Saudi Arabia aims to export gas, petrochemicals soon: energy minister

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude exporter, plans to add gas and petrochemicals to its slate of exports and will soon make a major announcement on the topic, reported S&P Global with reference to the country's energy minister's statement on Sunday.

"Soon you will hear about the ability of the kingdom to be a gas exporter and a petrochemical exporter," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in a televised speech. He didn't provide further details.

Saudi Arabia has been ramping up exploration for gas to help feed an expanding industrial base and to replace crude with gas in power generation. The kingdom plans to produce 70% of its power from gas and 30% from renewable energy, the minister has previously stated. Currently the country burns mostly oil to produce power.

Last March, former Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih announced the discovery of large amounts of gas in the Red Sea, without specifying the amount found.

Saudi Aramco, the state-run energy giant that is the world's biggest oil producing company, had output of 8.9 billion standard cubic feet/day of natural gas and 1 Bscf/d of ethane in 2018. Its gas reserves at the end of 2018 stood at 233.8 Tscf.

Aramco is also in the midst of taking over SABIC, the Middle East's largest petrochemical producer. It announced a deal last year to acquire a 70% stake in the Riyadh-based company for USD69 billion. Aramco had a net and gross chemical production capacity of 16.7 million tons/year and 33.2 million tons/year, respectively at the end of 2018, according to its IPO prospectus. The company will release its full-year 2019 results on March 16.

At the end of 2018, SABIC's total annual production was 75.3 million tons, including 61.8 million tons of petrochemical and specialty products.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest oil producer by far, pumped 9.74 million b/d in January, according to the latest S&P Global Platts OPEC survey, as exports were largely stable while refinery runs were down due to planned maintenance. That is 400,000 b/d below its quota of 10.14 million b/d as it seeks higher oil prices to carry out major economic reforms.

As MRC informed before, in October 2018, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-run China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, was forced to shut down a 100,000 barrels per day crude oil refinery in east China and cut processing rates at other two plants due to the coronavirus, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.

ChemChina switched off the 5 million tonnes per year crude oil unit at Zhenghe refinery in Shandong province on Wednesday, two of the sources said.

The company also reduced operating rates at two other plants in the province - Changyi and Huaxing - to 60% earlier this week from 70% previously. The two plants have a combined crude processing capacity of around 300,000 bpd.

As MRC wrote before, China's independent refineries in eastern Shandong province have cut February run rates to a four-year-low of around 40% in February, down from 63.5% in January, as product sales slump due to the coronavirus outbreak. Twelve refineries with a combined capacity of 39.6 million mt/year have shut since late January, resulting in the average run rate in the province falling to 40.9% in February, according to local energy information provider JLC.

We remind that Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical, part of China's petrochemical giant - Sinopec, resumed operations at its cracker in China on December 5, 2019, following a turnaround. The cracker was shut for maintenance on October 12, 2019. Located in the Guangzhou province of China, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 260,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German industrial chemical corporation Evonik has developed a Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) bioresorbable powder designed to create 3D printed implantable medical devices, said the company.

Known as RESOMER PrintPowder, this material has been created to produce strong, durable parts with stress shielding capabilities to prevent bone loss as a result of an implant. Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, SVP and General Manager of the Health Care business line, stated: “The free-flowing processability of RESOMER PrintPowder will, for the first time, allow medical device companies to utilize SLS 3D printing technologies to create complex bioresorbable implants with precisely tailored mechanical properties."

Under the Nutrition & Care segment of Evonik, the Health Care business line, serves over 1000 pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medical device customers. Within this sector is the RESOMER portfolio of bioresorbable polymers which features semi-crystalline and amorphous polymers. Previously, Evonik released RESOMER Filaments, a series of bioresorbable materials for FFF/FDM.

As the latest addition to the RESOMER line, PrintPowder can be used to fabricate 3D printed Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) plates, spinal fusion cages, scaffolds for soft tissue repair and dental meshes. According to Evonik, this material can improve patient healing and device performance across orthopedic, dental and soft tissue application areas.

As MRC informed earlier, Evonik joined with other manufacturers in the High Phthalates Panel (HPP), a sector group of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), in a voluntary manufacturer request to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a broad-based risk evaluation of the uses of DINP. The EPA granted the request in early December 2019, a decision welcomed by Evonik. The EPA’s risk evaluation will be performed using the best available science and weight of scientific evidence. The process will be documented and open for public review and comment.

As per MRC's ScanPlast, Russia's overall production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, up by 2% year on year. At the same time, not all Russian producers raised their output. December total production of unmixed PVC was about 81,400 tonnes versus 84,600 tonnes a month earlier, RusVinyl decreased their capacity utilisation in November. Overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in January-December 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier. All plants raised their output, except for Kaustik Volgograd.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2018, the enterprise with more than 32,000 employees generated sales of EUR13.3 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR2.15 billion from continuing operations.

Evonik regards China as one of the driving forces of the global economy and we consequently endeavor to grow our business here. The company now employs over 2,500 employees and has in total of 10 production sites in China.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company (MGC) is set to construct a new production facility for industrial hydrogen peroxide (IHP) in Taiwan with an investment of TWD4.7bn (USD156.6m), said Chemicals-technology.

The latest move comes as the company aims to further develop its business for super-pure hydrogen peroxide (SPHP), which is used in semiconductor production processes.

Production at the facility will commence in January 2023. It is expected to have an annual production capacity of 40,000t of hydrogen peroxide.

According to the company, many semiconductor foundries in Taiwan are constructing fabrication plants using advanced technologies, and are also planning high investments going forward.

Following these developments, Mitsubishi’s new plant is expected to meet the increase in demand for high-quality SPHP.

MGC aims to produce and distribute SPHP characterised by stable supply and promote business expansion.

The company plans to develop integrated local production ranging from IHP raw material (RHP) to SPHP. The future IHP facility will supply RHP to the SPHP facility, which is currently operational.

As MRC informed earlier, Mitsubishi Chemical plans to announce details in the first quarter of 2020 of a methyl methacrylate (MMA) project on the US Gulf Coast.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.

MMA is used to produce homopolymers and copolymers, the most widely used are casting, molding or extrusion of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or modified polymers.

Acrylonitrile is one of the main raw materials for the production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in November, ABS imports to Russia amounted to 3,300 tonnes against 3,500 tonnes a month earlier and 4,100 tonnes in November last year. Following the results of eleven months, ABS import into the country slightly decreased compared to the same period last year and amounted to 31,300 tonnes. .

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Uganda said it would borrow up to 108.5 million euros (USD118.42 million) from a Chinese lender to fund construction of three roads that are key to plans to begin oil production in the east African country, reported Reuters.

Along with others in Africa, Uganda has received large credit lines from China in recent years as part of the Asian giant’s so-called Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at rebuilding the old Silk Road connection with Asia, Europe and beyond.

However US officials have been critical of Belt and Road lending, which they say can leave countries with excessive debt.

Construction of the so-called oil roads would accelerate efforts to commence crude oil production in Uganda, which has failed to take off 14 years after crude reserves were discovered in the country’s west.

The money will be borrowed from China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, according to a statement issued by the government that listed decisions taken at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The statement said the roads are needed to “facilitate the efficient development and production of the strategic national oil resources”. It did not give details on the total length of roads to be built.

Uganda’s oil fields are in the Albertine rift basin near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reserves are estimated at 6 billion barrels.

France’s Total co-owns the fields in equal stakes with China’s CNOOC and UK’s Tullow Oil.

Crude production has been repeatedly delayed over the years by spats over taxes and a lack of requisite infrastructure like tarmac roads in the fields, a crude export pipeline and a refinery.

A new impasse over taxes on Tullow’s planned divestment of part of its stake in the fields is seen as potentially pushing the production target of 2022 to a later date.

Last week the IMF cut its economic growth projection for Uganda for the July 2019 to June 2020 financial year, citing tardy progress with oil production.

The Washington, DC-based institution also warned Ugandan authorities to exercise fiscal discipline and maintain debt sustainability.

Uganda’s public debt, the IMF calculates, is expected to hit the key benchmark of 50% of GDP as early as the 2021/22 financial year.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC