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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hyosung Vina Chemicals Co Ltd has shut down its new No. 1 polypropylene (PP) plant in Southern Vietnam on Friday, 9 July 2021, due to an unspecified technical issue, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.
The 300,000 tons/year unit is expected to remain offline between three to four weeks, which could curtail local supply visibly.
As MRC informed before, following the start-up at the newly constructed PP plant in Vietnam on 12 February 2020, it was reported that Hyosung reached on-spec cargoes approximately in mid-February. The first prime grade parcels were homo-PP yarn grade F501N with a melt index of 3.7.
This is the No. 1 PP unit that has an annual capacity of 300,000 tons/year, operating using external sources of propylene. The company is constructing the Phase II project at the same location, which houses a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant and No. 2 PP unit that could produce another 300,000 tons/year.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.
Hyosung Corporation is a Korean industrial conglomerate, founded in 1957. It operates in various fields, including the chemical industry, industrial machinery, IT, trade, and construction.
MRC
Hyosung shuts its new PP plant owing to technical issues
Trinseo raises July MMA prices 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 a price increase for Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) in Europe, according to the company's press release as of July 9.
Effective July 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the company's price for MMA monomer grew by EUR300/tonne.
As MRC reported earlier, in May, 2021, Trinseo announced the closing of the previously announced transaction to acquire Arkema’s polymethyl methacrylates (PMMA) business. PMMA is a transparent and rigid resin with a wide range of end uses that augments Trinseo’s existing offerings across several end markets including automotive, building and construction, medical and consumer electronics.
The main application, consuming approximately 75% MMA, is in the production of polymethyl methacrylate acrylic plastics (PMMA). Methyl methacrylate is also used to produce methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene copolymer (MBS), used as a modifier for polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, buying activity subsided last week, some companies said they had already completed all their deals for July PVC shipments. It was not possible to avoid the price rise in July, PVC prices broke another record.
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
CPC Corp to shut its No. 3 aromatics plant in Taiwan for scheduled turnaround
MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corp is in plans to take its No 3 aromatics plant off-stream for a scheduled maintenance turnaround, reported S&P Global with reference to several industry sources' statement on July 9.
Thus, the unit is to be shut from mid-July to the end of September, 2021.
Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the unit can produce 27,000 mt/year of benzene, 135,000 mt/year of toluene and 156,000 mt/year of isomer-MX.
As MRC informed previously, CPC Corporation shut its No. 7 aromatics plant in Taiwan for a maintenance turnaround on February 13, 2017. It remained off-stream for around 25-30 days. Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, the plant has a benzene capacity of around 205,000 mt/year and toluene capacity of 100,000 mt/year.
Benzene is a feedstock for the production of styrene monomer (SM), which, in its turn, is the main raw material for the production of polystyrene (PS).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 236,110 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, up by 27% year on year (172,360 tonnes). May estimated consumption was 48,880 tonnes, up by 66% year on year.
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
PVC imports to Ukraine down by 41% in H1 2021, exports remain unchanged
Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market were about 2,100 tonnes versus 2,000 tonnes in May, with European producers continuing to have significant restrictions on exports for a couple of months. Overall imports of suspension reached 12,700 tonnes in January-June 2021, compared to 21,400 tonnes a year earlier. Limited export quotas from European producers and North American producers' high export prices were the main reason for such a major reduction in imports.
European producers with the share of about 98% of the total imports over the stated period were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market.
Last month, Karpatneftekhim slightly raised its export sales, export sales of Ukrainian resin were 12,800 tonnes versus 10,500 tonnes in April. Overall, slightly over 102,800 tonnes of PVC were shipped for export in the first six months of 2021, compared to 102,400 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC
Saudi Arabia and Oman call for continued oil cooperation between OPEC and aliies to stabilise oil market
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia and Oman called for continued cooperation between OPEC and other allied producers to stabilise and balance the oil market, reported Reuters with reference to the Gulf states' joint statement.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Oman, a small non-OPEC producer, are both part of the OPEC+ alliance, which includes other nations such as Russia.
OPEC+ scrapped talks last week to adjust their agreement on oil output curbs after a dispute between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, another OPEC producer in the Gulf. The dispute halted plans to pump more oil into the market where crude prices have recently hit 2-1/2 year highs.
We remind that as MRC wrote before, China's crude oil imports fell 3% from January to June versus a year earlier, in the first first-half contraction since 2013, as an import quota shortage, refinery maintenance and rising global prices curbed buying. Imports totalled 40.14 million tonnes last month, data released by the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday, equivalent to 9.77 million barrels per day (bpd).
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 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC