Mitsui Chemicals full-year net profit falls

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese producer Mitsui Chemicals on Thursday reported a 50.1% fall in its full-year net profit as sales dropped following the spread of the coronavirus, said Chemweek.

Sales prices fell due to the fall in naphtha and other raw materials as well as fuel prices.
Operating income fell due to unfavourable terms of trade in addition to decrease in sales resulting from the spread of the coronavirus and increase in fixed costs.

"In the chemical industry, the extremely harsh economic environment in countries worldwide will result in a decrease in demand and fluctuations in naphtha prices and other chemical products," the company said in a statement.

The company expects net income to drop to Y20bn in the full-year ending 31 March 2021 with sales falling to Y1,145bn.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and 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.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.

(USD1 = Y106.9)

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp completed the restart of the gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracker (FCC) at its 369,024-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Beaumont, Texas, sources familiar with plant operations said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 120,000-bpd FCC and a 75,000-bpd reformer were shut on Monday by a power outage that hit several units on the north side of the refinery, the sources said. Exxon began restarting the FCC on Tuesday.

Exxon spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry declined to comment. In addition to the FCC and reformer, two hydrotreaters, another reformer and a power plant were knocked out of production by the power outage, the sources said.

Reformers convert refining byproducts into components that boost octane in gasoline. Hydrotreaters use hydrogen to remove sulfur from gasoline in compliance with U.S. environmental laws.

FCCs use a fine powder catalyst to convert gas oil into gasoline. There is only one FCC at the Beaumont refinery.

As MRC informed before, 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 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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

1. SOCAR to supervise OPEC+ oil production cut

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On 9 April 2020, 23 member countries of OPEC+ discussed the economic recession caused by Covid-19 pandemic and agreed to cut oil production by 9.7 million bpd from 1 May 2020, in order to balance supply and demand on the global market, according to WorldPipelines. The Republic of Azerbaijan, as a member of OPEC+, participated in the meeting and, along with other countries, committed voluntarily to production cuts in relevant proportions.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, has once again delayed the startup of its 400,000 tons/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant in Point Comfort, Texas, US, reported NCT with reference to market sources.

The plant is now expected to become on-stream by late July or early August. The decision reportedly came after some workers tested positive for the coronavirus, which led to a reduction in workforce.

The new LDPE plant was originally due to become operational by the end of 2019 but it has been delayed multiple times since then.

As MRC reported earlier, Formosa Plastics' new 1.5 million mt/year cracker in Point Comfort, Texas, came online in H1 January, 2020, and was seen ramping up through January.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, 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.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said it has increased production of critical raw materials for masks, gowns and hand sanitiser used by medical professionals and first responders leading the efforts to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic, according to Refining&Petrochemicals.

The company has increased its capability to manufacture specialised polypropylene (PP), used in medical masks and gowns, by about 1,000 tonnes per month, which is enough to enable production of up to 200 million medical masks, or 20 million gowns.

Monthly production of isopropyl alcohol - a key ingredient in many disinfectant and hand sanitiser products - has been increased by 3,000 tonnes, which is enough to enable production of up to 50 million 4-ounce bottles of medical-grade hand sanitiser.

"We are increasing our manufacturing capabilities to meet this critical need to help keep doctors, nurses and first responders healthy and safe," said Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company. "Our team has been working around the clock, applying our engineering and technical know-how and working with our customers to make this happen. We are committed to doing our part to support the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic."

The additional PP will be made at sites in Baytown, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Singapore and help meet high demand for other critical hygiene and health care items. Production of isopropyl alcohol, also known as rubbing alcohol, is being maximised at the company’s site in Baton Rouge.

Meanwhile, the company is supporting development of innovative new products to help in the pandemic response. Working with the Global Center for Medical Innovation, ExxonMobil earlier this month announced multi-sector and joint-development projects to rapidly redesign and manufacture reusable personal protection equipment, such as face shields and masks, for health care workers.

As part of that effort, ExxonMobil is applying its deep knowledge and experience with polymer-based technologies, in combination with the centre, to facilitate development and expedite third-party production of safety equipment that can be sterilised and worn multiple times.

The centre is awaiting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for a new face mask design, which features a replaceable cartridge system that includes a filtration fabric. When approved, production will begin immediately and could produce as many as 40,000 ready-to-use masks and filter cartridges per hour.

Given the unprecedented global pandemic, isopropyl alcohol and polypropylene are being prioritised at chemical manufacturing facilities; however, ExxonMobil anticipates it will continue to meet its contractual commitments to manufacture other chemical products.

As MRC informed before, 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 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, 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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC