Sinopec

Plans to expand EO capacity and build NPG plant at Nanjing JV / Start-up expected in 2014

Standard plastics stagnate / Growth of 6% for engineering thermoplastics in 2012 / Market dominated by foreign capacities / Growing surpluses with PC and POM / Another grand "Chinaplas" comes to an end

China Engineering Thermoplastics April/May 2013: Feedstock prices generally soft / Butadiene finally wakes up / Pricing stable to slight drop

China Engineering Thermoplastics March/April 2013: Feedstock prices continue to slide / ABS, PC tending soft / Little movement for PA, POM and PMMA

China Standard Thermoplastics March/April 2013: Market mostly stable / Feedstock prices soft / Local manufacturers cut polymer notations to move volumes / No signs of an imminent revival

Weak demand and lower petrochemical prices result in 2012 loss / Resins and plastics prices fall 10%

China Engineering Thermoplastics February/March 2013: Feedstock prices down post-Chinese new year / Plans to hike ABS prices / PC also rising / Little movement for polyamides, PBT and POM

China Standard Thermoplastics February/March 2013: Production slowly returns to normal following New Year holidays / Feedstock and polymer notations weak / Widely expected post-holiday run fails to materialise / Highly dependent on styrene imports

China Engineering Thermoplastics January/February 2013: Feedstock prices see moderate rises ahead of lunar new year break / PC largely stable / ABS slightly up / Introducing PIE's latest China price report

US contractor wins EPCM services contract for BASF's 300,000 t/y TDI plant / Start-up in 2014

Synthetic resins output falls 2.3% in 2012 / Ethylene output down 4.5%

New isononanol plant in China / German partner shifts plans for plasticiser feedstocks after quitting Petronas project

Agreement on new Malaysian joint venture is terminated / Existing partnership to be continued

USD 1 bn engineering and construction contract for Texas PET/PTA complex to Sinopec / 1m t/y of polymer

Wuhan cracker commissioned / Catalytic cracking unit starts up in Guangdong

Mega polyolefin complex in Singapore is commissioned / Naphtha cracker in start-up phase / US group now world's largest polyolefin producer

Balance of worldwide capacity has shifted to Asia / Polyamide is a rare exception / European market holds up relatively well / Massive expansion in China likely to continue

Global capacities exceed 252m t/y / PET output spearheads expansions in 2012 / More than half of global output found in Asia / China will continue to extend its lead in the coming years / Sabic still slightly ahead of Sinopec

Protests in Ningbo elicit official pledge to halt petrochemical expansion / “Green” sentiment among the public rising / Is official acquiescence to demands linked to tendency towards petrochemical oversupply?

Eight engineering units merged into one / Potent challenger for Western petrochemical contractors

New EPDM plant to start up in China in 2015 / “World's largest” facility to cost EUR 235m

New massive propane dehydrogenation line in China / Country's propylene capacities set to triple until 2015

Studying MDI capacity expansion in Geismar / Reaping the benefits of US shale gas reserves

Promise to help Hong Kong clean up PP pellets spill / Cargo washed ashore after tropical storm

Petrochemicals production declines in H1 / Synthetic resins output 1.95% lower