Page 25 - Plastics News July 2017

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output in tandem with cuts by the Saudi-dominated oilfield, further down the west coast.
cartel’s members.
While the location is novel for SABIC, the company
The Kazakh government promised to trim output by 20,000 has made landmark moves over the past year towards
bpd from reference production of 1.7 million bpd but is realisation of longstanding plans for overseas expansion,
reportedly seeking some recognition of the additional signing provisional agreements to develop a coal-to-
crude coming on stream from the newly commissioned chemicals (CTC) plant in northwestern China and a facility
giant Kashagan field, where output is due to roughly in Texas fed by US shale gas.
double to 370,000 bpd by the end of the year. According Abu Dhabi’s MIC – formally established in early May through
to statements carried in the local press, a memorandum the merger of the government’s MDC and International
of understanding (MoU) was signed on the sidelines of the Petroleum Investment Co. (IPIC) – also signed a co-
ministerial meeting between SABIC’s CEO Yousef al-Benyan operation agreement with UCC later that month which
and Zhenis Osserbay, the chairman of United Chemical was said to include studying the joint development of a
Co. (UCC) – the state firm spearheading Astana’s drive to PE complex in Kazakhstan.
develop the local downstream industry. The deal entails
a feasibility study on the development polyethylene Kazakh officials reported that the deal had been preceded
(PE), polypropylene and methanol projects at the Atyrau by talks in Vienna – where MIC-owned chemicals giant
petrochemicals zone on the central Caspian coast. Borealis and affiliate OMV are based. Both OMV and the
former MDC have some upstream experience in the Caspian
UCC has been planning for several years to develop a state – with the former operating four producing onshore
multi-billion dollar polymer complex at the site to process fields in the west.
associated gas currently flared from the onshore Tengiz

NAFTA negotiating plan released

The Trump administration's July 17 release of its plan to modernizeNAFTA takes aim at the U.S.
trade deficit with Mexico and promises updates in areas like digital commerce and labor and
environmental provisions.

nited States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer bilateral goods trade balance with Mexico has gone from a
Ureleased a detailed and comprehensive summary of $1.3 billion surplus to a $64 billion deficit in 2016. Market
the negotiating objectives for the renegotiation of the access issues have arisen in Canada with respect to dairy,
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). wine, grain and other products — barriers that the current
agreement is unequipped to address.
According to the reports through the renegotiation of NAFTA,
the Trump Administration will seek a much better agreement The negotiating objectives also include adding a digital
that reduces the U.S. trade deficit and is fair for all Americans economy chapter and incorporating and strengthening labor
by improving market access in Canada and Mexico for U.S. and environment obligations that are currently in NAFTA
manufacturing, agriculture, and services. side agreements. Additionally, among other objectives,
the Administration will work to eliminate unfair subsidies,
In addition to President Trump being the first American
president to begin renegotiating a comprehensive free trade market-distorting practices by state owned enterprises, and
agreement like NAFTA, for the first time USTR has included burdensome restrictions on intellectual property.
deficit reduction as a specific objective for the NAFTA The negotiating objectives aim to apply the highest standards
negotiations. Since NAFTA was implemented in 1994, the U.S. covering the broadest possible range of goods and services to

25 July 2017 | Plastics News