China to grant additional oil import quotas for private refiners

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China is set to issue more crude oil import quotas to non-state refiners in its second batch of allowances for 2020, several sources at five independent refineries told Reuters.

China’s Ministry of Commerce will issue quotas totaling 53.88 million tonnes (393.32 million barrels), said the sources, who said they have seen documents outlining the allocations.

The new quotas are the top-up volumes for the first batch of 2020 quotas that were granted at the end of last year of 103.83 million tonnes.

A total of 36 companies, including 31 independent refiners and five trading entities that are affiliated to state-run companies, are expected to receive the second batch of crude import quotas, the sources said.

Private refinery Hengli Petrochemical Co Ltd is set to receive a quota of 8 million tonnes and Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp may receive 9.6 million tonnes, according to company officials.

The refiners have yet to receive the official quota release from the Commerce Ministry, but the release could come within a few days, the sources said.

The ministry did not respond to a faxed request seeking comment.

Non-state crude oil import quotas for the whole year of 2020 were set at 202 million tonnes, the ministry said in November.

As MRC informed earlier, rather than cutting back on imports, China pushed crude oil into storage tanks at almost double the rate in the first quarter of this year than it did in the same period in 2019 as the new coronavirus hit domestic consumption. China doesn’t release official data on flows into strategic and commercial stockpiles, but an estimate can be made by subtracting the amount of crude processed by refineries from the total volume of oil available from both imports and domestic output.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new issue of SIBUR for Clients is now available on the Company's website. The main topic is the situation in the petrochemical market during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the company.

An increase in crude oil supply, the growing coronavirus pandemic, and lockdown measures across the world have sent global markets into a tailspin. Under the circumstances, manufacturers worldwide are trying to repurpose their factories to make more useful products, such as medical equipment. Plastic is once again gaining ground in many markets as the most hygienic material helping to contain the spread of the virus. Companies, including SIBUR, are making every effort to protect their employees and partners while striving to fulfil their obligations.

Sergey Komyshan, SIBUR’s Management Board member and Executive Director:
“We are living in unprecedented times when two crises have coincided to create a perfect storm. The oil crisis and coronavirus outbreak have hit the industry hard, with the pandemic threatening the health and life of people worldwide. Most companies are suspending operations or allowing employees to work remotely during the quarantine and self-isolation.

Despite the challenging circumstances, SIBUR is making every possible effort to fulfil all of its obligations and meet the needs of its clients and partners. I know that our clients are taking the same approach in relation to their customers. We are all in this together. Unity, responsible action and mutual support have never been more important. Take care of yourself and your loved ones! Family is the most valuable thing we have, and the Company gives the health of our employees and their families the highest priority – especially now."

Also in this issue:
China as the first country to be hit by the coronavirus and also the first to curb the outbreak: a firsthand account by SIBUR employees.
How the three ESG pillars are coming into focus of forward-thinking companies.
Myths and misconceptions about plastics: the most common customer misconceptions about plastics.
Leveraging digital marketing to promote construction materials.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR Holding on March 25 will early pay off bonds of the 12th series for 10 billion rubles. In particular, SIBUR Holding PJSC decided to early repay the 12th series bonds in the amount of 10 billion rubles, the company said. The repayment will take place on March 25, at the end date of the 7th coupon period.

SIBUR Holding PJSC is the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe with full coverage of the industry cycle from gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to plastics processing. The main shareholder of SIBUR Leonid Mikhelson controls 48.48% of the company, Gennady Timchenko - 17%, Kirill Shamalov - 3.88%, the current and former management of the company (including SIBUR chairman of the board Dmitry Konov and head of Gazprom Neft Alexander Dyukov) - 10.6%, Chinese Sinopec and the Silk Road Fund - 10% each.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam’s Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co will delay maintenance at its Dung Quat refinery until July 27-September 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company's statement.

It was scheduled to conduct maintenance at the 130,000-barrel-per-day refinery from June 12 to August 1.

The company said in a statement late on Monday that travel curbs due to the coronavirus pandemic had affected its preparation for the maintenance.

Binh Son reported a net loss of 2.33 trillion dong ($99.32 million) in the first quarter of this year, it said.

As MRC informed earlier, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical took its polypropylene (PP) plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround in June 2017 for a period of around 7 weeks. The exact date shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Vietnam,the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia’s oil and gas company PT Pertamina is reducing new drilling amid weak demand for oil and is cutting the output target this year by 3%, reported Reuters with reference to chief executive Nicke Widyawati's made to members of parliament.

Crude and gas output is now targeted at 894,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), from the previous 923,000, she said.

Meanwhile, Pertamina expects to fully shutdown Balikpapan refinery in early May. Operations at the refinery have been gradually reduced this month.

As MRC informed before, PT Pertamina shut its cracker in Indonesia for maintenance works from 18 March, 2020 to 18 April, 2020. This cracker has a production capacity of 578,000 tons.

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).

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Research and Production Enterprise “POLYPLASTIC” was included into the list of strategic enterprises for the Russian economy and continues its industrial activity, said the company.

Shipments of polymer compounds from warehouses in Engels, Togliatti and Moscow continue in their usual manner. The company carries out all of its obligations to consumers in full.

Personnel ensuring the continuity of production processes as well as employees working out of office will carry out their work in accordance with personnel health and safety objectives to prevent spread of the coronavirus infection. All employees not included in the continuous production process during the period from April 6 to April 30 will continue to stay at home in self-imposed isolation.

As MRC informed earlier, R&P POLYPLASTIC takes strong actions to prevent the coronavirus infection from spreading and closely follows all World Health Organization and competent government authorities’ guidelines. All company employees who have recently returned from countries with a large number of infected people are in self-imposed isolation and conduct their job functions from home as a preventive measure. Additionally, R&P POLYPLASTIC headquarters and production sites are equipped with state of the art non-contact thermal imaging cameras. Temperature of all employees and visitors is measured on a daily basis.

MRC