PC imports to Russia fell by half over the first six months of 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polycarbonate (PC) to the Russian market slumped over the first six months of 2015 by 50% year on year and totalled only 10,040 tonnes, according to MRC DataScope report.

Russian importers have been forced to reduce their purchasing since last year on the back of a significant devaluation of the national currency, higher prices of material in foreign markets and the reduction in the population's purchasing power. Imports substitution has been successfully implemented in most sectors of the PC market (if we consider the market of pure PC granules).

Producers of electrical engineering (TVs, refrigerators, washing machines), electronics (counters, switches, sockets) and car industry encountered the greatest problems. PC compositions with various fillers (glass fiber, ABS, flame retardants, etc.) that are not produced in Russia so far are widely used in these industries.

If imports of pure PC granules are considered, almost all major producers reduced shipments to the Russian Federation. Thus, Sabic Innovative Plastics and Bayer reduced their shipments by 50% each over the first six months of 2015. The total share of these manufacturers is about 80% in the Russian market. If we talk about European suppliers, then their shipments also decreased because of a shortage of material in the European market over the last three months. This, in its turn, led to another jump in prices for Russian consumers.

Market players said they anticipate a further reduction in imports and switch to Russian material in the near future. This is especially true for the sheet extrusion segment. However, Russia's existing production capacities (about 6,000 tonnes) are not enough to cover the needs of the market. The deficit in the market will be met by Asian, European or Iranian material.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) is planning to launch operations at its carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization plant in Jubail by the end of 2015, said Argaamplus.

Construction of the facility was said to be complete and commissioning work had begun.

The plant is designed to compress and purify about 1,500 tons per day of raw CO2 coming from glycol plants. The purified CO2 will be used to make urea and methanol.

The facility is expected to operate at full production capacity at the end of this year. The launch will also coincide with the company’s opening of a 500,000 ton per annum (tpa) ethylene glycol (EG) plant in Jubail.

The move falls in line with SABIC’s strategy to boost utilization of CO2 over the next two years to 4.2 million tpa from 2.7 million tpa in 2014.

As it was informed earlier, Saudi Basic Industries Corp and Royal Dutch Shell have shelved plans to expand an existing petrochemical joint venture in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French investigators believe two fires that closed a chemical plant of LyondellBasell in the south of the country on Tuesday may have been started deliberately. Two storage tanks exploded overnight and one was still burning mid-morning, reported RFI.

The two tanks exploded in flames at 3.00am, belching flames and thick, black smoke into the sky above the lake where the plant is situated.

They were 500 metres apart, leading investigators to suspect arson since they consider it very unlikely that they caught fire "practically simultaneously", as several witnesses said Tuesday, by accident.

The plant, owned by American multinational LyondellBasell, is near Marseille-Marignane airport and the A7 motorway, whose Rognac exit was closed by police.

Some 120 firefighters and 50 fire engines were sent to fight the blazes and one had been put out by mid-morning Tuesday.

The fire at the other tank, which contained 40,000 cubic metres of fuel, was put out at about midday.

No-one was injured.

LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company. The company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF commissioned a new production plant for form release agents that is among the most advanced and most efficient in Europe, said the producer in its press release.

Opened at the company’s in Stassfurt site in May 2015, the new facility produces release agents based on renewable raw materials as well as emulsions from renewable and non renewable raw materials. Successful trial operation was completed in early July 2015, and the plant has since commenced regular production.

"This important investment is to strengthen our release agent business in the European marketplace and to help us achieve a leadership position", says Philipp Kley, Senior Vice President Construction Chemicals Europe at BASF. "We identified the increasing demand for alternatives to mineral oil based release agents at an early stage, and aligned our research efforts accordingly. This is why now, at just the right time, we can provide our customers with an innovation that fills a gap in the market and can give our customers a competitive advantage." Form release agents facilitate the easy removal of the concrete from its formwork; at the same time, they also enhance the surface of precast concrete elements and cast in place concrete.

The Master Builders Solutions experts have, among others, developed new release agent formulations based on natural raw materials such as plant oil. The products are available under the MasterFinish product name. BASF offers a complete range of MasterFinish form release agents under the Master Builders Solutions umbrella brand, as well as in depth application technical advice on the selection of the right product and the best possible application process.

Under the Master Builders Solutions brand, BASF bundles its advanced chemical solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures. Master Builders Solutions is built on the experience gained from more than 100 years in the construction industry. The comprehensive portfolio under the brand encompasses concrete admixtures, form release agents, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing solutions, sealants, repair and protection solutions, performance grouts, and performance flooring solutions.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF has sold its 25% share in the joint venture SolVin to Solvay. The transaction took place on July 1, 2015. Financial details were not disclosed.

BASF is the largest diversified chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of over EUR74 billion in 2014 and over 113,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical will undergo a number of senior management changes, effective August 1, 2015, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Mark Lashier, currently executive vice president of olefins and polyolefins, will become executive vice president for the company's commercial business. In his new role, Lashier will serve as the lead commercial executive for all product lines in Chevron Phillips Chemical’s portfolio.

Ron Corn, currently senior vice president of specialties, aromatics and styrenics, will become senior vice president of projects and supply chain. Corn will be responsible for the projects organization, including the successful execution of the company’s USGC petrochemicals project, and the formation of an integrated supply chain organization serving all customers and product lines in the Chevron Phillips Chemical portfolio.

Scott Sharp, currently senior vice president of projects, will become senior vice president of manufacturing, with functional responsibility for all of the company’s global manufacturing operations. Lashier, Corn and Sharp will all report to Peter L. Cella, the company's CEO.

Dave Smith, currently vice president of olefins and NGLs, will become senior vice president of petrochemicals with responsibility for the olefins, NGL and aromatics product lines. Dave Morgan, currently vice president of polyethylene, will become senior vice president of polymers with responsibility for all resins as well as the performance pipe division.

Mitch Eichelberger, currently GM of normal alpha olefins and polyalphaolefins, will become vice president of specialties, with responsibility for normal alpha olefins, polyalphaolefins, specialty chemicals, and drilling specialties product lines.

Smith, Morgan and Eichelberger will report to Lashier. "At Chevron Phillips Chemical, we remain committed to providing industry-leading customer service, manufacturing high quality products and adding value to our stakeholders," said Cella, the CEO. "This realignment of our commercial organization, integration of all of our supply chain activities with our projects organizations, and other strategic management appointments position us to deliver on those commitments."

Chevron Phillips Chemical announced the construction of a world-scale ethylene cracker in Baytown, Texas, two world-scale polyethylene reactors in Old Ocean, Texas and the start-up of the world’s largest 1-hexene facility in Baytown. The 1-hexene plant, capable of producing up to 250,000 tpy, is co-located with this expansion project at the Cedar Bayou plant. Chevron says the two plants will enjoy synergies as they both share the same infrastructure and workforce talent.

Chevron Phillips Chemica, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.