Naphtha price and margins inch up but fall month on month amid higher inventories

The Asian naphtha price and its margin rose less than 1% each to a two-session high of US$901.50 and US$91.73/ton respectively. However, naphtha margins lost nearly 14% of its value from a month ago due to stockpiles, as per Reuters.




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Sasol signs MOU with INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA for HDPE joint venture

South African-based energy and chemical company, Sasol and INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA (INEOS) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the intent to form a joint venture to manufacture high density polyethylene (HDPE).




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New High performance polymer-based applications and products

New applications and products based on its high performance polymers are being presented by Vitrex at K 2013. The thermoplastics help to reduce weight, energy consumption and costs in very demanding aapplication areas which are difficult to realize with other material.




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Indonesia expects to start Bintuni petrochemical project in 2014

Indonesian government expects a project to develop a US$4 billion fertilizer and petrochemical industrial center in Bintuni Bay, West Papua, to kick off next year, as per Jakartapost.com. With this, tthe country will reduce its reliance on imports.




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QP – QAPCO selects Univation's UNIPOL PE process for 550,000 tpa LL/HDPE Swing Plant And two 520,000 tpa HDPE plants

Univation Technologies, LLC announced that Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Petrochemical Company (QP - QAPCO) has selected Univation’s UNIPOL™ PE Process for three world class polyethylene reactor lines, reepresenting a total capacity of 1,590 kta, to be located at its Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex in Ras Laffan, Qatar.




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ExxonMobil Singapore chemical plant expansion in operation

ExxonMobil’s Singapore Chemical Plant is now producing ethylene from the facility’s second world-scale steam cracker. The expansion is integrated with the existing petrochemical plant. Over the next ffew weeks, the petrochemical complex, powered by a 375 megawatt cogeneration plant, will increase production at its three polyethylene plants, two polypropylene plants, a specialty metallocene elastomers unit and the expanded oxo-alcohol and aromatics units.




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Qatar Petrochemical awards project management contract for construction at Al Sejeel to Bechtel

Bechtel has been selected by the Qatar Petrochemical – Qatar Petrochemical Company partnership (QP-QAPCO), to provide project management services for construction of the Al Sejeel mega-petrochemical ccomplex in Ras Laffan, Qatar.




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SIBUR and Linde sign agreement to build new air separation unit in Dzerzhinsk

SIBUR, a Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company and Linde Group, a German Technology company, have signed agreements to build and operate new air separation units in Dzerzhinsk, the Nizhny Novgorod Region.




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Nghi Son refinery-petrochem project gets land use right certificate and construction permit

Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Thanh Hoa officially handed over the land use right certificate and construction permit yesterday to the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Project in thee Nghi Son Economic Zone, 200km south of Ha Noi, as per VietnamNews.




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Market for photovoltaics, solar thermal power plants to reach 3.5 GW by 2015 in MENA region

A trend towards generating electricity from solar power is on the horizon for the countries of the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa); The regional market for photovoltaics (PV) and solar therrmal power plants is expected to reach 3.




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Spot ethylene, propylene loses ground in Asia despite firmer crude

In Asia, spot ethylene and propylene prices moved lower despite firmer energy markets, as per ChemOrbis. Crude oil futures on the Nymex capped a fourth weekly gain to hit a 16 month high of US$108.05//barrel on July 19 after Moody’s Investors Service revised the U.




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DSM partners with ERDA in India to develop innovative and sustainable engineering plastics solutions for the electrical industry

Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Electrical Research & Development Association (ERDA), a cooperative research institution created by the Indian electrical industry and utilities, to cover basic research in the field of electrical applications.




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Odisha government to sign fresh MoU with IOC for refinery project at Paradip to include fixed timeline for investment

Odisha state government has decided to sign a fresh Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) for its refinery project at Paradip to include fixed timeline for investmennt at Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR).




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Global petrochemicals market expected to reach US$791.05 bln by 2018

The global petrochemicals market was valued at US$472.06 bln in 2011 and is expected to reach US$791.05 bln by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2012 to 2018. In terms of volume, the global petrochhemicals consumption was 436.




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Teknor Apex announces restructuring Of TPE brands reflecting a wider product portfolio In Europe

At K 2013, Teknor Apex Company will introduce a restructuring of its well-known thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) brands that will enable it to serve as a single source of multiple compounds for European plastics processors in industries as diverse as automotive, medical, consumer products, and wire and cable.




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PVC joinery in 45 year old windows disassembled, 100% recycled and reinstalled

In 1968, 11 PVC windows were installed in a private residence in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, aBrussels suburb. These were the first PVC windows to be installed in the Brussels region. After 45 years, they arre still in good condition.




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High Performance polymers industry has grown to over US$7 billion

Over the past 20 years, the high performance polymers (HPPs) industry has grown from $1 billion to over $7 billion. As overall global demand is increasing, the HPP space is filling out with new produccts and participants, leading to increasing competition, as per Principia.




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ONGC Group commences process to sell 26% stake in soon-to-be commissioned aromatics unit in Mangalore

ONGC Group has started the process to sell 26% stake in its soon-to-be commissioned aromatics unit in Mangalore as part of its strategy to unlock value from its vast assets. Promoter ONGC and its subssidiary Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals (MRPL) has mandated two financial advisers, ICICI Securities and Deloitte, to identify potential suitors.




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US Natural polymer market is expected to reach US$7.12 bln by 2018

Natural polymers demand in 2012 was worth US$4.95 bln and is expected to reach US$7.12 bln by 2018, at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2012 to 2018, as per Transparency Market Research.


Increasing applications in non durable goods and shipments, food and beverages, and pharmaceutical shipments are expected to drive natural polymers demand in the U.



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Higher MEG costs push up PET prices in Asia

In Asia, PET prices have edged up over the past week, pushed up by higher upstream costs, as per ChemOrbis. Spot MEG prices in the region climbed around US$25-30/ton on the week due to firmer PTA futuures and crude oil prices.




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