Enbridge to store crude in Mainline as coronavirus slashes refinery demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Pipeline operator Enbridge Inc said it has reached a deal with shippers to temporarily store crude in North America’s largest oil pipeline network, according to a filing, as Canadian producers scramble to respond to weak refinery demand and low prices, reported Reuters.

Enbridge said the agreement would temporarily provide roughly 912,000 barrels of storage on its Canadian Mainline system starting June 1, according to a May 1 filing with the Canadian Energy Regulator.

The Mainline, Canada’s longest oil pipeline system, has capacity for nearly 3 million barrels per day, moving western Canadian oil to US refiners.

As MRC wrote previously, in late December 2019, Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge agreed to jointly develop a deepwater crude oil export terminal offshore Houston, the latest sign of consolidation in the crowded field of US Gulf Coast export projects.

We also remind that Enterprise Products Partners' Mont Belvieu propane dehydrogenation unit in Texas restarted from planned maintenance in the first week of December, 2019. The PDH unit went offline for maintenance on November 13. That day, the company said in a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that the RAC "B" turbine shut down, which resulted in flaring. The flaring was estimated to last 72 hours. The unit has a capacity of 750,000 mt/year, according to Platts data.

Propylene is the main feedstock for producing polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy major Total has been told by Occidental that it cannot acquire oil and gas assets in Algeria that was part of an USD8.8 billion deal both firms reached over Anadarko’s assets in Africa, reported Reuters.

"Occidental officially told us that we cannot acquire the Algeria assets," the French company’s CEO Patrick Pouyanne told analysts during a conference call after its first quarter 2020 results.

As MRC informed earlier, Total has recently 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 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.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Russia rose in the first quarter of 2020 by 4% year on year to 11,700 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 11,300 tonnes in January-March 2019.

At the same time, last month's GPPS and HIPS imports to the Russian market dropped slightly to 3,600 tonnes from 3,800 tonnes a month earlier. Imports of material into the country were 5,400 tonnes in March 2019.

GPPS imports to Russia grew in January-March 2020 by 15% year on year, totalling 7,700 tonnes. Russian companies reduced their imports of material by 37% last month: from 3,400 tonnes in March 2019 to 2,200 tonnes, imports were 2,600 tonnes a month earlier.

March HIPS imports were 1,420 tonnes versus 1,980 tonnes a year earlier and 1,160 tonnes in February 2020. Imports of material dropped in the first quarter of 2020 by 13% year on year to 4,000 tonnes.

European material of Styrolution and Versalis accounted for about 90% of HIPS shipments and 86% of GPPS deliveries.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) to the Belarusian market dropped in the first two months of 2020 by 3% year on year to 897 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 927 tonnes in January-February 2019.

February ABS imports to Belarus decreased by 21% year on year. Thus, imports of material into the country were 467 tonnes over the stated period versus 590 tonnes in February 2019. Imports were at 430 tonnes in January 2020.

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

Imports of Korean material to the Belarusian market fell in January-February 2020 by 18% year on year: to 151 tonnes from 185 tonnes a year earlier. The share of ABS imports from South Korea in the total shipments to the country decreased in January-February 2020 to 17% from 20% a year earlier.

February 2020 shipments of Korean ABS into the Republic of Belarus were 115 tonnes versus 36 tonnes in January, whereas imports of material were 130 tonnes in February 2019.

Deliveries of Russian material went down in the first two months of 2020 by 33% year on year: from 333 tonnes to 223 tonnes. The share of Russian companies' ABS in the overall imports to the country fell in January-February 2020 to 25% from 36% a year earlier. Shipments of Russian material to Belarus were 116 tonnes in February 2020 versus 107 tonnes a month earlier, whereas imports of Russian material were 246 tonnes in February 2019.

Imports of material from Belgium increased in the first two months of 2020 by 37% year on year: from 290 tonnes to 396 tonnes. However, February ABS imports from Belgium remained at the level of January, totalling 198 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ningbo Liwan New Material Co Ltd has experienced pipeline explosion which lead to emergency shutdown at its purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant, reported CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Thus, this plant was taken off-stream in the evening, on 30 April, 2020.

Based in Ningbo, China, the plant has a PTA production capacity of 700,000 tons/year.

The restart schedule could not be ascertained.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, March estimated PET consumption in Russia was 65,3700 tonnes, up by 1% year on year. Russia's estimated PET consumption decreased in January-March 2020 by 3% year on year to 175,170 tonnes.
MRC