Trinseo raises February prices for PS and copolymers in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades, said the producer on its site.

Effective as of 2 February, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the product listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR250 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR270 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR250 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR200 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PS, ABS, SAN and polycarbonate (PC) grades on 4 January 2016, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS, STYRON and STYRON A-TECH HIPS - by EUR110 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR105 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR90 per metric ton;
- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR220 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.0 billion in revenue in 2015, with 18 manufacturing sites around the world, and more than 2,200 employees.
MRC

Moodys upgrades credit ratings for Korean SK Innovation

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Innovation Co., South Korea's top oil refiner, said Monday that its rating was raised by global credit appraisers for its strong bottom line, said Yonhapnews.

Moody's Investors Service has raised its rating on SK Innovation to 'Baa1,' from 'Baa2,' the highest-ever grade given by the global rating agency to the refiner, it said.

Another rating agency, the Standard & Poor's, also upped its rating on SK Innovation to 'BBB+' from 'BBB,' according to the firm.

The rating given to SK Innovation is the highest among Seoul-based oil refiners, it added. The rating upgrades came as SK Innovation saw its 2016 earnings nearly double last year from a year earlier, thanks to better-than-expected results from its petrochemical business and expanded refining margin.

Net profit stood at 1.72 trillion won (USD1.49 billion) last year, compared with a profit of 868 billion won a year earlier, the company said earlier.

Operating income surged 63 percent on-year to reach a record 3.23 trillion won, while sales sank 18.3 percent to 39.52 trillion won over the cited period.
MRC

Oxea declares force majeure on Butyl Acetate in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) – The international chemical company Oxea declares force majeure on Butyl Acetate in Europe until further notice. Due to technical issues at its production plant in Marl, Germany, Oxea is unable to maintain the manufacture and supply of Butyl Acetate, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

“Oxea is already working to ensure that the impact is as minimal as possible. During the force majeure period, Oxea will continuously inform its customers about the situation and details regarding the supply capability,” the company said in a press release.

Oxea is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavorings and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. Oxea employs more than 1,400 people worldwide. Oxea is owned by Oman Oil Company S.A.O.C.
MRC

Lyondell, buyers differed on value of Houston refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Differing estimates between would-be buyers and LyondellBasell Industries over the value of the company's Houston refinery resulted in Lyondell's inability to sell the plant last year, said Reuters, citing Chief Executive Bob Patel.

A sale of the plant, with a price tag of about USD1.5 billion, would have marked Lyondell's exit from refining and emergence as solely a petrochemical producer. Lyondell has owned the refinery since 1985.

"So it's really at the end of the day our view of value versus the buyer's view of value," Patel told analysts on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results. The refinery located along the Houston Ship Channel is considered desirable for its capability to process heavy, sour crude oil.

Lyondell retained Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2016 to help sell the 263,776-bpd refinery. Would-be buyers, including Saudi Aramco, Valero Energy Corp and Suncor, were interested in the plant. Saudi Aramco appeared to be the leading contender, sources said, but the company said it never bid on the plant.

Patel said the estimates of the refinery's value turned on the many outages it endured in 2016. "Given sort of the challenges we had in the operation of the plant and if you'll recall in Q3 and 4 the outlook for the industry was being revised, as we were trying to get through all of that," he said.

Within two weeks of an April 8, 2016, fire on a coking unit, production at the refinery fell to 32 percent of capacity as distillation units were shut to replace piping thought to be at risk of failure.

Full production was not restored until the restart of the repaired coker in mid-July, but was reduced in the second half of the year by power outages and another fire.

Lyondell said the refinery's 2016 production averaged 201,000 bpd and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from refining were USD72 million, USD447 million less than 2015.

Lyondell is working to improve the refinery's reliability, which includes a planned overhaul, currently under way, of the 90,000 bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit and the 120,000 bpd crude distillation unit.

No other major maintenance is planned for this year at the refinery, he said.

The FCCU and CDU maintenance will negatively impact first-quarter revenue by an estimated USD80 million, Patel said.
MRC

Supreme Petrochem completes trial runs for producing SMMA

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Supreme Petrochem has completed the trial runs for producing Styrene Methyl Methacrylate (SMMA) by modifying one of the Polystyrene (PS) lines at the plant in Maharashtra into a swing line capable of producing either polystyrene (PS) or SMMA, reported Plastemart.

This modified line with a SMMA capacity of 42,500 tpa is now ready for commercial production.

Supreme Petrochem is the leader in PS business in the Indian market place with a share of more than 50%.

As MRC informed earlier, in January 2016, Supreme Petrochem received approval for modification of one of the three PS producing lines at the plant in villages Amdoshi, Wangani in the state of Maharashtra into a swing line capable of producing 42,500 TPA of SMMA. The board of directors at its meeting held on January 22, 2016 has approved for the same.

The technology for the modification of the PS line and production of SMMA is from Polysty Inc. USA. The cost of the project, including hardware and technology fee is around Rs 6 crore and is met from internal accruals. The plant start up was initially expected by end of 2016 and the estimated payback period is two years.

Supreme Petrochem Ltd., incorporated in the year 1989, is a Mid Cap company (having a market cap of Rs 1140.65 Cr.) operating in petrochemicals sector. Supreme Petrochem Ltd (SPL) is India’s largest producer and exporter of polystyrene polymer based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. In Indian market it has share of more than 50%. SPL is also the largest exporter of PS from India, exporting to over 93 countries around the globe.
MRC