NOVA begins using Marcellus Shale ethane as feed for Ontario cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals has held a ceremony to commemorate the first barrels of ethane sourced from the Marcellus Shale being utilized at its Canadian cracker in Corunna, Ontario, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

NOVA began consuming the new feedstock in late December 2013 as part of a project to revamp its Corunna cracker to utilize up to 100% natural gas liquid feedstock.

"The introduction of Marcellus Shale ethane into the feedstock diet at our Corunna cracker marks a tremendous milestone in our journey to utilize more cost-competitive feedstock in Ontario, which should result in stronger and more consistent financial performance for our Ontario-based assets," said NOVA Chemicals CEO Randy Woelfel.

"This is a critical component to our NOVA 2020 growth strategy of capitalizing on new feedstock sources to meet our current needs and expanding customer demands," he added.

The company says the move is in line with its strategy to ensure the long-term economic viability of its Ontario assets.

"We are excited to be the first petrochemical company to use this emerging feedstock source as we move toward the completion of our cracker revamp and increase the volumes of ethane consumed through the quarter," said Tom Thompson, manufacturing leader for NOVA Chemicals in Sarnia.

"Our cracker revamp coupled with the availability of new, cost-competitive feedstock sources creates a great foundation for our recently announced growth plans in the Sarnia, Ontario region," he added.

As MRC informed before, in early 2013 NOVA Chemicals decided build two polyethylene (PE) plants and expand its ethylene capacity. NOVA has taken several actions to secure additional ethane feedstock supply for its crackers in Corunna, Ontario, and Joffre, Alberta. The company remains on target for a late-2015 startup for its Polyethylene 1 expansion project in Alberta, expected to add at least 950 million lbs/year of linear low density (LLDPE) production the plant.

Nova Chemical is one of the largest world's petrochemical companies, a manufacturer of polyethylene, styrene polymers, monomers, and many other related products.
MRC

BASF-YPC to restart LDPE/EVA plant in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF-YPC Co. Ltd. is in plans to restart a low density polyethylene(LDPE)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is likely to be restarted by this weekend. The plant was shut for a maintenance turnaround.

Located in Nanjing, Jiangsu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, BASF and SINOPEC (China Petroleum & Chemical Corp) are considering the extension of their Nanjing joint venture BASF-YPC Company with the expansion of existing ethylene oxide (EO) production, and a new plant for neopentylglycol (NPG). BASF-YPC will further expand its acrylic acid value chain with additional acrylic acid and butyl acrylate plants. Production is expected to commence in 2014.

BASF-YPC Company Limited is a 50-50 joint venture formed in 2000 between BASF and SINOPEC.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) is a large scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. SINOPEC is China"s largest manufacturer and supplier of major petrochemical products.

BASF is the worldпїЅs leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas.
MRC

CNPC increases production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) posted a rise in output during 2013, driven mainly by an increase in overseas production, said Upstreamonline.

China's Xinhua news agency reported the company's output had risen 10.2%, compared to 2012, to 306.65 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

It added that the increase was largely due to an 18.1% increase, year-on-year, from overseas production which totalled 123 million tonnes of oil equivalent.

CNPC is planning to further increase production this year to 329.67 million tonnes of oil and gas Xinhua reported, citing CNPC general manager Liao Yongyuan.

The news agency also reported that trade volumes from CNPC's operating centres in Europe, Asia and North America increased 10.9%, compared to 2012, to USD266 billion in 2013. As MRC wrote before, Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook of China National Petroleum Corporation's (CNPC) from positive to stable.

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the largest oil & gas company in China in terms of reserves and production. It is wholly owned by the government, and is the largest state-owned enterprise in terms of assets, and second-largest in terms of revenue. Its oil & gas reserves of 23 billion boe and production of 1.67 billion boe also position it among the top five integrated oil and gas companies in the world.
MRC

BP predicts slowdown in global energy demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global energy demand continues to grow but that growth is slowing and is mainly driven by emerging economies, led by China and India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The fourth annual edition of the BP Energy Outlook 2035 includes the oil company’s view of the most likely developments in global energy markets further 2035, based on up-to-date analysis. The outlook reveals that global energy consumption is expected to rise by 41% from 2012 to 2035?compared to 55% over the past 23 years (52% over the past 20 years) and 30% over the past 10 years.

Also, 95% of that demand growth is expected to come from the emerging economies. Energy use in the advanced economies of North America, Europe and Asia as a group is expected to grow very slowly and to decline in the later years of the forecast period.

Shares of the major fossil fuels are converging with oil, natural gas and coal; each is expected to make up around 27% of the total energy mix by 2035. The remaining shares will come from nuclear, hydroelectricity and renewables. Among the fossil fuels, natural gas is growing fastest hydrocarbon; it is increasingly being used as a cleaner alternative to coal for power generation as well as in other sectors.

Oil is expected to have slowest growth trend of the major fuels to 2035, with demand growing at an average of just 0.8%/yr. Nonetheless, the demand for oil and other liquid fuels will be 19 million bpd higher in 2035 than 2012. All of the net oil demand growth is expected to come from outside the OECD nations. Oil demand growth from China, India and the Middle East will account for almost all of net demand growth. Growth in the supply of oil and other liquids (including biofuels) to 2035 is expected to come primarily from the Americas and Middle East.

Natural gas is expected to be the fastest growing of the fossil fuels, with demand rising at an average of 1.9%/yr. Non-OECD countries are expected to generate 78% of demand growth. Industry and power generation account for the largest increments of new demand. LNG exports are expected to grow more than twice as fast as gas consumption, at an average of 3.9%/yr, and accounting for 26% of the growth in global gas supply to 2035.

Shale gas supplies are expected to meet 46% of the growth in gas demand and account for 21% of world gas and 68% of US gas production by 2035. North American shale gas production growth is expected to slow after 2020 and production from other regions to increase, but in 2035, North America is still expected to account for 71% of world shale gas production.

BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. As MRC wrote before, the board of Rosneft has approved deals to sell refined products to BP worth more than USD6 billion. This comes on top of a prior agreement to sell oil worth USD5.3 billion to BP.
MRC

Fitch affirms JSC SIBUR at 'BB+' with stable outlook

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fitch Ratings has affirmed Russia-based petrochemical group JSC SIBUR Holding's (SIBUR) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' with stable outlook, according to the agency press release.

SIBUR Securities Limited's five-year USD1,000m notes, guaranteed by SIBUR and due 2018, have also been affirmed at senior unsecured 'BB+'. The Short-term IDR has been affirmed at 'B'.

Although agency expects poor market conditions in synthetic rubbers to translate into weaker results than forecasted under our previous 2013 base rating case, the ratings continue to be supported by SIBUR's leading position in the Russian petrochemicals sector, its diversified portfolio and its access to competitively priced feedstock. This in turns underpins its strong operational cash flow generation over the cycle.

The group's ratings are constrained by higher-than-average systemic risks associated with the Russian business and jurisdictional environment. Excluding these risks, SIBUR's credit profile is assessed at the 'BBB' category.

SIBUR continues its evaluation on the ZapSib-2 multi-billion-dollar project, which would entail the construction of an integrated production complex in Tobolsk, with 1.5mtpa ethylene, 1.5mtpa polyethylene (PE) and 0.5mtpa polypropylene (PP) capacity. The final investment decision was recently postponed to no earlier than end-1H14. The project's characteristics, including its size, implementation schedule and financing structure, could have a significant impact on the company's leverage and coverage metrics, and thus remain one of our key rating issues.
MRC