Ineos commissions two more ethane ships to bring US ethane to its sites in Scotland and Norway

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe has confirmed that it has reached an agreement with Evergas to order an additional two state-of-the-art ethane vessels, known as "Dragon Class" ships, to bring US ethane from shale gas to its manufacturing plants in Scotland and Norway, said the producer on its site.

The increased order raises the Ineos fleet to 8 Dragon Ships. This comes as construction of an ethane terminal starts at Grangemouth (Scotland) and another nears completion at Rafnes (Norway).

At Grangemouth construction of a new ethane import terminal and storage tank and infrastructure is well under way and should be completed in 2016. At Rafnes in Norway, both a new ethane storage tank and terminal, are approaching completion in time to be fully operational in 2015.

Thus, the increased order for new ethane carriers will satisfy the demand from Ineos crackers at Grangemouth and Rafnes.

David Thompson, Chief Operating Office Ineos Trading & Shipping says: "This exciting news is another important milestone in our plan to bring the benefits of US shale economics to our European sites. The ethane that we are bringing to our sites from the US is essential to these plants. As the most competitive feedstock in Europe and will be transformational for our operations. The two additional “Dragon Ships” mean we can transport sufficient volumes of ethane to meet the demands of our manufacturing sites and continue to take advantage of significant cost benefits."

As MRC reported earlier, in early 2013, Ineos Europe entered into 15-years shipping agreements with Evergas for the transportation of ethane into Europe from the US Mariner East project. Investment in a supply of US ethane is vital to secure the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of gas crackers that so far have relied on declining and expensive volumes from the North Sea.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Energy Corp. said its third-quarter earnings more than tripled, as the company’s refining and ethanol segments posted sharply results, said the Wall Street Journal.

Valero posted a profit of USD1.06 billion, or USD2 a share, up from USD312 million, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 4.8% to USD34.41 billion but still topped the USD31.6 billion analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected.

Valero said its refining segment’s throughput volumes averaged 2.8 million barrels a day, an increase of 42,000 barrels a day from a year earlier. Operating income in the unit more than doubled to USD1.66 billion from USD600 million a year earlier, reflecting higher volumes and increased availability of North American light crude oil on the Gulf Coast.

Chief Executive Joe Gorder said the company added capacity in the quarter with the completion of a 70,000-barrels-a-day rail unloading facility in Port Arthur, Texas.

In the ethanol segment, operating income surged 75.2% to USD198 million, helped by lower corn costs and increased volumes.

Valero said total costs and expenses fell 8% in the quarter to USD32.7 billion.

As MRC informed before, in July 2014 Valero Energy Partners LP approved the acquisition from certain subsidiaries of Valero Energy Corporation of the McKee Crude System, Three Rivers Crude System, and Wynnewood Products System for total consideration of USD154 million.

Valero Energy Partners LP is a fee-based, growth-oriented, traditional master limited partnership formed by Valero Energy Corporation to own, operate, develop, and acquire crude oil and refined petroleum products pipelines, terminals, and other transportation and logistics assets. With headquarters in San Antonio, the Partnership's assets include crude oil and refined petroleum products pipeline and terminal systems in the Gulf Coast and Mid-Continent regions of the United States that are integral to the operations of several of Valero's refineries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical Corp. reported a decline in its third-quarter profit to USD167.8 million or USD1.25 per share from USD170.3 million or USD1.27 per share last year, said Rttnews.

The company's earnings were affected by Westlake Chemical Partners formation and initial public offering costs and Vinnolit acquisition-related costs of USD21.6 million, after tax, an elevated effective tax rate and several unplanned outages.

On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of USD1.56 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Quarterly sales rose to USD1.25 billion from USD1.00 billion last year, while analysts were looking for sales of USD1.19 billion.

The sales growth was mainly attributable to sales contributed by Vinnolit, which the firm had acquired in July.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC resin and PVC building products including pipe and specialty components, windows and fence.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian importers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) increased their October costs for PET chips purchasing in foreign markets because of the fall of the rouble, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Asian material entered the Russian PET market in October, which was bought at USD1,350-1,410/tonne CIF Novorossiysk, excluding VAT. Subject to customs clearance (given the rouble exchange rate from Rb41 to Rb42.5 per USD1) and the payment of VAT, the cost of procurement of such chips could have been Rb68,000-73,500/tonne CPT, including VAT, said MRC analyst Igor Gryshchenko.

Russian companies significantly reduced their purchasing in Asia on the back of the rouble devaluation and large PET stocks in September. A market source said lower September purchasing had led to a decrease in PET chips imports in October.

October spot prices of Russian PET were in the range of Rb61,500-63,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Imports are expected to further drop in November and December on the back of the overall decline in PET chips consumption in Russia and the rouble devaluation.

This week's PET prices went down in Asia. Export prices were at USD1,100-1,130/ton FOB Shanghai.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical on Tuesday unveiled a new study to expand its low viscosity polyalphaolefins (PAO) capacity by 10,000 tpy of capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Currently, its low viscosity PAO capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant is 48,000 tpy.

Additionally, the company has filed the necessary environmental notifications with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Final project approval would be sought in the second quarter of 2015, and project completion is targeted for 2016.

"This proposed expansion will help us to meet our increasing customer demand for sustainable products," said Miles Oberton, global business manager of polyalphaolefins for Chevron Phillips Chemical.

"PAOs provide energy efficient solutions to meet higher performance requirements, particularly in automotive and industrial applications," he added.

Chevron Phillips Chemical is a leader in the development and production of PAOs, marketed under the brand name Synfluid PAO, which includes both high and low viscosity PAOs. Chevron says the Synfluid PAOs are well-suited for a variety of automotive and industrial applications including gear oils, greases and automotive lubricants.

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2014, Chevron Phillips Chemical started construction of its 100,000-tpy expansion of normal alpha olefins (NAO) capacity at its Cedar Bayou plant. The NAO project is expected to be complete in July 2015 and utilizes Chevron Phillips Chemical’s proprietary NAO technology.

Normal alpha olefins are used as a feedstock for PAO production.

Chevron Phillips Chemical, headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
MRC