PE prices decreased at domestic trades in Uzbekistan

About 39,600 tonnes of polyethylene were sold to the domestic market through exchange trading at the Uzbek Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange in January-March 2024, down 1% year on year, UZEX News reports.

Sellers of polyethylene are the Shurtan Gas-Chemical Complex and the UZ-KOR GAS CHEMICAL JV.

Film and injection molded polyethylenes traditionally lead in the market structure. Their share was 35% and 22%, respectively.

In third place are blown polyethylene brands (17%). The share of pipe polyethylene is at 16%.

The price trend that developed on the stock exchange in January - March 2024 for all brands of polyethylene mainly showed a downward trend.

So, if in January prices amounted to 16.9 million soums per ton, then February quotes dropped to 16.5 million soums per ton and in March of this year, prices continued to decline slightly on the market to 16 million soums per ton.

In terms of the structure of polyethylene purchases, the share of Tashkent and the Tashkent region was 49%.

The share of the Fergana region increased compared to 2023 from 11% to 18%. The share of Samarkand region also increased from 12% to 15%. And 6 percent of sales come from buyers in the Namangan region.

We remind, data from the Statistics Agency show that in January 2024, Uzbekistan exported 21,900 tons of polyethylene, valued at USD17.3 mln. The export of polyethylene has increased by 4,800 tons compared to the corresponding period in 2023. In January, Uzbekistan sold polyethylene to nine countries. The top countries to which Uzbekistan exported the most polyethylene in January were: Turkiye – 12,500 tons, China – 2,300 tons, Russia – 2,300 tons, Latvia – 2,200 tons, Kazakhstan – 1,800 tons.


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Borealis invests EUR 4.5 million in Porvoo steam cracker, enabling increased share of circular raw materials used in production, said the company.

This investment ensures that the Porvoo steam cracker, which is part of a highly integrated petrochemical complex, can increase the share of renewable and recycled raw materials used in its (ethylene and propylene) production; thus, supporting Borealis Strategy 2030 and driving the transformation to a circular economy. The Porvoo investment program, which has already been kicked off and is expected to be completed in 2025.

The Porvoo steam cracker, which has a nameplate capacity of 430 kilotons ethylene and 263 kilotons propylene per year, is a facility that thermally “cracks” feedstock – such as naphtha, propane, butane, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – into smaller molecules. Furnaces are the “heart” of every cracker. Thanks to the investment, three of the ten cracker furnaces in the olefins unit will be modified to enable a total annual production of 120 kilotons of base chemicals based on renewable and recycled feedstocks. The renewable-based and chemically recycled base chemicals produced at Borealis’ site in Porvoo have been awarded the . The ISCC PLUS certification is a voluntary scheme that covers the entire supply chain based on mass balance accounting and guarantees compliance with the highest environmental standards.

"With a focus on reinventing essentials for sustainable living, our EUR 4.5 million investment in our steam cracker in Porvoo moves us closer towards a future of circular economy transformation. Through strategic furnace modifications and a commitment to renewable and chemically recycled base chemicals, we are poised to elevate annual production to 120 kilotons, forging a path of environmental stewardship and economic resilience," says Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive Vice President Operations and Base Chemicals.

We remind, Borealis closes the acquisition of Integra Plastics AD, a Bulgarian advanced mechanical recycling player
The acquisition enhances Borealis’ portfolio of advanced mechanical recyclates by adding more than 20,000 tons of recycling capacity per year, strengthening its ability to meet growing customer demand for more sustainable solutions.

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The Long Son Petrochemicals Co. Ltd. (LSP) has announced that its Long Son petrochemical complex in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau is on track to begin commercial operation in the third quarter of 2024, as per Vietnamplus.

Since November 2023, LSP has been conducting comprehensive trial runs across the entire complex, encompassing both the upstream Olefins plant and the three downstream Polyolefin plants.

It is the first fully integrated petrochemical complex in Vietnam, which has been built in Long Son commune of Vung Tau city since February 28, 2018. With a total investment of about 5.4 billion USD, it has a designed capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of olefin resin per year, aimed at producing a variety of petroleum products, including essential raw materials for the plastics industry such as polyethylene, polypropylene and other related products. This initiative is intended to reduce reliance on imported polyolefin products and improve the competitiveness of downstream manufacturers in the domestic market.

The complex boasts a quality workforce of around 1,000 employees, with 80% being Vietnamese. Once put into commercial operation, it will generate stable jobs for 10,000 workers and contribute an estimated 2.5 trillion VND (104.1 million USD) to the State budget annually.

In 2018, Thailand’s Siam Cement Group acquired a 29% stake in the project from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), ultimately securing full ownership with a 100% stake.

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KBR announced that its Purifier ammonia technology was selected by Wuhuan Engineering Co. Ltd. for the expansion of El Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals’ fertilizer complex in Egypt, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide the technology license, proprietary engineering design and proprietary equipment for NCIC’s 1,200 metric tons per day ammonia plant.

“We are pleased to be a part of this project and support El Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals’ growth in the fertilizer sector by providing our sustainable and superior Purifier technology,” said Jay Ibrahim, President, KBR Sustainable Technology Solutions. “KBR’s Purifier process is an energy-efficient and reliable solution for ammonia producers. Furthermore, with a lower carbon footprint compared to other more conventional ammonia technologies, KBR’s Purifier ammonia process helps customers meet their sustainability goals in a cost-effective manner.”

We remind, KBR announced it has been awarded a project management contract by Sonangol for the design and construction of a new 200,000bpd refinery in Lobito, Angola. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide services encompassing the project management of engineering, procurement and construction phase execution.

KBR is a world leader in ammonia technology and has been at the forefront of innovation in the ammonia market for decades. Since 1943, KBR has licensed, engineered, or delivered more than 250 grassroot ammonia plants worldwide.

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SIBUR is considering the possibility of implementing a polystyrene production project with capacity of 250,000 tonnes per year with completion of construction no later than 2028, according to company materials seen by Interfax.

Earlier, the company's executive director Alexander Petrov said that several options are being considered for processing ethylene produced at the EP-600 complex under construction at Nizhnekamskneftekhim , including production of styrene and polystyrene.

SIBUR is due to begin production at the EP-600 ethylene complex in Tatarstan in November 2024.

The launch of the EP-600 complex will allow SIBUR to increase polyethylene output by 150,000 tonnes at Kazanorgsintez after reconstruction, SIBUR chief Mikhail Karisalov said. In addition, some of the new ethylene volumes will be used as feedstock in the hexene production chain, a unit for the production of which SIBUR is already building in Nizhnekamsk. At the same time, some of the ethylene volumes from EP-600 have not yet been distributed among further processing projects, he said.

In addition to the existing ethylene production with capacity of 600,000 tonnes, NKNC is building a new olefin complex - the EP-600 ethylene unit with polymer production. EP-600 will allow for processing of 1.8 million tons of straight-run gasoline per year to produce 600,000 tonnes of ethylene and its derivatives.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest producers of synthetic rubbers in the world and of plastics in Russia, and has been a part of SIBUR since October 2021.

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