Plastic Recycling Petrochemicals Polyamides 29-10-2018 - Arhive
-Iran starts oil sales to private exporters to beat U.S. sanctions
Iran began selling crude oil to private companies for export on Sunday, part of a strategy to counter U.S. sanctions which come into effect on Nov. 4 and aim to stop the country’s key crude exports, the oil ministry’s news website SHANA reported.
Crude oil trade is state-controlled in Iran. Earlier, private refining companies could only buy crude oil for exports of oil products, officials have said.
Out of 1 million barrels offered on the energy bourse, 280,000 barrels were sold at $74.85 per barrel, SHANA added.
Iran said in July it would start oil sales to private firms as part of its efforts to keep exporting oil and would take other measures to counter sanctions after the United States told allies to cut all imports of Iranian oil from November.
-Is The Oil Supply Glut Set To Return?
Is the oil market tightening too much or is a glut on the verge of making a comeback?
There were a series of mixed messages from both OPEC and the IEA in recent days, offering a muddy outlook for the oil market. First was the TASS interview with Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih. His main message was that Saudi Arabia has enough spare capacity to cover for any shortfall related to Iran, although he noted that any further unexpected outages – from, say, Venezuela, Libya or Nigeria – would test the cartel’s abilities.
Libya appears to be doing its part for now. Mustafa Sanalla, the head of Libya’s National Oil Corp., said that Libya is aiming to increase production to 1.6 million barrels per day by the end of 2019, which would mark the highest level since the Arab Spring and civil war began in 2011.
-Oil falls as investors wary of trade slowdown
Oil markets remain tense ahead of impending U.S. sanctions against Iran’s crude exports, which are set to start next week.
Oil prices dipped on Monday amid cautious sentiment as a plunge in financial markets last week and dollar strength early this week underscored concerns that growth may be slowing, especially in Asia’s emerging economies.
Front-month Brent crude oil futures were trading down 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $77.23 a barrel at 0616 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $67.31 a barrel, down 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last settlement.
Investors remained wary after hefty losses last week, while a stronger dollar on safe-haven buying puts pressure on the purchasing power of emerging markets.
-Crude Oil Prices Trend
-Polymers PET Bottle Resin Petrochemicals Prices
-Danone Outlines Sustainable Packaging Initiatives
Danone announces a series of new commitments and actions to ensure its packaging will become 100% circular, and to accelerate the global transition towards a circular economy of packaging.
This includes (1) initiatives to improve product design and develop alternative delivery and reuse models, (2) investments to develop effective, efficient and inclusive systems for increased collection and recycling, to boost recycling and (3) actions to preserve natural resources by reintegrating recycled materials into our packaging and developing use of renewable materials.
-EuPC question single use plastics: a political or environmental decision?
European Plastics Converters (EuPC) is urging the Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the Member States sitting in the Council to take the time to understand the EU single-use plastics directive proposal and its true implications.
The EuPc believe that the proposal is far from ensuring the desired environmental benefits but instead risks destroying jobs in the EU for many SMEs.
-US Eastman sees destocking but no big slowdown – CEO
Eastman Chemical is seeing some “pockets of destocking” in the market, but no evidence of a broader slowdown – with the exception of automotive in China, Mark Costa, the CEO of the US-based producer, said in an update on Friday.
Destocking was occurring in areas such as coatings and tyres, the CEO told analysts during Eastman’s Q3 earnings call.
Eastman expects potential destocking could be driven by trade concerns in China.
The US-China trade dispute may affect Eastman customers’ ability to export back into the US, in areas such as specialty plastics or consumer durable goods, he said.
“I think it’s really important we don’t overreact to what’s going on in the fourth quarter right now,” Costa added.
-UK government confident of a deal on Brexit – civil servant
The UK government remains confident that a deal will be reached on a future trading relationship with the EU, a senior civil servant said on Friday, despite current concern about the issue of the Irish border.
“We should be confident that a deal will be reached,” said Niall Mackenzie, director for infrastructure and materials at the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
“The ain issue is the border… I think common sense will prevail on that, but I think it’s incumbent on both parties [to compromise],” he added.
Even in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a trading relationship agreed, the country is signed up to a raft of UN conventions that the EU is also a signatory to, Mackenzie said, and is working on copying across UK equivalents to EU legislation on a range of other legislative frameworks.
-Asia ADA downtrend may continue on sluggish demand
Asia’s adipic acid (ADA) spot prices have declined for three weeks in a row because of falling feedstock prices and sluggish downstream demand, with downward pressure likely to remain as the year-end market lull draws near.
Painted old tyres in Qingdao, China. Adipic acid’s (ADA) key end-use products include tyre cord fibres. (Source: Sipa Asia/REX/Shutterstock)
– Feedstock benzene price slump weighs on market
– Regional supply is long
– Demand to shink further amid US-China trade war
Most offers for China-origin cargoes fell to the low-$1,300/tonne CFR (cost & freight) NE (northeast) Asia levels this week, but buyers were still reluctant to place fresh orders citing slower-than-expected demand.
“Demand was supposed to be strong in September and October, which are usually peak season. But this year, we did not feel [that it is] so,” a downstream user said.
“And the demand may dwindle further in coming months with the peak season winding down,” the end-user said.
Spot ADA prices for China-origin cargoes have shed $110/tonne since the start of October to $1,315/tonne CFR NE Asia on 24 October; while those from other origins declined by $40/tonne over the same period to $1,535/tonne CFR NE Asia, according to ICIS.
-Bio4Products biomass study published: Virtual Pyrolysis Plant Locations in Europe
Availability and quality at four potential sites
An extensive study into the availability and quality of biomass resources in Europe has shown the potential for new lignocellulosic biorefineries to be opened in France, Finland, Romania and the Netherlands.
The study was conducted within the Bio4Products Horizon 2020 project, which is testing the feasibility of a fast pyrolysis based biorefinery concept.
-EuPC warns EU plastics ban could risk public health
The historic vote in favour of banning single-use plastics such as drinking straws and plastic cutlery at the European Parliament this week (October 24th) has been celebrated in the mainstream media, but the industry is not jumping to join the delighted chorus.
In a statement published the day after the vote, the EuPC has warned the sudden ban could pose possible negative effects to public health and hygiene. Moreover, the matter of the ban’s impact on SMEs and the consequences of these banned products being produced in alternative materials instead of plastic was raised by the organisation.
-Saudi Arabia’s shift to petrochemicals underscored by Aramco-SABIC merger
Saudi Arabia has grasped upcoming trends in the petrochemicals industry and plans to merge its crude oil major Aramco and petrochemicals major SABIC to take advantage of them.
As crude oil demand for road freight and aviation, as well as shipping fuels, is expected to decrease in coming decades, Saudi Arabia now needs to secure markets for its oil before demand declines, and hence be present on segments that will remain viable in the future
-Circular economy starting to reshape the future of polyethylene, finds report
The impact of the move towards a circular economy is presenting a new era for the polymer supply industry, finds a new report.
According to the latest findings from AMI Consulting’s review of the polyethylene markets in Europe, the change to a more sustainable and circular economy is reshaping the polymer supply industry, with resin suppliers engaging in downstream integration with recycling technologies.
-Russian nonwovens growth leads to consolidation
The Russian nonwovens is on the verge of consolidation, mainly due the recent acquisition of Regent NM, one of Russia’s major nonwovens producers, by its rival Moscow-based Netkanika company. The deal, worth US$ 25 million, is one of the largest to be concluded in the industry in recent years.
To date, Regent NM was operated by Russian billionaires the Ananiev brothers, through their subsidiary Promsvyazbank. As a result of the deal, Netkanika aims to control up to 20% of the Russian market for nonwoven materials.
Ananiev brothers, Russian billionairies and former owners of Regent NM.
Under the terms of the agreement, in addition to the production assets, the Moscow company also became the owner of the buildings, land and equipment of Regent NM in the Novaya Moscow region, on the border with Kaluga.
-The Uae Face the Challenge of Recycling
Every day, Kris Barber, dressed with t-shirts, shorts, and bags made from eco-friendly way by DGrade, a company created almost 10 years.
From plastic bottles collected locally, the teams of Kris Barber wash, stretch and melt the plastic to transform it into small fibers.
The material is then spun, recycled and woven.
The process consumes about 50% less energy than manufacturing classic polyester and produces 55% of carbon emissions in the least.
To meet the needs monthly in the plastic of the society, this man is working with partners such as the society of waste treatment Bee’ah, based in Sharjah, which treats each year more than 2 million tons of different types of waste.
–Aramco to partner on Zhejiang Petrochemical’s integrated complex
Saudi Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding with Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical Co. Ltd., also known as Zhejiang Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (ZPC), to acquire ownership interest in ZPC’s grassroots 40 million-tonne/year refining and chemical integrated complex currently under construction in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China (OGJ Online, Feb. 14, 2017).
The MOU, signed on Oct. 18, follows a crude oil supply agreement Aramco recently signed with ZPC, said Abdulaziz Al Judaimi, Aramco’s senior vice-president of downstream operations.
The proposed investment follows Aramco’s objective of seeking major joint-venture partnerships in a growing portfolio of refining and petrochemical assets in China as part of the company’s commitment to key global markets, Al Judaimi added.
-November ethylene, propane contracts under pressure from feedstocks, downstream: sources
The November contract settlements of ethylene and propylene, the primary building blocks for the largest set of petrochemicals, have come under pressure as various factors that go into deciding them have turned bearish, trade sources said.
Register Now Among market sources, expectations range from a rollover to a sharp decrease by as much as Eur50 for ethylene, while for propylene, it ranges from a rollover to a smaller decrease of Eur10-20. The contracts are expected to settle before October draws to an end.
-US crude tumbles 12% from high as oil bulls retreat
Oil prices fell for a third consecutive week as stock markets sold off and the market focused on a weaker demand outlook for crude.
Hedge-fund and money managers are cutting their bets that oil prices will rise.
U.S. crude has fallen 12 percent from a nearly four-year high at the start of the month, while Brent is down about 10.5 percent.
Crude oil futures posted their third consecutive weekly loss on Friday as the bulls that pushed oil prices to nearly four-year highs head into retreat.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended this week down 2.2 percent and has now tumbled about 12 percent from its recent high of $86.74 on Oct. 3. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, fell 2.7 percent this week and is down 10.5 percent from its Oct. 3 high of $86.74.
-Faurecia and Wuling Industry form JV for emissions control systems
French component and technology major Faurecia and Chinese component manufacturer Liuzhou Wuling Automotive Industry have announced a new joint venture christened Faurecia (Liuzhou) Emissions Control Technologies.
The partners say the JV will further extend the bilateral cooperation towards ‘Clean Mobility’ activity, with the new company targeting annual sales of 600 million RMB (Rs 633 crore) by 2023.
The JV will cover all emissions control systems business of Wuling Industry, integrating four plants located in Liuzhou Liudong, Liuzhou Hexi, Chongqing and Qingdao.
-India placed orders with Iran for crude oil supply during Nov.
India placed orders with Iran for crude oil supply during Nov.
Indian public sector companies have already placed orders with Iran for crude oil supply during November, a senior government official said here on Friday.
“Our public sector companies have already placed orders for the month of November with Iran,” said Sunjay Sudhir, joint secretary for international cooperation at the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Timesnownews reported.
“Iran, historically, has been a key supplier of crude for India,” he stressed after presenting investment opportunities in the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme Phase II (ISPR) to Singapore-based investors.
-The Real Reason Europe Finally Attempts To Stabilize Libya
After years of reticence to reengage as the situation in Libya increasingly spiralled out of control, the European powers—and particularly France and Italy—are finally wading into the debate over how to put an end to the civil war which has wracked the country for the better part of a decade.
The ball is currently in Rome’s court, with the Italian government organizing a conference in Sicily on November 12-13 to “find a common solution, even though there will be different opinions around the table.”
Why the about face? Beyond the issue of migration, volatile oil prices, coupled with uncertainty over the ultimate fate of Iranian crude, are the international community added incentive to take the country seriously: analysts are increasingly looking to Libya and Nigeria as the only swing producers that could keep oil under the $100 mark.
-All eyes on Saudi as US curbs on Iran set to take effect; gold continues to shine
Crude oil and gold continued to attract much of investor focus in the commodities market through the week.
With barely days to go before the US sanctions are enforced on Iranian crude, the oil market is watching how Saudi responds to the situation.
Meanwhile, the global equities selloff has kept gold in the limelight amid safe haven demand. But it remains to be seen how much upside can the yellow metal see in this round.
-Euratex harps on regional cooperation for long-term growth27
The 7th Euratex Convention, organised in Ontinyent (Valencia, Spain) by the Consejo Intertextil Español (CIE), stressed on the pivotal role of regional cooperation for the long-term growth of the European textile and clothing sector. The event saw participation of over 200 persons from the textile and apparel sector, besides regional and national figures.
Hosted for the first time in Spain, the event was titled ‘2018 Euratex Convention on Regional Cooperation for Industrial Modernization in the European Textile and Clothing Sector’. It was an opportunity to exchange views and present approaches for regional collaboration, to encourage the development and modernisation of the fashion and textile industries.
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In the lobby of the building where Iván Freites works, a photograph of an oil rig covers one wall. Emblazoned across it is the Venezuelan flag and a quote from former president Hugo Chávez. “We want Venezuelan oil to bring peace and love,” it reads.
Mr Freites, a union leader at PDVSA, the state oil company, would like that too. But having seen the Chávez government and subsequent regime of Nicolás Maduro plunder the oil producer, strip it of investment, sack experienced managers and replace them with military officers, he no longer thinks that outcome is possible, at least not for now.
Galahad Clark’s idea for Vivobarefoot came through a childhood friend who bought a Nike Huarache, cut off the sole, and had a tennis racquet cover stitched on instead. “He said, this is how shoes should feel. I instinctively loved the idea, and we set off developing a line of shoes, researching the feet and its bio-mechanics. We realised the modern shoe industry had soled us a lie,” he quips, via e-mail.
As nature intended
Founded on the barefoot philosophy — that shoes negate the natural function of feet — their shoes are wider and come with thin soles that enhance the sensory feedback. Now, the brand is experimenting with performance shoes made from bio-based materials that are easy on the environment. “Our existing Bloom shoe was the first one we made completely out of algae-based foam. The Primus Bio that we are working on now is derived from field corn.
-Bleak outlook for global crude demand
All of a sudden the oil markets are faced with a new twist. Until last week, the focus had been on lowering Iranian output and its impact on global oil market’s general equilibrium.
In the wake of changing global economic scenario, the attention has now shifted to demand destruction.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is on guard, as oil prices plunged about 5 per cent last week paralleled by a sell-off in global equity markets reinforcing worries about crude demand growth
Growing signs about slowing global economy are taking steam out of oil markets. In a sign of the changing times, hedge fund managers too accelerated their profit- taking in crude oil and refined fuels. As confidence in the previous price rally faltered, markets fell. Hedge funds cut their combined net long position in the important petroleum futures and options contracts by 133 million barrels in the week to Oct 16.
-New plant goes from PET bale to rPET packaging
rPlanet Earth, a new company dedicated to closed-loop recycling of post-consumer plastics, has started up a large grassroots facility that is said to be the world’s first completely vertically integrated plant for converting PET packaging waste into finished rPET products with properties comparable to those made from virgin PET.
The 302,000-sq-ft facility in Vernon, CA, takes in bottles, clamshell containers, and other packaging waste from curbside collection; puts it through an extensive series of sorting and cleaning procedures; grinds it into flake and subjects it to rigorous wash and decontamination; raises the intrinsic viscosity (IV) of the material in accordance with end-use requirements; and processes it into food-grade sheet, thermoformed containers, and injection-molded preforms for bottles. The new rPlanet Earth plant has an annual capacity of 80,000,000 lb.
-Turkey’s Eurotay to open a textile factory in Serbia
Turkish textile firm Eurotay, a member of the Tai Group, is building a manufacturing plant spanning 30,000 square metres in Serbia’s Kraljevo that will employ 2,500 people. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited the city recently along with his minister of trade Rasim Ljajic, Turkish ambassador to Serbia Tanju Bilgic and Tai Group chairman Mesut Toprak.
The factory is scheduled to be built by March and start operations by April 2019, according to Toprak. It will produce seven million pairs of jeans annually.
The Tai Group’s investment in the project was valued at €35 million, a Serbian newspaper reported quoted Vucic as saying.
