Gazprom neftekhim Salavat ramped up its stable gas condensate throughput and production output in Q1

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Based on the results of operations in the 1st quarter 2020, Gazprom neftekhim Salavat ramped up its stable gas condensate throughput and production output, said Marketscreener.

The throughput performance of stable gas condensate during the 1st quarter 2020 (1 502 thousand tons) has grown by 15.7% at the Company’s Oil Refinery, as compared to the same period last year (1 298.5 thousand tons) due to increases in supplies.

Beneficial market conditions as well as the change in the processed feed structure to gas condensate allowed to step up motor gasoline output (346.9 thousand tons) in the 1st quarter by 11.9%, relative to the same period last year (310.1 thousand tons).

Since the start of the year, the Company’s diesel fuel output (577.2 thousand tons) has been raised by 44.4%, compared to the same period last year (399.8 thousand tons).

The increased share of gas condensate in the total feed stock volume as well as its structural optimization contributed to substantial growth of light petroleum products yield by 6.5%.

The actual output of ethylene (97,8 thousand tons) has grown by 2.9% for the 1st quarter of this year at the Monomer plant, relative to the same period last year (95,0 thousand tons).

Qualitative change in the feed structure and in the pyrolysis mode allowed to increase the yield of butylene-butadiene cut (27.3 thousand tons) by 3.7 %, as compared to the same period last year (26.3 thousand tons). Since the beginning of the year, the actual yield of benzene (43.2 thousand tons) ramped up by 13.5%, relative to the same period last year.

Increased sales at the Gas & Chemical Plant contributed to higher urea output (182.9 thousand tons) in the 1st quarter 2020. It grew by 4.9%, compared to the same period last year (174.4 thousand tons).

It was previously reported that Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat (STS), one of the largest Russian petrochemical producers, plans to start scheduled repairs of acrylate production on April 20. This production will be closed until May 30.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat is one of the largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes in Russia. The Complex was founded in 1948. The Company is integrated into the Gazprom system. It has the basic advantage, consolidating on a single site a full cycle of crude hydrocarbons processing, petrochemistry and mineral fertilizers production. The Company comprises the Oil Refinery, Gas & Chemical Plant and the Monomer Plant.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat produces more than 100 items, over 50% of which are bulk products including motor gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, styrene, polystyrene, low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, DOP plasticizer, butyl alcohols, sulphur, ammonia, urea, acrylic acid, butyl acrylate etc. The oil refining and petrochemical products are exported to all the federal subjects of the country. The export reach covers over 50 CIS and non-CIS countries including Finland, China, Brazil, the UK, Western Europe countries and the Baltic states.
MRC

Trinseo announces executive leadership changes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has announced several changes to its executive leadership team, said the producer on its site.

"In a difficult economic environment, we continue to look for opportunities to drive greater focus on business process optimization and efficiency," said Frank Bozich, President and CEO of Trinseo.

The previously announced search for a Senior Vice President, Commercial, has been suspended in favor of a flatter organization to streamline decision making so that the leaders of the global business units will report directly to the CEO. As a result, effective May 1, 2020, Francesca Reverberi has been named Vice President, Engineered Materials and Synthetic Rubber; Nicolas Joly has been named Vice President, Plastics and Feedstocks; and Rudiger Schmitz has been named Vice President, Latex Binders. Each of these appointments will be members of the company’s executive leadership team.

Tim Stedman, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development, has been named Special Advisor, effective May 1, 2020, and will leave the company on October 31, 2020 to pursue other opportunities. As a result, Andre Lanning has been named Vice President, Strategy, Corporate Development and Marketing Communications, effective May 1, 2020 and will be a member of the company’s executive leadership team.

Jeff Denton, Vice President, Supply Chain Services, has been named Special Advisor, effective April 1, 2020 and will leave the company on August 1, 2020. As a result, Rainer Schewe was named Vice President, Supply Chain Services, effective April 1, 2020.

Catherine Keenan, Vice President, Public Affairs, Sustainability, and Environment, Health, and Safety, is stepping down from her position in order to pursue other opportunities, effective May 1, 2020. As a result, her responsibilities are being redistributed among the executive leadership team.

"Tim Stedman, Jeff Denton, and Catherine Keenan have each made substantial contributions to Trinseo over the years, including building strong teams and developing our people," Bozich said. "I want to thank each of them and wish them all the best going forward."

As MRC wrote before, Trinseo (Berwyn, Pennsylvania) has joined the growing ranks of chemical companies providing financial and operational updates in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Like many of its peers, the company announced that it is drawing USD100 million on a revolving credit facility "out of an abundance of caution." Trinseo says all of its manufacturing facilities remain online except the API Plastics site in Mussolente, Italy, which has been closed by the government as a nonessential business.

We also remind that Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price decrease for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe. Effective April 1, 2020, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below went down as follows:

-- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR180 per metric ton;
-- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR180 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim reduced its April selling PS prices by Rb10,000/tonne. GPPS for injection moulding and extrusion was offered at Rb86,000-90,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas HIPS - at Rb90,000-94,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Penoplex reduced its GPPS prices by Rb10,000/tonne. Demand for the Kirishi plant's material remained quite good. And Gazprom neftekhim Salavat reduced its indicative prices by Rb8,000/tonne, and its GPPS prices for small- and medium-sized buyers have not been settled yet.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
MRC

LyondellBasell provides estimated Q1 2020 financial results and operational update

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced estimated first quarter financial results and provided an operational update, as per the company's press release.

First quarter 2020 net income is expected to be in the range of USD110 million to USD180 million. EBITDA is estimated to be in the range of USD610 million to USD680 million, USD1,055 million to USD1,075 million excluding non-cash inventory valuation charges.

Events surrounding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the significant drop in the price of oil continue to evolve and impact global markets for LyondellBasell's products. Currently, all of our major global manufacturing sites are operational and demand for products used in packaging and medical applications remains robust. LyondellBasell remains committed to the health and safety of our employees, contractors and communities and is following governmental policies and recommendations related to the virus. The Company's manufacturing operations have been designated as an essential industry to support society's needs during the pandemic in the majority of the regions in which we operate.

In response to lower demand for certain products, the Company has temporarily idled production at several small plants in the Advanced Polymer Solutions segment serving automotive end markets and appropriately reduced production rates at other plants. Lower oil prices and reduced demand for transportation fuels are affecting both volumes and margins for our Refining segment and Oxyfuels & Related Products business. These impacts are expected to adversely affect our results during the second quarter of 2020.

Since the full extent of the pandemic and the drop in oil price remains uncertain, the Company has developed strategies and is implementing measures to respond to a variety of economic scenarios. To reduce operational and financial risk, the Company is postponing selected growth projects and planned maintenance, including slowing construction activities on our PO/TBA plant in Houston. We currently expect that these actions will reduce 2020 capital expenditures by approximately 20 percent from our prior guidance of USD2.4 billion to our current outlook of $1.9 billion. Additionally, we expect that aggressive inventory management combined with reduced pricing for raw materials and products will provide a meaningful influx of cash from working capital. The Company is also accelerating initiatives to extend our leadership in cost efficiency.

As of March 31, 2020, our total debt was USD13.7 billion with available liquidity of USD3.2 billion, including USD1.8 billion in cash and short-term investments. The Company is currently evaluating a debt issuance and anticipates that any net proceeds would be utilized for general corporate purposes, including to increase our liquidity, and manage short-term debt maturities. We believe that our disciplined approach to capital deployment with a focus on a strong investment grade balance sheet and significant liquidity will serve us well during these challenging times.

We will provide full details on results for the first quarter in our earnings release and teleconference which are scheduled for May 1, 2020. Please refer to the end of this release for an explanation of LyondellBasell's use of EBITDA and Table 1 for reconciliations of net income to EBITDA and EBITDA excluding LCM.

As MRC wrote before, Lyondell Basell Industries plans to restart the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at its 263,776 barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery by early next week. Repairs to the 90,000 bpd FCC were completed by Monday and Lyondell plans to begin the restart process within a day or two, the sources said. The FCC was shut by a Feb. 16 fire that led to the discovery of multiple large cracks in the unit’s reactor.

We also remind that Lyondell Basell Industries said maintenance operations were staffed at its Houston refinery to assure safety and reliability. Gulf Coast market sources told Reuters hundreds of contractors were home in mid-March to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading in the 263,776 barrel-per-day refinery. Those contractors work for companies hired by Lyondell to perform maintenance on units in the refinery. Lyondell employee operations and maintenance staff continue to work in the refinery, the sources said.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.

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

COVID-19 - News digest as of 16.04.2020

1. MEGlobal contributes to non-profits impacted by COVID-19

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As the impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt around the world, local non-profit organizations are stepping to the forefront to help meet the increased need for food and other basic necessities, said MEGlobal. MEGlobal is stepping up with them, providing monetary contributions to Blackfalds Food Bank (USD4,000), Red Deer Food Bank ($6,000), Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank (USD5,000) and Actions Inc. of Brazoria County (USD5,000).



MRC

Styrindo Monomer Indonesia reports unscheduled outage at SM unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Styrindo Monomer Indonesia (SMI), has taken off-stream its Styrene monomer (SM) unit owing to technical issues, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Indonesia informed that, the company halted operations at the unit on April 14, 2020. The exact duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located at Merak, Indonesia, the SM unit has a production capacity of 100,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, in mid-January 2015, SMI resumed production at its SM plant No. 2 in Merak, whereas the company's SM plant No. 1 with the capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year remained off-stream because of weak demand for SM in Asia (the unit was shut in December 2014). Besides, No. 1 SM plant was shut in early September 2015 for a one-month turnaround.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim reduced its April selling PS prices by Rb10,000/tonne. General pupose polystyrene (GPPS) for injection moulding and extrusion was offered at Rb86,000-90,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, whereas high impact polystyrene (HIPS) - at Rb90,000-94,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Penoplex reduced its GPPS prices by Rb10,000/tonne. Demand for the Kirishi plant's material remained quite good. And Gazprom neftekhim Salavat reduced its indicative prices by Rb8,000/tonne, and its GPPS prices for small- and medium-sized buyers have not been settled yet.

Styrindo Mono Indonesia (SMI) is an affiliate of one of the major petrochemical producers in Indonesia - Chandra Asri.
MRC