Latin America stories: weekly summary
ICIS Editorial
22-Jan-2024
SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Here are some of the stories from ICIS Latin America for the week ended on 19 January.
NEWS
Brazil’s state of Ceara,
Bp sign MoU for green hydrogen site
The government of the Brazilian state of Ceara
and UK-headquartered energy major Bp signed
this week a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to build a green hydrogen site.
Colombia’s industrial
output falls 3% in November
Colombia’s industrial production fell by 3% in
November, year on year, the country’s
statistical agency Dane said on Wednesday.
Braskem’s German site to
produce PP with plastic waste supplied by
Shell
Energy major Shell is to supply Braskem’s site
in Wesseling, Germany with mixed plastic waste
for production of polypropylene (PP), the
Brazilian petrochemicals major said on
Wednesday.
Italy’s Italmach acquires
Brazilian water treatment chemicals producer
Alcolina
Italmatch Chemicals has agreed to purchase
Brazilian chemicals producer Alcolina, which
specialises in water treatment for the
production of bioethanol, sugar and other
industrial applications, the Italian chemicals
producers said on Tuesday.
PRICING
LatAm
PE buyers wait for fresh US export
offers
This week, US producers have withheld their
export offers waiting to see if there was any
impact on plants due to the severe weather.
LatAm PP prices increase in Mexico on higher
feedstock costs
Domestic polypropylene (PP) prices increased in
Mexico on the back of higher feedstock costs.
In other Latin American (LatAm) countries,
prices remained unchanged.
Brazil, Argentina
reducing PVC prices
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices in Brazil saw a
decline this week, driven by market dynamics,
with demand still grappling with challenges due
to the unclear economic outlook in 2024.
Plant
status: Unipar’s Argentina mercury caustic soda
plant restarts
Unipar’s caustic soda production facilities in
Bahia Blanca, Argentina, restarted partially on
9 January after a power outage in December
forced a shutdown. The facilities have a
caustic soda production capacity of 95,000
tonnes/year and 85,000 tonnes/year for its
derivative chlorine. The company said the plant
will be fully back online by the end of
January.
Latin
America base oil demand nearly halts in
November
Latin America’s lube demand growth almost
halted in November amid shrinking consumption
in Mexico and Argentina and a slowdown in
demand in Brazil. Lube demand of less than
170,000 tonnes in November rose by 1% from
year-earlier levels, government and industry
data showed.
Anhydrous ethanol prices
fall in Brazil
Anhydrous ethanol prices decreased this week,
based on market input. Supply and demand seem
to be relatively balanced, with good production
results accumulated until December.
PET
prices increasing in Colombia and
Chile
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) prices in
Colombia and Chile are firm this week,
following the recent price fluctuations in
international markets. Demand is relatively
stable in both countries, and supply is ample,
particularly from the Asia region.
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