PTTGC to restart LDPE plant in Thailand following emergency shutdown

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned PTT Global Chemical Public Co Ltd would be able to resume operation at its low density polyethylene (LDPE) units by 17 March 2020 following an emergency shutdown during mid of February 2020, reported CommoPlast.

The unit is designed to produce 400,000 tons/year and has been shut longer than expected, which players attributed to the draught issue in Thailand recently.

The maker is unable to supply LDPE cargoes to regional buyers throughout March due to the shutdown. Offers would be resumed for April shipment.

As MRC informed before, PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) fully restarted its No. 2 cracker in Map Ta Phut last week after a planned turnaround. The company started resuming operations at the cracker by end-February, 2020. This cracker was shut for maintenance on January 20, 2020.

The company also operates No. 1 cracker at the same site with a capacity of 515,000 tonnes of ethylene and 310,000 tonnes of propylene per year, which was also shut on 23 January, 2020, for a 40-day turnaround.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's January estimated LDPE consumption decreased to 43,110 tonnes from 50,910 tonnes a year earlier. On the back of the increased output, some domestic producers significantly raised their export sales in the first month of the year.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

PVC production in Russia increased by 5% in January-February

MOSCOW (MRC) - Contrary to the seasonal factor, Russian producers of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have kept a high level of capacity utilisation during two months. Overall PVC output totalled 177,100 tonnes in January-February 2020, up by 5% year on year, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

February production of unmixed PVC in Russia was 85,400 tonnes from 91,700 tonnes a month earlier, producers Bashkir Soda Company and RusVinyl decreased capacity utilisation. Nevertheless, despite the decline in production last month, the total polymer production in January-February increased to 177,100 tonnes against 169,500 tonnes a year earlier.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 29,900 tonnes of PVC in February, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,500 tonnes, compared to 32,400 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at RusVinyl increased to 62,300 tonnes in the first two months of this year, compared to 58,000 tonnes in the same period in 2019.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 26,500 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) last month, whereas this figure was 28,200 tonnes in December. The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 54,800 tonnes of PVC in January-February, compared to 52,800 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced about 21,900 tonnes of SPVC in February, against 23,600 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at Baskhir Soda Company increased to 45,500 tonnes in the first two months of this year, compared to 44,400 tonnes in the same period in 2019.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 7,100 tonnes of SPVC in February, compared with 7,500 tonnes in January. The plant's overall production of PVC reached 14,600 tonnes over the stated period versus 14,200 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

Oil jumps after rout on stimulus hopes, Russian signal on OPEC talks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices jumped by around 8% a day after the biggest rout in nearly 30 years as investors eyed the possibility of economic stimulus and Russia signaled that talks with OPEC remained possible, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be taking “major” steps to gird the U.S. economy against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, while Japan’s government plans to spend more than $4 billion in a second package of steps to cope with the virus.

Brent crude futures were up USD2.84, around 8%, to USD37.20 a barrel by 1228 GMT, after hitting a session high of USD38.22 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained USD2.53, or around 8%, to USD33.66 a barrel, after hitting a high of USD34.60.

Both benchmarks plunged 25% on Monday, dropping to their lowest levels since February 2016 and recording their biggest one-day percentage declines since Jan. 17, 1991, when oil prices fell at the outset of the first Gulf War.

Trading volumes in the front-month for both contracts hit record highs in the previous session after three years of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Russia and other major oil producers to limit supply fell apart on Friday, triggering a price war for market share.

Saudi, the world’s biggest oil exporter, escalated tensions with plans to supply 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, well above current production levels of 9.7 million bpd, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said on Tuesday.

April’s crude supply will be “300,000 barrels per day over the company’s maximum sustained capacity of 12 million bpd,” Nasser said in a statement received by Reuters. Price pared gains by over a USD1 on the news.

Russian oil minister Alexander Novak said he did not rule out joint measures with OPEC to stabilise the market, adding that the next OPEC+ meeting was planned for May-June.

But in response, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister told Reuters he did not see a need to hold an OPEC+ meeting in May-June if there was no agreement on what measures should be taken to deal with the impact of the coronavirus on oil demand and prices.

"I fail to see the wisdom for holding meetings in May-June that would only demonstrate our failure in attending to what we should have done in a crisis like this and taking the necessary measures," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.

"Price wars and pandemics are nothing new to the commodity markets, but both occurring simultaneously is something we have yet to witness in our careers," RBC analysts said in a note.

"Such action will test the market’s self-balancing mechanism absent the backstop of OPEC, a mechanism that has not been tested since the U.S. shale boom was in its infancy," they added.

Sentiment was also lifted after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, for the first time since the epidemic began, and as the spread of the virus in mainland China slows sharply.

China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, is trying to get people in hard-hit Hubei province back to work by using a mobile phone-based monitoring system that will allow people to travel within the province.

Crude was also supported by hopes for a settlement to the price war and potential U.S. output cuts, although analysts warned gains may be temporary as oil demand continues to be hit by the virus outbreak, which has spread beyond China and prompted Italy to implement a nationwide lockdown.

U.S. shale producers rushed to deepen spending cuts and could reduce production after OPEC’s decision to pump full bore into a global market hit by shrinking demand. “When you look at the leverage the industry is in, at prices of around USD30, it’s not profitable,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief investment officer Probis Group.

As MRC informed earlier, global stocks plunged on Monday and prices for crude oil tumbled as much as 33% after Saudi Arabia launched a price war with Russia, sending investors already worried by the coronavirus fleeing for the safety of bonds and the yen. Saudi Arabia had stunned markets with plans to raise its production significantly after the collapse of OPEC's supply cut agreement with Russia - a grab for market share reminiscent of a drive in 2014 that sent prices down by about two-thirds.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

Maire Tecnimont: Awards for €220 MLN in the core business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its main subsidiaries have been granted several awards for a total amount of approximately EUR220 million for engineering and procurement services, as well as EPC activities, according to Europetrole.

Thus, KT - Kinetics Technology S.p.A. has been awarded the ISBL Package, in the framework of the HORIZON Project, by Total Raffinage France, part of Total Group, a major energy player active in more than 130 countries.

The project mainly consists of a new Hydrotreatement Unit on an Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Commissioning (EPCC) basis to be realized in the Donges Refinery, in Western France. The Hydrotreater will have a capacity of 40 thousand barrel per day. Project completion is planned in 2023. This new achievement - which is the third project for Total in the last decade - confirms the capability of KT to be considered the contractor of choice in the refining business for a number of world class clients.

Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Group CEO, commented: "These awards, including that by a prestigious client such as Total, reinforce Maire Tecnimont positioning in the core business and are another milestone in our technology-driven development strategy."

As MRC reported before, 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).

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., a company listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, leading an international industrial group which is a leader in the transformation of natural resources (plant engineering in downstream oil & gas, with technological and execution competences). Through its subsidiary NextChem it operates in the field of green chemistry and the technologies to support the energy transition. Maire Tecnimont Group operates in about 45 countries, through 50 operative companies and a workforce of approximately 6,300 employees, along with approximately 3,000 professionals in the electro-instrumental division.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.

Hengli Petrochemical completes maintenance at propylene unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hengli Petrochemical, has resumed operations at its propylene unit following a planned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company has restarted the unit on March 9, 2020. The unit remained under turnaround for about one week.

Located in Liaoning, China, the propylene unit has a production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Hengli started up the 450,000 tons/year Phase I polypropylene (PP) plant in May 2019 and launched its Phase II PP plant by end of November 2019.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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