Dow Europe increases PE price

March 22 (plasteurope) -- As of 1 April 2010, Dow Europe will raise the prices of its polyethylene resins across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. Whereas LDPE will cost an additional EUR 80/t, the prices of LLDPE and HDPE will rise by EUR 60/t.

The group last raised the price of PE on 1 January 2010.

MRCMRC Reference

Share in the Russian market, 2008:

polyethylene - 2.5% (including LLDPE - 33.1%);

polypropylene - 0.8% (including PP-impact - 1.1%);

polystyrene - 2.6%.

Annual sales growth in Russia, recent 5 years:

polyethylene - 55%;

polypropylene - 28%;

polystyrene - 2%.

Imports by processing technologies:

pipe extrusion;

film extrusion;

sheet extrusion;

foaming.

March 22 (plastemart) -- Plant contractor Hyundai plans to hand over a 150,000 tpa polypropylene plant in Dung Quat oil refinery complex to the investor PetroVietnam. About 99.4% of construction has been completed and a trial production is scheduled for the end of April. Hence the hand over should happen by the end of May.

The VND3 trillion (US$166 mln) hi-tech plant will be supplied with 260,000 tons of propylene feedstock from the refinery.

MRC

March 19 (plastemart) -- An unspecified problem has compelled a sudden shutdown at Haldia Petrochemicals' newly revamped 676,000 tpa naphtha cracker. The duration of the shutdown is not certain.

HPL resumed operations around late January 2010, after a 75 day shutdown that started in late October for 30% capacity expansion.

MRCSudden shutdown at Haldia Petrochemicals' revamped 676,000 tpa naphtha cracker" style="WIDTH: 115px; HEIGHT: 60px" alt=">Sudden shutdown at Haldia Petrochemicals' revamped 676,000 tpa naphtha cracker" hspace=0 src="#%20petrochemicals.jpg" align=baseline border=0>

March 19 (plastemart) -- Saudi Aramco is mulling a change in the location of its US$17 bln petrochemicals complex planned at the Gulf port of Ras Tanura, as per Meed. The company is faced with major difficulties with the current site and is working on a feasibility study for other potential locations. These include Jubail to the north of Ras Tanura, and Ras al-Zour- an industrial port 80 km to the north of Jubail. The oil giant is expected to come to a decision over a site for the project by either late March or early April.

MRC

March 19 (plastemart) -- Technical issues have pushed INEOS to declare force majeure from its Grangemouth PP plant in the UK on 16 March. This has compounded an existing tight supply caused by shortage of propylene at LyondellBasell's Carrington, UK, that prompted a force majeure on PP supply earlier in the week, as per ICIS. In addition to this, propylene constraints have also affected PP production.

Polypropylene (PP) availability in Europe has tightened further and buyers will be faced with more increases in April, probably in three-digits.
PP prices had increased by ┬200/ton in Q1-2010, with net homopolymer injection PP prices trading around ┬1,100/ton FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe) mid-March. Buyers said that copolymer was more difficult to get hold of than homopolymer, as the effects of SABIC's earlier production issues in Geleen in the Netherlands were still felt in the market, coupled with propylene constraints that also affected supply. The April propylene monomer contract was expected to increase, with initial offers by sellers up by ┬80/ton over the current March level of ┬910/ton FD NEW.
PP inventories are currently low with processors as buyers expected new plants start ups in the Middle East and Asia to provide cheaper material in 2010, but delays in start-up and earlier strong demand from China, along with cutbacks European output, have compelled European buyers to pay higher prices.

Asian PP prices had remained stable but some sources expected PP to be affected by the sharp fall seen in the polyethylene (PE) market. Homopolymer injection prices were in the region of US$1250-1300/ton CFR. Offers of re-exports from Chinese traders to Europe were currently too high to work, but trading sources saw some arbitrage possibilities if Europe continued to rise and Asian prices slipped.

MRC