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Asian Chemical Connections

Indian PP producers benefit from strong growth

By Malini Hariharan Indian polypropylene (PP) demand continues to remain strong with most end-use sectors showing good growth and it is local producers who are catering to the additional requirement. Polypropylene (PP) demand is estimated to have expanded by 13% to 809,000 tonnes during April-July, reports my colleague Prema Viswanathan on ICIS news. But import […]

China’s Unstoppable Consumption Juggernaut?

    The major long-term shift in US refinery economics and C3s   Source of picture: blueplanetgreenliving.com     By John Richardson CHINA will account for around one-third of global polypropylene (PP) consumption by the middle of this decade, up from the current 25%, as domestic demand continues to grow at more than 10% a […]

Saudi PP producers react; put pressure on India

By Malini Hariharan The Gulf Petrochemical and Chemicals Association (GPCA) is speaking up on behalf of Saudi producers who are worried about the Indian government’s recent ruling on dumping of polypropylene (PP). The Indian position, outlined in a disclosure statement, was that the Saudi price formula for propane gave local PP producers an ‘unfair advantage’. […]

China’s coal chemical projects take shape

By Malini Hariharan The first of China’s major coal-based chemical projects has finally started trial operations. ICIS news reports that methanol has been fed at Shenhua Baotou’s 600,000 tonnes/year methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plant at Baotou, in inner Mongolia. The unit can produce 300,000 tonnes/year each of ethylene and propylene. But the downstream polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene […]

Kuwait plans another cracker

By Malini Hariharan Despite doubts about availability of gas, its cost and viability of using naphtha or other feedstocks, companies from the Middle East are continuing to plan new petrochemical projects. The latest is Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) which is looking to invest $5bn in a new 1.4m tonnes/year mixed-feed cracker and derivatives complex. […]

Operating problems strike Asian polyolefins

By Malini Hariharan Just when polyolefin markets have started recovering operating issues are cropping up at plants in Asia. ExxonMobil was forced to shut its 600,000 tonnes/year polyethylene (PE) plant in Singapore on Tuesday for two weeks due to undisclosed problems. The PE plant had faced problems in early July when it was shut down […]

Saudi PP producers risk more dumping claims

By Malini Hariharan and John Richardson Saudi polypropylene (PP) producers could potentially be hit by anti-dumping duties (ADD) and other duties from more countries if an Indian ruling on an ADD petition sets a legal precedent, said a senior trade lawyer. The Indian authorities have ruled – in response to the petition lodged by local […]

Managing expectations

By Malini Hariharan A spurt in Chinese buying enquiries in the last few days has awakened hopes in some quarters of an upturn in polyolefin pricing with one trader predicting a $50-70/tonne rise in the coming weeks. The prediction, he says, is based on his experience with the commodity cycle – as buyers in China […]

Crunch time for Asian polyolefins

By Malini Hariharan August could well be the time for some tough decisions by Asian polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) producers. Demand has languished for the last three months and although many are hoping for a recovery at the end of this month or in early August, there are as yet no signs of this. […]

India set to announce final ADD on PP

By Malini Hariharan India’s long-running investigation into dumping of polypropylene (PP) from Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Oman is inching to a close. Final anti-dumping duties (ADD) are expected to be announced soon, say industry sources. Affected producers have made their case but are unlikely to escape from ADD. Provisional duties, ranging from $44.40 to $1033.65/tonne, […]

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