Celanese to raise February LDPE prices in the Americas Region

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase list and off-list selling prices for low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the Americas region, as per the company's press release.

The price increase will be effective February 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow and will be USD0.04/lb (USD0.09/kg or USD90/tonne).

As MRC wrote before, Celanese last raised its LDPE pricesfor North and South America on February 1, 2017. The price increase then was USD0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg or USD110/tonne).

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.
MRC

CPC Corporation delays restart of No.4 cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corporation is likely to keep its No. 4 cracker off-line owing to technical issues, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company has delayed the restart of the cracker until next week. The unit was taken off-line for maintenance in mid-November 2017 and was supposed to resume operations in this week.

Located in Linyuan, Taiwan, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 380,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 193,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, CPC Corporation shut its cracker No. 4 for maintenance on 11 December 2015 to 1 February, 2016.

All its crackers in Linyuan have a combined capacity of 1.08 million mt/year of ethylene as well as 500,000 mt/year of propylene.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

Trinseo raises January prices for PS, ABS, SAN and PC 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 increased prices for all grades of polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrne (ABS), acrylonitrile styrene copolymer and polycarbonate (PC).

Effective January 4, 2018, for PS and January 1, 2018, for other products or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR25 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR30 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR30 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR25 per metric ton;
- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR250 per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last raised its contract and spot prices for all PS, ABS, SAN and PC grades in Europe effective 1 December, 2017, or as existing contract terms allowed, as follows:

- STYRON GPPS - by EUR95 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-TECH HIPS - by EUR95 per metric ton;
- CALIBRE PC resins - by EUR200 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR85 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 USD3.7 billion in net sales in 2016, with 15 manufacturing sites around the world, and nearly 2,200 employees.
MRC

Iraq and BP sign deal to boost Kirkuk crude output

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding with BP on Thursday to boost production capacity at its northern Kirkuk oilfields, the country's oil ministry said in a statement. The oilfields were taken back under Baghdad's control last October after Iraqi government forces dislodged Kurdish fighters from the area, reported Reuters.

Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi and BP's president for the Middle East region, Michael Townshend, attended the signing ceremony at the Kirkuk office of the Iraqi state-run North Oil Company, which operates the fields, the ministry said.

The agreement provides for BP to boost Kirkuk's output capacity to 750,000 barrels per day (bpd), more than twice existing capacity, the statement added, citing Townshend. "The company will carry out seismic survey operations and and studies to develop the fields," the ministry statement quoted the BP executive as saying. Luaibi initiated the talks with BP in October, only days after the Kurdish fighters were driven from the area.

Oil exports from the field, transported by pipeline to Turkey, halted after the Iraqi military operation, which was conducted in retaliation against an independence referendum held on Sept. 25 by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq plans to start trucking crude from Kirkuk to Iran at the end of the month.

BP had agreed in 2013 to help Baghdad to halt a huge decline in output from Kirkuk. The KRG took control of the Kirkuk region in 2014, when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Islamic State's sweeping advance in northern and western Iraq. The Kurdish move prevented the fields from falling into the hands of the militants.

Iraq is the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-largest producer behind Saudi Arabia. Luaibi said on Saturday that Iraq oil output capacity is nearing 5 million bpd. However, it is currently producing 4.4 million bpd in compliance with an agreement between oil exporters to support crude prices.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items.
MRC

Support for clean water technologies to benefit the oil and gas industry

MOSCOW (MRC) - Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is receiving almost USD600,000 from Western Economic Diversification Canada and USD200,000 from Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) to design and construct a high temperature, high pressure testing unit that Western Canadian companies will use to implement water technologies in oil sands, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The funding was announced today by Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre and Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 issues, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada.

Today's investment will help establish a Membrane Technology Assessment Program (MTAP) at NAIT's Centre for Oil Sands Sustainability to support the design and construction of a membrane technology unit. The unit will test membrane and other water treatment technologies designed by companies in controlled conditions that simulate oil sands in situ operations.

The testing unit will help develop 12 industrial water technologies used in oil sands, and train and develop 12 highly qualified people. This will also enable at least six western Canadian oil companies the opportunity to test their technologies and more quickly implement innovations that create environmental and economic benefits.

A focus on clean technology, innovation and growth is a core element of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. Through the Framework, Canada will focus on creating and maintaining globally competitive Canadian businesses as we transition to a low-carbon economy. Canada's Innovation Agenda promotes clean growth, good jobs and higher living standards for the middle class. The investments announced today are an example of this vision in action.

"This membrane testing unit continues a tradition of leading-edge applied research with industry partners, helping them to become more sustainable. I would like to thank the Government of Canada and Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance for supporting this project." - Dr. Glenn Feltham, President and CEO, NAIT
MRC