Trinseo enhances commitment to sustainability by appointing Francesca Reverberi as Chief Sustainability Officer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics and latex binders, has announced that Francesca Reverberi will assume the newly created role of SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer, as per the company's press release as of 12 October.

Effective immediately, in this new role, Reverberi is responsible for enhancing Trinseo’s leadership position in sustainability by continuing to build out its portfolio of sustainable chemistries and driving its corporate and businesses strategies in this very important area. Reverberi is charged with propelling the company towards accomplishing its ambitious 2030 Sustainability Goals centered around increasing the sustainability of its product portfolio and operations, minimizing its impact on climate change, driving supplier responsibility, establishing a more sustainable workforce and building a strong sustainability reputation in the market.

“The creation of this new role of Chief Sustainability Officer and the appointment of Francesca to this inaugural role will bolster Trinseo’s already strong commitment to Sustainability,” said Frank Bozich, Trinseo President and Chief Executive Officer.

Francesca will remain as a member of Trinseo’s Management team and will continue to lead the synthetic rubber business until the sale to Synthos has been completed.

As MRC reported earlier, in May 2021, Trinseo entered into a definitive agreement to sell its synthetic rubber business based in Schkopau, Germany to Synthos S.A. and its affiliates for an enterprise value of approximately USD491 million, comprised of USD449.4 million of cash and the assumption of approximately USD41.6 million of pension liabilities. The expected net cash proceeds are approximately USD400 million after transaction-related costs and taxes. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in 2022.

We remind that 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 October 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 EUR55 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR55 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR45 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, October prices of Nizhnekamskneftekhim's GPPS were in the range of Rb152,750-163,700/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, and HIPS prices were at Rb156,750-167,700/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Penoplex contracted its GPPS quantities at Rb169,000-171,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in October, whereas last week's prices of Gazprom neftekhim Salavat's GPPS were heard at Rb152,500-156,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

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) -- Ukraine's polypropylene (PP) imports totalled about 99,500 tonnes in January-September of this year, down 2% year on year. Only some grades of propylene copolymers imports have grown, according to MRC's DataScope.

September PP imports to Ukraine grew to 16,800 tonnes from 10,900 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their purchasing of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) from Russia and Saudi Arabia. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 99,500 tonnes in January-September 2021, compared to 101,200 tonnes a year earlier. The main decrease in imports accounted for homopolymer PP, while imports of some propylene copolymers increased.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

September imports of homopolymer PP into the Ukrainian market increased to 13,100 tonnes, while a month earlier this figure was 8,000 tonnes. Producers from Russia and Saudi Arabia increased their export volumes. Thus, overall homopolymer PP imports reached 74,500 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, down by 2% year on year.

Last month's imports of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) were about 1,700 tonnes, compared to 1,200 tonnes in August, a small increase in supplies of injection moulding PP block copolymers was seen. About 9,800 tonnes of PP block copolymers were imported in the nine months of this year, compared to 10,500 tonnes a year earlier.

September imports of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) rose to 1,700 tonnes from 1,500 tonnes a month earlier due to stronger demand for injection moulding PP. Total PP random copolymer imports to Ukraine reached 12,600 tonnes in the first nine months of the year, compared with 11,800 tonnes year on year.

Overall imports of other propylene copolymers totalled slightly over 2,600 tonnes over the stated period.


MRC

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 all PULSE polycarbonate (PC)/ acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) in Europe, according to the company's press release.

Effective October 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products stated above rose by EUR300 per metric ton.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PC grades in Europe on August 1, 2021 by EUR100 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, September prices of Kazanorgsintez's PC remained at the level of August - Rb300,000/tonne FCA, including VAT. The Russian producer did not adjust its October PC prices and maintained them at the previous five months' level.

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) -- China's refining giant Sinopec Corp has jointly certified the country's first carbon-neutral crude oil cargo with shipping giant Cosco Shipping and China Eastern Airlines, reported Reuters.

The 30,000-tonne cargo was produced by Sinopec in Angola and shipped by Cosco Shipping to an east China-based Sinopec refinery for processing, Sinopec said.

To offset the carbon dioxide produced during the process from crude production to shipping to consumption by vehicles and airplanes, the three state firms bought Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions credits.

These credits that will go to investing in carbon-reducing projects such as tree planting, solar, wind and biomass power generation in China.

As MRC informed before, in August, 2021, Sinopec, the world's petrochemical major, launched the first phase of the Gulei refining complex in Zhangzhou city in China’s southeastern Fujian province. The refining complex, a 50:50 joint venture between Sinopec’s Fujian Petrochemical Company Ltd and Taiwan Xuteng Investment Company Ltd, invested 27.8 billion yuan (USD4.28 billion) in the first phase. That will result in an 800,000 tonnes per annum ethylene plant, a 600,000 tonnes per annum styrene unit and seven other downstream petrochemical units, Sinopec said.

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 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.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has announced it will raise prices of all acetate tow product grades sold globally, as per the company's press release.

Thus, prices for the stated above products will rise by USD0.40/kg or EUR0.34/kg.

This price increase will be effective for orders shipped on or after October 18, 2021, or as contracts otherwise allow.

“Over the past 18 months, the entire industry has been confronted with a great number of challenges which structurally impact all producers. New regulatory and legislative restrictions have increased the complexity of manufacturing and portfolio requirements, leading to high utilization rates; logistics complexities including equipment and operator availability have added cost and lead-time uncertainties; and major production costs have risen sharply in response to sector demand, conversions and availability,” said Harald Bruggeman, Vice President Commercial, Acetate Tow, for Celanese. “In order to continue to provide the supply chain security that our acetate tow customers value, it is necessary to increase prices to overcome the impact of these structural changes. Celanese’s commitment to the acetate tow business ensures that we will continue to invest in the necessary assets, innovation and effective services that our valued customers rely upon.”

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Celanese Corporation has recently announced a force majeure (FM) in China for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) shipments from its plant Nanjing, China. Celanese has temporarily shut down its acetic anhydride and VAM production in Nanjing to comply with recent requirements of government departments in order to achieve dual energy consumption targets in the Jiangsu Province in 2021. Thus, its VAM plan with the capacity of 300,000 mt/year was shut on 17 September, 2021, and its was expected to resume operations in late September.

According to MRC's DataScope report, June EVA imports to Russia fell by 18,32% year on year to 2,400 tonnes from 2,940 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation rose in January-June 2021 by 26,19% year on year to 22,020 tonnes (17,450 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2020 net sales of USD5.7 billion.
MRC