Styrene Monomer plant news from Asia

Samsung Total restarted its Daesan petrochemical complex Saturday following an unexpected shutdown last Friday due to a power failure, as per Platts. The complex has a steam cracker with a design capaacity of 1 mln tpa of ethylene, 600,000 mtpa of propylene and 114,000 mtpa of butadiene, and an aromatics unit which can make 610,000 mtpa of paraxylene and 470,000 mtpa of benzene.

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Benzene falls in Asia with lower US benzene, crude oil

Benzene in Asia fell by thirty dollars from last Friday to US$1135/mt FOB Korea Monday, on the back of lower US benzene and crude oil prices. Asian benzene prices had been keeping track with US benzenne prices due to the arbitrage opportunity from South Korea to the US, as per Platts.

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Naphtha margins fall in Asia on muted demand

Naphtha prices in Asia fell to a five-session low of US$856/ton on Monday, with margins down to a week low of US$83/ton premium on muted buying interest from petrochemical makers, as per Reuters. Demaand has dipped as South Korean buyers appear to be holding back after a week of brisk purchases amid falling crude oil.

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S-Oil fetches premiums higher than on June naphtha cargo

South Korea's S-Oil Corp and Thailand's IRPC Pcl have sold a total of about 71,000 tons of August naphtha to Itochu Corp. S-Oil has fetched premiums that were at least 11 times higher than a June carggo, as per Reuters.

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Reliance posts third consecutive fall in quarterly profit

Reliance Industries Ltd has posted its third consecutive drop in quarterly profit. Net profit for the June quarter of Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 21% to Rs 4470 crore on dwindling margins in all iits business segments - refining, petrochemicals and oil & gas production.

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Warburg Pincus sues Titan Petrochemicals

U.S. private equity fund Warburg Pincus, a stakeholder of Titan Petrochemicals Group Ltd, has sued Titan and some of its executives in Hong Kong’s High Court for misrepresentation and breaches of conttract, Reuters reported.

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Spot ethylene in Europe gains on support from rising naphtha, Asian markets, strong demand

European ethylene prices further extended their gains this week, finding support from Asian markets, a sharp rise in naphtha costs and generally strong demand, as per Platts.
Ethylene spot prices weere assessed at Eur 1030-1035/mt (US$1263-1269) FD NWE Thursday, up from last Friday, when prices were assessed at Eur 1010-1015/mt FD NEW.

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Brent North Sea oil for delivery in September spiked to US$107.4 while oil on the Nymex rose to US$91.8. Oil prices ended the previous week at seven-w

Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co has shut the 220,000 bpd No. 2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at Chiba refinery, on Thursday evening after a fire near the CDU's naphtha circulation lines, as perr Reuters.

For more details on Brent North Sea oil for delivery in September spiked to US$107.4 while oil on the Nymex rose to US$91.8. Oil prices ended the previous week at seven-w click here

Oil prices end the week at 7 week high on concerns over geopolitical tensions in the Middle East

Brent North Sea oil for delivery in September spiked to US$107.4 while oil on the Nymex rose to US$91.8. Oil prices ended the previous week at seven-week high on concerns over the impact of escalatingg geopolitical tensions in the Middle Eastern countries of Syria and Iran.

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Better PVC demand reported in India, Italy, Egypt

Players in India, Italy and Egypt report seeing stronger PVC demand this week, which has led to firmer sentiment vis a vis August PVC pricing. Buyers are said to be looking to secure material ahead oof upcoming holidays at the prevailing July prices, which many players feel will prove to be the bottom level of the recent downward trend in global PVC prices, as per ChemOrbis.

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Williams new facility to convert propane recovered from off-gas processing into propylene

Williams announced today that it is exploring building a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility in Alberta, Canada. A new PDH facility, which would be the first in Canada, would allow Williams to signnificantly increase its production of polymer-grade propylene from its Canadian operations.

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Petronas inks Heads of Agreement with Versalis SpA to jointly own, develop, construct and operate elastomer plants

Petronas has signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with Italy-based Versalis SpA to jointly own, develop, construct and operate elastomer plants within PETRONAS’ proposed Refinery and Petrochemical Integrrated Development (RAPID) complex in Pengerang, Johor.

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ONGC sells 35,000 tons of naphtha for Aug. 5-6 loading at 2 month high premiums

Oil & Natural Gas Corp Ltd (ONGC) has sold 35,000 tons of naphtha for Aug. 5-6 loading from Hazira to Total at premium of about US$33/ton above Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, the hhighest in about two months, as per Reuters.

For more details on ONGC sells 35,000 tons of naphtha for Aug. 5-6 loading at 2 month high premiums click here

MRPL sells naphtha at sharply higher premiums amid strong market fundamentals

India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has sold gasoline, gasoil and naphtha at sharply higher premiums in reflection of strong fundamentals, as per Reuters.
25,000 tons of 92-octanne gasoline was sold for Aug.

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Course of Plastics Manufacturing Process -Recent Trends ,Trouble shooting & Quality Control

CIPET Aurangabad has organized a “Plastics Manufacturing Process -Recent Trends ,Trouble shooting & Quality Control” from: 25 July 2012 to 28 July 2012. The course is sponsored by
SIDBI that is conntributing substantially to the course fee.

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Mid-Eastern producers cut July PE prices in Egypt, raise Aug outlook

In Egypt, Middle Eastern producers had approached the PE market at the start of July with lower prices as compared to June offer levels, as per ChemOrbis. As the month of July proceeded, the producerss issued further decreases unlike the pattern followed in other global markets including Turkey and China.

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BASF named world’s most transparent chemical company globally

BASF globally has been named the world’s most transparent chemical company, in a new global ranking by non-governmental organization Transparency International. BASF was also the top rated German-headdquartered company of any industry.

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Tver oil refining complex mulls petrochemical unit in Zhytomyr region

Russia’s closed joint-stock company Tver oil refining complex is studying the issue of building petrochemical production facilities in Zhytomyr region, as per Interfax. The press service said that thee approximate cost of the project is around US$20 bln.

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Naphtha in Asia hovers around 6 week highs

As Brent crude spiked, naphtha price continues to linger around a 6 week high of US$844/ton at the end of last week. Inter-month premium extended gains to stay at two-month high of ten dollars per tonn as the market was firm on strong fundamentals, as per Reuters.

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CB&I awarded licensing and engineering design contract for 5 petrochem units by Petronas

CB&I has been awarded a contract by PETRONAS for the license and engineering design work for five petrochemicals units. The project is part of the new refinery and petrochemicals integrated developmennt (RAPID) project to be located in Johor, Malaysia.

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400,000 tons of Western naphtha booked for Asia

Traders have made provisional bookings for 250,000 tons of European and Mediterranean naphtha to arrive in Asia in August. This booking comes about two weeks after securing bookings for 150,000 tons, as per Reuters.

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New sanctions against Iran props up oil

USA has imposed Iran with more sanctions aimed at stifling its nuclear program. Concerns abound that these sanctions will eventually lead to a military conflict in the Gulf, propping up buying and priices.

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Propane and propylene stocks in USA rise 1 mln barrels week-on-week

US propane and propylene inventories in USA rose 1 mln barrels, to 63.2 mln barrels, during the week ended Friday, data from the Energy Information Administration as per Platts.
Midwest supplies rosee 200,000 barrels, to 26 mln barrels, East Coast supplies were up 100,000 barrels, to 5.

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PetroChina’s new 800,000 tpa ethylene unit at Fushun to ramp up ethylene capacity to 1 mln tpa

PetroChina Co Ltd. Has announced plans to bring on stream a new 800,000 tpa ethylene unit at its Fushun refinery in October. With this capacity addition, total ethylene capacity at the refinery will bbe 1 mln tpa, as per Reuters.

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Higher costs, firmer regional trends push PE prices higher in SE Asia

Players in Southeast Asia report that PE prices moved higher over the past week in accordance with stronger regional trends and higher upstream costs, as per ChemOrbis. Prices are expected to remain firm in the coming week, with increases likely to be more pronounced near the lower end, as disappointing demand from the nearby Chinese market will prevent prices at the upper ends from posting any significant hikes.

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BPCL to set up petrochem plant in Kochi in JV with LG Chem

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Korea’s LG Chem to set up a petrochemical plant with an investment outlay of Rs 6000 crores. The petrochem plant willl be located adjacent to its refinery in Kochi as part of plans of backward integration.

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ONGC offers naphtha for August loading

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has offered to sell a cargo of naphtha for August 5-6 loading, from Hazira port, as reported by Bloomberg.

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Brisk naphtha demand in Asia amid tighter supplies

South Korea's Honam Petrochemical has bought at least 50,000 tons of naphtha for August-September delivery, reflecting brisk demand amid tighter supplies, as per Reuters. However, Samsung Total, who wwas heard to be seeking parcels, failed to secure volumes for H2-August delivery.

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Slowing global economic growth pulls down oil prices to near US$85 a barrel in Asia

Oil fell to near $85 on Thursday as signs of slowing global economic growth offset hopes that central banks will soon implement stimulus measures.
Benchmark oil for August delivery dipped to US$85.11 by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the Nymex, while in London, Brent crude for August delivery dipped to US$99.

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India’s BPCL sells August naphtha cargo at US$26/ton premium – an 85% increase

India's Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) sold an August naphtha cargo from Kochi to Cargill at about US$26/ton above Middle East quotes. This marks an 85% increase from a previous sale from the same pport, as per Reuters.

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Ineos licences PP processes to Russia’s ZAo Vostochnaya Neftechemicheskaya Company

INEOS Technologies has announced that is has licensed its Innovene G, Innovene S and Innovene PP processes to ZAO “VOSTOCHNAYA NEFTECHEMICHESKAYA COMPANY” (ZAO VNHK), a subsidiary of OJSC NK ROSNEFT ffor VNHK’s new petrochemical complex in Nakhodka Russian federation.

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International conference on Innovation in technologies for processing of rubber & Elastomers

Processing of polymeric materials is still not well understood and there is a need to have a greater interaction between Academia and Industry. To promote such a dialogue, PPA has planned to organizee an International Conference on “Innovation In Technologies For Processing Of Rubber & Elastomers” in Mumbai on 26th & 27th October, 2012 at Hotel Ramada Inn, Juhu, Mumbai.

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International conference on Innovation in technologies for processing of rubber & Elastomers

Processing of polymeric materials is still not well understood and there is a need to have a greater interaction between Academia and Industry. To promote such a dialogue, PPA has planned to organizee an International Conference on “Innovation In Technologies For Processing Of Rubber & Elastomers” in Mumbai on 26th & 27th October, 2012 at Hotel Ramada Inn, Juhu, Mumbai.

For more details on International conference on Innovation in technologies for processing of rubber & Elastomers click here

PET demand improves in Europe, Asia

PET prices were on a bearish trend for over four months, in line with plunging feedstock costs while the high season for PET applications failed to kick in to put a cap on the downward trend, as per CChemOrbis.

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Asia sees naphtha demand strengthening amid lower stocks

Asia's naphtha price reversed losses to reach a three-session high of US$825/ton on Wednesday while margins surged nearly 11% to hit a two-month high of US$84.8/ton premium as demand strengthened amidd tighter supplies, as per Reuters.

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RIL renews quarterly contract with Qatar to buy 50,000 tons of GTL naphtha for August-October

Reliance Industries has renewed a quarterly contract with Qatar to buy 50,000 tons of gas-to-liquid (GTL) naphtha for August-October loading, as per Reuters. The premium was fixed at about US$25/ton tto Middle East quotes on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

For more details on RIL renews quarterly contract with Qatar to buy 50,000 tons of GTL naphtha for August-October click here

Technical audit to be carried out at Haldia Petrochemicals to assess machinery

A technical audit of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) would be carried out to assess the condition of the machinery of the plant, as per EconomicTimes.
HPL plans to ramp up level of polymer production too 240 tons per hour from the present 180 tons per hour.

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New Polypropylene is approximately 10% lighter, excellent in material coloring

A polypropylene (PP) material which is approximately 10% lighter than the current PP and excellent in material coloring, called the Suzuki Super Polypropylene (SSPP), has been introduced by Suzuki Mootor Corporation.

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RIL holds roadshow in Singapore for $1.5 bln loan

Reliance Industries held the first leg of a road-show in Singapore to raise US$1.5 bln foreign loans to fund the expansion of its petrochemicals facility at Jamnagar. The second leg of the road-show will be held in Taipei on July 13.

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Petrofac awarded US$500 mln EPC contract in Saudi Arabia

Petrofac has won a US$500 mln EPC contract on Saudi Arabia’s Rabigh II petrochemicals expansion project, as per Reuters. Petro Rabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemicaal, has contracted Petrofac to build two units under a utilities and offsites contract.

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PVC in Asia tumbles by near 13% month on month in June

PVC prices in Asia fell 12.6% month on month to average US$880.75/mt CFR Far East Asia in June, from US$1006.40/mt CFR Far East Asia in May, according to Platts data. The June average was down US$295..

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Asian olefin markets climb on higher upstream costs

Spot olefin markets in Asia showed significant upward momentum over the past week. Despite the fluctuating energy complex for most of last week, sentiments firmed up, especially on Friday as crude oill prices recorded their largest daily spike since March 2009.

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Indian Oil Corp announces price revision

IOC has announced the following polymer price changes with effect from July 1st, 2012:
LBM :-reduced by Rs.2000/mt
PP HomoPolymer : Increased by Rs 2000/mt
LLDPE: Rollover
PP Price protection wit

For more details on Indian Oil Corp announces price revision click here

Dow and Aksa form joint venture for carbon fiber and derivatives

The Dow Chemical Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Dow Europe Holding BV, and Aksa Akrilik Kimya Sanayii A.S. (ISE: AKSA), a world-leading acrylic fiber company, today announced the officiaal formation of DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings BV (DowAksa), a joint venture (JV) to manufacture and commercialize carbon fiber and derivatives.

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Global petrochemicals market to be worth over US$60o in 2012

The petrochemicals market is expected to record steady growth over the next decade as global economic woes begin to relent. The market will reach a value of US$609.3bn in 2012, as companies and organiisations across the world continue to exploit the potential of the burgeoning Asian markets, as per Visiongain.

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Naphtha prices in Europe rebound with crude

The East-West differential for European naphtha has narrowed again, reducing the possibility of sending cargoes to Asia, as per Reuters. However, the situation could improve when Formosa’s naphtha craacker - Asia's biggest- comes back online next week.

For more details on Naphtha prices in Europe rebound with crude click here

IOC sells 30,000 tons of July naphtha to Unipec almost 48% lower than an early June cargo

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has sold 30,000 tons of July naphtha from Kandla port to Unipec at about US$13.50/ton above its own price formula on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, almost 48% lower than an early JJune cargo sale, as per Reuters.

For more details on IOC sells 30,000 tons of July naphtha to Unipec almost 48% lower than an early June cargo click here

Global demand for electronic polymers increases to 15.6 mln tons in 2011 at a CAGR of 4.2%.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for half of the global polymer demand for electrical and electronic applications and was the largest market for electronic polymers. Traditional polymers such as polyypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene constituted more than half of the global electronic polymers demand in 2011.

For more details on Global demand for electronic polymers increases to 15.6 mln tons in 2011 at a CAGR of 4.2%. click here

BASF 2011 sales in India see an increase of 15% compared to 2010

BASF in India has published its 2011 corporate report. “The BASF in India Report shows how we create value for our stakeholders by combining economic success with social responsibility and environmenntal protection,” said Mr.

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Naphtha prices in Asia end week at 9 session high, margins at a month high

Asia's naphtha price ended the week at a nine-session high while margins stayed at a month
high, supported by lower supply and improved petrochemical margins, as per Reuters. Open-spec naphtha pricee for front-month H1-August was at US$751 while margins were at US$53.

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Asia Naphtha strengthens on supply

Asia's naphtha intermonth spreads returned to premiums on Thursday for the first time in three weeks on tighter supplies. Naphtha margins jumped nearly 21.5% to reach their highest in a month of US$511.

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Protection fee controversy results in volatile PP market in Egypt

Egypt’s PP market witnessed a great deal of volatility in June due to confusion regarding the implementation of a new protection fee announced on import homo-PP prices effective as of June 5, as per CChemOrbis.

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QAPCO to proceed with petrochemical complex project in Ras Laffa

Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) has confirmed that the planned US$ 5.5 bln Ras Laffan Mega Petrochemical Complex Project is on schedule in accordance with the original timetable and scope, and thaat no changes to either are currently under consideration.

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Mitsui Chemicals Inc mulls restart of its 500,000 tpa Osaka naphtha cracker

Japan's Mitsui Chemicals Inc said it expects to restart its 500,000 tpa Osaka naphtha cracker around July 31 following planned maintenance, delayed slightly from its initial plan of July 26, as per Reeuters.

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JG Summit Holdings Inc. said it is on track to finish an $800-million (P34-billion) naphtha cracker plant by the first quarter of 2014

JG Summit Holdings Inc. is on track to finish an US$800 mln (P34 bln) naphtha cracker plant by Q1-2014, as per businessmirror.com. The naphtha cracker facility will help boost annual revenues of the ppetrochemical unit to US$800 mln to US$1 bln per year.

For more details on JG Summit Holdings Inc. said it is on track to finish an $800-million (P34-billion) naphtha cracker plant by the first quarter of 2014 click here

Slight improvement in oil prices amid signs the U.S. economy may be improving

Benchmark oil for August delivery inched up to US $80.5 in electronic trading on the Nymex. The contract rose 85 cents to settle at US$80.21 in New York on Wednesday. In London, Brent crude for Auguust delivery inched up to $93.

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