Renewable energy may be the way out of economic quagmire for Egypt

Lack of abundant financial resources combined with the failure to form strategic plans is responsible for Egypt’s energy crisis.  Mohamed Shoeb, former president of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, said, "The energy problem is well known. Its solutions are also well known, but there is no will to solve it."

Experts suggested that the government should come up with innovative solutions. Solar energy is considered to be a viable and beneficial option for Egypt. Nations like Germany have formulated a plan to produce electricity from renewable energy by 2050. Solar energy has become extremely inexpensive; the cost of it has decreased by 90 per cent in the past 10 years.

Experts opined that smart electricity meters can bring down consumption in peak hours and thereby reduce electricity cuts. Power cuts have become frequent since 2008, but the cuts were limited to summer months. However, in the winter of 2012-12 blackouts became common.

The government can lower consumption of households that make use of several air conditioners or other power-hungry electronic devices.

Households can also increase use of energy saving LED light bulbs, which will reduce consumption by almost 20 per cent. "There are several ideas that can be studied and implemented, but we have been very slow," says Mohamed Moussa Omran, undersecretary of the Ministry of Electricity.

Despite being the first region to start use of solar energy, they were left behind by countries like Bahrain, UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have started use of smart meters. "Transparency is missing, and that is a problem that needs to be solved. The government thinks the people are not capable of understanding the problem," says Shoeb.

Egypt expects to use nearly 2,500 megawatts yearly for the next five years in order to meet the rising demand, at a cost of $2.5 billion per annum. Egypt would also require funds to set up power stations, and fuel needs would cost at least $700 million per station per year. Foreign investors are crucial to the process of developing power stations as well as the power grid.

Nearly 80 per cent of Egypt’s electricity needs are met with the help of natural gas, the production of which has declined tremendously in recent years as a result of political instability and rising government debts have made foreign energy companies hesitant to invest in development of new gas fields. 

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Global alcoholic raw material market is expected to rise in future

The global alcoholic raw material industries in geographical markets is more or less divided in North America, Europe, Asia and other markets where European region is noted as the largest share of alcohol consumption with an overall sales of 30% revenue that is followed by the North American market. According to the researched report, over a period the constituents market of alcohol globally is projected to experience a steady growth.

Driven by a combination of new trends through changing demandpatterns and emerging economies, the growth of global alcohol raw material market such as colours, flavour and other raw materials are expected to reach USD 1.18 billion by the 2019 which is noted to be up from 989.2 million in 2013.

According to the recent reports done by Frost & Sullivan, due to rising demand for yeast and enzymes, strong growth has been projected in the other ingredients sector of alcohol, however flavor is noted as the major sector of the alcohol raw material market. Geographically in developing regions such as Asia-Pacific focus is projected to boost, as in this region the consumer spending on alcohol is mounting high.

Furthermore, the main components of most alcoholic beverages are Ethanol and water, where Ethanol is the most important alcohol fuel that can be formed by converting the starch substance of biomass feedstock into alcohol.

As per analysts, development of new product is likely to gain swiftness in the ingredients legroom as in the alcohol beverage industry innovation is noted as a key success factor, moreover with consumers embracing legitimacy and sticking to products they know best the customer loyalty and brand image will also coerce growth.

Moreover, as smaller and regional industries have substantial knowledge of the local market, companies with a global presence are likely to firm up with them as it will help them to modify alcoholic beverage production to go well with varying regional and local tastes. Furthermore in next few years, the global alcoholic raw material market will uphold a constant growth along with greater investment potential.

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Middle Eastern oil prices to rise

Growth of OPEC and non-OPEC oil supply is expected to decline within the next 18 months and the average Brent prices for 2014 and 2015 are likely to range from $106-$109 and$103-$108, respectively.

A recent report suggested that Brent prices may increase on the back of tighter supplies. Most research groups were expecting oil prices to decline as a result of strong dollar, slow GDP growth and increasing supplies.

However, Brent crude oil front-month contract rolling prices have average $109/bbl and a number of reasons have been responsible for these high rates. Geopolitical crises and supply issues coupled with depreciation of the dollar by 2 per cent and the rising US inflation have pushed up oil prices.

Non-Opec supply accounted for nearly 4 quarters of the 2 million bpd supply growth on a year-on-year basis, but is currently growing by only a million bpd year-on-year, which will lead to limited supply. Majority of the growth is expected to come from North America and nations like China, Brazil, Russia and Columbia will enjoy only limited gains. Thus, a number of key producers will likely face declines.

WTI is expected to fall below $100/bbl in 2014, while US benchmarks will see downside risks. The WTI crude oil forecast for 2014 and 2015has now been revised to $98/bbl and $96/bbl, respectively.

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Policy support for biofuels seems to be losing ground

Biofuels which are derived from other waste like animals and plants are in form of liquid fuels and Bioethanol and biodiesel are the two forms of biofuels which are used as a replacement for gasoline and diesel. A massive growth area around the world is embodying by biofuels which play a major role in relocating the types of fuels which are being used in the past few decades by the world. The size of the biofuels business is large and according to the estimate done by a researched report, in the year 2013 the production and uptake of biofuels had augmented to 115 billion litres from 16 billion litres.

According to the industry experts, the businesses of biofuels are vitally reliant on the right public policy support and have been uphold by the financial assistances in several part of the value chain, moreover Europe and the US are the two countries which are mostly now as the largest markets for biofuels. Furthermore, in these two countries the policy support seems to be losing the ground even though it is having aftermath.

Increase in demand at a global level seems to be incredible for biofuels and for automotive fuels in the outlook of overall demand, it is equally imperative to spot it. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in the year 2013, on an energy basis the world road transport fuel demand had reported biofuels for just 3.5% and the IEA which is an autonomous organization that works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 29 member countries and beyond, targets for a low CO₂ emissions scenario by the year 2050.

In the past few years in the US the waning interest of policy makers for biofuels have also drawn closer from their superior sense of energy security than anytime and the country will eventually be transformed from a net energy importer to a significant exporter after an innovation of a bountiful quantities of cheap shale gas, which may perhaps be an imaginary vision five years ago.

Moreover as per the researched reports, in the developed countries of the world the policy support for biofuels are being diminished for various reason and in the most major markets the complete consumption numbers for diesel and gasoline are also being dilapidated owing to technology shifts, environmental issues and dynamics of demographics.

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US asserts its position as the world's largest oil and gas producer

The US has succeeded in overtaking Russia and Saudi Arabia to become the largest producer of crude and natural gas liquids. A recent research revealed in the past six months the US has had overwhelming success in the oil and gas sector.

Natural gas prices in the US are on the lower end compared to international prices as a result of the shale gas revolution.

In North America, the industrial sector has witnessed mixed results as some segments have had only moderate growth. Increased production of oil has obviously led to improved employment rates. Wages have also improved in states with greatest oil output in the past five years.

Investment in the oil and natural gas sector accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the total US private fixed  structure investment- a figure which is as high as residential investment.

Looking at US inflation before and after shale oil boom, inflation drivers have moved from labour market slack to production slack and increased concerns about inflationary fiscal policy. However, oil prices continue to remain strong in both periods.

Global oil producers have been struggling due to disruptions in engineering or geopolitics.

The shale gas boom in the US has had a major impact on the US and global economies. Oil production in the US has increased by,70 per cent, while production of natural gas expanded by 40 per cent, helping them overtake Russia and Saudi Arabia.

LNG and crude oil imports into the US have declined as a result of expanding supply. Thus domestic production has helped America reduce dependence on foreign fuels and spends less than 1.5 per cent of national revenue to purchase foreign oil and gas- a marked improvement over the situation in 2008.

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Fertiliser industry is in wait and watch stance for several policy changes

India’s one of the leadings players – chemicals and fertiliser sector, ought to endeavor amid top five chemicals and petrochemical industries and most of the fertiliser manufactures have taken a stance of wait-and-watch to explore more options to boost investments. In last few decades, in fertiliser industry very less of investments have taken place due to one after the crisis. According to the sources, natural gas which is a preferred raw material for urea manufacturing has significantly showed rise in the prices.

Moreover, natural gas is one of the most efficient and cleaner fuel & raw material when it comes to the production of ammonia, however with the inadequate availability of gas few urea producers were forced to use alternate liquid feedstock to keep their plants running at curtailed rates, whereas few manufactures have vigorously shutdown their plants. According to the sources, on 1st July, 2014 the oil ministry had passed a note to the cabinet demanding a fresh formula for gas price and will likely fragment the formula of Rangarajan for decisive domestic natural gas price.

According to the industry experts, the pricing formula that pushed the gas prices higher as suggested by the Rangarajan panel will be juggled around on certain elements by the government. Furthermore, the domestic prices through most calculations are expected to be double in near future from around USD 4.2/mBtu to around USD 8/mBtu from July, 2014.

Moreover, as per the sources to revive fertilizer plants several Indian public-sector companies are getting together that are also undertakings. Major fertiliser manufacturers of India Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., GAIL India and Coal India Ltd., will revive the Talcher unit of Fertilizer Corp of India by investing USD 1.3 billion with an aim of producing

1.2 million tons/annum of ammonium nitrate and urea. Furthermore according to the researched report, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. which is noted as one of the leading producers of fertilizers in India will aim to double its turnover in the next five years.

However, Ananth Kumar the Union Minister for Chemicals, Petrochemicals and Fertilisers on 4th July, 2014 had announced that at present there are no such plans to boost the prices of urea or cut the subsidies and the market of urea is currently tamed and valued at the cost of Rs. 5,360 a ton. In addition to it Ananth Kumar has pointed out that his ministry had sought good reason of more incentives and taxes in the imminent Budget for the fertilisers, petrochemicals and chemicals sector.

As per the sources, China is one the first country to use coal based ammonia production which is probably one of the aggressive methods, however the country has also produced methanol for olefins by using coal as a primary hydrocarbon resource. 

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India to pay for crude oil purchase from Iran through UAE central bank

India is considering clearing some of its pending oil payments to Iran through the United Arab Emirates central bank, under a system that would enable Washington to keep a an eye on the flow of the funds.

India will be making a payment of $1.65 billion under this system which involves sending funds through the US Federal Reserve.

Tehran has been permitted to access $4.2 billion in blocked funds, which can be seen as a token of appreciation for Tehran's cooperation in the nuclear talks.

Asian countries like Japan and South Korea have made payments in accordance with a schedule decided upon by world powers in November.

The payment has been divided into eight instalments, ranging from $450 to $650 million each, from February to July. India will be taking the last three instalments of $550 million each. Under the new system, RBI would purchase dollars from authorised currency dealers. The RBI would then ask the Federal Reserve to transfer dollars to the UAE central bank's account there.

The Western sanctions on Iran prevented access to banking channels for tansfer of crude oil payments, affecting its economy.

Iran has asked India to pay $1.65 billion in three equal instalments through the UAE central bank. The system used to make the payments is complex but will ensure transparency.

Firstly, Indian refuners would be directed to deposit money in rupees to the account of an Iranian bank with UCO Bank, which would be transferred to the RBI for remitting to a new account held by the UAE central bank.

The UAE central bank would then make payments to the Iranian central bank in dhirams. Once the RBI receives payment confirmation, they would remit an equivalent sum in dollars in the UAE account at the Fed. The RBI would also pay for the dollar purchases using funds in the UAE rupee account at the Indian central bank.

Indian oil refiners Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL.NS), Indian Oil Corp. (IOC.NS), Essar Oil (ESRO.NS), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS) and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd. will have to pay about $4 billion  to National Iranian Oil Co.

In the first two instalments, MRPL would be paying nearly $238 million, Essar $232 million, IOC $57 million, HPCL about $8 and HPCL-Mittal about $15 million. India has been making 45 per cent of the payments by remitting rupees into Iranian account with UCO Bank, which Tehran plans to use to import goods from India.

India had relief on Turkey's Halkbank HALBK.IS pay for its oil purchases but this channel was closed in February 2013.

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Growth of Chinese chemical industry led by urbanization

The chemical industry of China is expected to face a number of challenges but not without enjoying its share of opportunities. Urbanisation, increasing investment in infrastructure projects and growing consumer spending will be major sources of demand for bulk chemicals, specialty chemicals and high grade polymers.

The government is currently engaged in improving domestic consumption. The growing population and household income, increasing consumers and governmental support for domestic consumption are reasons to be optimistic. The retail market is likely to witness exponential growth and private consumption will account for a greater share of GDP, from 35 per cent in 2009 to 40 per cent in 2016. Consumer electronics are expected to grow by 23 per cent per year between 2008-2015.

With continuity in urbanisation consumption sources will also increase. China will likely achieve an urbanisation level of 60 per cent by 2020. Development of infrastructural facilities is on top of the priority list of the government and is also planning to use efficient transport logistics to link the country together.

Settling the rural workers into city life could cost around RMB 650 billion a year. About 390 million more people from rural areas are expected to be urbanised before 2030. The government will have to spend around RMB 51 trillion (USD 8.3 trillion) to complete the process of urbanisation. Theses figures indicate that China's domestic consumption may increase from RMB 16 trillion in 2011 to RMB 30 trillion in 2016.

The urbanization process will also improve infrastructure construction and investment in many related industries. Increased building construction and output in the manufacturing sector will drive gains. Changing building codes to limit energy use in building applications as we all as measures to limit energy consumption in manufacturing processes will further growth of the industry.

Building construction sector will continue to account for over two fifths of China's insulation demand. Construction is expected to witness a growth of 24 per cent until 2015. Urbanization, with greater focus on green buildings will spur further growth.

Water treatment is also growing at a fast pace. Increased water stress and environmental concerns in China generate huge potential for water treatment chemicals. The water treatment chemicals market is expected to be worth USD 3.3 billion a year by 2018.

Waste water treatment chemicals sector is also expected to witness major growth. Chemical firms have been engaged in developing green chemical products and nanotechnology to make the waste water treatment programme more effective.

Urbanisation and stable demand for automotive, wind & solar energy, water treatment, consumer electronics, packaged foods, construction sectors and water treatment will increase consumption of fine and specialty chemicals.

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Qatar to ensue with major projects despite losing the right to host World Cup

Qatar which is noted as one of the richest country per capita of the world by becoming the third largest natural gas and oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels. By becoming the richest country in the world, the impact on its financial and economy markets might latent much smaller than the propel to its reputation and with the blistering growth of the country might slowdown if it misses the right to host the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament.

Moreover, question are being raised as the country at this instant risks on losing the right to host the 2022 World Cup and after a long protracted voting process and to host the major sporting event in the year 2022, the Middle Eastern country in the year 2010 had beat Australia, Japan, South Korea and the US. The FIFA World Cup which is held after every four years by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is currently under pressure to demeanor a re-vote in the midst of recent accusation of bribery which had implicated in the bidding process, which resulted in Qatar winning the bid to host the event.

According to the Middle East-based industry source, the Petchem industry does not really need to be too concerned as the country will progress with its goals to develop the country rapidly with or without the World Cup. Moreover to build infrastructure, including stadiums the country is almost ready to squander USD 140 billion and the scheduled of massive spending is probable to decipher to robust demand for petrochemicals.

As per the data from state-owned Qatar National Bank (QNB), in the year 2013 the economy of Qatar had grow 6.5% due to aggressive government spending, however this year it is estimated to pick up pace and post a 6.8% growth. One of the major UAE based Polypropylene (PP) trader said that there are sequels benefits on hosting the World Cup as the demand of Petchem will augment in Qatar and the downstream sectors will flourish.

Furthermore the expected surge in the demand was one of the plans of the government to thrust in USD 25 billion to give a boost to the petrochemical capacity of Qatar to 23 million tons by 2020 in compare to 16.8 million tons in 2012. However with the fear of a FIFA World Cup pull-out, none of the Qatar projects are expected to be halted mid-way.

According to the industry experts, in the years leading to the World Cup event in 2022 the country has budgeted around USD 20 billion in investment for tourist infrastructure which will include the building of the Hamad International Airport in the second quarter of 2014. However if the country loses the chances to host the 2022 world cup then it might delay the construction of world scale football stadiums or sport complexes.

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Kuwait all set to be a a major global energy exporter

The year 2013 for Kuwait was noted as the richest nation of the world with USD 39,706 GDP per capita and as per the Middle East industry sources the country has heavy investments into infrastructure to boost its status as a major global energy exporter. According to the estimates from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) the country is the fifth largest crude oil reserves amid the 12 OPEC member countries and the current production of crude oil is around 2.98 million barrel/day wherein about 70% of it gets exported.

This year 2014, for infrastructure projects the country will be spending USD 3.5 billion which is noted more in compare to last year. One of the UAE based market players said that to stay ahead of the camber in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the country needs to boost its infrastructure, moreover countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman embrace the GCC.

In the beginning of 2014, a power outage had hit one of the petrochemical hub of Shuaiba and a petrochemical complex in the port town which was operated by one of the Kuwaiti producer EQUATE which is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC).

Furthermore, due to power outage at the petrochemical complex which had a production of Ethylene, Polypropylene, Ethylene Glycol, Styrene Monomer, Benzene and Paraxylene and also operations of three oil refineries which have a combined output of 930,000 barrels/day located in Mina Ahmadi, Mina Abdullah and Shuaiba at Kuwait were all disrupted. However to upgrade the petrochemical and crude oil capacity, Kuwait pushes on to improve the infrastructure.

By the year 2015, EQUATE will be taking a glance on increasing its PE capacity from its current production capacity of 825,000 mt/year through a debottlenecking process at its plant. Moreover according to the industry experts, the country has nearly production capacity of 3.4 million tons/year of basic chemical and meanwhile the output of crude oil has been estimated to rise in the year 2018, once the construction of a new refinery of 615,000 barrels/day in the district of Al-Zour gets completed.

Furthermore for most of the foreign industries, Kuwait is an undeveloped giant and for multinationals the imperative infrastructure and immense oil wealth apparently needs to make it an attractive prospect, however the country mostly depends on the efforts to drive economic reform bearing fruit. Additionally amid Iran and the Gulf Arab states which includes the main power Saudi Arabia, Kuwait is seen by few as a budding bridge.

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Chemicals used in face-wash can be harmful

Improving ones appearance will apparently be the morning routine, however usage of cosmetic products rite from face wash to make-up can really be harmful to our skin? Most of the chemicals that are being used to prepare cosmetic products contain thousands synthetic chemicals which are being used by the cosmetic industries and most of it do gets absorbed into our body and harm our skin. Most of the dermatologists recommend mild and non-irritating facial cleanser as it is does not contain fragrances which are one of the most harmful ingredients that are mostly found in all face-wash and cleansers.

A number of chemicals are found on the back side of the cosmetic and personal care product are mostly litter with the chemical ingredients which unable to pronounce and are heard for the first time. Several cosmetic producers manufacture their product on the bases that the product works and are willing to give up on having a pure product in exchange for a product which is at lesser rates and cheaper to make.

The cosmetic industry while making personal skin care product include harmful ingredients such as Fragrance, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Salicylic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Laureth-3, Sodium Hydroxide, Propylene Glycol, EDTA, Cetyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA and many more harmful chemicals are being used by most of the industries as they are cheap and is one of the most easiest alternatives to reach their desired result.

SLS (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate)

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) is also known as Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) which is noted as one of the harsh chemical that is mostly used to create foam mostly being used in engine degreaser, garage floors cleaners, detergents and car wash soap and is also use killing insects and weeds. However, in most of the face wash this type of chemical is used to create foam in your face wash. According to few research analysts, this chemical form in the containers of one’s face wash might cause potentially dioxins and carcinogenic nitrates by reacting with frequently used ingredients found in several products. By using face wash having SLS, a large amount of nitrates might enter the blood stream by allowing the chemical to absorb into your body and can even cause skin irritation or blotchy.

Fragrances

Skin is one of the largest organs of our body and when we use deviant skincare product, preservatives and fragrance it gets immersed through your skin and then into our body. This chemical which is laboratory created aroma is a combination of elements and chemicals and is also one of the cheapest ways to scent their product. This chemical used in the face wash is unnatural and can be hormone disruptors, even it can root reactions for people with asthma and allergies.

Preservatives

Preservatives are one of the most important chemical that is often found in all the face wash to help to prevent the growth of bacteria. Most of the preservatives found in the face wash contain few forms of Formaldehyde or Paraben which might be dangerous to your skin and health. Most of the common preservatives that are used in face wash are Diazolidinyl Urea, Bronopol, Phenoxyethanol (PE), DMDM Hydantion, as well as parabens.

However, most of the facial cleaners and face wash having natural ingredients are known to diminish the pollution, sun tan and also free radical damage.

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Petrochemical demand of Japan is expected to rise in 2014

In the annual meeting of Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference which was held on 15th and 16th May, 2014 in Pattaya, Thailand had released the report to all the participants. On 15th May, 2014 Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) said that in the year 2014 the growth of petrochemical demand of Japan is projected to slowly but surely rise in the country, on account of the depreciation of the Japanese yen and enduring steady growth of the US and the Chinese economies.

Moreover, in the petrochemical industry of Japan quiet a number of turnaround will be taking place this year mainly in the Northeast Asia (NEA) and due to these turnarounds, firm olefin demand and reduced output will facilitate Naphtha crackers to uphold lofty operating rates and at the same time price of olefin will settle at a comfortable level.

Furthermore in the global petrochemical market, Japanese petrochemical industry have been forced to strengthen its competitiveness due to increasing reliance on shale gas in North America and constructing new large scale petrochemical facilities in the Middle East and China. For this reason, the Japanese petrochemical industry especially in Asia needs to put into practice rationalisation as much as possible under the given conditions plus to seek growth markets.

According to Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA), few major Japanese petrochemical industries have listed some of the future plans which have decided to shutdown Naphtha crackers and also the industry should be restructured and involve optimization of domestic crackers. In the next two years, Japanese major Petrochemical manufactures Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei are likely to shut its Naphtha cracker plant permanently.

Japanese major Petrochemical manufactures Sumitomo and Asahi Kasei are likely to shut its cracker plant permanently in next two years. One of the major Japanese chemical producers Sumitomo Chemical has schedule to permanently shut its cracker plant in the month of May 2015. The plant is located in Chiba near Tokyo and has a production capacity of 415,000 tons/year. Furthermore, another major petrochemical producer Asahi Kasei has also planned to close down its cracker plant in the month of April 2016 having production capacity of 504,000 tons/year.

On the other hand, subsequent to the Japanese companies decision to cancel plans for a proposed Linear Alpha Olefins (LAO) unit at the US Gulf Coast, a joint venture with Japanese firms Mitsui & Co. Ltd and Idemitsu Kosan had terminated a long term ethylene off-take agreement by US based Dow Chemical. In spite of this termination of the agreement, the strategic growth investment of Dow Chemical in the region upholds to progress with several high-return, alternative uses for the ethylene which was included in the cancelled arrangement currently under evaluation.

According to separate releases from Dow Chemical and Mitsui on 18th March, 2013, Japanese manufacturers Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui first announced their proposed 50-50 joint venture as well as the ethylene off-take agreement with Dow Chemical in the month of March 2013. During this time the petrochemical major Mitsui had said that the LAO project was driven by the US shale production revolution, which the Japanese firms believed would secure access to cost-advantaged Ethylene feedstocks.

According to the industry experts, the joint venture had entered the front-end engineering and design phase for the project and in the year 2014 they expected a final investment decision, whereas for the proposed 330,000 mt/year LAO unit no precise location along the US Gulf Coast had been selected. However, if the cancelled project had been approved by now then the construction and start-up of the new unit was targeted for the year 2016.

According to the government data that was shown on 19th May, 2014, the Japanese Naphtha import in the month of April, 2014 for the petrochemical sector was down by 7% in compare to the same month of 2013. As per the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, last month in April, the Naphtha imports for Ethylene production was totaled to 0.99 million tonnes which was noted down by 1.07 million in compare to the same month of 2013.

Besides this the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association (JPCA) had suggested that the petrochemical industry of Japan should more focus on value added products through an affiliation with downstream industries like health care, electronics, automotive, as well as to promote ecological friendly technologies.

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E-cigarettes- a safe alternative to cigarettes?

Smoking is not so easy to quit, but the advent of e-cigarettes has apparently helped many kick the butt. E-cigarette is said to give a smoker an experience similar to cigarettes but without the toxic chemicals.

Researchers, however, do not vouch for the safety of this new innovation as it has no FDA regulations.

We have very little information about the chemicals inhaled by e-cigarette users. However, this is becoming a new fad, especially among adolescents.

Also, there is no evidence that e-cigarettes help smokers quit this harmful habit. The lack of FDA regulations have resulted in the use of nearly 19 chemicals, some of which are carcinogens.

E-cigarettes are said to comprise of nicotine and a high concentration of propylene glycol. This chemical is not supposed to be inhaled. Propylene glycol is what provides the smoke, but lack of information about the effect of this chemical on lungs when inhaled in a high concentration is a major hindrance.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has identified propylene glycol as an inhalant risk.

The general opinion about e-cigarettes are that they are a safe alternative to cigarettes, but we really don't know.

We don't have answers to questions like who produces e-cigarettes, the chemicals used in them and if these devices are safe to use.

Recently, Chicago implemented a ban on e-cigarettes, which is believed to be a good start.

A frightening trend is the growing number of middle school and high school students who have tried e-cigarettes. Health risks apart, this device is considered as an inroad to nicotine addiction.

Experts have placed more faith in methods such as oral medication and nicotine replacement.

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Global chemical price update video

Global chemical price aims to make the latest Indian chemical price updates, market analysis, latest petrochemical news and on-going chemical industry trends available for traders, manufacturers and end-users.

GCP is a one stop B2B chemical portal, which provides regular chemical price updates, latest petrochemical plants and projects news, capacity expansions, plant shutdown news, in-depth weekly market reports analysis with import details, domestic demand - supply scenario & international prices. It also provides immediate access to latest chemical company price updates which are meant for subscribers to understand the change in prices by major chemical companies into manufacturing of such chemicals. Everything you need to know about the Indian chemical market. With product-specific news and analysis make informed short-term purchasing decisions and long-term investing plans.

From the global economy, to price fluctuations, policy developments, chemical market highlights, upcoming projects latest technology and environment- GCP Blogs covers it all extremely important to petrochemical professionals.

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Research suggests relation between chemicals in our body and income

Researchers have stated that the chemicals in our body is not only affecting our health but also our social status.

The research was headed by Dr Jessica Tyrrel from the University of Exeter Medical School's European Centre for Environment & Human Health, in Cornwall.

This study aimed at examining linka between the buildup of chemicals in human body and their socio-economic status.

People from all economic backgrounds absorb chemicals, but what us important is that the type of chemical is dependent on economic status.

The conventional thinking has suggested that people belonging to lower socio-economic status have more toxic elements in their body.

As social standing improves, changes in lifestyle modify the types of toxicants in the human body, instead of reducing the overall amount.

This change in thought has altered the way experts treat chemical build ups. Thus, they have come to the conclusion that  they should move to dealing with groups based on lifestyle and not earnings.

The study has compared results from 6 separate populations, showing strong links between 18 different chemicals and poverty ratings.

People with higher incomes had greater amounts of toxicants like arsenic caesium, urinary mercury and thallium. The study suggests that diet plays a key role in chemical accumulation.

Consuming fish and shellfish can lead to build up of mercury, arsenic and thallium.

Sunscreen use is said to lead to accumulation of benzophenone-3, as people with higher incomes are more likely to use products with chemicals.

People belonging to lower socio-economic groups are more likely to have build-ups of cadmium, antimony, urninary lead and bisphenol A. Smoking combined with a poor diet are responsible for build-up of toxicants like cadmium.

Prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals can lead to health problems like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
This study has helped examine the relation between an individual's socio-economic status and chemicals. It will equip strategies formulated to improve human health.

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Indian chemical industries face challenges on global regulatory landscape

Global Chemical industries are currently faced with more and more complex regulatory environment including the REACH directive of EU, however, the chemical industries is amid the most highly regulated industries in the world and for good reason. In one of the recent conference that was held in Mumbai by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had highlighted few challenges that are mostly faced by the Indian chemical Industries when it comes to sever the international markets owing to several regulations and standards that need to be act in accordance with.

Many chemicals that are released by the industry factory are toxic to human body and have an adverse impact on the environment if they do not release the chemical without any treatment. These released chemical deceit a peril which needs to be managed through appropriate strategies that will minimise exposure and risk. However, the problem is complex and in this region the solutions need to be customized to factor in the maturity and the development of the industry.

Well developed parts of the world such as Western Europe, Japan, United States, Korea and many such countries have substantial chemical industries which have enforced tight laws governing both the kinds of chemicals which can be formed and used as well as the operations of chemical plants. REACH which has been enacted by the European Union (EU) as the most comprehensive and complex legislation is also an unprecedented in its scope and intricacy. It also governs substances manufactured or imported into the EU used surplus of more than 1 tonne annually in the region.

To emphasis on safety of the product, nowadays a trend towards product safety rather than process safety has been adopted by most of the chemical industries. In the instantaneous years in India, a lot of attention of regulators shifted rightly to process safety, to ensure safe operations of plants after the Bhopal gas tragedy that took place in the year 1984. Most of the chemical industries in the developed world have bemoaned on the regulations and laws that are imperious and sternly compromise their ability to compete, whereas, after evaluating the associated costs against the business gains projected, few major Indian chemical industries have reluctantly taken on the burden of registration in exporting to the developed world.

Aside of laws that preside over discharge of wastes into the air, water or land, Indian market are so far begin focused by the chemical industries that have had little or no local regulations to deal with, moreover, to authorize their use on the grounds of safety there are so far no over arching regulations that restrict the use chemicals in specific applications or mechanisms.

Furthermore, as per the researched analyst India is noted as one of the few countries in the world that has a substantial chemical industry, however, in commerce it is yet to have a national inventory of chemicals. Consequently, it is still fragmented in the global chemical regulatory landscape as well as inclusive harmonization is yet a delusion for the global chemical industry and is expected to prolong for a while.

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