Lyondell Basell Industries refinery had minor problems from storm

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lyondell Basell Industries’ 263,776 barrel-per-day Houston refinery had a minor upset in steam supply that was corrected quickly and not repeated, said Hydrocarbonprocessng.

Refineries in the Houston area suffered only minor problems in the first night of Tropical Storm Imelda’s passage across the southeast Texas, sources familiar with plant operations.

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2019, LyondellBasell’s Bayport Complex in Pasadena, Texas, commemorated 50 years of operation at its propylene oxide plant and provided an update on their role in the company’s most significant capital project to date, the construction of the largest propylene oxide (PO), tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) plant in the world.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

SIBUR considering dollar-denominated Eurobond issue

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR Holding, Russia’s largest integrated petrochemicals company, announces the successful float of five-year Eurobonds worth USD500 million on the Irish Stock Exchange, said the company.

The initial coupon rate, set at 3.75% per annum, decreased to 3.45% per annum during the book-building. Coupon payments will be made every six months. The Company intends to use the funds to continue carrying out its growth strategy and to optimize its credit portfolio.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Gazprombank and Sberbank CIB acted as lead coordinators and book runners, while Banca IMI SpA was the lead manager. The total demand exceeded USD1.3 billion. The Company’s Eurobonds were purchased by global investors, more than half of which were foreign ones (Russia, 41%; Continental Europe, 26%; Asia and MENA, 15%; the UK 11%; the USA, 7%). Moody’s rated the bonds at Baa3, while Fitch gave them a rating of BBB-.

Alexander Petrov, SIBUR’s Managing Director for Economics and Finance and a member of the Company’s Management Board, noted: “Since the Company placed its first Eurobonds back in 2013, SIBUR has undertaken a substantial transformation of its business, implementing large-scale investment projects and forming a solid foundation for long-term sustainable growth. While its business developed, the Company’s indebtedness remained at a comfortable level. I am pleased to announce that we have taken another successful step in public capital markets, and I am grateful to investors who value our business model, which ensures sustainable growth”.

In 2018, SIBUR reported revenue of USD 9.1 billion and EBITDA of USD 3.2 billion. Over the past 10 years, SIBUR has implemented a number of large-scale investment projects worth more than RUB 850 billion. Each year, the Company spends no less than 70% of its EBITDA to finance the investment program, while maintaining a balanced debt burden.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

SIBUR is the leader of the Russian petrochemical industry and one of the largest companies globally in this sector. It has more than 26,000 employees. The Company’s unique vertically integrated business model allows it to create highly competitive products consumed in the chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction, energy and other industries in 80 countries worldwide.

MRC

Air Liquide to build two large ASUs to supply Methanex and other customers on the Gulf Coast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide said on Wednesday that it has agreed with Methanex Corp. to supply oxygen, nitrogen and utilities to its upcoming methanol plant expansion project at Geismar, Louisiana, reported Chemweek.

Air Liquide will invest more than USD270 million in two new large air separation units (ASUs) and infrastructure assets connected to its Mississippi River pipeline, and significantly increase its production capacity in the US Gulf Coast region to serve Methanex and its other customers in the industrial basin that encompases Geismar and Baton Rouge.

To support the levels of oxygen and nitrogen needed at Methanex’s third methanol plant at Geismar, as well as other customers along its Mississippi River pipeline system, Air Liquide will build two new ASUs with a capacity of 2,500 metric tons/day of oxygen each - increasing the company’s Mississippi River pipeline’s capacity by more than 25%.

The new ASUs are expected to start production in mid-2022 to support Methanex’s production of methanol.

"Air Liquide’s significant investment to support… Methanex and enhance our infrastructure in the Geismar Basin further demonstrates our global commitment to energy efficiency, our collaborative approach to meeting the needs of customers, and highlights our outlook for the robust growth of industry in the Gulf Coast region of the US," said Michael Graff, executive vice president and executive committee member of Air Liquide.

As MRC informed before, in April 2018, Air Liquide signed a new long-term agreement with LyondellBasell, one of the world’s largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies, to supply oxygen to LyondellBasell’s new large-scale petrochemical plant which will be constructed in Channelview, Texas.

Besides, in July 2019, Air Liquide signed a long-term agreement with Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a 50/50 joint venture between ExxonMobil and SABIC, to supply oxygen and nitrogen from its industrial gas pipeline network to GCGV’s planned ethane cracker facility located near Corpus Christi, in Texas.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

Ethan supply to Petro Rabigh expected to be cut by 20%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia's Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company, or Petro Rabigh, might face a further curtailment of feedstock supplies, as per the company's press release.

In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange or Tadawul, the company said that "based on the latest developments, the supply of ethane will be reduced by 20%".

Earlier this week, Petro Rabigh said it sees ethane gas supply cut by 8% and crude oil by 12.5%.

At present, the company is evaluating the final impact, any significant developments will be disclosed later.

As repported earlier, attacks on Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais field on Saturday morning have led to production cuts of around 5.7 million b/d, representing about half of the company's production capacity.

Petro Rabigh has a refinery in Rabigh with a crude processing capacity of 400,000 b/d. The company also has an ethane cracker which is able to produce 1.6 million mt/year of ethylene. Its downstream units can produce 600,000 mt/year of monoethylene glycol and 1.06 million mt/year of polyethylene.

Saudi Aramco supplies ethane and crude oil to Petro Rabigh and also owns a 37.5% stake in the company. Japan's Sumitomo Chemical owns another 37.5% stake in Petro Rabigh.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, has an annual output capacity of 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals.
MRC

Exports of injection moulded PET chips from China to Russia grew by 34% in January-August

MOSCOW (MRC) - Exports deliveries of injection moulded PET chips from China to the Russian market increased by 34% in January-August, according to MRC DataScope survey.

Thus, exports of bottled PET from China to Russia in eight months increased by 34% to 95,600 tonnes. The share of exports of PET from China increased to 90% against 85% in the same period last year.
Imports of Chinese PET to Russia in August decreased by 41% to 7,600 tonnes against 12,800 tonnes in July. The leading Chinese suppliers to the Russian market were producers Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, Yisheng, Wankai and Sinopec.

As it was earlier said, supply of imported material in July decreased by 7% compared to July 2018 and amounted to 15,580 tonnes of PET.
Imports of PET to Russia increased to 117,840 tonnes in seven months of 2019, up 19% year on year.
MRC