GPPS and HIPS imports to Russian market up by 10% in 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Russia rose in 2019 by 10% year on year to 48,200 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was 43,800 tonnes in January-December 2018.

At the same time, last month's GPPS and HIPS imports to the Russian market dropped slightly to 3,500 tonnes from 3,600 tonnes in December 2018. Imports of material into the country also were 3,600 tonnes in November 2018.

GPPS imports to Russia grew in 2019 by 23% year on year, totalling 28,100 tonnes. Russian companies increased their imports of material by 2% last month: from 2,400 tonnes in December 2018 to 2,500 tonnes, imports were 2,300 tonnes a month earlier.

HIPS imports to the Russian Federation continued to decline for the fourth month in a row. They were 1,000 tonnes in December 2019 versus 1,200 tonnes a year earlier and 1,300 tonnes in November 2019. Imports of material dropped in 2019 by 4% year on year to 20,100 tonnes.

European material of Styrolution, Versalis and Trinseo accounted for about 90% of HIPS shipments and 62% of GPPS deliveries. Iranian GPPS of Petropaak and Artan Petro accounted for about 17% of the total imports. Iranian GPPS has not been shipped to Russia since October 2019.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Karpatneftekhim (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region), Ukraine's largest petrochemical plant, - increased its output of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) in the Ukrainian market by 15% year on year to 240,400 tonnes, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

Last month's SPVC production of the Ukrainian producer rose to 23,550 tonnes from 21,700 a month earlier. Overall output of suspension reached 204,400 tonnes in 2019, compared to 209,840 tonnes a year earlier.

Karpatneftekhim is one of the largest enterprises of Ukraine's petrochemical complex. Currently, the plant can produce annually 300,000 tonnes of PVC, 200,000 tonnes of caustic soda, about 180,000 tonnes of chlorine, as well as 250,000 tonnes of ethylene and 100,000 tonnes of polyethylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics USA is planning to shut its 798,000 mt/year polyvinyl chloride plant and an upstream 753,000 mt/year vinyl chloride monomer unit at its Point Comfort, Texas complex for turnarounds in February, reported S&P Global with reference to a source familiar with the company operations.

A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company originally planned to conduct those turnarounds in the fourth quarter of this year, but pushed the work to early 2020.

Market participants said the company was boosting its PVC stocks ahead of the work to ensure contract customers remain supplied as usual, as is typical in the lead-up to a turnaround. However, market sources expect export volume availability to be limited in January and February.

In addition, Westlake Chemical was slated to bring a PVC capacity expansion online by the end of 2019 at its 272,155 mt/year plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The company has not specified how much of a 340,195 mt/year expansion of output at both Geismar and Burghausen, Germany, will be at Geismar, but sources expect the bulk of that new output to be added to the Louisiana plant.

Market sources expect that work to limit Westlake's export volume availability next month as well.

A company spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As MRC informed before, Formosa Plastics' new 1.5 million mt/year cracker in Point Comfort, Texas, has come online and was seen ramping up through January. The company's new 400,000 low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant at Point Comfort "should be ready in February for now," said the source familiar with the company operations.

According to MRC's DataScope report, exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled 193,700 tonnes in 2019, up by 11% year on year. Imports increased more significantly - by 217% year on year - to 50,900 tonnes

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company's plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical Ethylene Corp, a joint venture of Asahi Kasei Corp and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp , said on Thursday it will delay the restart of a naphtha cracker in Mizushima, western Japan, to Jan. 28 from Jan. 24, reported Reuters.

The delay is due to a glitch in the steam system, which is operated in case of an emergency, Asahi Kasei said in a statement.

The company shut the naphtha cracker on Jan. 14 after a malfunction in the refrigerant system.

The naphtha cracker has a production capacity of 567,000 tonnes a year without any turnaround and 496,000 tonnes with turnaround, the firm said.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of bottle grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from China dropped by 15% year on year to 90,100 tonnes in the twelve months of 2019 from 106,100 tonnes a year earlier, according to MRC's DataScope report.
Deliveries of Chinese bottle grade PET to the Ukrainian market fell to the two times in December amounted to 4,700 tonnes compared to 9,500 tonnes in December last year and 3,900 tonnes in November 2019 year.

The share of imports from China in the total volume amounted to 49% in December against 36% a month earlier and 79% in December 2018.
The key suppliers of injection moulding Chinese PET chips to the Ukrainian market were producers Dragon, Wankai, Yisheng Petrochemical.
MRC