European PVC prices rose by EUR60/tonne for CIS markets in October

MOSOCW (MRC) - Negotiations on European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices for October shipment to the CIS markets began last week. Under the pressure of rising ethylene prices and the cost of electricity in the region, European producers raised their export prices for the current month by EUR60/tonne, and in some cases even increased by EUR90/tonne, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

October contract price of ethylene was agreed up by EUR25/tonne from the previous month, which theoretically allows to talk about an increase of EUR12,5/tonne in the net cost of PVC production. But recently, the price of electricity has risen significantly, which also affects the cost of polymer production.

Because of significant shortage of PVC in the region and an increase in production costs in October, European producers increased export prices by EUR60/tonne or more.

More than a quarter of European capacities are shut due to planned and unscheduled shutdowns for repairs , and the unstable work of producers in the US and the decline in exports have negatively affected the balance of the European PVC market.

As a result, over the past three months, some buyers from CIS countries reported an almost complete lack of PVC for them from some producers in Europe.

Overall, deals for October shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were discussed in the range of EUR1 500-1 605/tonne FCA, whereas the previous month's deals were done at EUR1 440 - 1 515/tonne FCA.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a deal involving two Ontario companies, post-consumer plastic recycler EFS-plastics Inc. has acquired custom blow molder Exi-Plast Custom Moulding for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

Both companies will continue to operate under their organizational structures, officials with Listowel, Ont.-based EFS said in a news release.

Founded in 1992, Exi-Plast is headquartered in Huron Park, Ontario.

"Having worked closely with EFS as a supplier since 2016, it felt natural for Exi-Plast to join the EFS Group of Companies,” said Exi-Plast president Jeffrey Lang. “With EFS’s backing, we are looking forward to increasing our production capacity and upgrading equipment over the next several months."

EFS said the acquisition fits into its goal of reducing plastic waste by replacing the use of virgin plastic with low-carbon recycled plastic. “By purchasing Exi-Plast, [we] can directly manufacture finished products with high levels of post-consumer recycled plastic for its customers,” the company said. “Given the commitments made by brands and the Canadian federal government to increase their use of post-consumer recycled plastic, this enhanced vertical integration will allow EFS to recycle higher volumes of plastic collected from Canadian households."

"As we closely watch action being taken by both the federal government and the private sector, we see the increasing demand for recycled content as a lasting trend,” EFS president and CEO Martin Vogt added.

As per MRC, Dow, Midland, Michigan, announced several advancements in its efforts to prevent plastic waste, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide customers with recycled plastic products. The company says these advancements will help it to provide initial supply of fully circular polymers to customers starting in 2022.

As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, prices of Russian EPS remained steady during last week. Prices for the spot volumes of the Russian material were at roubles (Rb) 188,000-205,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Some market participants continued to report a shortage of EPS in the domestic market. Demand for material was strong.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- McDonald’s Canada has announced plans to eliminate plastic cutlery, stir sticks and straws in its restaurants by December, said Canpastics.

In an Oct. 7 news release, the company said that it will introduce wooden cutlery, wooden stir sticks and paper straws to its more than 1,400 restaurants across the country.

The only piece of plastic cutlery that McDonald’s Canada will continue to offer will be plastic spoons used with McFlurry ice cream products.

"By being part of the Canadian fabric and serving close to three million guests every day… McDonald’s Canada is playing an important role in the ongoing reduction of single-use plastics in the country,” Rob Dick, supply chain officer, McDonald’s Canada, said in the release. “By removing these single-use plastics in our restaurants, we show our ongoing commitment to minimize our environmental footprint and to help protect the planet for future generations."

Removing plastic cutlery, stir sticks and straws from McDonald’s Canada locations will remove approximately 840 tons of plastics from the Canadian system annually, the news release said.

As per MRC, Ford is looking to partner with McDonald's to recycle coffee chaff, the husk of coffee beans that peels off during roasting. To start with, the chaff will be recycled and molded into headlamp housings for Ford products, which will produce lighter components and, in turn, improve the cars' efficiency. Both companies want to carry on collaborating with one another for a more sustainable future.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

McDonald’s has been operating in Canada since 1967.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical is back running at full capacity to meet a rising demand for refined fuel products, the company said, as coronavirus movement restrictions ease, reported Reuters.

"The Dung Quat refinery has raised its output to meet the market's rising demand for diesel oil," it said in a statement, using another name for the same refinery.

The 130,000-bpd refinery in central Vietnam cut its output to 80% of capacity early last month amid widespread lockdown throughout the country.

Vietnam has over the past weeks gradually relaxed its coronavirus curbs as new infections fall. Average daily cases were 4,441 in the week ending Oct. 10, from 7,413 the previous week. Vietnam resumed flights on some domestic routes from Sunday, and will restart inter-provincial bus services from Wednesday, the government said.

Binh Son said, however, that the pace of demand for gasoline products remains slow.

As MRC informed earlier, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP) completed maintenance works at its new polypropylene (PP) plant in Vietnam in mid-September 2021. The 400,000 mt year of PP plant was shut on 24 August 2021, instead of the initially scheduled date of 17 August, for approximately three weeks. The company decided to postpone the maintenance shutdown at this plant by one week from the previous schedule due to the COVID-19 related lockdown.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Dung Quat commenced commercial operations in 2009, becoming Vietnam's first refinery. It meets about 30% of the country's demand for refined fuels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

The new facility follows validation of ExxonMobil’s initial trial of its proprietary process for converting plastic waste into raw materials. To date, the trial has successfully recycled more than 1,000 metric tons of plastic waste, the equivalent of 200 million grocery bags, and has demonstrated the capability of processing 50 metric tons per day.

Upon completion of the large-scale facility, the operation in Baytown will be among North America’s largest plastic waste recycling facilities and will have an initial planned capacity to recycle 30,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year. Operational capacity could be expanded quickly if effective policy and regulations that recognize the lifecycle benefits of advanced recycling are implemented for residential and industrial plastic waste collection and sorting systems.

ExxonMobil is developing plans to build approximately 500,000 metric tons of advanced recycling capacity globally over the next five years. In Europe, the company is collaborating with Plastic Energy on an advanced recycling plant in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France, which is expected to process 25,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year when it starts up in 2023, with the potential for further expansion to 33,000 metric tons of annual capacity. The company is also assessing sites in the Netherlands, the US Gulf Coast, Canada, and Singapore.

To meet customer demand for circular polymers, ExxonMobil has obtained certifications through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC Plus) process for several of its facilities. ISCC Plus is widely recognized by industry as an effective system to certify products that result from advanced recycling using mass balance attribution of plastic waste.

To help address the need for increased collection and sorting of plastic waste, as MRC informed before, in February 2021, ExxonMobil formed a joint venture with Agilyx Corporation, Cyclyx International LLC, focused on developing innovative solutions for aggregating and pre-processing large volumes of plastic waste that can be converted into feedstocks for valuable products. Cyclyx will help supply ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling projects, and will aim to do the same for other customers.

ExxonMobil is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, which is focused on accelerating investment in safe, scalable and economically viable solutions to help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment through a portfolio of projects that has grown to more than 30 ongoing projects across several countries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC