SIBUR initiates liquefied petroleum gas supplies to China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR, Russia's uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company, has initiated liquefied petroleum gas supplies to China, as per the company's press release.

In late August, SIBUR signed a long-term contract with a Chinese customer for regular liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies to the growing Chinese market.

The product will be shipped by rail from Nyagan GPP (gas processing plant), a subsidiary of SIBUR. Initial supply volumes will total around 20 ktpa with further increase outlook.

SIBUR will be the first Russian company to supply LPG to China. When planning the transportation route, it was important to take into account that there are no LPG transshipment facilities on the Russian–Chinese border. It was therefore decided to supply the product in tank containers and further transport them through China by low loaders. A test shipment of LPG to China was made in July, and this proved the efficiency of this approach.

LPG consumption in China is growing rapidly. According to IHS, it amounted to 27.6 mt in 2013, up 9% y-o-y, with 3 mt imported annually.

Projects to expand hydrocarbon processing in Russia boost LPG output. SIBUR's strategic priority is to convert this feedstock into bulk polymers as end product locally in Russia. For this purpose, as MRC informed previously, the company is running large-scale petrochemical construction projects in the Tyumen Region (Tobolsk-Polymer), Nizhniy Novgorod Region (Rusvinyl), and other regions.

However, the domestic LPG demand from the petrochemical industry, utilities, and natural gas powered vehicles is much lower than supply. Thus, further LPG output growth requires efficient export channels. Having launched its LPG transshipment terminal in Ust-Luga last year, the company gained access to new markets in Northwestern Europe. Currently, the Ust-Luga terminal's LPG transshipment capacities are fully utilised. As LPG output is expected to grow, supplies to China are expected to become another step towards further LPG market expansion.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. SIBUR owns and operates Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes, and is a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Russian polycarbonate (PC) market increased by 7% over the first seven months of 2014 and reached 60,000 tonnes, according to MRC ScanPlast.

Increased consumption was mostly owed to the extrusion segment. It accounts for 83% of the total market and is the most promising and fastgrowing sector. Converters' main products in this segment are honeycomb and solid sheets. This sector's main application areas are agriculture (greenhouses building) and construction (roofing and vandal-proof constructions). Accordingly, May accounts for the peak demand for sheets from the agricultural sector, and September accounts for the peak demand from construction companies. This fact directly affects demand in the extrusion grade PC granules market.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the construction segment showed over the said period a drop of 3% year on year. Its recovery is expected in early Autumn. At the same time, an increase of 3,5% was demonstrated in the agricultural sector from January to July 2014. State programs, aimed at supporting and upgrading this segment of the economy, play an important part in the growth.

If we consider the consumption of pure unfilled PC granules, imported material accounts for 35% of the extrusion sector. Imports are mainly represented by Sabic and Bayer material. The rest quantities are supplied to the market by the only national PC producer - Kazanorgsintez. The company adopted a policy to support Russian converters. In this regard, Kazanorgsintez refused to ship its products to foreign markets, and revised its production structure in favor of extrusion grade PC. Kazanorgsintez's material is the most affordable one in value for money terms for small and medium-sized converters that are in no position to use imported material because of low margin.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP's largest US refinery in Whiting, Indiana, was still operating on Thursday despite an overnight fire, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's statement.

One worker was injured and taken to an area hospital for treatment, but was later released, according to the company.

BP said operations at the 413,500 bpd Whiting refinery "were minimally impacted as a result of the incident and the refinery continues to produce products for customers".

BP said the fire broke out at 9 p.m. Wednesday night local time and was extinguished by 10:55 p.m. local time. City firefighters were placed on stand-by to assist, but the fire was contained and extinguished by BP's in-house unit at the refinery, according to company officials.

BP did not specify which unit was impacted by the blaze, but said it was located in the refinery's north end. According to Genscape, all monitored units were operating normally except for the blending oil unit, which shut at 9:04 p.m. on Wednesday. That unit removes sulfur from distillate and gas oil streams.

The company did not specify the cause of the fire.

As MRC wrote earlier, In November 2013, BP completed a USDillion revamp of the Whiting refinery to boost its intake of Canadian crude oil from 85,000 bpd to 350,000 bpd.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. BP Plc reported that its profit before taxation for Q2 2014 increased to USD5.15 billion from USD4.12 billion in the year ago quarter.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, underlines its commitment to sustainability with the launch of its EcoTain concept for the personal care sector, as per the company's press release.

The company responds to the growing demand for sustainable personal care products that use natural ingredients, as consumers place increasing emphasis on health, wellness and environmental aspects.

Sustainability is the cornerstone of the EcoTain label, which provides a means of measuring and understanding the ecological, economic and social impact of Clariant’s products over the entire value chain. The EcoTain four-step concept was developed to further ensure human health and environmental protection without compromising on the performance or efficiency of Clariant’s products.

More than 25 cosmetic ingredients in six categories - emollients, emulsifiers, mild surfactants, pearlizers, actives, preservatives & boosters - have already been awarded the EcoTain label which promises sustainable excellence at every step. Various sustainability criteria distinguish these products that are manufactured according to highest quality, safety and sustainability standards. These include the use of natural ingredients, provision of preferable alternatives to undesirable substances, suitability for skin-friendly formulations, and handling and processing benefits, among others.

"Sustainability is an integral part of Clariant’s overall corporate strategy and we have set ourselves ambitious goals for the years ahead", underlines Christian Kohlpaintner, member of Clariant’s Executive Committee. "The company participates actively in various sustainability initiatives and programs, and moves beyond regulatory and current standards by developing its own initiatives, like EcoTain."

Clariant has initiated the "Portfolio Value Program" that will improve the overall sustainability of the company and by which Clariant specifically addresses and further promotes sustainability integration focused on its product portfolio. The development of new products with an excellent sustainability profile over the whole life cycle is an essential part of the company’s strategy and Clariant’s ambition to create value for its customers and for end-consumers.

As MRC informed before, Clariant has recently announced Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Mass Balance supply chain certification for its plant in Gendorf, Germany, in order to meet the increasing demand for sustainable certified palm-based ingredients from customers in the personal care and home care sectors.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A shortage of polypropylene (PP) has increased significantly in the Russian market by the end of the month because of several reasons. PP prices broke the historical record over the past few years, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Scheduled outages for maintenance at Poliom's PP production (210,000 tonnes per year) and Ufaorgsintez (100,000 tonnes per year), which began in mid-August, and disruptions in operations of Tobolsk-Polymer (500,000 tonnes per year) led to a major shortage of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) in the Russian market. Prices of some homopolymer PP grades almost reached a record level of Rb80,000/tonne.

Offer prices of PP have been virtually absent in the spot market since mid-August. Deals were scarce, prices reached unsustainable levels. Deals for raffia grade homopolymer PP reached Rb77,000-79,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. Prices of homopolymer PP were also in a quite wide range: they started from Rb75,000/tonne and reached Rb86,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. Converters said they were forced to buy material at such high prices, because there were no alternatives, besides, they have contractual obligations before buyers of finished products.

Negotiations over September PP prices began in the contract market this week. SIBUR (controls Tobolsk-Polymer, Neftekhimia, Tomskneftekhim and Poliom) announced a price increase of Rb3,000/tonne from August. Other Russian producers (Ufaorgsintez and Nizhnekamskneftekhim) have not yet announced their intentions for next month.

Many market participants said the shortage of PP will continue in the Russian market, at least, till mid-September, until Poliom and Ufaorgsintez reach 100% capacity utilisation. The dificit might last longer, because stronger demand, which was not met in August, is unlikely to be met in September either.
MRC