No word yet from Trump administration on refinery biofuel waivers

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa have asked the Trump administration not to appeal a court ruling that would slash the use of small refinery biofuel waivers, but have not heard back yet on its decision, reported Reuters with reference to Grassley's statement.

"We haven’t been told one way or another officially," he told reporters on a conference call.

The US Renewable Fuel Standard requires oil refiners to blend billions of gallons of biofuels like ethanol into the nation’s fuel pool, a boon to US corn country.

But the Environmental Protection Agency that administers the program grants waivers to small refineries that can prove compliance would cause them financial strain.

The Trump administration has roughly quadrupled the number of waivers EPA has granted, infuriating the biofuel industry and its representatives who say they hurt demand.

A court in January ruled that the EPA had been overusing the waivers in a decision that could gut the program.

A group of Texas lawmakers has been urging the Trump administration to appeal the decision, arguing it could cost countless blue-collar jobs in the refining industry.

As MRC wrote before, the Trump administration has recently decided to drastically scale back the US Environmental Protection Agency's program exempting small oil refineries from the country's biofuel regulations after a court case cast doubt on the legitimacy of the program.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The summer startup of a major oil refinery in the Caribbean is no longer assured after a construction employee tested positive for the coronavirus, reported Reuters with reference to the head of Limetree Bay Refining's statement Monday.

Once the world’s largest refinery, the Limetree Bay Refinery on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, is undergoing a USD2 billion overhaul expected to finish this summer. Its former owners had shuttered the plant in 2012, and the facility was acquired by Arclight Capital Partners and Freepoint Commodities four years later.

The worker who took ill was part of a team of 3,000 people involved in an overhaul that aims to refurbish and restart a portion of the Caribbean island’s former Hovensa refinery. About 1,400 construction workers live onsite at the St. Croix plant, which also has a nearby 34-million-barrel oil storage terminal.

"I’m not going to predict a start date under these circumstances," Brian Lever, chief executive of Limetree Bay Ventures, told Reuters in an interview. "We’ve seen in other situations that this starts off slow and accelerates quite quickly."

The company recently was aiming for a June or July start of commercial processing operations after a new delay caused by greater-than-expected corrosion discovered during the overhaul.

As MRC informed before, an employee at Valero Energy Corp’s Meraux, Louisiana, refinery also tested positive for the coronavirus.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 is delaying three sizeable scheduled shutdowns at its refineries this year, the company said, because of concerns that coronavirus could spread among the refineries' workers if the maintenance goes ahead, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The scheduled shutdowns, also known as turnarounds, are for plant maintenance, repairs and upgrades, and often last several months. The company did not identify which U.S. refineries would be affected.

The company also said its first-quarter refinery utilization should be around the low-to-mid 80% range, adding it was nearing minimum crude rates at "many" of its refineries. Company executives, speaking on a conference call on Tuesday, declined to elaborate on the expected shutdowns.

Fuel demand around the globe has dropped precipitously as people stay indoors and avoid cars and airplanes in response to the growing pandemic, which has sickened more than 377,400 people and killed more than 16,500, according to a Reuters tally. Research firm Rystad Energy expects global road fuel demand to fall 8.5% in 2020, and more than 20% in April.

That, and the global price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, have pushed prices to levels not seen in nearly 20 years, with U.S. crude lately trading at USD23 a barrel.

Phillips 66 said it had concerns about a lack of available labor force to perform work on refineries, in addition to fears about the possibility of contractors catching the virus, executives said the conference call. It came as the company cut its expected capital expenditures by roughly 18% for 2020.

The refiner did not say how low individual refineries could cut their output before having to shut units or idle plants. It signalled that a 60% utilization level would be too low for a plant to maintain operations. Executives on the call said that with refineries running at reduced rates, catalysts are not being burned as quickly, allowing the company additionally to delay some work on gasoline-producing units.

Several other refiners are delaying turnarounds on coronavirus concerns including Citgo's refinery in Lemont, Illinois, and BP Plc and Husky Energy Inc's joint-venture refinery in Lima, Ohio.

Phillips 66 shares were up 5.8% at USD44.52 at midday on Tuesday.

As it was said earlier, Phillips 66 and Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd announce they have formed a 50/50 joint venture, Bluewater Texas Terminal LLC (“Bluewater Texas”), to develop an offshore deepwater port project located approximately 21 nautical miles east of the entrance to the Port of Corpus Christi.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company’s master limited partnership, is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,500 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD59 billion of assets as of Dec. 31, 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ontario and Quebec are both ordering all non-essential businesses to shut down in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, said Canplastics.

The order in Ontario – made on March 23, about a week after Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province – will come into effect on Tuesday, March 24 at 11:59 p.m. and will remain in place for at least two weeks.

The list of businesses that the province deems as essential was released by the government on the evening of March 23, and is available at this link.

Included on the list are supply chains – “businesses or essential services with the support, supplies, systems or services, including processing, packaging, distribution, delivery and maintenance” – and manufacturing – “businesses that extract, manufacture, process and distribute goods, products, equipment and materials, including businesses that manufacture inputs to other manufacturers (e.g. primary metal/ steel, blow molding, component manufacturers, chemicals, etc. that feed the end-product manufacturer)."

The province will also allow teleworking and online commerce at all times for all businesses. The newest announcement in Ontario comes as the province confirms that 503 people have tested positive for COVID-19.

Quebec has also closed down non-essential businesses. On March 23, Quebec Premier Francois Legault said the businesses will be ordered to close no later than midnight March 24, and until April 13. A list of essential services can be found at this link, and includes what the province calls “priority manufacturing activities including the manufacture of chemical products."

As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil said last Monday that it is looking to reduce spending significantly as a result of market conditions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and commodity price decreases.

We also remind that in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.

mrcplast.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indiana-based Hillenbrand’s fully owned subsidiary Milacron Holdings has signed an agreement to sell its Cimcool business to DuBois Chemicals for USD224m, said Chemicals-technology.

In addition, Hillenbrand will receive USD26m in contingent purchase price upon a future sale of the combined DuBois and Cimcool businesses. The sale is part of Hillenbrand’s previously announced strategic review of alternatives for the business, which was part of the 2019 acquisition of Milacron Holdings.

The company intends to use proceeds from the sale for de-leveraging activities that will strengthen its financial position. Hillenbrand president and CEO Joe Raver said: “The divestiture of Cimcool aligns with our previously disclosed intent to seek strategic alternatives for the business and allows us to remain focused on the continued integration of the Milacron APPT and MDCS businesses with Hillenbrand."

DuBois specialises in customised and value-added speciality chemicals solutions and services. It manufactures a broad range of speciality chemical products and related equipment for a variety of industries.

DuBois president and CEO Jeff Welsh said: “We are excited that our customers will have access to a new set of solutions, applications experts, and technical service resources to support and add value to their businesses. Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

"We believe that this acquisition will allow us to increase our presence among significant customers and important segments. The expanded product portfolio of the combined organisation will also allow us to meet our customers’ evolving needs in new applications areas."

Cimcool produces metalworking fluids for the automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors. The transaction is expected to be closed on 30 March this year.

As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil said last Monday that it is looking to reduce spending significantly as a result of market conditions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and commodity price decreases.

We also remind that in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC