Trinseo raises June prices for styrene acrylic and acrylic latex products sold in North America

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex, and rubber, has announced that effective June 1, 2021, the company is increasing the prices of all Styrene Acrylic and Acrylic latex products sold into the carpet market in North America, as per the company's press release.

The increase will be USD0.10/dry lb (USD0.22/kg or USD222/tonne) or as contracts allow.

According to the statement, the present increase is necessary to offset rising raw material and transportation costs and to remain a strong and reliable supplier.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) in Europe. Effective May 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below rose as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR105 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR105 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR160 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR170 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim's PS prices remained unchanged in May. Prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS were in the range of Rb 192,000-203,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS prices were at Rb196,000-207,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. At the same time, May prices of Penoplex's material fell by Rb15,000/tonne to Rb204,000-206,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. And prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's GPPS were not adjusted in early May.

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 USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colonial Pipeline restarted operations Wednesday at approximately 5 p.m. ET after a ransomware attack last week forced the entire system offline on Friday evening, reported CNBC.

The company did warn, however, that its pipeline would not be fully functional immediately.

“Following this restart it will take several days for the product delivery supply chain to return to normal,” Colonial said in a statement. “Some markets served by Colonial Pipeline may experience, or continue to experience, intermittent service interruptions during the start-up period. Colonial will move as much gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel as is safely possible and will continue to do so until markets return to normal,” the company added.

As MRC informed earlier, most of the pipeline, which is the largest fuel transmission line from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, has been offline since Friday. The company shut down its systems as a proactive measure after it fell victim to a ransomware attack by a criminal group known as DarkSide.

The pipeline is a critical part of US petroleum infrastructure, transporting around 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil and jet fuel. The pipeline stretches 5,500 miles and carries nearly half of the East Coast’s fuel supply. The system also provides jet fuel for airports, including in Atlanta and Baltimore.

We remind that Valero Energy chartered an oil products' tanker for storage in the US Gulf Coast on Friday amid a cyber attack that shut the Colonial pipeline, the biggest US fuel pipeline.

Besides, earlier this week, Marathon Petroleum, the largest US refiner, said it could meet its supply commitments but was working to find alternative ways to ship motor fuels to the eastern United States if the Colonial Pipeline shutdown is extended.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp said its board had approved the conversion of the Martinez refinery in California to a renewable diesel plant, reported Reuters.

Besides, the company made a final investment decision regarding this project.

Martinez, once complete, will be one of the largest renewables facilities in the country.

As MRC wrote before, most units were shut on Sunday night and Monday morning (15-16 February) at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as temperatures plunged due to a Arctic cold front reaching the Gulf Coast. They resumed operations in the first half of March.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical swung into a net profit in the first quarter of 2021 on higher product prices, increased output and sales volume, said the company.

Improved economic conditions and fewer plant turnarounds in the March quarter, compared with the same period last year, resulted in increased sales volume, the company said. First-quarter polyethylene (PE) average prices jumped 45% year on year, it said.

For the whole of 2021, the olefin plant utilization rate is projected at around 93% due to a planned 39-day turnaround at its olefins plant 3 from late Q3, while polymers plants’ utilization rate is expected to be around 105%, PTTGC said.

For aromatics, the company expects the 2021 utilization rate to be 102%, even as product spreads will remain under pressure from oversupply, it said. It expects the paraxylene-naphtha spread to be USD230-260/tonne in the second half of 2021.

“The expected demand from downstream business such as fiber and filaments industries, purified terephthalic acid (PTA), and PET bottle resin are expected to gradually recover as new PTA plants started up in this year,” it said.

The price spread of benzene over naphtha is expected to be at $190-250/tonne in the second half of the year, PTTGC said, “while the demand for downstream products such as styrene monomer (SM) is expected to recover from new production, as well as phenol”.

As per MRC, TT Global Chemical (PTTGC), a subsidiary of leading Asian petrochemical company PTT, halted production at cracking units 1 and 4 in Map Ta Phut, Thailand on April 14 due to a power outage. It is expected that these enterprises No. 1 and 4 with a capacity of 461,000 and 515,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, respectively, will return to work in about one week.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) was founded on October 19, 2011 following the merger of PTT Chemical Company and PTT Aromatics and Refining Company to become the flagship of the PTT chemical group. As a result of the integration, the company's total capacity for the production of olefins and aromatics reached 8.2 million tons per year, and oil products - 280 thousand barrels per day, which makes it the largest integrated petrochemical and refining company not only in Thailand, but also in Asia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fuel shortages worsened in the southeastern United States on Wednesday, as the shutdown of the largest US fuel pipeline network entered its sixth day and gasoline stations ran out of supply in some cities, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline last week halted 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel shipments in the most disruptive cyberattack on US energy infrastructure. The pipeline stretches 5,500 miles (8,850 km) from US Gulf Coast oil refineries to consumers in Mid-Atlantic and Southeast states.

In Washington, D.C., top Biden administration officials met to discuss the incident and were considering ways to alleviate gasoline supply shortages, the White House said. Congressional committee members have asked that a White House interagency task force provide a formal briefing to discuss the federal response to the cyberattack.

Privately owned Colonial Pipeline manually opened portions of the line to release needed supplies in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and the Carolinas. It has accepted 2 million barrels of fuel to begin a restart that would "substantially" restore operations by week's end, the company said.

Gulf Coast refiners that rely on the Colonial Pipeline to move fuel to market have cut processing. Total SE trimmed gasoline production at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery, and Citgo Petroleum pared back at its Lake Charles, Louisiana, plant.

Citgo said it was moving products from its Lake Charles refinery and "exploring alternate supply methods into other impacted markets." Marathon Petroleum, another large refiner, said it was "making adjustments" to its operations due to the pipeline shutdown.

We remind that Marathon Petroleum, the largest US refiner, can meet its supply commitments for now but is working to find alternative ways to ship motor fuels to the eastern United States if the Colonial Pipeline shutdown is extended.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC