Mechanical problems at Maruzen Chiba naphtha cracker lead to shutdown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Maruzen Petrochemical Co said it had shut its 525,000 tonnes per year naphtha cracker in Chiba for maintenance, said Reuters.

The cracker will be restarted after the maintenance, which is going to last about a week, a company spokesman said, declining to give further details.

Traders said earlier that the cracker was shut on Monday due to a mechanical problem. Maruzen is 40 percent owned by Cosmo Oil Co group.

As MRC wrote before, Maruzen Petrochemical posted a 53% decline in its six-month net profit to yen (Y) 2.08bn in 2014 from the corresponding period last year due partly to decreased profits from some of the products. Operating profit for the six months to 30 September 2014 plummeted by 77% year on year to Y1.41bn, despite net sales rising 7.8% to Y236.8bn.

Maruzen Petrochemical Co. develops, produces, imports, and exports petrochemical products. It offers basic petrochemicals and ethylene derivatives, including ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylene oxide and glycol, and high-density polyethylene, which serve as raw materials in plastics, synthetic fiber, synthetic rubber, and coatings.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for March shipments to the CIS markets began this week. PVC prices for the CIS countries rose by EUR70-100/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The March contract price of ethylene in Europe was agreed by EUR100/tonne higher than in February, leading to an increase of EUR50/tonne in PVC prices. However, many European producers intend to achieve a more major price rise compared to the increase in feedstock prices. Some producers announced price increases up to EUR100/tonne.

This week's negotiations over March shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were conducted in the range of EUR670-740/tonne FCA, while February deals were done in the range of EUR600-640/tonne FCA.

European producers justified this significant increase in export PVC prices by stronger demand from other markets, particularly, from Turkey, as well as by limited export quotas. Some producers said they had already completed all their March export deals by the middle of the week.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in Specialty Chemicals, has announced the launch of two new pigment dispersions for the Indian printing industry, reported the company on its site.

With the launch of Permajet IN-C and Flexonyl WF, Clariant will actively demonstrate its commitment to creating value for its customers. These pigment dispersions are launched to address the needs of the non-impact printing and packaging industries, respectively.

Dr. Parikh said, "We are excited to offer long-term solutions that cater to the unmet needs of the printing and packaging industries in India. We look forward to a deeper partnership with our customers to help generate significant revenues for their operations. Our commitment to sustainability and innovation is a true differentiator for us to stay ahead in the competitive and dynamic global market scenario. We are accelerating change and will continue to deliver on our hypergrowth strategy in 2015, fulfilling our commitments to all our stakeholders, as India’s attractive market stays at the core of Clariant’s global focus."

Permajet IN-C are pigmented chips for inkjet industry for use in non-impact printing (NIP) applications. These solvent-based pigment dispersions have uses in wide format outdoor and indoor graphics. These solid nano-dispersed pigment preparations are based on high performance pigments and vinyl binders. It has very narrow particle size distribution, excellent jettability and very low viscosity. Moreover, it offers dust free and convenient handling; and has high color strength, high transparency and brilliancy. It is also equipped with features like excellent light fastness and good filterability.

Flexonyl WF pigment dispersions are launched for water based flexographic inks applications, for the packaging industry. It is available in free flow paste form. This range is convenient to use as it provides a dust free environment and no grinding of pigments is required. These pigment dispersions are sustainable, free of heavy metals and banned primary aromatic amines. This dispersion mixes readily into aqueous media to form stable products. It is compatible with all aqueous binders being used in flexographic inks.

Clariant India has local pigment production activities at Roha (Maharashtra) and Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) sites in India.

As MRC wrote before, in April 2014, Clariant Chemicals (India ) Ltd., an affiliate of Clariant AGannounced the successful closure of the acquisition of Plastichemix Industries - a Gujarat based masterbatches business in India, with production facilities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari.

Clariant Chemicals (India) Limited and custom color and additive products with production of more than 10,000 color matches which are completed each year. With more than 50 manufacturing plants around the world, Clariant
Masterbatches products, technology and service deliver competitive advantages that foster long-term customer relationships.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global bioplastics market is estimated to grow at a double-digit CAGR of 28.8% uptil 2020, as per Future Market Insights.

The global bio-plastics market accounted for USD1.9 bln in 2014, and is expected to reach US$43.8 bln by 2020. The global bio-plastics market accounted for 0.1% to the global plastics market in 2014. Factors driving the growth of the global bio-plastics market include growing beverage packaging industry, rigid government policies about adopting bio-based materials, and rising consumer acceptance for bio-plastics.

By material type, the market is segmented as bio-PET, bio-PE, bio-PA, bio-degradable polyesters, PLA & PLA blends, starch blends, PHA and others. Bio-PET market is expected to contribute USD29.1 Bn revenue to the overall bio-plastics market by 2020. Moreover, the bio-PET market is expected to be the fastest growing segment with a CAGR of 31.4% between 2014 and 2020. On the basis of application, the global bio-plastics market is segmented as bottlers, other packaging, food-services, agriculture/horticulture, consumer products, automotive and others.

Among all the aforementioned applications, the bottles application was valued at USD5.6bln in 2014, and is estimated to be the largest contributor in 2020, followed by automotive and other packaging segments. The bottles segment is expected to register a significant CAGR of 35.3% over the forecast period.

As MRC wrote before, US demand for bioplastics is forecast to climb at a 20 percent annual pace through 2016 to 550 million pounds, valued at USD680 million. Although they have achieved a considerable degree of commercial success, bioplastics remain in an early stage of development, representing only a small niche within the overall plastics industry.
mrcplsat.com

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) to Kazakhstan exceeded 14,000 tonnes, up almost three times compared with January 2014. Such a significant growth occurred in the supply of pipe polyethylene (PE), according to MRC DataScope.

Imports of HDPE in Kazakhstan in January 2015, despite seasonal factors, rose to record highs in the last three years and amounted to over 14,000 tonnes, compared to 4,700 tonnes in January 2014 and 8,400 tonnes in December 2014. The reason for such record imports occurred for large purchases of the local PE pipe producers, mainly Russian ones.

Serious devaluation of the rouble made Russian HDPE profitable to buy for the Kazakh converters. Many Kazakh companies amid fears of devaluation of the national currency, as well as a possible increase in HDPE price in Russia decided to form additional PE pipe inventories in anticipation of a seasonal increase in demand for finished products, which was the reason for the record level of imports.

January imports of HDPE from Russia were 12,300 tonnes, with the share of pipe polyethylene occurred for about 94% from the total supply.
According to preliminary data, HDPE imports from Russia fell several times, partially because of the decline in lending by local banks. January imports of HDPE from other countries were 1,800 tonnes, compared with 400 tonnes in January 2014 and 1,300 tonnes in December 2014.

Imports of blow moulding HDPE from Uzbekistan were 600 tonnes, and imports of pipe PE from South Korea and Saudi Arabia were about 1,000 tonnes.


MRC