Top Chemical News from ChemNet.

China: SHFE's fuel oil futures delivery stock rises 0.6% to 321,200mt Aug 09,2010

Fuel oil delivery stock for futures in nine appointed terminals of the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 321,200mt in total as of Aug 6, slightly up 4,200mt or 0.6% from one week ago, according to data released by SHFE. The volume accounted for 44.07% of the total storage capacity. Fuel oil delivery warrants inched higher 900mt to 153,300mt. The d...>>>

Brazilian butadiene contract prices raise 2.2% in August Aug 09,2010

August butadiene prices for the Brazilian domestic market were heard at $2,265/mt FOB, an increase of 2.2% over July, said a Braskem source. Generally, Brazilian butadiene contract prices follow the USGC movements. Butadiene demand in the Brazilian domestic market was falling during the last few months. "Ev...>>>

China: Sinopec Yanshan Petchem to send LPG southwards by container ships Aug 09,2010

Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical has basically reached an agreement with the Dalian Inteh Chemical Logistics on shipping its LPG to southern China with containers, a senior with the latter company said. LPG from Yanshan Petrochemical would first be stored in containers before delivered by truck to Tianjin port in North China, where the LPG contai...>>>

Lack of buying interest still affecting coking coal spot prices Aug 09,2010

A still quiet steel market and lower-priced domestic coking coal are still severely limiting China's buying interest for seaborne coking coal, market sources said Friday. Platts adjusted its Australian mid-vol HCC export price down by $1/mt to $176/mt FOB Hay Point. The Chinese and Indian import prices also lost $1/mt to $190/mt CFR Nort...>>>

China: PetroChina Hohhot Petchem to refine 111,000mt of crude in Aug, steady on month Aug 09,2010

PetroChina Hohhot Petrochemical arranged to process 111,000mt of crude in August, flat with the previous month, said a refinery source. The refinery's 5-mil-mt/yr oil refining capacity expansion project has already been underway, expected to come on stream in 2012, the source revealed. As reported previously, Hohhot Petrochemical passed e...>>>

China: Taiwan's Nan Ya unable to restart MEG unit on feedstock shortage Aug 09,2010

Taiwan's Nan Ya Plastics is not able to restart its 350,000 mt/year No. 3 monoethylene glycol unit at Mailiao this week due to a continued shortage of ethylene feedstock, a company source said Friday. Nan Ya Plastics gets the ethylene for its plant from affiliate Formosa Petrochemicals. But a fire at Formosa's No. 1 steam cracker, whic...>>>

Shell aims to be No. 2 in 2011 Aug 10,2010

The Shell Company of Thailand expects its retail oil sales will increase by 14% next year, catapulting it to the second largest with a market share of 15%, according to Pissawan Achanapornkul, chairperson of the company. Of all types of fuel sold at 16 billion litres per year, Shell now ranks fourth, with a market share of 13%, after market le...>>>

China: Lecron Group Starts Construction of 15kt/y PU Project Aug 10,2010

Ground-breaking ceremony of Lecron Group’s new factory was held in Zhangdian District, Zibo, Shandong Province on August 6th. Meanwhile, the company started construction of its new 15kt/y polyurethane project the same day. Established 7 years ago，the company occupied 40% market share of China’s solar energy industry. Ma Jianwei, general mana...>>>

China: Shanxi Sanwei 75kt/y BDO Facility Starts up Aug 10,2010

It is known from Shanxi Sanwei Chemical that the company’s 75kt/y BDO facility has started up, but actual time when products will be yielded remains unclear. Besides the 75kt/y facility which makes BDO from maleic anhydride (MAH), the company still has two BDO facilities which use calcium carbide and acetylene as raw materials. >>>

Gulf Keystone gets Iraq Kurdistan government OK for PSC changes Aug 10,2010

The UK's Gulf Keystone said Monday Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government and all other parties had approved and executed amendments to respective production sharing contracts giving it a 100% stake in Gulf Keystone Petroleum International effective August 1, 2010. GKPI was established as a 50:50 joint venture between Gulf Keystone and ETA...>>>

Britain: BP says cost of Macondo oil spill disaster now tops $6 billion Aug 10,2010

The cost of the response to the Macondo oil spill disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico now totals about $6.1 billion, operator BP said in a statement Monday. The latest estimate includes the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, static kill and cementing, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs. ...>>>

China: CNOOC says new Bozhong 19-4 field to top 15,600 b/d within year Aug 10,2010

Chinese offshore producer CNOOC said Monday it had started crude production from its Bozhong 19-4 oil field in Bohai Bay, and that the field was expected to reach peak production of more than 15,600 b/d "within the year." CNOOC BZ 19-4 would be tied into the facilities of the nearby BZ 25-1/25-1s oil field 7 km away. Chevron h...>>>

UK GAS: Short system, low LNG support continues to add pressure Aug 10,2010

UK gas prices started the week in bullish mood Monday as the system remained uncomfortably short, with an insufficient amount on LNG available to support the low availability, traders said. The day-ahead contract was changing hands at around 43.60 pence/therm by 12:00 London time, 1.10 p/th above Friday's close, while within-day was up 0....>>>

Coal-to-gas switching won't affect near-term gas demand: Bentek Aug 10,2010

While the large-scale move to natural gas-fired generators from coal-fired ones in 2009 was an indicator of long-term power trends in the US,it will be some time before that change is visible in increased gas demand,Bentek said in a report Friday. Over the next six years, "the magnitude of switching seen [in 2009] is unlikely to return in...>>>

China Natural Gas says completes test run of LNG-powered ship Aug 10,2010

China Natural Gas completed the first test navigation of an LNG-powered ship in its waters, the company said Friday. The test marked the first time an LNG-powered ship has navigated in China's domestic waterways, demonstrating that LNG can be used both in cars and ships as a fuel. The test took place in Wuhan Tuesday, the compan...>>>

China: N. China's Tianjin port ships out 175,000mt of oil products in Jul, down 6% on month Aug 10,2010

A combined 175,000mt of gasoline and gasoil were transported southwards from Tianjin port in North China in July, down 6% from the previous month, according to a port source. The volume of gasoline was 76,000mt, slightly down 1% on month, and gasoil declined 10% to 99,000mt, the source said. PetroChina shipped out 31,000mt of gasoline in ...>>>

China: Shandong Dongming Petchem starts construction of 150,000-cu-m oil tank farm Aug 10,2010

Shandong Dongming Petrochemical started construction of a 150,000-cu-m oil tank farm in early August, according to a source with the refinery. This tank farm comprises 100,000 cu m of storage capacity for crude and 50,000 cu m for oil products, expected to come on line in August 2011, the source said. The refinery plans to build another 1...>>>

China: Sinopec increases Aug oil product outsourcing target by 57% to 470,000mt Aug 10,2010

Sinopec is scheduled to outsource 470,000mt of oil products in five areas in southern China in August, sharply up 170,000mt or 57% from the previous month, a survey found. The target is 200,000mt for gasoil and 270,000mt for gasoline. The five areas comprise Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian and Guangdong. Gasoil supply became tight in...>>>

China to shut 25.87 million mt coking capacity by September Aug 10,2010

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released Sunday a list of units in major energy-consuming industries, including coking and iron and steelmaking, set for elimination. The list included 192 coking companies that will shut batteries with a combined coking capacity of 25.87 million mt/year by the end of September. Mos...>>>

China: Tropical storm may delay LPG cargo arrivals in part of S. China Aug 10,2010

The tropical storm "Dianmu", which was formed in the sea east to Taiwan late on Aug 8, may delay some LPG barge cargoes to reach Fujian and east Guangdong in South China. Due to strong wind, some ships to pass the Taiwan Strait already took shelter in the evening of Aug 8, said a terminal source in east Guangdong. "If the tropical storm contin...>>>