Asian imports of Iranian oil hit 14-month low

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of Iranian crude by major buyers in Asia fell for a second month in a row to a 14-month low in June, weighed down by sluggish purchases by China and Japan, reported Reuters.

It is the first time that import volumes of Iranian crude by Asia's four main buyers have fallen for two straight months since Western sanctions against Tehran were lifted in January last year, leading to a spike in shipments.

China, India, South Korea and Japan together imported 1.46 MMbpd last month, down 15.2% on a year ago and the lowest amount since 1.32 MMbpd in April last year, government and ship-tracking data showed.

The fall comes as Iran aims to raise oil output to around 4 MMbpd by the end of the year from around 3.8 MMbpd in recent months, and increases shipments to Europe.

For the first six months of 2017, purchases by Asia's main buyers were still up 21% on a year ago at 1.71 MMbpd.

Iran was exempted from an agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce output by 1.2 MMbpd, a victory for Tehran which has argued it needs to regain the market share it lost under Western sanctions over its disputed nuclear program.

The latest data showed India's imports of Iranian crude rose more than 30% in the first three months of India's financial year in April–June.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in mid-July that India's state refiners plan to buy less Iranian oil in 2017/18 compared with the last fiscal year due to commercial and operational considerations.

Japan's trade ministry on Monday released official data showing its Iranian imports fell for a second straight month last month.

NITC, Iran's leading oil tanker operator, said this month its shipments to Europe were increasing daily and the company plans to upgrade its fleet to support expansion.

As MRC informed before, Litasco, the trading arm of Russia's Lukoil, became the first buyer in Europe since the lifting of sanctions. The Swiss trader delivered 1 million bbl of Iranian Light grade to Lukoil's Petrotel refinery in Romania, loading at Iran's Kharg Island terminal on February 5, 2016.
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MOSCOW (MRC) --Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has signed a global Enterprise Framework Agreement (EFA) renewal with Shell Oil Company to provide concept, front-end engineering, detailed design, procurement, project management, construction management and construction services for Shell projects globally, reported BusinessWire.

The agreement aligns with Shell’s ongoing efforts to transform the way its projects are delivered by improving capital and financial efficiencies.

"We look forward to continuing to work with Shell. This agreement fosters fresh and innovative project delivery solutions to help meet our joint goal of increased capital efficiency and economic results," said Jacobs Petroleum & Chemicals President Gary Mandel.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2016, Royal Dutch Shell signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran’s National Petrochemical Co. (NPC) for cooperation in the petrochemical industry.

Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of full-spectrum technical, professional and construction services for industrial, commercial and government organizations globally. The company employs over 54,000 people and operates in more than 25 countries around the world.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sadara Chemical Company, the largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase, has successfully started up the Kingdom’s first Polyols plant, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This manufacturing facility produces specialty chemicals that go into the production of polyurethanes and specialty foams.

The polyols plant is one of the last of Sadara’s 26 chemical facilities to start up. It is also one of Sadara’s 14 facilities that will produce specialty chemicals never before produced in Saudi Arabia.

Sadara has two Polyol trains which use propylene oxide and ethylene oxide to produce multiple grades of polyether polyols. The products are used in a broad range of industrial applications, including the production of specialty foams for trim and seating applications, TDI molding and formulating systems, noise/vibration/harshness molding, flexible molding, high-resiliency molded foams and more.

As MRC informed earlier, in late December 2016, Sadara Chemical Co started a planned maintenance of a mixed-feed cracker at its parent company's petrochemical complex in Jubail. The shutdown of the facility lasted six weeks, with the company's three polyethylene (PE) trains also shut during the period as Sadara completes improvements to their reliability and scheduled maintenance.

Sadara Chemical is a USD20 billion petrochemical joint venture between national oil giant Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shanghai Golden Phillips Petrochemical Co, a subsidiary of Sinopec Shangai Petrochemical Co, has shut a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant for turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has started maintenance at the plant on July 28, 2017. The plant is likely to remain off-line for around 10 days.

Located in Shanghai, China, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 135,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, this year, Shanghai Golden Phillips Petrochemical Co. already shut down this HDPE plant in China. The company resumed operations at the plant on June 13, 2017, wheres the plant was shut in end-May 2017, owing to lack of feedstock availability.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US independent oil refiner Phillips 66 reported a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit helped by strength in its chemicals and refining units, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company said earnings from its refining business, its biggest income generator, rose more than 50% to USD224 MM in Q2 2017 due to higher volumes and lower costs.

Phillips 66, which also stores and transports fuels, said earnings from its chemicals business rose to USD196 MM from USD190 MM helped by higher volumes and improved margins.

Consolidated earnings rose to USD550 MM, or USD1.06 per share, in Q2 2017 ended June 30, from USD496 MM, or 93 cents per share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Phillips 66 earned USD569 MM or USD1.09 per share. That was higher than analysts' expectation of USD1.01 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

As MRC wrote before, US refiner Phillips 66 expects a permit will be granted to build an oil pipeline under the Missouri River near Native American land in North Dakota, said Chief Executive Officer Greg Garland in November 2016.

Phillips 66 is an American multinational energy company headquartered in Westchase, Houston, Texas. It debuted as an independent energy company when ConocoPhillips spun off its downstream assets and midstream assets. Phillips 66 began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 1, 2012, under the ticker PSX. The company is engaged in producing natural gas liquids (NGL) and petrochemicals.
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