Chemical News
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China's Jun crude imports hit year low: GAC Jul 12,2011
China imported 19.7-mil mt of crude in June, hitting the lowest level of the year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. The figure was down 8.6% from the previous month, down 11.5% from the same period last year. The average of Brent crude futures hovered at above US$120/bbl in April, dampening buying interest of dom...>>>
CNOOC shuts 2-mil-mt/yr catalytic reformer at Huizhou refinery on blast Jul 12,2011
A 2-mil-mt/yr catalytic reformer at CNOOC Huizhou refinery exploded after catching a fire at 4:10 Monday; the fire which has been extinguished by 9:00 caused no death or injury, CNOOC announced. CNOOC has lowered run rates of some units at the refinery, a refinery source revealed, adding chemical units of CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals were in n...>>>
PetroChina estimated to raise daily crude throughput in Jul by 2.8% Jul 12,2011
PetroChina's refineries are estimated to process 11.4-11.5-mil mt of crude in July, with daily throughput up 2.8% from this year's lowest level in June to about 370,000mt, C1's research showed. The rise is because some of PetroChina's refineries in Northeast China and Northwest China have completed maintenance and resumed normal production this...>>>
New regulations for road transportation dampen gasoil demand from vehicles Jul 12,2011
Domestic gasoil demand from end-users has been dampened by the new regulations for road transportation that were implemented as from Jul 1, 2011, C1 found. In accordance with the new regulations, local transportation departments crack down on overloading and retrofitted trucks, forcing some truck drivers to suspend transportation or to leave main ...>>>
China's BP YPC to shut 500,000 mt/year AA plant in August on CO cut Jul 11,2011
China's BP YPC Acetyls will idle its 500,000 mt/year Nanjing acetic acid plant for around 20 days from early August while its upstream carbon monoxide supply is interrupted due to maintenance, a source close to the company said Friday. The shutdown will result in a potential cut in AA output of around 27,000 mt, according to industry estimates....>>>
S Korean PTA, PET exports to EU enjoy 25% tariff cut due to FTA Jul 11,2011
South Korean purified terephthalic acid PET bottle chip exports to the European Union are enjoying a 25% cut in import tariffs which started July 1 as its free trade agreement with the continent takes effect. Previously, South Korean PTA and PET exports to the EU were subjected to a 6.5% customs duty. Under the FTA, the duty will be reduced in ...>>>
Asia to US benzene arb almost open Jul 11,2011
Benzene surged Friday as the spot market took off following sharp increases in the US and European markets. The FOB Korea benchmark was assessed at $1,124/mt, up $45.50/mt day on day and $71/mt week on week. On Thursday, FOB US Gulf prices climbed to $1,157/mt. Based on the FOB Korea benchmark at $1,124/mt and typical freight costs of about $50...>>>
Formosa to start additional capacity TX chlor-alkali unit mid-Jul Jul 11,2011
US petrochemical producer Formosa Plastics Corporation is expected to start operating its chlor-alkali and ethylene dichloride unit at additional capacity in Point Comfort, Texas, by mid-July, a company source told Platts. After its 25% planned expansion capacity has concluded, the total production of the chlor-alkali plant will be 200,000 st/y...>>>
Australian state shuts Cougar's underground coal gasification plant Jul 11,2011
The Queensland state government has permanently shut down Cougar Energy's underground coal gasification pilot plant at Kingaroy in eastern Australia. The Department of Environment and Resource Management said it had advised Cougar that only "rehabilitation and monitoring" could be conducted at the project. "No further underground coal gasificati...>>>
Goldman analysts say low natural gas prices likely until 2015 Jul 11,2011
While predicting that US natural gas prices will reach $6/MMBtu by 2015, Goldman Sachs analysts projected they will average about $4.25/MMBtu in the near term as new shale gas continues to flow into the market. Goldman said it believes gas supplies will grow by 2.9 Bcf/d this year and by 1.2 Bcf/d in 2012, but said higher-than-expected coal pri...>>>
Aramco sells Jul LPG on crude output hike, cracker glitches Jul 11,2011
Saudi Aramco has sold a little over a quarter of a million mt of LPG in the spot market for July loading due to a crude production hike by the Kingdom and stoppages at two cracker units there, trade sources said this week. Saudi Aramco has so far sold 264,000 mt of refrigerated LPG in six cargoes of 44,000 mt each for July loading, the highest i...>>>
Vietnam's Petrolimex, PetroChina discuss cross-border oil pipeline Jul 11,2011
Vietnam National Petroleum Corporation, or Petrolimex, has held talks with PetroChina on the construction of a pipeline connecting the Chinese state oil giant's Qinzhou refinery in Guangxi province with Petrolimex's K130 terminal in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province. Construction of the pipeline would "help secure a long-term and sustainable supply ...>>>
Bonded bunker sales in Shenzhen port expected to hit 3.5-4-mil mt by 2015: official Jul 11,2011
Shenzhen port in South China's Guangdong Province is expected to see 3.5-4-mil mt of bonded bunker sales volume by 2015, according to Ma Yongzhi, deputy director of the Transport Committee of Shenzhen Municipality. Ma made the prediction at the fourth Asia Bunker Forum held by C1 Energy in Hong Kong. Currently, there are three qualified bonde...>>>
Fuel oil supply from S. China refineries estimated to rise 17% to 109,000mt in Jul: on month Jul 11,2011
Refineries in South China are estimated to supply 109,000mt of fuel oil in July, up 17% from the previous month, C1's research found. The commodity output comprises of 61,000mt of residue, 38,000mt of slurry and 10,000mt of bituminous feedstock. Ten major refineries are forecast to provide 68,000mt of fuel oil in July, slipping 3% on month; t...>>>
Sinopec's daily crude throughput in Jul estimated to drop to lowest level this year Jul 11,2011
Sinopec's refineries are estimated to process 17.5-17.6-mil mt of crude in total in July, with daily consumption down 3.66% month-on-month to about 567,000mt, the lowest level this year, C1's research showed. The decline is because of some refinery maintenance for this month. Qilu Petrochemical in Shandong is estimated to cut crude throughput by...>>>
China's Haili to complete construction of caprolactam plant end 2011 Jul 08,2011
China's Shandong Haili Chemical Industry plans to complete construction of its new 100,000 mt/year caprolactam plant at Zibo, Shandong province, by the end of 2011, a company source said late Wednesday. Previously, the plant was supposed to begin operations in October 2010, but was then delayed to December the same year and then postponed indefi...>>>
Iran exports 2.8 million mt of petrochemicals in April, May: minister Jul 08,2011
Iran exported 2.8 million mt of petrochemicals in the first two months of the Iranian calendar year (beginning March 23), official news agency IRNA reported Thursday. Quoting Abdolhossein Bayat, the country's deputy petroleum minister and president of Iran's National Petrochemical Company, IRNA said the petrochemical exports were worth $2 billi...>>>
Platts US Morning Market Analysis: Blendstocks continue to climb Jul 08,2011
Aromatics prices continued to strengthen overnight on higher energy and increasing demand. Aromatic blendstocks were being supported by higher energy prices and stronger blend values. Upstream, front-month ICE Brent futures continued its uptrend to rise $1.59/barrel day-on-day to $114.34/b at 4:30 pm Singapore time (0830 GMT) while naphtha jump...>>>
APICORP looks to move downstream following financings Jul 08,2011
The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) is looking to push further downstream in its investment approach as it aims to grow 7-10% a year, CEO Ahmad Bin Hamad Al-Nuaimi told Platts on Wednesday. Al-Nuaimi said that, over the next five years, "[the company's] vision is to become a major financial player and to have more presence in th...>>>
US butadiene CP settlement likely to see split in July Jul 08,2011
The US butadiene contract price for July is likely to see a split settlement at 170-175 cents/lb, a market source said Thursday. Of the four nominating producers, the most recent nominated an increase of 20 cents/lb, which would put the price at 170 cents/lb for July, matching another producer's nomination. Two other producers have nominations t...>>>