Mogilevkhimvolokno raises export PET prices

MOSCOW (MRC) --- Mogilevkhimvolokno, the only Belarusian polyethylene terephthalate (PET) producer, announced last week an increase in export contract PET prices for March, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Export prices for Russian buyers are traditionally announced in roubles. Prices rose by Rb2,000/tonne from February prices FCA Mogilev, excluding VAT. Offer prices of bottle grade PET chips for the Ukrainian market (announced in euros) were set by EUR80/tonne higher than February prices FCA Mogilev, excluding VAT.

Price increase were caused by an upward trend in export PET prices in Europe and Asia in the second half of February and early March.

Demand for Belarusian PET from Ukrainian consumers is expected to increase in March, despite the plant's higher prices. This year's strong depreciation of the euro against the dollar also helped to boost demand. This week's prices of Belarusian PET in dollars were lower than prices of Asian material.
MRC

Technical fault extends Saudi Kayan Petrochemical olefins unit shutdown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co said it had extended the maintenance work on the olefins plant at its petrochemicals complex in Jubail after a technical fault was discovered, said Reuters.

In a bourse filing, the company said repairing the fault was expected to be completed within 10 days. The impact of the fault, along with another one that had been found and repaired in another unit, had been calculated to be around 310 million riyals (USD83 million) at current prices, which will be reflected in first-quarter results, it said.

This is significantly higher than the 62 million riyals which the company forecast the original maintenance work would cost when it announced last month the olefins plant would be shut from Feb. 1 for almost five weeks.

Kayan, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), said at the time the impact would be offset by Kayan's inventories and other SABIC units.

"Maintenance work had been completed according to schedule and when work started to restore production to the normal level, a technical fault was discovered in the olefins plant which necessitated extending the maintenance period," the company said in the statement.

It said the repairs would entail temporary stoppage of the high density polyethylene and the low density polyethylene plants, and reduced production at the ethylene glycol and polypropylene plants which are being supplied by the olefins plant.

As MRC wrote before, Saudi Arabia’s Oil Ministry allocated an additional 10m cbf/d (2.8m cbm) of ethane to Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co (Al Jubail / Saudi Arabia) to enable an expansion of capacity at its Al Jubail complex. The company plans to widen its ethylene production by at least 93,000 t/y and its ethylene oxide capacity by 61,000 t/y from the second quarter of 2017.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company is a manufacturing affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).

MRC

PolyOne appoints new Vice President, Treasurer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has announced that Scott J. Leffler has been appointed vice president and Treasurer, said the producer on its site.

Mr. Leffler will now be responsible for all aspects of the company's capital structure, cash management, insurance and capital markets transactions. He was appointed to this position after serving as the company's vice president of Financial Planning and Analysis since 2013, and he will retain those responsibilities while in his new role as Treasurer. He replaces Daniel J. O'Bryon who has accepted a Chief Financial Officer position with a Florida-based company.

Mr. Leffler joined PolyOne in 2008 as senior finance manager in Corporate Treasury and was later promoted to finance director, South America, while based in the company's offices in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He began his career in the financial services industry, working in both trading and banking. Mr. Leffler earned a bachelor's degree in economics and history from Yale University and an MBA in finance from Emory University.

As MRC wrote before, in June, PolyOne Corporation has presented its specialty portfolio for automotive interiors to designers and engineers at the 2014 WardsAuto Interiors conference. These advanced technologies, including soft-touch materials as well as colorants and special effects, enable customers to design new features that boost consumer appeal and reduce manufacturing complexity.

We also remind that in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2014 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

PVC plant likely to be shut by Sichuan Yongxiang for maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sichuan Yongxiang is in plans to shut a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant for maintenance turnaround, said Apic-online.

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

Located in Sichuan, China, the plant has a production capacity of 120,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Sichuan Yongxiang Poly-silicon started up its 6,000 tonne/year polysilicon plant in 2012. The project has been under construction since July 2010. Sichuan Yongxiang invested yuan (CNY) 4bn (USD634m) for the project, which is located in Leshan city, Sichuan province, in southwestern China. The company currently has a total polysilicon capacity of 4,000 tonnes/year at Leshan city.
MRC

Reliance to restart PP plant in India after maintenance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Reliance Industries, the second largest publicly traded company in India, is in plans to restart its domestic polypropylene (PP) plant following maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the plant is planned to be restarted towards end-March 2015. It was shut on February 28, 2015.

Located in Jamnagar in the Western Indian state of Gujarat, the plant has a production capacity of 1 million mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Reliance Industries is implementing a new project to source 1.5 million tpy of ethane feedstock from the US to feed its crackers in India.

Besides, RIL has announced that it would invest over Rs 100,000 crore in expansion of its petrochemical capacities and adding value to its refining business.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company's polymer production in 2010-11 (polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride) made 4,094 kilo tonnes.
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