Liberia suspends fuel importers' licences over gasoline shortages

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Liberia suspended the licences of all fuel importers, including France's Total, on Friday to conduct performance reviews after some of the companies overdrew from reserves in state-run facilities, leading to gasoline shortages, reported Reuters.

Officials say importers who store their fuel in communal tanks had taken beyond their quotas, leaving the government to suddenly realize in January that it only had a quarter of the 4.4 million gallons of gasoline it thought it had.

For four weeks, long queues at pumps brought much of the country to a standstill, raising prices for transport and basic goods and stoking anger against authorities amid economic stagnation and high inflation.

The shortages have since been resolved, and the government says there is now enough fuel to last several months. But President George Weah's office said in a statement he was suspending the importers' licenses so authorities could verify that they are fit to operate.

Information Minister Eugene Nagbe told Reuters the suspension included Total, the largest importer, but said its review could be fast-tracked. The company stocks its reserves in privately-owned facilities.

Total was not immediately available for comment.

The presidency's statement said importers who borrowed beyond their quotas would have 90 days to pay for what they took.

It also announced the sacking of the deputy managing director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company, which operates the state's reserve tanks, “for gross negligence and fraudulent activities".

The official, Bobby Brown, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) - Export deliveries of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus in January-December increased by 16% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 17,500 tonnes against 15,100 tonnes year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

At the same time, exports of injection moulding PET remained at the level in December 2019 against the same month of the previous year and amounted to 2,400 tonnes.

In November of last year, material from the country was exported in the amount of 1,700 tonnes.

Supply to Russia decreased by 47% (8,200 tonnes) in January-December from the total exports against a share of 75% (11,300 tonnes) in the same period last year.

The share of exports to Russia from Belarus in December reached 56% (1,300 tonnes), in November it amounted to 68% (1,100 tonnes).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) to the Belarusian market grew in 2019 by 1% year on year to 7,150 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 7,070 tonnes in January-December 2018.

December 2019 ABS imports to Belarus fell by 46% year on year. Thus, imports of material into the country were 457 tonnes over the stated period versus 848 tonnes in December 2018. Imports were at 6560 tonnes in November 2019.

South Korea, Russia and Belgium are the main countries-importers of ABS to Belarus.

Imports of Korean material to the Belarusian market increased last year by 2 times year on year: from 1,400 tonnes in January-December 2018 to 2,800 tonnes. The share of ABS imports from South Korea in the total shipments to the country rose significantly in 2019 to 39% from 20% a year earlier.

December 2019 shipments of Korean ABS into the Republic of Belarus were only 86 tonnes versus 250 tonnes in November 2019, whereas imports of material were 343 tonnes in December 2018.

Deliveries of Russian material into the county decreased in 2019 by 31% year on year: from 2,800 tonnes to 1,900 tonnes. The share of Russian companies' ABS in the overall imports to the country dropped last year to 27% from 39% a year earlier. Shipments of Russian material to Belarus were 158 tonnes in December 2019 versus 153 tonnes in November 2019, whereas imports of Russian material were 286 tonnes in December 2018.

Last year's imports of material from Belgium also decreased. Thus, shipments of Belgian ABS to the country fell by 28% year on year: from 2,300 tonnes to 1,700 tonnes. December 2019 ABS imports from Belgium went down by 25% from November to 132 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Xuzhou Haitian has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at its polypropylene (PP) plant, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company started turnaround at the plant on March 4, 2020. The plant is expected to remain off-line for about 10 days.

Located at Xuzhou, in Jiangsu province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, this year, the company already conducted maintenance at its PP plant in Juangsu province from early February to 17 February.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OxyChem, the chemical division of Occidental Petroleum, has a seven-day polyvinyl cloride (PVC) turnaround slated for April at its plant in Pasadena, Texas, USA, reported S&P Global with reference to a source familiar with company operations.

This plant's production capacity is 1 million mt/year.

The company did not respond to a request for comment.

As MRC wrote before, OxyChem's La Porte complex has 1,250,000 tpa of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production capacity, which suffered a production upset in late June, 2015. VCM is an intermediate material that is later transformed into PVC.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, contrary to seasonal factors, Russian producers of unmixed PVC have maintained a high level of capacity utilisation. Russia's overal PVC output totalled 91,700 tonnes in January 2020, up by 4% year on year. January production of unmixed PVC was 91,700 tonnes versus 87,760 tonnes in January 2019 and 81,400 tonnes in December 2019. Thus, despite relatively weak demand for resin from the domestic market, the average capacity utilisation exceeded 95% last month. Russia's overall PVC production reached 975,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 958,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OxyChem) is a California-based oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, the Middle East, North Africa, and South America. Oxychem is Oxy"s Texas-based subsidiary which manufacture polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins, chlorine and caustic soda used in plastics, pharmaceuticals and water treatment chemicals.
MRC