Trinseo announces price increase for polystyrene and copolymers in Europe

Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, and its affiliate companies in Europe announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS), ABS and SAN grades, said the company.

Effective September 1, 2023, or as existing contract terms allow, the prices for the products listed below will increase as follows:

STYRON™ and STYRON™ X-TECH general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) by +180 Euro per metric ton
STYRON™ and STYRON™ A-TECH, STYRON™ C-TECH and STYRON™ X- TECH high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) by +180 Euro per metric ton
MAGNUM™ ABS resins by +135 Euro per metric ton
TYRIL™ SAN resins by +150 Euro per metric ton

We remind, Trinseo's sales volumes have stabilised at levels that are 20% below typical mid-cycle levels. So far, demand in the third quarter is similar to that in the first half of the year, said Frank Bozich, CEO.

Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, partners with companies to bring ideas to life in an imaginative, smart and sustainably focused manner by combining its premier expertise, forward-looking innovations and best-in-class materials to unlock value for companies and consumers.

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SK Innovation has revealed its 2022 ESG Report on its company website, said the company.

Since 2020, SK Innovation has expanded and published its existing sustainability reports into ESG Reports that incorporate the requirements suggested by key investors, ESG assessment agencies, civic groups, etc. This year’s report has been enhanced in aspect of the addition of annual goals and performance, the preemptive application of global disclosure standards, and the enhancement of ESG data tracking capabilities and transparency.

SK Innovation stated, “Recently, stakeholders are demanding specific goals and achievements in ESG management,” and added, “This year’s ESG Report has significantly expanded the scope of information disclosure, including annual road maps and detailed performance by key tasks, and has further strengthened internal and external verification on disclosure data, enhancing accuracy and transparency.”

SK Innovation has expanded the scope of information disclosed in this year’s report. While last year’s report unveiled the ESG management strategy “G.R.O.W.T.H system*” and mid-to-long-term key tasks, this year, it has added the annual performance and goals for each task, as well as execution plans. Therefore, the report enables stakeholders to verify the degree of the company’s fulfillment in ESG management.

It is also noteworthy that the company established a “Special Page” for each G.R.O.W.T.H area that genuinely conveys specific examples of major achievements through the voices of stakeholders, such as cooperative companies, members, and business partners.

It is the strategy that SK Innovation has established and has been promoting as a specific implementation methodology for its Financial Story. The strategy includes achieving Net Zero through “Carbon to Green” innovation (Green Innovation, Road to Net Zero), strengthening safety/health/environment (SHE), which is the foundation of sustainable growth, and winning stakeholders’ trust (Outstanding SHE Management, Winning the Trust) and the ultimate goal of shareholders’ happiness (Together with Society, Happiness for all). These are the company’s management directions reflected as core tasks.

This report by SK Innovation has been prepared in compliance with international sustainability reporting standards, such as the revised items of “GRI 2021”, TCFD*, SASB**, and other global ESG disclosure standards. In particular, the report preemptively applied newly suggested standards of industry-specific indicators (Oil & Gas Sector) and the double materiality test. The double materiality test is a method of analyzing both the impact external factors have on a company’s financial state and the effect of the company’s business activities on the outside to identify key issues in the report.

We remind, SK Innovation has become the first in the oil refining industry to complete a Life Cycle Assessment (hereafter, LCA) for its entire oil-petrochemical related products. The company aims to strengthen its response to domestic and international clients who are increasingly focused on ESG evaluation standards, and plans to utilize the findings for process improvement data.

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Refiner and trader Varo Energy plans to build a new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) manufacturing facility at Gunvor's Rotterdam refinery with a USD600 MM investment which will meet up to 7% of the EU's 2030 SAF target, as per Hydrocarbonprocesing.

The new facility will be wholly owned by Varo and have capacity to produce 245,000 metric tons a year of SAF, with first production set for the fourth quarter 2026, Varo said.

Varo in February signed an initial agreement with Lufthansa to supply it with SAF from 2026 onwards. Along with SAF, the facility will also produce bio-naphtha and bio-propane, with total feedstock capacity reaching 350,000 tons a year, Varo said.

SAF is produced using waste and renewable biomass sources, as opposed to conventional jet fuel which is refined from crude oil. Gunvor said it will "further participate through an operations and maintenance agreement and other investments".

The energy trader operates a 75,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery at Rotterdam.

We remind, Russia will extend its voluntary reduction in oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the year "to maintain stability and balance" on oil markets, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement on Tuesday. Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has been cutting output and exports in tandem with Saudi Arabia on top of existing OPEC+ supply reductions.

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Solvay announces the expansion of its China Research & Innovation Center (R&I), with the inauguration of a new research building in the Solvay Shanghai Technology Park, said the company.

The company has invested more than 4 billion RMB (approx 500M euros) in its Chinese R&I hub since 2005, to better support local customers and fulfill the booming demand for innovative and sustainable solutions in the region.

The new R&I building, Magnolia, marks a significant step forward for Solvay in advancing innovation in China, the world’s largest chemical market.

“The Chinese market is strategically important in our global strategy and we are willing to increase our investments to address the demands here,” said Ilham Kadri, Solvay CEO. “With a stronger research force in China, we will accelerate innovations that drive circular economy solutions and a sustainable future in response to the global megatrends and the ever-changing local needs.”

The new R&I building is home to several state-of-the-art laboratories. Among its notable features is a pioneering pilot hall dedicated to advanced materials applications. It is also home to purpose-built spaces customized for both industrial applications and consumer goods research. The new innovation platform serves critical sectors like green hydrogen, electronics, and semiconductors, and features an automation & robotics lab — a leap forward in Solvay’s transformative journey towards digital evolution.

“We are continuously expanding our research and innovation competencies in China to meet the evolving demands in the fast-growing sectors. The new capabilities empower us to speed up the delivery of research results in a series of markets and foster closer cooperation with customers in the region,” said Pascal Metivier, Solvay Head of Research & Innovation.

“By enhancing infrastructure and shoring up our R&I Center in China, we will also be able to enhance open innovation partnerships with leading Chinese universities, international research institutions and other stakeholders, to incubate breakthrough technologies in order to shape a more sustainable future together,” said Howard Hao, Solvay China Head of Research & Innovation.

In addition to the new research building inaugurated today, Solvay has recently launched its Material Application & Development Lab in Shanghai. This strategic move caters to the growing demand for tailored high-performance material solutions from major local end markets such as automotive, new energy, life solutions and pharmacy, smart devices and semiconductors.

We remind, Solvay, a leader of high-performance and sustainable polyamide 6.6 polymers, continues to drive innovation in its portfolio with the introduction of a new, specialized grade of Rhodianyl, made of 100% pre-consumer recycled polyamide, which is produced at its Santo Andre plant in Brazil.

Established in 1997, the Solvay China R&I Center has grown into the Group’s third largest research hub in the world, with a strong team of around 170 scientists, engineers and technicians. In the past five years, the center filed 89 patent applications, and published 84 papers on international scientific magazines, of which 15 pieces made to the covers. The R&I center’s key competencies include developing advanced materials applications; and strengthening synthesis & process to bring innovative solutions to key markets such as transportation, industrial applications, and consumer goods. It enabled strong partnerships with customers and conducted open collaboration with academia and universities around the world.

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Oil prices eased on Thursday as an uncertain economic outlook for China outweighed expectations of tighter supplies from extended supply cuts in Saudi Arabia and Russia, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brent crude futures fell 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $90.42 a barrel by 1323 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures fell 21 cents, or 0.2% to $87.33. Both benchmarks had spiked earlier in the week after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's top two oil exporters, extended voluntary supply cuts to the year-end. These were on top of the April cuts agreed by several OPEC+ producers running to the end of 2024.

Market participants also digested mixed data from China. Overall exports fell 8.8% in August year on year and imports contracted 7.3%. But crude imports surged 30.9%. "The wind has been taken out of the bulls' sail overnight by rising Chinese product exports last month albeit crude oil imports rose," PVM Oil analyst Tamas Varga said.

Concerns about rising oil output from Iran and Venezuela, which could balance out a portion on cuts from Saudi and Russia, kept a lid on the market as well. "At present, it is really difficult for us to see any negative factors due to supply constraints," said CMC Markets' Shanghai-based analyst Leon Li.

"However, we need to consider possible demand risks such as in the fourth quarter, the market could slow into an off peak season for oil consumption after summer demand ends." Helping support prices, U.S. crude oil inventories were projected to have fallen by 5.5 million barrels in the week ending Sept. 1, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday.

We remind, Russia will extend its voluntary reduction in oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the year "to maintain stability and balance" on oil markets, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement on Tuesday. Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has been cutting output and exports in tandem with Saudi Arabia on top of existing OPEC+ supply reductions.

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