Poland

Petrochemicals

The most important event affecting petrochemical production in 2008, was the scheduled overhaul of basic units at the Petrochemical Production Plant in Płock and polymer units at Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. as well as a significantly reduced demand for products from manufacturers of plastic materials (polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, PET, polyamide), synthetic rubber, ethoxylate (for producing surface-active agents) and polyols, TDI (for producing polyurethanes), caprolactam, Bisphenol A, phenol resin, cooling fluids, phthalic anhydride and artificial fertilisers.

The major recipients of ethylene and propylene from the Płock plants were plastic manufacturers, in particular ANWIL SA and Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. Other products, outside the domestic market, were mainly purchased in Germany, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Total export sales of Płock products in 2008 almost doubled compared to 2007.

The main polyolefin import sources to Poland were: Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary and Slovakia. Other petrochemical products were mainly imported from Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Belarus and Finland.

Production volume of selected petrochemicals in PKN ORLEN SA in 2007–2008 (tonnes)

	2007	2008	Dynamics
Ethylene	623 698*	539 866*	-13,40%
Propylene**	408 522*	356 079*	-12,80%
Butadiene	59 265	57 398	-3,20%
Benzene	164 236*	141 004*	-14,1°%
Toluene	139 848*	127 436*	-8,90%
Paraxylene	31 061	24 148	-22,30%
Phenol	49 725	43 763	-12,00%
Acetone	31 706	27 796	-12,30%
Glycols	103 830	87 464	-15,80%
Cooling fluids	14 780	10 072	-31,90%
Solvents	11 215	10 486	-6,50%
Sulphur	127 274	132 195	3,90%
Ethylene oxide	16 988	12 409	-27,00%

* Total produce for sale and own consumption.

**Total propylene manufactured at the Production Plant in Płock.

Plastics

The volume of products manufactured at Basell Orlen Polyolefins was nearly 80 thousand tonnes less than in 2007. Reduced production in polyethylene and polypropylene segments was due to lower demand for plastic materials, in particular from car part and pipe manufacturers. As a result of lower demand for polymers, their prices dropped below monomer prices.

Polyolefin production volumes at Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. in 2007–2008 (thousand tonnes)

	2007	2008	Dynamics
LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene)	117	102	–12,9%
HDPE (High Density Polyethylene	275	251	–8,9%
PP (Polypropylene)	379	341	–10,0%
Total	771	694	–10,1%

Polyolefin sale volumes at Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. in 2007–2008 (thousand tonnes)

	2007	2008	Dynamics
HDPE	265,8	258	-3%
LDPE	114,2	106,8	-7%
PP	381,4	352,2	-8%
Total	761,4	717	-6%

Over 40% of sales from Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. goes to the Polish market. The remaining volume is distributed within LyondellBasell European delivery chain. In 2008, the main foreign recipients of Płock products were customers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain.

All the Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp. z o.o. products are portioned and packed, and dispatched from a modern logistics platform consisting of 63 silos of 400 tonnes each, located within 95,000 m2.