Chemical News
-
Plant shutdowns in Egypt, Oman fail to prop up China methanol prices Nov 16,2011
Asian methanol prices, which have been under pressure since mid-October from high inventory levels and weak downstream demand in China, are unlikely to find any support from recent plant shutdowns in the Middle East, said market sources Tuesday. Canada-based Methanex's Damietta plant in Egypt was shut unexpectedly Monday for a week, following "u...>>>
Styron to seek a Eur70/mt increase in unconcluded Nov polystyrene prices Nov 16,2011
Styron will seek to increase European polystyrene prices in mid-November by Eur70/mt for "unconcluded" contracts due to the spike in styrene spot prices since the start of November, a company product manager said. This price increase comes after the company along with all other producers announced a decrease of around Eur15/mt at the start of No...>>>
Brazil without HDPE injection offers to Andean Countries for November Nov 16,2011
Brazil had no HDPE injection offers to the Andean Countries in November, a source at Braskem said Tuesday. "Due to the cracker and plant shutdowns in Triunfo, we are not offering HDPE injection this month to Ecuador, Colombia and Peru," the source added. Braskem started the turnaround of its smallest steam cracker in Triunfo on October 26. ...>>>
Russia government to consider 'innovative' offshore tax regime in Dec Nov 16,2011
The Russian government is expected to consider in December the "innovative" new tax regime drawn up by the natural resources ministry which aims to make a number of capital-intensive offshore oil and gas projects profitable, deputy natural resources minister Denis Khramov said Tuesday. "The 'innovative' program would allow a reduction in the min...>>>
Qatari emir urges gas exporters to strive toward oil price parity Nov 16,2011
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani opened the first ever summit of major gas exporting nations with a call for serious action to achieve a fair price for gas, saying it was "illogical" to have increasing disparities between oil and gas prices. "Gas exporters should not give up their demand for a fair price of gas that is equivalent to...>>>
Anadarko, Noble reports boost outlook for US Niobrara oil play Nov 16,2011
Analysts were saluting the prospects for the emerging liquids-rich Niobrara play of the Rocky Mountains on Tuesday after Anadarko Petroleum projected a potential oil-equivalent resource target of 500 million to 1.5 billion barrels there and rival Noble Energy updated its growth expectations. Anadarko's update came Monday while Noble included its...>>>
NYMEX crude settles $1.23/b higher, RBOB leads gains Nov 16,2011
NYMEX December crude futures settled $1.23 higher at $99.37/barrel Tuesday, buoyed by a rise in equities and bargain-hunter buying in RBOB despite continued eurozone debt concerns. December RBOB settled 5.04 cents higher at $2.5857/gal and December heating oil settled 91 points higher at $3.1713/gal. Energy analyst Tim Evans of Citi Futures P...>>>
EU Sep chemical output falls 1% from Aug to 9-month low: Eurostat Nov 15,2011
EU chemical production fell by 1% month-on-month in September to a low so fat this year due to a broad-based downturn across major producer countries, initial data by statistical agency Eurostat showed Monday. Chemical production fell 1.2% in the eurozone. Year-on-year, output was down 0.6% in the EU and 0.7% in the eurozone. Italian output d...>>>
Japan's Tosoh shuts Nanyo vinyl chloride monomer complex after explosion Nov 15,2011
Japan's Tosoh shut its 550,000 mt/year No 2 vinyl chloride monomer and 400,000 mt/year No 3 VCM plant at Nanyo, western Japan, after an explosion and fire erupted at the complex on Sunday, a company source confirmed Monday. The explosion occurred at the No. 2 plant, but Tosoh decided to shut its No. 3 plant as well as a precaution. The comp...>>>
Evonik doubles PMMA molding compound capacity at Shanghai plant Nov 15,2011
Evonik Industries has doubled production capacity of molding compounds made of polymethyl methacrylate following an expansion at its plant in Shanghai, China, the company announced Monday. The plant expansion has bumped capacity for the manufacture of PMMA molding compounds to 40,000 mt/year. The plant, part of a world-scale methacrylate complex...>>>
Italy's new government could boost energy privatization: analysts Nov 15,2011
Italy's new government, headed by former European competition commissioner Mario Monti, could seek to speed up energy sector privatizations and boost competition in the gas and power markets, according to analysts at Citi Investment Research Monday. In a note the analysts said that the new government appointed to reform Italy's economy amid Euro...>>>
Real Steel? - Real Plastic more like Nov 15,2011
When Legacy Effects, the producers of US sci-fi flick 'Real Steel', were looking for a way to bring giant boxing robots to the big screen they turned to an Objet 3D printer for the job. The machine produced one fifth scale models which were then hand-painted, lit and approved, before full scale versions were created. Motion capture technology th...>>>
Alaska continues work on gas pipeline from North Slope despite Cook Inlet find Nov 15,2011
Engineering and planning for a 24-inch natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska by a state corporation is continuing, for now, despite new gas discoveries in Cook Inlet, managers of the state project said Monday. "It won't be known until next summer whether a new gas discovery claimed by Escopeta Oil Co. in Cook Inlet can...>>>
Libyan oil production at 600,000 b/d and rising: NOC chief Nov 15,2011
Libya is currently producing 600,000 b/d of crude oil, of which 140,000 b/d are going to refineries and the remainder is being exported, the chairman of the Libyan National Oil Company Nuri Berruein said Sunday. Berruein, speaking to reporters in the Qatari capital on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, a...>>>
US regular retail gasoline price rises 1.2 cents to $3.436/gal: EIA Nov 15,2011
The average US retail price for regular grade gasoline rose 1.2 cents to $3.436/gal the survey week ending Monday, according to Energy Information Administration data. At that level, the national average is 54.4 cents higher than a year ago. The largest change in price week-to-week among the main regions was a 3.7-cent lift to $3.376/gal in t...>>>
Recyclers milk bottle market at record level Nov 14,2011
The UK's HDPE milk bottle recycling rate has reached an all time high, according to latest industry study. The annual recycling study from Recoup shows that 76% of HDPE milk bottles consumed and collected in the UK during 2010 were recycled – a steady rise on 2009's figure of 72%, following the substantial jump from 57% in 2008. The report, ...>>>
Asia methyl methacrylate production margins squeezed by low demand, high feedstock cost Nov 14,2011
Methyl methacrylate, or MMA, producers in Asia are hit by low demand and high MTBE feedstock costs that have squeezed production margins and reduced their revenues, the producers said Thursday. The price of MMA has slumped to $2,000/mt CFR Southeast Asia, down 20% from $2,500/mt CFR in the first quarter of the year, they added. MMA prices w...>>>
Artlant Portuguese purified terephthalic acid plant still on schedule for year-end deliveries: source Nov 14,2011
Startup of the new Artlant PTA 700,000 mt/year purified terephthalic acid plant in Sines, Portugal is still on schedule for deliveries to begin by the end of the year although the plant will not be taking any deliveries of feedstock paraxylene in December, a source at Artlant said Friday. The company, a subsidiary of La Seda de Barcelona, began...>>>
Initial settlements for US November PGP CP down 6 cents at 58 cents/lb Nov 14,2011
Initial settlements for November US propylene contracts were heard at down 6 cents/lb, market sources said Friday afternoon. The settlements put polymer-grade propylene at 58 cents/lb and chemical-grade propylene at 56.50 cents/lb, with one major buyer confirming the levels. The decrease followed a steep 14-cent drop seen from September to Oc...>>>
NYMEX December gas futures down 4.7 cents in midday Friday trading Nov 14,2011
The NYMEX December natural gas futures contract was down 5.4 cents to $3.595/MMBtu at 12:43 p.m. EST (1743 GMT) on continued strong supply and weak demand. "The natural gas market is extending its recent losses after Thursday's larger-than-expected 37-Bcf net injection to US natural gas storage reinforced the idea that production growth continue...>>>