China PE, PP to extend gains post-holidays on restocking

(ICIS) -- China's polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices may continue to increase after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday in early February, on restocking activity, industry sources said on Thursday.

Negotiations for February shipment of some Middle East and Asian PE and PP grades had begun this week, with deals cited at least $10-20/tonne (┬7.4-14.8/tonne) higher than previous transactions, market sources said. Price spikes of the same magnitude were expected after the holidays, they said.

Strong feedstock costs will keep Asian polyolefins prices firm through next week even with the slowing down of trades ahead of the Lunar New Year festivities in China on 2-8 February.

Spot ethylene prices in Asia had risen to $1,230-1,250/tonne CFR (cost and freight) northeast Asia on Wednesday, $50-60/tonne higher from four weeks ago, while propylene prices were up $60-70/tonne over the same period at $1,330-1,350/tonne CFR China, on the back of firm crude values, according to ICIS data.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Thermoplastic elastomers veteran Ron Sheu has joined Alliance Polymers & Services LLC and has bought a minority stake in the resin distribution firm as well. Sheu now is one of three principals in Alliance, along with Roger Huarng and Stephane Morin, who co-founded the firm in 2009. Romulus, Mich.-based Alliance distributes TPEs for BASF Corp. and Polymax Elastomer Technology Co. Ltd.

In a Jan. 12 news release, Alliance officials described Sheu as ⌠an acknowledged senior level technical expert on TPEs. Prior to joining Alliance, Sheu spent more than 20 years at BASF, most recently as market development manager of that firm's Styrolux-brand styrenic block copolymer business group.

MRC

(Plastics News) -- Custom injection molder Tally Ho Plastics Inc. has been purchased and started operations Jan. 17 as Aonvoy Plastics in Jacksonville. The acquisition marks a new business line for Aonvoy's parent, Aonvoy Industries Inc., also of Jacksonville. Tally Ho's general manager, Raymond Grubbs, is now president of Aonvoy Plastics, the companies said in a Jan. 17 news release.

Tally Ho had an estimated $5 million in sales and 75 employees in 2009 and has both injection molding and mold making.

MRC

(Bloomberg) -- GS Caltex Corp.'s oil refinery at Yeosu Industrial Complex in South Korea remained shut after a power failure yesterday, company officials in Seoul said. Most plants, including all crude distillation units, were closed and it may be difficult to restart operation today, said the officials, who wouldn't be identified, citing company policy.

GS Caltex, South Korea's No. 2 oil refiner, has four distillation units in Yeosu with a total capacity of 750,000 barrels a day.

The complex 455 kilometers (282 miles) south of Seoul lost power at 4:10 p.m. local time yesterday and electricity supply was restored about 20 minutes later, according to GS Caltex. The Yeosu complex includes the plants of about 30 oil and petrochemical companies including GS Caltex, LG Chem Ltd., Yeochun NCC Co. and Honam Petrochemical Corp.

Yeochun NCC, the country's biggest ethylene producer, didn't shut any of its three naphtha crackers at the complex, a company official in Seoul said by phone yesterday.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Global PET packaging specialist OCTAL is on track to complete the second phase of its operational expansion this year following a new round of funding from six Middle Eastern banks, it has been learned.

The privately owned, Oman-based manufacturer opened a 400,000 metric tonne (m/t) PET resins and sheet packaging facility in the southeast port city of Salalah in January 2009.

Phase two of the complex, which will be commissioned from June 2012, will add an additional 527,000 m/t of production capacity, making OCTAL the world's largest producer of PET resins on one site and the largest PET manufacturer in the world, the company claims.

MRC