Production of polymer products in Russia dropped by 4.4% over nine months of 2015

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Production of finished goods from polymers in Russia decreased over the first nine months of 2015 by 4.4% year on year. The construction sector accounted for the greatest fall in the output, according to MRC.

The decline in the production of polymer goods slowed down in September, down by 4.4% year on year, whereas this figure was 5.1% over the first eight months of the year. A shortage and record high prices of several large polymers affected significantly the September production of polymer products. The film industry showed a positive growth in the output, whereas a slowdown continued in the construction sector.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the September output of plastic pipes, hoses and fittings dropped to 49,000 tonnes from 50,200 tonnes in August. The decrease in production was mainly caused by a shortage of polyethylene (PE) in the market, which led to a record level of prices. The overall production of these products from polymers totalled 344,400 tonnes over the first nine months of 2015, down by 16.1% year on year.

The last month's output of non-combined and non-reinforced films was reduced to 82,300 tonnes from 84,400 tonnes in August, partially because of the deficit in the low density polyethylene (LDPE) market. The overall production of these products totalled 815,800 tonnes from January to September 2015, up by 5% year on year.

Production of plates and porous sheets reached 22,800 tonnes in September versus 21,400 tonnes a month earlier. The output of plastic plates and porous sheets totalled 180,400 tonnes from January to September 2015, down by 1.7% year.
MRC

Sipchem Q3 net profit falls by 55% on lower prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi International Petrochemical Co (Sipchem) has reported a 55.4% slump in third-quarter net profit as product sales prices fell, as per Reuters.

Sipchem posted a profit of 71.6 million riyals (USD19.1 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, down from 160.6 million riyals a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.

The company attributed the profit drop on lower average selling prices of all company products.

Four analysts polled by Reuters forecast on average the firm would make a quarterly net profit of 122.9 million riyals.

Sipchem reported its fourth profit decline in five quarters that missed analyst forecasts due to plant closures and falling product sales prices.

As MRC reported earlier, on 26 July, 2014, Sipchem commenced trial runs at a new ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)/low density polyethylene (LDPE) swing plant in Saudi Arabia. Located in Jubail Saudi Arabia, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

Established in 1999, Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) manufactures and markets methanol, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer. Besides, it has launched several down-stream projects to manufacture ethylene vinyl acetate, low density polyethylene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, cross linkable polyethylene, and semi conductive compound.
MRC

SM plant restarted by Idemitsu SM Malaysia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese Idemitsu SM Malaysia has resumed operations at its styrene monomer (SM) plant following an unplanned outage, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Malaysia informed that the plant was restarted early last week. It was shut in mid-September 2015 owing to a technical glitch.

Located at Pasir Gudang in Malaysia, the plant has a production capacity of 240,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Idemitsu Kosan Co delayed the restart of its SM in Japan for May 14, 2015. It was earlier scheduled for an early-May restart. The plant was taken off-stream on April 6, 2015 for a maintenance turnaround. Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries and produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products. The company runs two petrochemical plants in Chiba and Tokuyama. The two naphtha crackers can produce up to 997,000 tonnes of ethylene per year.
MRC

Mitsui and Celanese launch new Texas methanol plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui & Co. has announced that Fairway Methanol LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between Mitsui and US-based chemicals company Celanese, has commenced production of methanol at its planned annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In addition to access to reliable supplies of affordable gas feedstocks thanks to the US shale revolution, project officials also expect to benefit from the use of existing infrastructure belonging to Celanese situated in Pasadena, Texas.

Mitsui and Celanese will each take a portion of the methanol produced, with Mitsui planning to sell the methanol mainly in the US. Demand for methanol is expected to remain steady, the company says.

Mitsui says it is utilizing its shale gas business in the US as the starting point for expanding the scope of its downstream activities in the gas value chain, including chemicals and infrastructure.

"In combination with the upstream gas production business, we can build a strong and stable business portfolio less susceptible to the impact of gas price fluctuations," the company said in a statement.

As MRC reported before, in June 2015, Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract from Celanese Corp. for the construction of a vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions production plant at Jurong Island, Singapore. Construction is expected to begin by mid-2015, and the unit is expected to begin production by second half of 2016. Company officials did not disclose the contract value.

Mitsui Chemicals,a Japanese chemical company, is a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.

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 7,500 employees worldwide and had 2014 net sales of USD6.8 billion.
MRC

US Celanese income drops 36.4%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, today reported third quarter 2015 adjusted earnings per share of USD1.50, said the company on its site.

The company's strong earnings result reflected continued focus on opportunities to serve key markets while also driving efficiency throughout our complementary cores. During the quarter, the company also made progress on a number of strategic initiatives while also setting several performance records.

Adjusted EBIT margin was a third quarter record at 21.6 percent, 150 basis points higher than the prior year quarter and 40 basis points below the prior quarter.

Materials Solutions delivered record performance with adjusted EBIT of USD211 million and core income margin of 36.8 percent.

The company deployed USD420 million to repurchase 6.6 million shares of common stock and reduced its outstanding share count by 4.3 percent.

The company also announced its plans to repurchase USD1 billion of its shares over the next two years, based on confidence in its ability to generate strong free cash flow.

The company completed construction and began methanol production at its 1.3 million ton production unit in Clear Lake, Texas, a joint venture between Celanese and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan, in October 2015.

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. With sales almost equally divided between North America, Europe and Asia, the company uses the full breadth of its global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for customers and the corporation. Celanese partners with customers to solve their most critical needs while making a positive impact on its communities and the world. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2014 net sales of USD6.8 billion.

MRC