

April HDPE output in Russia totalled about 60,800 tonnes. Thus, Russian producers reduced their HDPE production from January to April 2014 to 306,000 tonnes from 340,700 tonnes a year earlier. The outage at Stavrolen (force majeure) and Nizhnekamsneftekhim's switch-over for LLDPE production affected production figures over the first four months of the year.

The HDPE output at Russian plants from January to April 2014 looks the following way.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat accounted for the most significant increase in production over the first four months of 2014. The plant's HDPE output rose to 34,300 tonnes over the said period, up by almost half year on year. Gazprom neftekhim Salavant has recently launched additional capacities for ethylene production, which will allow the plant to increase its HDPE production to 100,000 tonnes.

Kazanorgsintez (part of TAIF group), Russia's largest polyethylene (PE) producer, showed a more modest increase in production. The plant's HDPE output totalled about 176,300 tonnes over the first four months of the year, up by 6% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim (part of TAIF group), Russia's third largest HDPE producer, reduced its production from January to April 2014 to 47,500 tonnes from 51,000 tonnes a year earlier. As reported earlier, the plant's lower output was largely caused by its switch-over to LLDPE production over the stated period.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Mitsui & Co. have decided to not move forward with their proposed joint venture to construct a linear alpha olefins unit on the US Gulf Coast, reported Dow in its press release.

Accordingly, The Dow Chemical Company has terminated the initial arrangement among the three companies.

Dow’s strategic growth investments on the US Gulf Coast remain on track. The company is evaluating several high-return, alternative uses for the ethylene that was included in this arrangement. Further, Dow will continue to access its existing supply network of linear alpha olefins.

Collectively, the company’s US Gulf Coast projects are expected to contribute more than USD2.5 billion in EBITDA once fully operational.

We remind that, as MRC informed previously, in March 2013, Dow Chemical signed a long-term ethylene off-take agreement with a new Japanese joint venture that was supposed to allow the chemical producer to enhance its performance plastics franchise. The joint venture was formed between Japanese companies Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui & Co. to construct and operate a linear alpha olefins unit on the US Gulf Coast.

As reported earlier, alpha olefin demand will grow with a CAGR of 4.2% from 2013 to 2018 and reach 4.6 million metric tons. The alpha olefin Market is mainly driven by polyethylene application, which accounts for the largest consumption share of alpha olefins.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and synthetic rubber. In 2013, Dow had annual sales of more than USD57 billion and employed approximately 53,000 people worldwide. The company's more than 6,000 products are manufactured at 201 sites in 36 countries across the globe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has announced via a groundbreaking ceremony that it will expand its manufacturing capabilities at its Florence, Kentucky, facility to add compounding process lines to support the continued customer demand for its advanced engineered materials products, reported the company in its press release.

The new compounding unit is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2015.

"Our manufacturing facility in northern Kentucky is a center for innovation that drives research and development and the advancement of high performance engineered materials," said Phil McDivitt, vice president and general manager of the Celanese engineered materials business. "In addition to critical design and engineering support, we provide our customers with technical expertise throughout the product development cycle. This expansion and investment in new prototyping and full-scale production lines will help us better serve our customers around the world, align our manufacturing capability and improve operational efficiency."

Adding compounding lines to the existing Celanese manufacturing site is part of the company's strategy to serve customers globally where there is a healthy growth potential, especially in automotive and transportation, electrical and electronics, consumer goods, and medical and pharma applications.

The Celanese Florence facility employs approximately 350 employees and is home to the company's research and development center, a state-of-the-art facility which includes technology and innovation laboratories and scientists for the engineered materials, emulsion polymers, cellulose derivatives and EVA polymers businesses. This joint technology facility helps drive innovation and technical solutions for Celanese customers worldwide.

As MRC informed previously, Celanese Corporation has recently developed new emulsion products for architectural paints. The company has also expanded its product portfolio for the coatings and adhesives industries, including Celansese's solvents, vinyl acetate monomer, EVA polymers and emulsions.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC