New antibacterial polymer developed for sportswear, diapers, bandages

Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have discovered an antibacterial polymer that can be used in everyday products such as sportswear, diapers and bandages, without causing resistant bactteria.




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Saltic LLC launches construction on world-scale caustic soda and EDC plant at Salalah Free Zone

Oman-based Saltic LLC FZE has formally launched work on its world-scale caustic soda and ethylene dichloride plant at Salalah Free Zone. Site preparation works kicked off recently on a 35-hectare plott within the massive special economic zone adjoining the Port of Salalah, as per Oman Daily Observer.




For more details on Saltic LLC launches construction on world-scale caustic soda and EDC plant at Salalah Free Zone click here

Petrochemical demand for naphtha is expected to be back, either late Feb or early March.

The arbitrage situation also points to ongoing tight conditions in Europe. The arbitrage to Asia has remained open for several weeks, with the east-west spread standing at US$15/ton for March on Thurssday.




For more details on Petrochemical demand for naphtha is expected to be back, either late Feb or early March. click here

Naphtha tightness expected to continue in Europe

Robust naphtha market in Europe and recent tight conditions are still expected to persist during the coming weeks, as per ICIS. The dry run in the market is expected to last for March at least.


The sstrength can be attributed to premiums holding at record highs, recovering propane and gasoline that is holding firm.



For more details on Naphtha tightness expected to continue in Europe click here

Benzene's premium to naphtha plunges to 4 month low in NW Europe

Benzene's premium to feedstock naphtha slid to its lowest in the Northwest European market since October 18, breaching the psychologically important US$400/mt mark for the first time since mid-Novembeer to be assessed at US$379.




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Fire shuts a Formosa Plastics plant at Yunlin County

A fire broke out at a bisphenol A (BPA) plant in the Formosa Plastics Group’ petrochemical complex in Yunlin County. The blaze caused limited damage, but the factory’s operations have been partially ssuspended to conduct safety checks.




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OPEC raises demand forecast for 2013, oil prices move up

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March inched up to US$97.1 and Brent North Sea crude for April to US$118. Oil prices moved up in Asia after OPEC raised its demand forecast for 2013, citing signs of a recovery in the global economy.




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Indian Oil to wait before taking a call on investing in Haldia

Indian Oil Corporation plans to wait till a clear picture emerged on Haldia Petrochemicals matter before it decides on its further interest in the joint venture company, as per PTI.


HPL is a joint vventure project having the government of West Bengal, The Chatterjee Group (TCG), and IOC as major stakeholders.



For more details on Indian Oil to wait before taking a call on investing in Haldia click here

Production issues in US keep global PVC markets firm

The PVC market in the US has been facing several production issues since late last year, which have been exacerbated recently by the force majeure declaration of Westlake, as per ChemOrbis. Tighteningg supplies in the US have been resulting in higher domestic prices as well as firming export prices out of the country.




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Milacron LLC to acquire 100% stake in Mold-Masters

Milacron LLC, a global plastics industry leader and provider of premium fluids to the metalworking industry, and Mold-Masters, a leading global hot-runner manufacturer with a strong presence in North America, Europe and Asia, today announced they are combining to form a leading global solutions provider positioned to serve the full range of customer needs.




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Antimicrobial compounds to enhance safety of healthcare applications

Powerful new tools have been introduced to help medical device manufacturers reduce HCAIs among patients and clinicians by SABIC’s Innovative Plastics business. SABIC’s nine new antimicrobial compoundds featuring silver technology have been tested for log reduction values – the level of microbes eliminated from a surface – according to the ISO 22196-2007 protocol.




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Prices in global petrochemicals market climb 6% in January 2013

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Dhunseri Petrochem’s 430,000 tpa PET in Egypt to come onstream by July 2013

Kolkata-headquartered Dhunseri Petrochem and Tea Ltd plans to take its downstream petrochemicals facility in Egypt on stream by July this year. The Egypt unit is being set up at an estimated investmeent of nearly Rs 900 crore, as per The Hindu.




For more details on Dhunseri Petrochem’s 430,000 tpa PET in Egypt to come onstream by July 2013 click here

TPC Group to expand production capacity of polyisobutylene (PIB)

TPC Group Inc. (TPC) has commenced engineering to expand production capacity of polyisobutylene (PIB) to meet its customers' needs. TPC uses proprietary technology to produce both highly reactive PIB (HR-PIB) products, which are used in lubricant and fuel additives, and PIB products for conventional applications such as adhesives, caulks, sealants, and coatings.



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Refinance loan facilities worth SR 1.04 bln riyals for three affiliates of Sipchem

Three affiliates of Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) have refinanced loan facilities worth 1.04 billion riyals (US$276 mln) which were used to fund their key projects, as per Reuterrs.



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Asian monomer prices climb ahead of Chinese holidays

Rising upstream costs have driven monomer prices higher in Asia just before Lunar New Year Holidays, as per tChemOrbis. Spot ethylene, propylene, styrene and VCM markets all posted weekly gains in thee region where supply for these feedstocks is expected to tighten in the coming term due to shutdowns at several plants.




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US steam cracker margins likely to dip amid declining spot ethylene prices

According to industry sources, the spot market impact of January's plant outages appears to be weakening as turnaround completion deadlines are approaching -- Westlake Chemical is expecting to complette the expansion of its Geismar, Louisiana, Petro 2 steam cracker in late February/early March.




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Oil dips, but close to 9 month high, on concerns over euro zone economy offset

Brent crude dipped to US$118.6, and U.S. crude slipped to US$95.6. At the start of the week, oil dipped to below US$119 a barrel, but stayed close to a 9 month high, on growing investor concern about the euro zone economy.




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Price revision by Haldia Petrochem

With effect from Feb 11, 2013, Haldia Petrochem has announced the following price revisions: For PE


There are no changes in basic prices of PE.

Locational adjustment (LA) and Stock Point Prices haas been revised on account of corresponding freight change.



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Asian PET market closes on a high note before Chinese New Year holiday

In Asia, PET prices closed the week before the Chinese New Year holiday on a higher note on the back of the firmer upstream costs, as per ChemOrbis. Chinese New Year holiday will start on February 9 aand last until February 15.




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Wacker opens new dispersions plant in South Korea

Wacker Chemie AG officially launched its new production plant for vinyl acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions at its Ulsan site in South Korea. The additional 40,000 metric tons from the secondd reactor line increases the site's VAE-dispersion capacity to a total of 90,000 tpa.




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Novatek in commercial agreement with YNCC for supply of upto 300,000 tons of light naphtha

OAO NOVATEK (Novatek), announced conclusion of a commercial agreement with the Yeochun Naphtha Cracker Center (YNCC), a South Korean petrochemical company, for supplying up to three hundred thousand ttons of light naphtha produced at the Ust-Luga Gas Condensate Transshipment and Fractionation complex in 2013.




For more details on Novatek in commercial agreement with YNCC for supply of upto 300,000 tons of light naphtha click here

Indian Plast Pack Forum in talks with AKVN, Indore for developing a Plastic Park

Indian Plast Pack Forum is in talks with AKVN, Indore for developing a Plastic Park/Cluster of Plastic Processing Industries in and around Indore or Pithampur. AKVN, Indore has, in principle, agreed tto earmark a piece of land for Plastics, Packagings & Printing Park.




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Automation specialist KEBA puts a second plant into operation in Linz

The Linz-based KEBA Group continues to show positive development and for the current 2012/2013 financial year anticipates sales of around EUR 145 million. As a consequence, it will again show double-ddigit growth for the year.




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Royal Dutch Shell to increase polyols capacity at Singapore

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) will increase polyols capacity at its Singapore petrochemical plant by over 100,000 tpa to 360,000 tpa. The upgrade is expected to be completed in 2014.


"The Asia Pacificc market for polyols has grown rapidly over the years and we see increasing demand for higher-comfort products," said Shell Chemicals Executive Vice President Graham van't Hoff.



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Honeywell awarded four major contracts worth US$40 mln for the Borouge petrochemicals complex

Honeywell has been awarded four major contracts worth a combined US$40 mln over an 18-month duration for the Borouge petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. Honeywell will be the main automation contractor (MAC) for the project, providing Linde and other engineering, procurement and construction (EPCs) contractors involved in the project with integrated control and safety systems.




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Naphtha price in Asia hits a near 10-month high

Asian naphtha price hit a near 10-month high of US$1049.75/ton on Friday, while margin rose for the fifth straight session towards an 11-month high of US$165.58/ton as tight supplies persisted, as perr Reuters.




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Blizzard strikes US Northeast- oil prices retreat

Benchmark crude for March delivery dipped to US$95.7 on the Nymex, reversing course after rising earlier in the day. In London, Brent crude rose by over a dollar to end at US$118.9 a barrel on the ICEE Futures exchange.




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PVC buyers prefer local markets in India, Turkey

Import PVC prices to India and Turkey have been steadily firming up since mid November last year in line with the global upward trend, as per ChemOrbis. Nevertheless, buying interest towards these rissing import offers has been limited, particularly in recent weeks because buyers have shifted their attention to the local market, where they are able to find more competitive offers.




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Occidental Petroleum plans ethylene plant in Texas

The Los Angeles, California-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. has proposed setting up of a new ethylene plant in Texas. In its application to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occidental saaid the construction for the plant in Ingleside near Corpus Christi would commence in December 2014 and the production would start in February 2017.




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Novatek signs marketing agreement With Yeochun Naphtha Cracker Center

Novatek announced the conclusion of a commercial agreement with the Yeochun Naphtha Cracker Center (YNCC), a South Korean petrochemical company, for supplying up to 3,00,000 tons of light naphtha prodduced at the Ust-Luga Gas Condensate Transshipment and Fractionation complex (Complex) in 2013.




For more details on Novatek signs marketing agreement With Yeochun Naphtha Cracker Center click here

Dupont to end PET production by mid 2013 at Cedar Creek site

DuPont Teijin Films US LP plans to consolidate production of internal PET polymer for its U.S. business at its Hopewell manufacturing site in Chester, Va.


The business conditions, the economic climatte and other pressures that have happened over the years in the polyester world that have been responsible for this step.



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Oil prices push higher in Asia

Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Wednesday, supported by healthy economic indicators in the world's major economies, as per economictimes.com. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for deliveryy in March inched up to US$96.




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Installations at aromatics complex by Jurong Aromatic Corporation

Xylene splitter, a xylene separation tower used to produce aromatics, has been installed by the Jurong Aromatic Corporation (JAC) in Jurong Island, the petrochemical hub of Singapore, as per fibretofaashion.




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Naphtha price in Asia likely to stay robust after Lunar New Year amid tight supply, strong petrochem demand

Asia’s naphtha prices are likely to stay robust even after the Lunar New Year having soared to an almost 10-month peak, on the back of tightening supply in the region and strong petrochemical demand, as per ICIS.




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Recent rally in naphtha prompts European olefin-polyolefin producers to shift focus to margin retention

A recent rally in the naphtha market has prompted European olefin-polyolefin producers to shift their focus to margin retention, setting a mood of caution across the sector, as per sources in Platts. The naphtha market is very tight in the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe at the moment on the back of soaring gasoline prices and an open arbitrage window to Asia, where refinery maintenance is taking place into the spring.




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China’s PP, PE markets set to enter holidays on firm footing

The activity in China’s PP and PE markets has started to slow down as the country is preparing to celebrate the Chinese New Year this weekend, as per ChemOrbis. Players are expected to be away from thhe market until February 18, even as several players have receded to the sidelines.




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Naphtha price in Asia near five month high

Naphtha price in Asia neared a five-month high on Monday at US1012/ton, while margin reached a two-session high of US$137.80/ton as strong demand reversed losses in the previous session. Demand was seeen from South Korean buyers seeking heavy full-range naphtha for H2-March delivery through private negotiations.




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SPE ANTEC® 2013 to focus on polymer advances and benefits to plastics from shale gas boom

Plenary speeches by four industry leaders at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC® 2013 will address new technical and business developments with great potential for benefiting plastics. ANTEEC 2013 will take place April 22-24, 2013 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.




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Local HIPS prices carry smaller premium over GPPS in China

In China, given the fact that limited supply levels have been pushing local GPPS prices higher for some time, the premium between local GPPS and HIPS prices has narrowed very significantly, as per ChemOrbis.




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Propylene traders in NE Asia take long position

Olefins traders are going long on propylene and buying March cargoes at higher prices in anticipation of a market rally after the Lunar New Year holiday, as per market sources in ICIS. The recent spikke in feedstock naphtha prices to above US$1000/ton (€740/ton) FOB (free on board) Japan and arbitrage deals to the US and Europe earlier this month also stoked the bullish sentiment, as per ICIS.




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Ferromatik Milacron India’s new milestone - dispatch of 7001st injection moulding machine

Leading Injection Moulding Machine Manufacturer Ferromatik Milacron India has set up a new Milestone for Injection Moulding Machinery Industry by handing over its 7001st Injection Moulding Machine on January 28, 2013 at Ahmedabad.




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Haldia Petrochem board rejects conversion of loan into equity

The management of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL), led by the West Bengal government, has rejected lenders’ demand for conversion of a part of their Rs.4,000 crore loans to the company into equity. Thhe state expects to conclude the sale of its 40% stake in the firm by 30 June.




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Imports continue to be driven by propylene shortage in Europe

An unexpected outage was seen at Naptachimie’s cracker in Lavera, France. This has led to an unexpected shortage of propylene in Europe. As per ICIS, A 3,000 ton polymer grade propylene cargo has beenn fixed to Europe from the US.




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Sumitomo Chemical to close ethylene plant in Chiba

In a bid to reinforce the competitiveness of its petrochemical operation at Chiba Works, Sumitomo Chemical plans to close an ethylene plant. The shutdown is scheduled on or before September 2015- coinnciding with its next periodic shutdown maintenance.




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Mitsui Chemicals to withdraw from Keiyo Ethylene Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. plans to withdraw from business operations of Keiyo Ethylene Co., Ltd. (KEC), a joint venture with Maruzen Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Mitsui Chemicaals commenced equity participation (22.




For more details on Mitsui Chemicals to withdraw from Keiyo Ethylene Co., Ltd. click here

Reliance announces price revision with effect from February 1, 2013

Reliance has announced price revision in PE grades with effect from February1, 2013, as follows:


Increase prices of all HDPE grades by Rs 1000/MT, except Raffia(E52009, EE20, 53EA010,53TA010) and Mo



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Petronas plans specialty chemicals JV with Evonik after end of similar partnership with BASF

Petroliam Nasional Bhd., Malaysia’s state energy company, plans to start a specialty chemicals manufacturing venture with Germany’s Evonik Industries AG after ending a similar partnership with BASF SEE, as per Bloomberg


Petronas, as the company is known, signed a letter of intent with Germany’s biggest closely held chemicals group, according to a joint e-mailed statement by both firms in Kuala Lumpur today.



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India accounted for nearly 9% of the total ethylene capacity in Asia Pacific

India is one of the leading growing and developing economies of the world today which shows a healthy growth potential for any industry. The economy is now witnessing changes in growing consumerism drriven lifestyles even outside the metros apart from increased industrial output.




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TCG challenges HC order barring it from petitioning the International Court of Arbitration in France

The Chatterjee Group (TCG), key promoter in HPL, has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, challenging the Calcutta High Court order that barred TCG from filing a petition in the International Court of Arbitration in France.




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High propylene spot prices impact PP market in Europe amid impending Feb increase

High propylene spot prices are unsettling the downstream polypropylene (PP) market in Europe this month as the possibility of an increase in the February monomer contract looms, as per sources in ICISS.




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ONGC mini-refinery at Tatipaka in East Godavari starts exporting naphtha

ONGC’s mini-refinery at Tatipaka in East Godavari has started exporting naphtha.The first tanker of 100 tons was flagged off by Group General Manager from Tatipaka. ONGC has hired a storage facility iin Visakhapatnam port from East India Petroleum Ltd to store 7,600 tons of naphtha.




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A narrow propylene arbitrage from Asia to USA opens

A narrow propylene arbitrage from Asia to the US has opened this week with increased discussions between Asian producers and traders to fix cargoes, as per Platts. Discussions intensified late last weeek after Taiwan Formosa Petrochemical concluded a tender on Tuesday for a 10,000 mt H1-February loading cargo at US$1370/mt FOB Mailiao to a trading company.




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Novel hydrogel penetrates biofilms and deliver antimicrobials s to kill resistant infections

Microbial biofilms are a great way for infections to find shelter on just about any surface, found in a collective defense. Researchers at IBM and Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Sinngapore have developed a novel hydrogel capable of penetrating biofilms and delivering antimicrobials.




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South East Asia’s PP, PE markets hold firm while China slumps

SE Asia’s PP and PE markets have remained firm over the past few weeks even as prices to the nearby Chinese market began to soften with the approach of the Chinese New Year holidays in February, as peer ChemOrbis.




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Gail plans Rs. 20,000 crore investment in petrochemical s

GAIL (India) Ltd is in talks with India's leading refining companies including the Essar Group and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) for setting up a Rs. 20,000 crore plus naphtha based petrochemical projject in the country with a capacity of 1 mn tpa.




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Naphtha crack in Asia at highest since Jan 10

Asian naphtha prices and margins extended gains to US$974/ton and US$134.90/ton respectively, the highest since Jan. 10, supported by concerns of low Indian supplies versus strong demand, as per Reuteers.




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Indonesia, Myanmar lead PTT's ASEAN expansion strategy

Indonesia is a key focus of PTT Group's Asean strategy. PTT supplies 40% of total consumption there. PTT recently established two subsidiaries in Jakarta to expand sales of crude and refined oil as weell as plastic pellets in Indonesia.




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Phillipines Senate approves full industrialization of Bataan petrochemical park

The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill lifting the restrictions on the Philippines National Oil Company to operate solely petrochemical-related enterprises inside an industrial estaate in Bataan and allow the entry of other businesses engaged in energy and energy-related infrastructure projects.




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BASF in JV with Sinopec to build new plant in Maoming

BASF plans to build a new plastics plant with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) in Maoming, south China. The two partners have completed a joint feasibility study for a giant isononanoll plant.




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Naphtha price, margin at 7 session highs on persistent demand and low supplies from India

Naphtha price in Asia as well as margins were at 7 session highs of US$973.50/ton and US$134.25/ton respectively on Monday on persistent demand and low supplies from India, as per Reuters.


India's MMangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) will delay some of its January naphtha shipments due to logistics problems caused by an emergency shutdown of a secondary unit.



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Saudi PetroRabigh complex restarted after power cut

Saudi Arabia's PetroRabigh has restarted its petrochemical and refining complex, after a power outage shut down operations in late December. As per Reuters, PetroRabigh said in a statement on the Sauddi bourse website it had started to ramp up production at some units at the complex, including a crude distillation unit for the 400,000 bpd refinery, and had started to bring back online other units including an ethane cracker.




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BASF and Petronas agree to terminate speciality chemicals venture within RAPID

BASF and Petroliam Nasional Bhd have terminated their speciality chemicals venture within Petronas' Refinery & Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Pengerang, Johor. Petronas and BAASF have concluded that it would be in their mutual interest to terminate the HoA (Heads of Agreement) as both parties were unable to come to an agreement on the terms and conditions for the implementation of the proposed venture.




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Spot ethylene costs climb on global supply constraints

Global supply constraints boosted spot prices for ethylene across the globe over the course of the past week, as per ChemOrbis. Firmer energy and naphtha prices week over week helped ethylene prices tto post increases in Europe, Asia and the US in the period.




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Supreme Petrochem Q3 profit rises

Supreme Petrochem’s Q3 net profit was up at Rs 27.06 crore versus loss of Rs 7.25 crore, year-on-year, YoY. Net sales were up at Rs 788.5 crore versus Rs 491.5 crore YoY.








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Oil prices ease in Asia after recent rally

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February dipped to US$95, while Brent North Sea crude for March delivery dipped to US$111.5. Oil prices dipped in Asia at the start of the wweek as investors took profit following gains last week driven by encouraging economic data from the United States and China.




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Marginal dip in Asian export PET prices

In China, overall export PET prices recorded slight decreases of US$10/ton while export prices on FOB Korea basis moved down by US$20/ton during this past week, as per ChemOrbis. However, the decreasee amounts were larger on producer by producer basis as some issued US$30-40/ton decreases on their offer levels.




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SABIC Q4 net profit rises by 1.3%, full-year falls by 15.5%

Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC announced fourth quarter net profits of 5.83 billion riyals (US$1.55 bln), an 11.3% increase compared to 2011. But the company said 2012 net income had dropped by 15.5%% to 24.




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Cape awarded 3 year extension with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

Energy services company Cape has been awarded a three-year extension of its contract with petrochemical firm Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), uptil 2015. Cape is providing support services to SABIC sites located in north east England's Teesside.




For more details on Cape awarded 3 year extension with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) click here

RIL to invest over Rs 100,000 crores for petrochem expansion, value add to refining

Commenting on the results, Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited said: “RIL’s performance has improved in this quarter with margin expansion in petrochemicals aand record earnings in the refining business.




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Samsung Total buys naphtha for delivery to South Korea in March

Samsung Total Petrochemicals Co. bought 30,000 metric tons of naphtha for delivery to South Korea in H1-March, as per Bloomberg. The company paid a premium of US$9-10/ton to Japan benchmark prices, thhe official said, asking not to be identified.




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NE Asia to ship propylene to US despite shut arbitrage window

Northeast Asia is set to export propylene cargoes to the US despite windows for arbitrage deliveries between the regions appearing to be formally closed, market sources have been reported by Platts.



On Tuesday, 12,000 mt of propylene was concluded for end January/H1 February loading at US$1,360/mt FOB Taiwan basis, for shipment to the US.



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Malaysia’s Plastics Assn. reassures local industry over loss of Polypropylene

Malaysia’s Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) reached out to its members this month to reassure them that supply would be available in the country once Petronas Chemicals Group (PCG) mothballs the PP plant in Kuantan, Malaysia belonging to its subsidiary Polypropylene Malaysia, as per the pricing service of ChemOrbis.




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Dow Chemical restarts St. Charles Olefins 2 Plant after three years of inactivity

Dow Chemical Co. has successfully restarted its St. Charles Olefins 2 Plant near Hahnville after three years of inactivity- first major milestone in Dow's Gulf Coast investment strategy. Ethylene prooduction has been started since Dec.




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Cheaper LPG, high supply exert pressure on naphtha prices

Naphtha price in Asia was at a month's low of US$944/ton on Monday, while margin hit a 1-1/2 month low of US$112.55/ton on renewed concerns over high supplies and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices falling quicker than naphtha, as per Reuters.




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Changyi Petrochemical increases production with modified catalytic cracking unit

After Changyi Petrochemical reworked the refrigerant cycle of its 1.4 mln ton catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) it substantially increased handling capacity, decreased unit energy consumption, and balancced product distribution.




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Mitsubishi Chemical licenses Oxo Alcohol technology to Qatar Petroleum and Shell Chemicals

Mitsubishi Chemical (MCC) has agreed to license its production technology of oxo alcohols to Qatar Petroleum and Shell Chemicals. The lisence will be granted through Mitsubishi Chemical Engineering Coorporation, the sub licensor of the oxo technology.




For more details on Mitsubishi Chemical licenses Oxo Alcohol technology to Qatar Petroleum and Shell Chemicals click here

Mexico aims to raise total petrochemicals production capacity to 22.6 mln tpa by 2026

In 2012, Mexico's olefins capacities included 1.58 mln tpa of ethylene and 660,000 tpa of propylene. These fed downstream capacities of 875,000 tpa polyethylene (PE), 590,000 tpa polypropylene (PP), 6667,000 tpa polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 310,000 tpa polystyrene (PS).




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MoUs proposing investment of Rs 26,000 crore in energy & petrochemicals sectors signed at Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013

Dozen MoUs, proposing investment of Rs 26,000 crore in energy & petrochemicals sectors, were signed on Friday, the first day of three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2013.


Reliance Industries signed an MMoU with the state government for setting up two LNG projects – one at Dahej and the other at Sikka in Jamnagar – at a total investment of Rs 9,500 crore.



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Crude oil hits a three month high

Crude oil futures on the Nymex reached the highest level of the past three months, climbing above US$94/bbl in the intra-day sessions. The accelerating exports from China in December as well as the exxpectations about a slow recovery of the eurozone economy played a role in the recent bullish run of crude oil prices.




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Bayer gets approval to build and operate new world-scale TDI plant in Dormagen

Following a detailed appraisal, the Cologne district authority has granted Bayer MaterialScience the permit to build and operate the new high-tech facility for the production of the chemical TDI (toluuene diisocyanate) at Chempark Dormagen.




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Westlake commences expansion of Petro 2 ethylene unit at Lake Charles

LA Westlake Chemical Corporation’s previously announced expansion of the Petro 2 ethylene unit at its complex in Lake Charles, LA has begun. This expansion will be completed in conjunction with a plannned maintenance turnaround and will increase ethane-based ethylene capacity by approximately 230 – 240 mln lbs annually in support of the Company’s ethylene integration strategy.




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Reports of sharp drop in crude demand from USA pulls down oil prices

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February declined to US$111.5 in London late afternoon trade, weakening on news of a sharp drop in demand from USA.


A report from EIA indicated that inventoriess rose by 1.



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Reliance Industries has announced price revision with effect from Jan 10

Reliance Industries has announced price revision with effect from Jan 10, 2013, as follows:· Increase in prices of all HDPE grades by Rs 2000/MT


Increase in prices of all LLDPE grades by Rs



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SE Asia’s PVC market setting the lead for China

Although PVC prices in China and Southeast Asia continue to mirror each other quite closely, for the past two months price changes have occurred in Southeast Asia first and then been reflected in Chinna rather than vice-versa, as per ChemOrbis.




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IOC announces revision in domestic polymer prices with effect from Jan 10

Indian Oil Corp has announced price revision with effect from Jan 10, 2013, as follows:


HD/LL/PP (except HD Raffia/ Monofilament/Tarpaulin/LL Hi flow/LBM): Rs (+) 2000/MT

HD Raffia/Monofilament/Tar



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Oil Refineries Ltd successfully activates hydrocracker

Oil Refineries Ltd., Israel's largest integrated refining and petrochemical group, announced that it has successfully activated the hydrocracker, which passed the project's acceptance test and is prodducing distillates of the required quality and commercial quantities.




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Sinopec submits listing application to Hong Kong stock exchange for US$1.5 bln IPO

Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., an engineering unit of state-owned China Petrochemical Corp., has submitted a listing application to Hong Kong's stock exchange for a US$1.5 billion initial public offfering, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.




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PetroLogistics LP resumes propylene production

PetroLogistics LP (the "Partnership") announced successful completion of all repairs to its propane dehydrogenation facility and the facility has resumed propylene production.






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Society of Plastics Engineers announces ANTEC® 2013 in Cincinatti

Registration has opened for the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) ANTEC® 2013, to take place from April 22-24 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Co-located with ANTEC 2013 willl be the “Business of Plastics Conference,” produced by SPI: The Plastics Industry Trade Association and focusing on current issues affecting business strategy.




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PP prices rising in many parts of the world

PP prices in many parts of the world are showing a bullish trend in January in the wake of firmer feedstock costs and limited availability, as per ChemOrbis. Buyers in several regions have also come tto terms with the fact that PP prices are not likely to face downward pressure for the near term.




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In memory of Late Shri CN Doshi

Indian extrusion machinery firm Rajoo Engineers’s Chairman, Chandrakant N. Doshi, passed away suddenly after suffering a fatal heart attack last Saturday. The 59-year old, who has been a Director and Executive Chairman of the public-listed Rajoo since 2009, started the company more than 25 years ago on the outskirts of Rajkot in Gujarat.




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Global food and beverages plastics market is expected to reach US$71.5 billion by 2016

The Global Food and Beverages Plastics market is expected to reach US$71.5 bln by 2016, primarily supported by the end-user Fruit and Vegetables, Dairy, Bakery and Bottles/Containers, as per Research and Markets.




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SDK acquires 50% stake in Fullerene maker Frontier Carbon Corporation (FCC) from Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) have entered into a strategic partnership in the Fullerene business. As part of the arrangement, SDK acquired from MC a 50% stake in Frontier Carrbon Corporation (FCC), a producer and marketer of Fullerene products, thereby making FCC a 50-50 joint venture between MC and SDK.




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ICRA downgrades HPL’s debt after delay in repayment

The West Bengal government’s plan to sell its stake in the loss-making Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) received a severe jolt as ratings agency ICRA downgraded the company’s debt, following a delay inn repayment of HPL’s debt obligations.




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Yeochun NCC buys H1-February cargoes

Yeochun NCC bought four cargoes of naphtha for delivery in H1-February to South Korea, according to traders, as reported by Bloomberg.


The company bought about 100,000 metric tons in total at a premiium of about US$16-17/ton to Japan prices.



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Oil prices end the week on a lower note

Crude futures dipped in New York to settle at US$90.8, while Brent crude slipped to US$110.6 a barrel. The week saw oil prices end on a lower note amid US data that showed a sharp rise in gasoline invventories amid investor concerns that US budget negotiators may not reach a deal in time to avert the “fiscal cliff”.




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ExxonMobil Commissions Singapore Petrochemical Plant Expansion

ExxonMobil has commenced startup operations at one of the world’s largest ethylene steam crackers, the centerpiece of the company’s multi-billion dollar expansion project at its Singapore petrochemicaal complex.




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Honam Petrochemical buys Feb naphtha at premium

Honam Petrochemical Corp. has bought at least two cargoes of naphtha for delivery to South Korea in H1-February, at a premium of about US$15-17/ton according to traders, as per Bloomberg.






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US olefin prices surge on unexpected production outages

Spot olefin markets recorded noteworthy increases over the past week in the US mainly driven by unexpected cracker outages that occurred in the country, as per ChemOrbis. Firmer energy prices during tthe past week also contributed to the ongoing bullish trend while cumulative increases since the beginning of December reached over US$100/ton for propylene and over US$200/ton for ethylene prices following the recent gains.




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