November 2011 Archives

An invitation to apply for the Olympic Football Tournament has landed in the Blog inbox today. The tickets go on sale tomorrow, 30 November 2011 for this part of the London 2012 Olympics.

The poster photo shows the stylish polycarbonate roof of Wembley Stadium, with some footballer in the foreground.

The Blog will not be rushing to take up this offer, but is still looking forward to seeing the cycling event as it comes through west London next August, and the handball event (whatever that is) for which it has been allocated tickets in the ballot.

See also:

London 2012 Olympics feature plastics galore

Dow funds Olympic stadium wrap

SABIC vuvuzelas 

Vuvuzela craze boosts plastics demand

The Blog is on a voluntary Lego diet, and is limiting itself to one Lego posting a month.

Even if acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) Lego is the perfect petrochemical toy, you can have too much of a good thing.  

Nevertheless, who could fail to be impressed with the idea of a Lego film, and a full-size Lego Xmas tree?

Warner Bros has the first feature-length Lego movie in development and due for release in cinemas in 2014, according to this article in the Metro.

It will be an action-adventure set within a universe that is made entirely out of Lego.

And travellers to the December European Petrochemical Luncheon (EPL) in Brussels will be able to see the Xmas tree in London's St Pancras Eurostar station. 

ICIS, the global chemical, energy and fertilizer market intelligence division of Reed Business Information, has announced its acquisition of the global data products and research services of Parpinelli TECNON.

Established in 1958, Parpinelli TECNON is an independent data and consulting business specializing in the areas of petrochemicals, feedstocks, energy, refining and speciality chemicals. The business provides in-depth information to businesses to support planning and research projects and the development of market strategies through annual report programmes, analysis tools and individual consulting projects.

Click here for the full article

The gossip at conferences usually comes down to:

1)     Who's in?

2)     Who's out?

3)     Who's moved where?

With optional extras: weather, travel, children and who's got the best hotel rooms.

The Aromatics Conference was a good opportunity to meet some of the new faces in the business - new companies, and new players at the old companies. The group has a way of renewing itself.

The stories about people moves proved to be the most entertaining.

One guy who had moved from being a major buyer to a key seller said that he had switched from talking the price down to talking the price up in the space of one second. It hadn't given him a moment's doubt.

Others who had been required to move from their home city to Switzerland (a trend previously documented by the Blog) had not found the move so easy.

"You can take the boy out of X, but you can't take the X out of the boy," said one observer.  

"It's like Stockholm Syndrome," said another, casually suggesting that the boys' previous employer had been the hostage-taker.

The hotel rooms for most of us in the conference hotel were charmingly historic, on split-levels with timber beams. However some rather eminent delegates had lucked out in the lottery which is hotel room allocation, and did not fare quite so well.

At the conference cocktail reception, kindly sponsored by Jeroen B of Vitol, and held on a chic balcony over the gothic ex-chapel conference room, copies of Paul and John's paperback book

"Boom, Gloom and The New Normal, Chapters 1-7" were given out. Paul and John were in their element signing copies for their readers.

Everyone was held up by the fog - even those delegates who live only a short drive away. The worst travel tale was from Ilona, who had taken 11 hours to get there.

Some of the delegates were already thinking about their plans for GPCA, which I noticed the locals were referring to as "Jip-ca" in the same way we refer to "Ep-ca" as a word.

At the end I had promises from two players to speak next year, and these will not be forgotten:

a)     an ARA trader

b)  a Middle East producer

At my table at lunch on Wednesday we were discussing a particular slide in a presentation that morning. One delegate said that a year on, that would be the one thing we would remember of the conference.

It is true that visual images have an enduring quality, and that is what makes them so powerful in conveying messages.

The two pictures which will lodge in the Blog's memory from the conference were:

1)     Shell's shrink-wrapped cucumber, and

2)     Bayer's polycarbonate-glazed Bugatti Veyron.

The cucumber conveyed the message that clever plastic packaging can extend the life of fresh foods from three to 14 days, and really played into the current passion for preserving food quality and stopping the wasting of natural resources.

The Bugatti illustrated the theme that weight-saving plastics in cars conserve precious fuel, and can still create a thing of beauty (or fun, as the Bayer MaterialScience (BMS) speaker put it.)

Was it in the Blog's imagination, or was that photo of the Bugatti up on the screen for a very long time, lending a much-needed element of glamour and raciness to the proceedings?

The need to educate the public more about the benefits of petchem products to the environment came up time and again during the Aromatics Conference, both in speakers' presentations and in questions from the floor.

Answering a question from Piet V, Patrick Thomas said the public's perception of plastics was dominated by the issue of plastic bags littering streets and clogging up the seas, as well as issues like phthalates in baby bottles.

Getting rid of thin disposable bags would be no big deal to the petchem industry, and there was now no production of bisphenol A baby bottles anywhere on the planet, he said.

A number of speakers focussed on the strong environmental credentials of polymers in preventing food wastage, insulating homes and offices, and harnessing renewable energy resources.

(photo: Patrick Thomas, Bayer MaterialScience speaking at Aromatics Conference 2011.)

"Flights on KLM are particularly disrupted." That was the most discouraging part of the 7.00 am news item on fogbound Heathrow.

"Our flight is cancelled," Helena texts me at 7.15 am.

Nevertheless we set off the airport, ever hopeful. There is no answer from our travel agent's emergency hotline. I am not sure that a cancelled flight really counts as an emergency. Still a hotline implies that someone will take an interest.

One hour of queuing at the KLM desk and then we are on standby for an afternoon flight, with confirmed seats for 6.00 pm. We console ourselves at the promotion counter for Bacardi Oakheart (a new blend of vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg) and with a full cooked breakfast.

Our fellow travellers from the UK to Amsterdam for Tuesday's ICIS Aromatics Conference are flying out of other airports - Luton, Gatwick, London City and Manchester - and don't seem at all concerned about fog delays, even though the main problem is actually the fog at Amsterdam, as they will find out later...

Eventually we get our standby seats, in the very back row of the plane, and take off at 1.40 pm, laden down with a fair bit of shopping.

The in-flight lunch, in true Dutch style, is a foil pack of cheese wafer balls, which Helena declares to be delicious.

We land in thick fog in Amsterdam, far worse than in London, seeing the runway only in the last few seconds.

On Tuesday morning, as the Aromatics Conference opens in Amsterdam, the city is still shrouded in thick fog.

For the first time, and FOR ONE TIME ONLY, three ICIS bloggers will be appearing at the same place at the same time, at the 10^th European Aromatics & Derivatives Conference on Tuesday in Amsterdam.

Paul Hodges will be giving a paper on Tuesday on the outlook for aromatics and derivatives, and chairing the second day of the conference.

John Richardson will be presenting on Wednesday on:"Is the China growth story coming to an end?"

And this Blog will be appearing in person to introduce the conference and cover any emerging news for ICIS.

It has taken nearly a year to put together but at last the Aromatics Conference is upon us. Starting next Tuesday in Amsterdam, it has a starry speaker line-up of big company speakers including

• Bayer Material Science
• Shell
• Styrolution
• Novapet
• Vopak

Some of us tried to move the conference to Prague for this year, after the success of last year's event in Berlin, but Amsterdam was chosen by the popular vote.

We have outgrown the smart hotel where we held the last Amsterdam aromatics event, and this one will be in the NH Barbizon Palace hotel, which has bigger facilities but is still conveniently located close by the Central Station. The conference venue at the hotel, the St Olof Chapel (pictured), looks quite distinctive.

This year's conference, sponsored by Vitol, is geared to helping delegates develop robust strategies for 2012, and many of them will be hoping for some guidance as to how to view the current end-year downturn in demand.

Snow is falling down the Christmas tree in the window of the Blog's hairdresser in London. Artificial snow, that is, but constantly falling, like a closed-loop fountain.

I sit inside the hairdresser watching as passers-by stop to marvel at it. Some are open-mouthed in astonishment. Parents lift children up to watch the white snowflakes falling as the lights blink on and off.

It is only mid-November but trade is brisk in this hairdresser's unexpected sideline. I suggest he puts up a webcam to record the happy faces when passers-by see it. Who needs a real tree when a fake plastic tree dropping tiny white polystyrene snowflakes can be this much fun?

Pierre Minguet, formerly business director polystyrene at INEOS Nova, is now vice-president business management polystyrene EMEA at Styrolution, he announced this week on LinkedIn.

Minguet has been in the position since October 2011, and is responsible for all aspects of business management of the polystyrene portfolio of Styrolution in Europe, Middle-East and Africa and the sales management of SBS & SBC.

Aromatics readers will no doubt remember Minguet's stirring speech at the memorable ICIS 5^th European Aromatics and Derivatives Conference in Amsterdam in 2006, when he called for the polystyrene sector to have more of an influence on the European styrene monthly contract price.

Glenn Bohny has moved to Houston-based Omnova Solutions as global sourcing director from November 2011, he announced today on LinkedIn.

Bohny was previously vice president commercial at TPC Group, and played an enthusiastic part in events around the 2011 ICIS World Olefins Conference in Brussels in March.

We read so much about bioplastics, but now they are appearing on our tables. Coca-Cola took out a full page advert in the Times last week to trumpet the launch of its new PlantBottle ™ range in the UK. It consists of 22.5% bio-based material from renewable sources like sugarcane and up to 25% recycled PET, and is 100% recyclable.

At the same time, the Blog was surprised to find a tomato ketchup bottle on the table at the Forge in the Forest restaurant in Carmel, Ca with the message: "Guess what my bottle is made of?" It too was boasting of its bio credentials.

My fellow blogger Doris de Guzman has been writing at greater length on her Green Chemicals blog about the spread of bioplastics in fast-moving consumer goods.

More free stuff. Subscribe to the ICIS magazine (ICIS Chemical Business) and get a free ICIS USB memory stick with over 100 chemical profiles.

Styrolution has established its global and European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, the company announced on Friday.

"We see this important step as a sign that we are standing on our own two feet as a company," said Roberto Gualdoni, chief executive officer, Styrolution, at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new office building.

The new headquarters was inaugurated on 11 November 2011.

Photo: Styrolution's CEO Roberto Gualdoni (l.) and Integration Manager Sven Grabowski at the ribbon cutting ceremony in Frankfurt, Germany

EPCA sent delegates the link to the official photos from the Annual Meeting in October 2011 in Berlin, in an email yesterday. All conference delegates have access to the site. Here the Blog has selected a few shots of our friends ...

(All copyright on the photos belongs to EPCA.)

Rahul Malhotra will take over the role of global general manager - styrene monomer at Shell Chemicals Europe, replacing Paul Rek who moves to lead a large Global Chemicals Commercial Project, which runs cross all products and all regions of Shell Chemicals, according to an email sent by Rek today informing business contacts.

Malhotra, formerly LPG General Manger for Shell in APME, will take over this role on 15 November 2011.

(photo: Argentina flag made of Lego in Buenos Aires Ezeiza airport)

APLA 2011 in Buenos Aires had a record attendance of 892, with the majority of participants from Latin America, but a growing number of international delegates.

This size of conference is much more manageable than the huge EPCA, NPRA or APIC conferences - with all the activity concentrated in one hotel. It was easy to find people in the Hilton lobby, or to visit the big hospitality suites on the fifth floor or the publications' stands on the second floor.

The Blog attended some of the conference sessions, most notably the Monday afternoon workshop session organised by APLA and IPA on the outlook for 2012, with presentations from all the main consultants in the region, who each gave a quick-fire ten-minute presentation on their allocated subjects. Our own George Martin gave a paper in Spanish on petrochemical demand and the economy.

Listening to the Spanish and Portuguese papers through simultaneous translation into English on headphones was a novel experience. It is slightly odd to watch a man but listen to a woman's voice, and to still be listening to the speech after the speaker has left the podium, but it is still very convenient to have the translation.

Delegates from Canada and the US were not impressed to hear that while they had to pay an entry fee to Argentina at the airport of US $131, other overseas visitors did not have to pay the fee. One delegate with dual US/UK nationality was kicking himself for leaving his UK passport at home.

Click here for ICIS news coverage of the APLA consultants' session and other conference news

Photos:

ICIS stand (1)

Al Greenwood of ICIS Houston interviewing Amyris

George Martin of ICIS Houston speaks at APLA

ICIS stand (2)

ICIS stand (3)

Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires: Puente de la Mujer

The 31^st Latin American Petrochemical Annual Meeting is starting today, and the conference hotel is filling up with people registering. The organisers have announced on the APLA website that by 3 November a total of 874 delegates had registered, from 280 companies and 34 countries. I am sure we will find out how that compares to previous years during the course of the conference.

The ICIS stand was set up on Saturday morning, and an advance party from ICIS Chemical Business has been here for a couple of days already, covering the 2011 Petrochemical Seminar on 4 November organised by US-based Polyolefins Consulting.

Click here for ICIS news coverage from the seminar.

The glossy conference special publication is being given out in the registration packs, published by ICIS and full of analytical articles from our reporters on economic growth in the region, sugar, ethanol, leadership, shalegas and the Panama Canal, amongst other hot topics.

Photo of the Hilton in the Puerto Madero district of Buenos Aires, the conference hotel for APLA 2011 - taken by Joe Chang of ICB. 

A picture is worth a hundred words and it is good to enliven PowerPoint presentations with photos of chemical plants we have visited.

This week two of the Blog's colleagues have been on an editorial visit to the chemical heartland of the Amsterdam Rotterdam Antwerp (ARA) region, and one new reporter has come back with 100 pictures of pipelines, trains and chemical plant from various angles.

They really are good, and the Blog will be dipping into this collection to illustrate any plant-related postings, and using them to decorate the next set of ICIS training slides for the next course in London in December.

See also: Fabulous Chemical Plant Photos

Photo copyright Janos Gal

The number of Greek taxpayers in Athens answering on their tax returns that they had a swimming pool was 324. The number of swimming pools counted by satellite photos commissioned by the tax authorities in 2010 was 16,974, the Blog's son read out from the Times on Thursday morning.

Not wishing to trivialise the eurozone crisis, but there is a strong message about widespread tax evasion in there.

If you still hanker after EPCA in Monte Carlo, this silly chick flick is worth seeing for the shots of Monte, mostly the Hotel de Paris, the coastal road and one scene on the beach by the Beach Plaza.

Otherwise "Monte Carlo" (the movie) is all implausible plot, clichéd characters, Texas goes to Paris, makeovers, girls meet boys nonsense. Enjoy!

It is not high art, but Robert Harris's most recent book, The Fear Index, is well-written and the plot rattles along at a brisk pace. It is just the thing for a long flight if you are interested in trading, markets, algorithms, finance and risk, with a bit of murder, Darwinism and Swiss tourism thrown in.

The characters are all "ultra-high net worths" and the key protagonist is fantastically clever and erudite, but wrestling with madness. Published in September 2011, the book is bang up to date with references to eurozone countries defaulting on debt and the meltdown in the financial markets.

Heathrow T5 at 9.40 pm is a ghost town. There are five people in the giant BA lounge, and all the food is being cleared away. I have never flown out so late before, and the whole airport is strangely empty. I am on the third-to-last flight of the night; the last one is at 10.40 pm which, as a relatively local resident, I have to say is late enough. After mine, there is just Abuja and Tel Aviv, then nothing till 6.15 am.

I am glad to see my Blackberry has survived being cleansed with a makeup remover wipe, after I read a DISGUSTING article by Carol Midgley ("For all our sakes, wash your hands" subscribers only) in the Times today about the spreading of diseases - the article was inspired by the release of the film Contagion. It makes me not want to touch anything, and I am revolted when the woman in the seat next to mine starts coughing.

Arriving the next morning in Buenos Aires in time for the start of the APLA conference, the conference hotel is still full of delegates from a urologists' conference. This Blog is avoiding the obvious gags, but probably others will not.

Watching CNN for the morning news last week, while the Blog was in Budapest for ICIS training, there were continual adverts running on both mornings for DuPont. Most striking was this advert for the company's solar technology, which is helping to power a sustainable city at Masdar in Abu Dhabi.

At the Cannes G20 Summit on 3-4 November, the heads of state are stepping out on a rich "red carpet" of asphalt, coloured by iron oxide pigments from Lanxess, according to a company press release today.

The city of Cannes has renewed 9,400 square meters of walkways and squares around the Palais des Festivals congress centre for the event. The old asphalt is being removed and recycled.

One industry observer commented that it was good to see a chemical company making money from the collapsing global financial system.

The Libyan crude oil market developments are investigated in this analysis from Kawai Wong, senior editor on the ICIS World Crude Report. It includes the political and economic aspects, analyses exploration licensing and the refining industry, as well as providing an outlook on the future of the market.

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