US oil set for biggest monthly loss in over a year as floods hit demand

MOSCOW (MRC) - US crude oil prices are on track to post the steepest monthly losses in more than a year on Thursday as concerns spread over falling demand in the world's top oil-consuming country after storm Harvey knocked out almost a quarter of its refineries, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

But prices rallied in the oil products markets, with US gasoline futures hitting a two-year high above USD2 a gallon, buoyed by fears of a fuel shortage just days ahead of the Labor Day weekend that typically sees a surge in driving.

Harvey, which brought record flooding to the U.S. oil heartland of Texas and killed at least 35 people, has paralysed at least 4.4 MMbpd of refining capacity, according to company reports and Reuters estimates. The country's biggest fuel transport system, the Colonial Pipeline, also said it would shut its main diesel, jet fuel and gasoline lines because of outages at its supply points.

Traders from Europe to Asia were scrambling to fix fuel cargoes to the United States, with price reporting agency Argus registering a record monthly trade volume of European gasoline barges. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Stifel said infrastructure outages could last several months, although it was difficult to estimate the exact damage.

"We still expect production growth to resume, however Harvey probably pushed it out a couple of months or maybe even a quarter," said analysts at Stifel. Crude markets remained weak after sharp losses in the previous session. The closure of so many US refineries has resulted in a slump in demand for the most important feedstock for the petroleum industry.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were set to close the month down 8%, their steepest monthly loss since July 2016. They traded at USD46.09 a barrel at 1201 GMT, up 13 cents on the day, after falling more than 1 percent on Wednesday.

International benchmark Brent crude was at USD51.22, up 36 cents from the previous session, when the contract fell more than 2 percent. "Refineries outside the affected area may delay maintenance to benefit from high processing margins," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank.

"Hence, the negative impact on crude oil demand and oil product supply might be less severe than feared." U.S. crude and product stocks, typically watched closely by oil investors as they reflect market balancing, were largely ignored this week.

U.S. commercial crude stocks fell by 5.39 MMb last week to 457.77 MMb, the US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. That's down 14.5% from record levels reached in March.
MRC

SDK Group to found new liquefied CO2 gas plant in Oita Petrochemical Complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko Gas Products Co., Ltd. (SGP), a consolidated subsidiary of Showa Denko headquartered in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, has decided to found a new plant to produce liquefied carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in Showa Denko's Oita Petrochemical Complex located in Oita City, Oita Prefecture, said Yourpetrochemicalnews.

SDK and SGP plan to make the new plant utilize stable CO2 gas sources in the chemical plant of the Complex. The new plant is scheduled to be completed and start operation in August 2018, and will have annual production capacity of 15,000 tons. Foundation of the new plant will make SGP's liquefied CO2 gas production system to have two production bases in Kyushu region.

CO2 gas and dry ice (solidified CO2) are used in many fields including beverage, food, and other manufacturing industries. Liquefied CO2 gas is made of CO2 gas generated as a by-product of oil-refining, steel-making and ammonia production processes. However, the scaling back of oil-refining and ammonia production processes in Japan has been resulting in reduction in sources of raw CO2 gas to produce liquefied CO2 gas. Thus a tight supply-demand situation for liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice is chronic.

The Showa Denko Group produces and provides liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice at many production bases including Kawasaki Plant, which functions as the main base. To solve tight supply-demand situation and regional supply-demand imbalances concerning liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice, and to maintain stable supply of these products to our customers throughout the country, the Showa Denko Group has been increasing production of them at Kawasaki Plant, supplying them through long distance transportation, and importing dry ice even in off-peak seasons other than summer until now. However, substantial rises in transportation and raw material costs are problems to be solved as soon as possible.

Since further reduction in sources of raw CO2 gas is foreseen, the supply-demand situation for liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice is expected to be even tighter in the future. To cope with these problems and maintain stable supply of liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice to our customers in Kyushu, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions, SDK and SGP decided to found the new base to produce liquefied CO2 gas in the Showa Denko Group's Oita Petrochemical Complex. Taking advantage of the strengthened supply system, SDK and SGP will cope with changes in the supply-demand balances of liquefied CO2 gas and dry ice in a flexible and timely manner, while having due regard to further expansion of the Group's capacity to produce these products in the future.

In our ongoing medium-term business plan, "Project 2020+," we position our industrial gases business including CO2 gas and dry ice business as "Base-shaping" business. The Showa Denko Group will further strengthen the basis of our industrial gases business through various measures including development of new uses in the fields of foods, agriculture, and civil engineering.

Showa Denko K.K.is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries. The Petrochemicals Sector provides cracker products such as ethylene and propylene, the Chemicals Sector provides industrial and high-performance gases and chemicals and high-purity gases and chemicals for the semiconductor industry, and the Inorganics Sector provides ceramics products such as alumina, abrasive, refractory and graphite electrodes and fine carbon products. Today, the Aluminum Sector provides aluminum materials and high-value-added fabricated aluminum, the Electronics Sector provides HD media, compound semiconductors such as ultra high-bright LEDs and rare earth magnetic alloys, and the Advanced Battery Materials Department (ABM) provides lithium-ion battery components.
MRC

Largest US refinery may be shut up to two weeks

MOSCOW (MRC) — Motiva Enterprises' Port Arthur, Texas refinery, the nation's largest, may be shut as long as two weeks for assessment of the plant and repair of any damage, sources familiar with plant operations said on Thursday, as per Reuters.

The 603,000 bpd Port Arthur Refinery was shut on Wednesday due to flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey. Motiva said they were conducting an assessment of the refinery and could not provide a timeline for the refinery's restart.

"Given the unprecedented flooding in the city of Port Arthur, it remains uncertain how quickly the flood waters will recede, so we cannot provide a timeline for restart at this time," the company said in a statement.

One of the sources said the shutdown could be longer. "They're assessing damage as the water goes down," the source said.

In some places, water was 5 ft deep in the refinery, the sources said.
MRC

Global thermoplastic elastomers market to surpass USD20 bln by 2023

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global thermoplastic elastomers market is estimated to surpass USD20 bln by 2023, as per Plastemart with reference to Global Market Insights Inc.

The market share is moderately consolidated, with the major industry participants including Kraton Polymers, Dow Chemicals, LyondellBasell and BASF accounted for around 40% of the overall demand in 2015.

Superior elastomeric and thermoplastic properties for structural applications will drive the thermoplastic elastomers market growth. Emergence as an alternative for metal, rubber, glass or conventional engineered plastics has enhanced the industry growth. Strong application scope in medical and automotive due to favorable regulatory compliance are stimulating factors fueling product demand. Rising consumer awareness associated with safety and protection in electrical, electronic and other applications will support the thermoplastic elastomers market growth.

Styrenic block copolymer (SBC) was among the key contributors, and generated over USD 6 billion revenue in 2015. Consumer goods, medical equipment and packaging were major applications. Superior performance properties along with technological advancement in hydrogenated SBC are the major driving factors. TPV market will register growth above 5% up to 2023. High heat resistance properties coupled with growing demand for sustainable products has enhanced TPV consumption. TPU market size generated over USD1.5 bln in 2015. High thermal insulation properties have influenced its uses in wires & cables and tires. Construction and automobile industry expansion will enhance industry growth in this segment.

Rising demand for high fuel efficiency and low weight cars are key automotive industry trends encouraging thermoplastic elastomers market growth. Stringent government regulations against carbon emissions & greenhouse gases and PVC usage are other key encouraging factors. Thermoplastic elastomers being alternative to thermosets have substituted medical stoppers, lids and gaskets due to its high insulation and molding properties. High adaptability to modification, recyclability and waste reduction are the notable features supporting electronics application scope.

Rapid industrialization, rising disposable income and growing environment consciousness will drive the thermoplastic elastomers market growth. APAC thermoplastic elastomers market revenue was over USD4 bln in 2015. Regulatory support and innovations in automotive and medical applications in the emerging economies will drive the regional demand in coming years. China thermoplastic polyurethanes market size will surpass USD500 mln valuation with over 6% CAGR. Shifting automotive OEM’s preference for manufacturing bases in China and India due to large raw material and skilled labor availability, has made the region more lucrative.

North America thermoplastic elastomers market catered for over 25% of the global demand in 2015. EPA regulations to promote eco-friendly products coupled with rising product uses in medical equipment, sports & leisure equipment, automotive and construction industry are driving factors for the industry trends. MEA, driven by UAE and Saudi Arabia will witness gains over 4.5% up to 2023. Large crude oil reserves, growing demand for electronic goods and increased household spending are the factors to fuel the regional demand.
MRC

ExxonMobil completes Singapore refining-petchem plant acquisition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said it has completed the acquisition of Jurong Aromatics, a refining and petrochemical plant in Singapore, that will meet fast-growing demand in Asia, said said Reuters.

The acquisition will boost the U.S. company's aromatics production in Singapore to more than 3.5 MMtpy, including 1.8 MMtpy of paraxylene, a petrochemical used in the making of plastic bottles and synthetic fibre, ExxonMobil said in a statement.

The acquisition of Jurong Aromatics will also add about 65 Mbpd of transportation fuels capacity to ExxonMobil's Singapore production, the company said.
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