Asia petrochemicals, naphtha to get fillip post-Feb holidays

(ICIS) -- Asian petrochemical prices are expected to firm after the Lunar New Year holidays, underpinned by strong Chinese demand for polymers and styrene that will keep naphtha values buoyant, traders said on Friday. Trading usually slows down during the week-long Lunar New Year festivities in China, which fall on 2-8 February this year.

But in a sign of sustained downstream demand, prices for petrochemical feedstock naphtha soared to $865-868/tonne (┬631-547/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) Japan for the front-month contract, according to ICIS. Naphtha prices were up a quarter from a year ago.

China, the world's top energy guzzler, will continue to have a big appetite for petrochemicals, thanks to its galloping economy. Its GDP grew at a faster pace of 9.8% in the fourth quarter of 2010, while inflation slowed to 4.6% in December.

China's polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) prices were expected to rise further post-holidays, on restocking activity. Meanwhile, tight supply of styrene would continue to boost monomer prices.

China's downstream styrenic plastics expansion at around 2m tonnes was five times larger than the expected 400,000 tonne/year increase in styrene monomer production this year.

MRC

(BASF) -- The Flip-Box Premium from the packaging manufacturer Overath, Germany receives the 2011 Gold Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany. The foldable transport and insulation box is made from BASF's expanded polypropylene Neopolen P (EPP). The foam is noted primarily for its outstanding stability, low weight, great design versatility, and good insulation performance.

The award ceremony will take place on February 11, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main on the occasion of the Ambiente trade fair. The transport box has already received several design awards, including the German Packaging Award 2010 and the iF material award 2009.

The Flip-Box from Overath fills the gap between an insulation container and a plastic folding basket. The premium version of the box, which weighs a pound, can carry up to 25 kg of weight and has a capacity of 25 liters. It benefits from the great impact resistance of the BASF foam and its good cushioning performance - both properties which can be attributed to its outstanding ability to absorb energy even after several impacts. This considerably increases the service life of the Flip-Box compared with other transport containers.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Asia's spot benzene values jumped $30/tonne (┬22/tonne) on Thursday morning, hitting a fresh 28-month high, tracking the rally in European prices overnight, traders said.

Prices were hovering at $1,150-1,160/tonne FOB (free on board) Korea on Thursday morning, up $30/tonne from Wednesday's close and surpassing the $1,150/tonne FOB Korea level set on 1 September 2008, according to ICIS.

In early trade, bids for March loading were heard at $1,145-1,150/tonne FOB Korea, but sellers remained on the sidelines.

European benzene values for February climbed $38-115/tonne on Wednesday to $1,300-1,385/tonne CIF (cost, insurance and freight) ARA (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp), precipitating the spikes in the US market, with the bullish sentiment spilling over to Asia.

US benzene values firmed by $0.04-0.12/gal to $4.30-4.40/gal or $1,285-1,315/tonne FOB Barges late on Wednesday.

Due to price gaps of $135-155/tonne between US and Asia benzene values, and of $150-225/tonne between Europe and Asian values, the window for arbitrage trades to the West was wide open, traders said.

MRC

(ICIS) -- SABIC's Olefins 4 cracker at Geleen in the Netherlands is off line because of unresolved technical problems, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday. ⌠We are experiencing some technical issues with Olefins 4 which started 25 January, said the spokeswoman. The cracker was shut down on Wednesday, 26 January.

The company was still investigating the cause of the problems, but was working hard to resolve them as soon as possible.

Olefins 4, which has a nameplate capacity of 660,000 tonnes/year of ethylene according to ICIS data, is one of two crackers operated by SABIC at the site.

MRC

(Plastemart) -- Biotech developer and manufacturer of renewable bio-based chemicals, Myriant Technologies Inc. has closed a US$60 mln strategic equity investment from PTT Chemical Group (PTT Chemical), Thailand's largest petrochemical producer. Myriant will utilize the investment for the ongoing development of its bio-based high-value chemicals technology, as well as to help fund the rapid commercialization of its succinic acid platform, including construction of a succinic acid plant in Lake Providence, Louisiana.

The investment includes the signing of the Head of Agreement for the establishment of a joint venture between PTT Chemical and Myriant for deploying Myriant's technology in Southeast Asia. By combining PTT Chemical's R&D capabilities and Myriant's sophisticated technology, the joint venture will further drive technologies for the manufacturing of green chemicals using the abundant high quality bio-based feedstock available in Thailand and the Asian region.

MRC