PET imports to Ukraine dropped by 13% in 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to the Ukrainian domestic market decreased in 2014 by 13% year on year and totalled just over 137,000 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope report.

Lower imports were caused by weaker demand in the market of finished products. The loss of the Crimean market and weak summer season led to a fall in sales of beer, water and soft drinks in the summer. The factor of military actions was also added in the second half of 2014. Ukrainian converters said sales of PET-preforms began to decline sharply in Lugansk and Donetsk regions in the second half of the year. Some converters' clients competely shut down their operations, which led to disruptions of shipments of finished products (PET-preforms and bottled water, soft drinks and beer) to the above-mentioned eastern regions of Ukraine.

Since the escalation of hostilities in Lugansk and Donetsk regions took place at the end of the season, this factor had an insignificant impact on the overall statistics. The loss of eastern regions markets will be particularly felt in 2015.

There were also significant changes in the supply structure. The share of Chinese PET in the total consumption fell from 70% to 58%. At the same time, Middle Eastern PET started to actively enter the market. This was facilitated by shorter delivery dates. Shipments from India, Oman, Pakistan and Egypt significantly increased in 2014.

MRC

Moscow (MRC) - Last week, the Ukrainian currency depreciated by almost 44%, according to the official rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). On the back of such depreciation many traders have temporarily suspended the sales of polymers, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Until the 5, February there were three of the dollar exchange rates in Ukraine: indicative NBU rate, the rate on the interbank exchange and the so-called real exchange rate. On 5, February, the National Bank refused from the indicative dollar exchange rate and currency auctions, which led to another wave of devaluation. Over the two days exchange rate fell by 44%; because of the depreciation of many traders on 6, Friday suspended their polymer sales.

Prices for large volumes polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride) decreased in February in foreign markets. Many traders because of the price drop in foreign markets went on a proportional reduction in polymer prices in the Ukrainian market.

In the beginning of last week deals for low density polyethylene (LDPE) started at the level of hryvnyas (UAH) 26,000/tonne FCA, including VAT; prices for homopolymer PP were on average at UAH29,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. But on Thursday against the back of the hryvnya depreciation, many traders have begun to raise prices, and on Friday they suspended all sales.

It is highly probable that in the near future traders will again fix polymers prices in dollar terms, while the price in local currency will be converted at the exchange rate at the time of payment. This practice was already seen last year, when there were serious exchange rate fluctuations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Precision Polymer Engineering (PPE), one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-performance molded elastomer seals, has announced the official opening of its new manufacturing facility in Brenham, Texas, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new site manufactures high-performance, compression-molded components for the oil and gas industry as well as critical components for semiconductor and heavy equipment applications.

Strategically placed near Houston, the hub of the American oil & gas industry and the Californian semiconductor manufacturing base, the new 30,000-square-foot site complements PPE’s existing manufacturing facility in the UK and will include its own tool making, extrusion and inspection departments in line with PPE’s flexible operating model.

PPE’s existing delivery record is already outstanding, the company says, with some of the quickest lead times in the industry - and now the opening of the Brenham facility will significantly boost PPE’s production capabilities.

"We have made significant investment in the new Houston facility, both in capital equipment and experienced personnel which will further assist us in delivering our value proposition to our core oil and gas, semiconductor and heavy equipment markets," said Paul Gillyon, managing director of PPE.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, in early December 2014, Swedish firm Hexpol acquired the US-based rubber compounder Portage Precision Polymers Inc from the founder Doug Hartley and his family in a deal worth about USD13.2 million on a cash and debt free basis. The business will be consolidated from December 2014. Portage Precision Polymers, established by Doug Hartley in 2002, is today a well-known rubber compounder in the US market.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant's Masterbatches, a devision of the world leader in specialty chemicals Clariant, has presented two innovative products - REMAFIN-EP white masterbatches and Hydrocerol nucleating agents, which cater to the needs of India’s pharmaceutical and infrastructure industries, respectively, as per the company's press release.

Dr. Deepak Parikh, Region Head - India, Middle East and Africa said, "Our commitment to sustainability, innovation and our employee is a true differentiator for us to stay ahead in the competitive and dynamic global market scenario. And now, with the announcement of the Make In India campaign, we as a strong, transforming organization are fully geared up to support it. We are accelerating change and will continue to deliver on our hyper growth strategy in 2015, fulfilling our commitments to all our stakeholders, as India’s attractive market stays at the core of Clariant’s global focus."

Thus, new ‘REMAFIN-EP’ is a range of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP)-based masterbatches. This range of white masterbatches and compounds is targeted for use in production of pharmaceutical containers for parenteral, ocular, and nasal drugs. It complements a range of colors and additives for medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging introduced under Clariant’s MEVOPUR brand.

The differentiator of these products is that its raw materials have undergone stringent testing to comply with global regulations, including US Pharmacopeia 87, 88 and European Pharmacopeia EP 3.1.3 standard. This product helps support innovative use of materials to enhance packaging processes and protect pharmaceutical products.

Clariant’s range of Hydrocerol chemical foaming agents will address the need gap in the construction market for energy-reduction insulation materials within thinner, space-saving boards.

Existing buildings are responsible for almost 40% of global CO2 emissions, while valuable space is lost through thick insulation panels used in today’s constructions.

Clariant’s Hydrocerol-based masterbatches enable foaming of lightweight polystyrene at significantly smaller size than the currently known foams. Also, the optimized foam structure has excellent insulation properties. As a result, manufacturers will be able to produce strong and light insulation boards with improved properties that will also enable maximum living space, and contribute to saving material use and production costs. The products also support products that can meet energy saving regulations.

As MRC informed before, in April 2014, Clariant Chemicals (India ) Ltd., an affiliate of Clariant AG announced the successful closure of the acquisition of Plastichemix Industries. On December 16, 2013, Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited had announced its intent to acquire Plastichemix Industries - a Gujarat based masterbatches business in India, with production facilities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari.

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. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

МОSCOW (MRC) -- Union workers took to picket lines on Sunday after strikes were called at nine U.S. refineries and chemical plants in a bid to pressure oil companies to agree to a new national contract covering workers at 63 plants, said Downstreamtoday.

The walkouts, the first held in support of a nationwide pact since 1980, target plants that together account for about 10% of U.S. refining capacity. The discord comes as plunging crude prices force oil companies to slash spending.

The United Steelworkers union (USW) said Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the lead industry negotiator, halted talks after the union rejected a fifth proposal from the company.

"Shell refused to provide us with a counter-offer and left the bargaining table," USW International President Leo Gerard said. "We had no choice but to give notice of a work stoppage."

Shell said it would like to restart talks. "We remain committed to resolving our differences with USW at the negotiating table and hope to resume negotiations as early as possible," Shell said. Shell activated a strike contingency plan at its sprawling joint venture refinery and chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, to keep operating normally.

Other companies have said they were calling on trained managers to use as replacement workers, so the strikes are not expected to cause gasoline prices to spike. Tesoro Corp said management was operating its refinery in Carson, California, and that managers would take over from union workers at three other plants in the next 24-48 hours. Besides Shell and Tesoro, the USW said strikes were called at three plants belonging to Marathon Petroleum in Texas and Kentucky, and LyondellBasell's plant near Houston. At least two of the plants on the list have a history of deadly accidents.

The USW said all other refineries it represents - including Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery in Beaumont, Texas - would operate under rolling 24-hour contract extensions. The expiring three-year national contract covers about 30,000 hourly workers at plants that together have two-thirds of U.S. refining capacity.

The latest rejected proposal was the fifth turned down since negotiations for a new three-year agreement began on Jan. 21. The USW is seeking annual pay raises double the size of those in the last agreement. It also wants work that has been given in the past to non-union contractors to start going to USW members, a tighter policy to prevent workplace fatigue, and reductions in members' out-of-pocket payments for healthcare.

As MRC wrote before,in 2013 conflict between dockers of the U.S. East Coast and international carriers led to a delay in delivery dates of PVC from the USA. Dockers strike resulted in a delay of delivery dates of the goods from the East Coast of the United States to all the destinations, including Russia.

MRC