Celanese announces intermediate chemistry price increases

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase prices for a number of products effective January 1, 2015, or as contracts allow, reported the company on its site.

The price increase will be valid for the following products in Americas and Europe:

Product North America Central and South America Europe
USA, Canada Mexico

Acetic Anhydride no inrease no increase no increase EUR75 per metric ton

Paraformaldehyde USD0.04/lb USD0.04/lb USD90 per metric ton no increase

This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building products, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

As MRC wrote previously, Celanese Corporation increased its November prices of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions rose by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allowed. This increase is attributed to the continued pressures on raw materials, notably vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), and freight.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) - SIBUR Holding announced a price increase of polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) by Rb1,000-1,500/tonne, effective from 1, December, as per ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The reason for the price rise was weakening of the rouble against the dollar and higher prices in foreign markets.

All PP prices from SIBUR's subsidiaries - Tobolsk-Polymer, Tomskneftekhim, Neftekhimiya and Poliom were increased by RB1,500/tonne, compared with the level of the late November.

Prices for LDPE from Tomskneftekhim increased by Rb1,000/tonne.

As it was written earlier, Ufaorgsintez has also adjusted its PP and LDPE prices from 1, December.

SIBUR owns three pyrolysis units, two plants for the production of base polymers, producing low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP), three factories for the production of synthetic rubber, producing basic and special rubbers and thermoplastic elastomers, and 13 enterprises producing a wide range of semi-finished products of plastics and organic synthesis, including polyethylene glycols, alcohols, BOPP films, expandable polystyrene, acrylates, and flexible PVC.

SIBUR's production capacities for base polymers made 995,000 tonnes/year, synthetic rubber - 678,000 tonnes/year, plastics and organic synthesis products - more than 1 mln tonnes/year on 31, December 2013.
SIBUR's revenues in 2013 were Rb269.8 bn, rate of EBITDA - Rb78.9 bn, profitability on EBITDA - 29.2%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Indonesian government has named cement industry veteran Dwi Soetjipto as the new chief executive of state-run oil and gas company Pertamina, as per Upstreamonline.

Dwi took over the role of Friday, replacing former chief Karen Agustiawan who stepped aside in October for personal reasons.

Dwi’s appointment comes as President Joko Widodo and Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission look to clean up the country’s oil and gas sector which has previously been hit by graft scandals.

His first job in the new role will be to appoint new board members following the dismissal of the previous board by State Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno.

"We want to speed up efforts to make Pertamina transparent - to make it into a world-class company - so today it was decided to dismiss all directors of Pertamina and appoint new directors," Reuters quoted Soemarno telling reporters on Friday.

Dwi’s appointment comes as Indonesia fights to reverse its declining oil production, with the former Opec member recently seeing output dip below 800,000 barrels per day - less than half its previous peak produciton.

As MRC wrote previously, in late 2013, Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) signed a joint-venture agreement with Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina to set up a petrochemical complex with an investment of around USd4-5 billion (Bt127 billion to Bt158 billion). Both companies will have a 50:50 stake in this downstream-to-upstream project. They also signed a deal to market products from the project jointly.

Earlier, last summer, Pertamina signed an agreement to purchase petrochemical products from PTT Global Chemical. The agreement served as a pre-marketing strategy for Pertamina and PTT’s joint Indonesian petrochemical business. Under the agreement, PTT will deliver at least 5,000 tonnes of polyethylene and polypropylene products each month to Pertamina for sale in Indonesia. The shipments under this agreement started in September, 2014.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hong Kong Petrochemical is likely to shut a polystyrene (PS) plant for maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Hong Kong informed that the plant is likely to be shut in Q1, 2015.

Located in Yuen Long industrial estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 140,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, Hong Kong Petrochemical shut down its PS plant in Hong Kong informed for a 10-day maintenance turnaround on 10 February, 2014. Located in Yuen Long Industrial Estate, Hong Kong, the plant has a high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) capacity of 70,000 mt/year each.

Besides, in September 2014, Styron Hong Kong, an affiliate of Styron, the global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber, shut down its PS plant in Hong Kong for a one-month maintenance turnaround. Located in Hong Kong, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp (TSMC) is in plans to undertake a maintenance turnaround at its styrene monomer (SM) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is planned to be shut in Q3, 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located at Linyuan in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 180,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, TSMC has extended the shutdown at its SM plant in Taiwan by another two weeks. It was shut on October 1, 2014 owing to technical issues. Located at in Yuan in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 160,000 mt/year.

Besides, Styrindo Mono Indonesia (SMI) shut down its No.1 styrene monomer plant for maintenance turnaround in H2 November 2014. The plant is slated to be shut for around one month. Located in Merak, Indonesia, the plant has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.
MRC