Petronas offers Pengerang polymers

Malaysia's state-owned Petronas is offering unbranded polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) for February shipment from its Pengerang complex, targeting China as the main export market.

Pengerang in southern peninsular Malaysia is a joint venture between Petronas and Saudi Arabia's state-owned Saudi Aramco, with nameplate capacity of 750,000 t/yr of PE and 900,000 t/yr of PP.

Offers were at $850-860/t for linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) film and $940-950/t for PP raffia on a cfr China basis. PP raffia offers were at $990-1,000/t into southeast Asia.

The offers to China came one week ahead of the week-long lunar new year holidays, which start on 24 January.

Prices of LLDPE film and PP raffia saw an increase of $10/t and $30/t respectively in southeast Asia last week, according to Argus data, on the back of firmer crude futures and supply cuts from Middle East and southeast Asian producers. US-origin LLDPE supplies into southeast Asia were reduced during the same period with year-end inventory controls pressure removed from producers and trading firms.

Thailand's state-controlled producer PTT Global Chemical also plans to shut its 515,000 t/yr and 400,000 t/yr cracker units at the end of January. Malaysia based-producer Lotte Titan plans to shut one of its two crackers in March for maintenance and most of its downstream polymer units. Polymers supplies from these southeast Asian producers were already restricted in January ahead of the planned shutdowns.

Aramco plans to shut its 400,000 b/d PetroRabigh refinery in Saudi Arabia for maintenance during February-April, which is likely to curb its downstream PE production.

By Yee Ying Ang