Source: Chemorbis In a press release published on May 2, Italian producer Versalis confirmed the transformation of its activities at Porto Marghera site and the implementation of new industrial initiatives in the area. As part of the company’s transformation programme, Versalis will start the process of shutting down the cracking and aromatics operations at Porto Marghera on May 9. The process is estimated to last for six days. The cracker has capacity to produce 490,000 tons/year of ethylene and 245,000 tons/year of propylene. Porto Marghera site also produces 35,000 tons/year
Source: Chemorbis Freight rates from China have slid upon lockdows in the past month. Will the impact of Shanghai lockdown on global supply chains last only for a short while, or will it stretch through the entire year and maybe even longer? Early indicators present a mixed bag of opinions amid rapidly evolving and increasingly complex set of challenges. Truck access is the major setback amid lingering zero-Covid policy A Covid-19 outbreak that began on March 1, 2022, in the city of Shanghai became the most widespread the city has had since the start of the pandemic two years prior. A
Source: Market The Propylene contract price for May has been set at €1610/ton with a -/- €65/ton decrease.
Source: Market 02 May - European Ethylene contract has settled with -/- €70/ton decrease for May. The ethylene contract price for May has been set at €1595/ton.
Source: Market The European propylene contract reference price for April has been set at €1,675/t, up by €225/t from March.
European ethylene contract has been set at €1.665.
Source: Chemorbis Although strong March hikes passed on initial PP deals, European players have noticed a patchy demand. Cost pressure has been the key driver of the bullish run, considering weak market dynamics for PP. Some suppliers stopped all new orders or elected to issue further hikes on top of initial announcement levels in a bid to reflect soaring energy costs. This approach faced a lukewarm response from buyers in certain sectors as prices were already regarded too high to work and they, being cautious towards high-cost materials, limited their purchases to their urgent needs.
Source: Chemorbis Many Asian PP and PE producers have either cut or considered lowering their operating rates recently as multi-year high spot naphtha and olefins prices have wrecked margins. Spot ethylene and propylene are currently priced at or even above some PP and PE prices across Asia. Secco, Shouguang Luqing PC, Sinopec Zhongke (ZGRPCL - KPC JV), Sinochem Quanzhou, Fujian Ref & Petrochemical (FREP), LCY Chemical Corp.,Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical, ZRCC, Sinopec Maoming PC, Tangshan Risun Chem, Anhui Jiaxi New Materials Technology Co Ltd, Zhong’an Coal Chem. a
Source: Chemorbis Asian ethylene and propylene prices extended their gains this week, driven higher by the price spikes in the key naphtha feedstock to the highest in 14 years. Propylene also saw an 8-year high while ethylene reached only its highest since September 2018. Undoubtedly, the boosted rally both in naphtha and olefins has been a reflection of skyrocketing crude oil prices. May Brent futures hit a peak of $139/bbl on Monday, before easing back in the following days but still seeing big swings in daily tradings. Spot naphtha prices were reported $130/ton higher on the week a
Source: Market March European ethylene contract has settled with €95/t increase at €1435/t.
Source: Market European propylene price for March has been set at €1.450/t.
Source: Market February ethylene contract has settled with an increase of €67.50/ton from January at €1340/ton
Source: Market European propylene price for February has been set at €1,355/t.
Source: Market The January ethylene and propylene contract has settled in Europe. The settlement indicated a rollover from December at EUR 1272,50/ton for ethylene and EUR 1288/ton for propylene.
Source: Chemorbis At least four people were injured after a fire broke out at ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas facility on December 23.The company announced in social media that the fire occurred around 1 a.m. local time at the Baytown site, adding that they were coordinating with local officials and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Further details were not available at the time of publication. Located along the Houston Ship Channel, ExxonMobil’s Baytown complex houses a 584,000 b/d refinery, as well as chemical and olefins units, including three crackers with a