Chemical News
-
North Sea propane prices pass $1,000/mt on cold weather in NWE and exports Feb 13,2012
Spot prices for cargoes of North sea propane have moved above $1,000/mt driven by cold weather in Northwest Europe and exports, according to sources. Delivered prices for North Sea cargoes were just over $940/mt at the beginning of February, dipped to the high $920s/mt but then increased sharply to reach $1,025.5/mt Thursday, based on Platts dat...>>>
Ineos reduces phenol, acetone output at Gladbeck on feedstock issue Feb 13,2012
Ineos, the world's largest producer of phenol and acetone, reduced output at its Gladbeck facility, in western Germany, as freezing temperatures across Europe have been causing problems with the supply of feedstock cumene, a company executive said Friday. Frozen rivers and blocked roads and railways have been forcing Ineos to adjust its operatin...>>>
US ethane to be plentiful, prices low through 2012: LBI CEO Feb 13,2012
US purity ethane availability should be plentiful and prices relatively low through 2012 as logistical issues are sorted out and more fractionation capacity comes online, LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly said Thursday during an earnings call. "I personally think ethane prices should stay low for the year," Gallogly said. "We think ethane is going...>>>
Gazprom taps 38 mil cu m/day gas from storage to meet European demand Feb 13,2012
Russia's Gazprom is taking more than 38 million cubic meters of gas/day from its European underground facilities to ensure stable gas supplies to its customers during the cold spell, Gazprom Export said Friday in a statement, citing Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev. "During this peak demand period, Gazprom has been extracting gas from ...>>>
Petrobras says to pay $76 billion for 26 rigs in 15-year deal Feb 13,2012
Petrobras will pay $76 billion to lease 26 drilling rigs it would use over 15 years in Brazil's offshore pre-salt zone, CEO Jose Sergio Gabrielli said Friday. Gabrielli's statement, at a webcast press conference in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the state-led Petrobras' fourth quarter results, followed a company announcement late Thursday that it had...>>>
Malaysia's Risda to invest $23 mil in Sarawak for rubber replanting Feb 10,2012
Malaysia's Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority, or Risda, plans to invest MR67.5 million ($22.5 million) in Sarawak state in 2012 to replant natural rubber trees, local news reports said Thursday. The investment will affect about 5,000 hectares of land and the amount is larger than the MR17.7 million invested from 2009 to 2011. ...>>>
Sinopec hikes ex-works butadiene prices for second time in 3 days Feb 10,2012
China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec has raised its ex-works prices for butadiene for the second time this week, this time by 8% in the eastern, northern and southern provinces, local end-users said Thursday. Its subsidiaries in East China, Sinopec Yangzi Petrochemical, Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical and Zhenhai Refining & Chemical, are no...>>>
European low density polyethylene prices climb to eight-month high on cost pressure Feb 10,2012
European low density polyethylene spot prices broke above Eur1,300/mt ($1,727/mt) FD NWE, hitting an eight-month high due to soaring feedstock prices, sources said this week. Linear low density PE and LDPE spot prices were assessed at Eur1,230-1,235/mt FD NWE and Eur1,325-1,330/mt FD NWE on Wednesday, surging by Eur50/mt and Eur85/mt on the wee...>>>
Indelpro PP offers to Mexican market jump 16 cents/lb: company source Feb 10,2012
Mexican polypropylene producer Indelpro raised this week its offer by 16 cents/lb ($358/mt) for the domestic market, a company source said Thursday. After the hike, Indelpro was offering resin to the Mexican domestic market at 97 cents/lb CIF for homo raffia and injection (bagged), 98 cents/lb CIF for homo film and $1.02/lb for co-polymer, the ...>>>
Qatar to supply S.Korea with 2 mil mt/yr LNG under 20-year deal Feb 10,2012
Qatar's Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Co, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, signed an agreement Thursday with South Korea's state-owned Korea Gas Corp to supply 2 million mt/year of LNG for 20 years starting in 2013 as well as incremental volumes between 2012 and 2016. The agreement was signed in Doha between Qatari Oil ...>>>
NYMEX crude settles up $1.13/barrel as Greece reaches austerity deal Feb 10,2012
NYMEX March crude futures settled $1.13 higher at $98.84/b Thursday on an unexpected drop in US jobless claims and improved risk appetite on news that Greek leaders reached an austerity deal, analysts said. March heating oil settled 1.9 cents higher at $3.2085/gal, and March RBOB settled 3.76 cents higher at $3.0128/gal. ICE March Brent settl...>>>
Japan's Jan 29-Feb 4 naphtha, gasoline output up 8.9% on week: PAJ Feb 09,2012
Japanese refiners produced 10.39 million barrels of naphtha and gasoline over January 29-February 4, up 8.9% from the previous week's output of 9.54 million barrels, the Petroleum Association of Japan said Wednesday. Gasoline output edged up 0.7% week on week to 6.82 million barrels while naphtha production jumped 28.7% to 3.56 million barrels. ...>>>
Mexichem's revised $704 mil bid for Netherlands-based Wavin accepted Feb 09,2012
Netherlands-based pipe manufacturer Wavin has accepted a revised all-cash takeover offer by Mexican petrochemicals company Mexichem that values the company at Eur531 million ($704 million), the companies said Wednesday. The combination of Wavin and Mexichem will create the global market leader in plastic pipe systems, with total annual sales of ...>>>
Initial propylene February CP settlements up 16.5 cents: sources Feb 09,2012
An initial settlement for US propylene contracts for February called for an increase of 16.5 cents/lb, in agreement with market expectations, market sources said Wednesday. The settlement was not marketwide, some of the sources warned, citing at least one major producer who seeks an increase closer to 18 cents/lb. The settlement priced Februa...>>>
Ukraine pays $808 million for Russian gas imports in January Feb 09,2012
Ukraine's national energy company Naftogaz Ukrayiny paid about $808 million to Russia's gas giant Gazprom for natural gas imported in January, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Ukraine is buying Russian gas at about $416 per 1,000 cu m in the first quarter of 2012, compared with $401/1,000 cu m in the fourth quarter of 2011. The curr...>>>
NYMEX March gas futures settle 2.4 cents lower at $2.448/MMBtu Feb 09,2012
The NYMEX March natural gas futures contract settled at $2.448/MMBtu Wednesday, 2.4 cents below its $2.472/MMBtu close on Tuesday. According to analysts, Wednesday saw the gas contract attempting a balancing act between colder forecasts and a storage surplus expected to increase after the release of federal data Thursday. "The game is still ...>>>
High sulfur fuel oil prices in Europe hit 3.5 year high on crude's rise Feb 09,2012
Northwest European high sulfur fuel oil prices hit their highest level in over three and a half years Tuesday, tracking crude gains. The 3.5% Rotterdam barges were assessed at $685.75/mt, their highest since July 17, 2008, when it was assessed at $688.00/mt, Platts data shows. While the 1% Rotterdam barges climbed to $711.25/mt, the highest sinc...>>>
Traders doubt Chicago gasoline can find better price in USAC Feb 09,2012
Transportation constraints make it unlikely that Chicago-produced gasoline could fetch a better price on the Atlantic Coast, according to a poll of market players. By mid-day Wednesday, Chicago conventional unleaded gasoline was heard at NYMEX March RBOB futures minus 30.00 cents/gal by minus 28.00 cents/gal. Meanwhile, Atlantic Coast convent...>>>
Double-digit growth in US film and bag recycling Feb 08,2012
Plastic film and bag recycling in the US is on the increase, jumping 14% in 2010 to 971.8 million pounds, according to a new report. The annual increase is the first of more than 3% since 2006. "We are excited about the dramatic jump,” said Keith Christman, managing director of plastics markets for the American Chemistry Council (ACC). "Th...>>>
S Korean OCI's Q4 net profit plunges 70% on lower polysilicon prices Feb 08,2012
South Korea's chemicals and polysilicon maker OCI said Tuesday its net profit plunged 69.8% to Won 62.5 billion ($55.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011 from Won 206.9 billion a year ago due to lower polysilicon prices. Operating income also dropped 66.4% year on year to Won 88.5 billion in the quarter, compared with Won 263.5 billion in Q4...>>>