Pertamina to develop Cilacap refinery without Aramco

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Pertamina will develop its Cilacap refinery in Central Java “independently”, the state energy company said, dropping a plan to boost capacity through a joint venture with Saudi Aramco, said Reuters.

The two companies have been in talks to upgrade the Cilacap refinery since 2016 and last year said that they would finalise a joint venture plan in the first quarter of 2020.

"Pertamina will continue to independently develop the Cilacap Refinery Development Master Plan, while we look for another strategic partner,” Pertamina spokesman, Fajriyah Usman, said in a statement. Usman confirmed that the planned joint venture with the Saudi oil giant had now been axed.

Saudi Arabian Oil Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Cilacap Refinery Development Master Plan aims to increase Cilacap’s refining capacity to 400,000 barrels per day from 348,000 bpd.

Pertamina had said last year that it will start the development of the Cilacap project with or without a partner to meet an operational target of 2025.

As MRC informed earlier, Pertamina carried out planned maintenances at the liquid catalytic cracking unit in Balongan (Balongan, West Java, Indonesia). Repair work on this installation with a capacity of 180,000 tonnes/year of propylene started on 19 March of this year and ended on 19 April.

Propylene is a feedstock for producing of PP.

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.

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) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced that it has declared a dividend of USD1.05 per share, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is to be paid June 15, 2020 to shareholders of record June 8, 2020, with an ex-dividend date of June 5, 2020.

As MRC reported earlier, global petrochemical producer LyondellBasell has reduced rates across its system to accommodate lower demand wrought by shutdowns around the globe to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, said the company's CEO Bob Patel. LyondellBasell's overall global petrochemical and refining assets were expected to operate at 60% to 80% of nameplate capacity through the second quarter, Patel said during the company's first-quarter earnings call. European crackers were seen running at 80% to 85%, while US crackers were expected to run at about 75%, he said.

We also remind that to further aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, LyondellBasell (LBI) donated a key ingredient to Huntsman Corporation to produce hand sanitizer for US first responders.

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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Sinopec Corp is expected to start commercial operations at its oil refining and petrochemical complex in Zhanjiang at the end of July, reproted Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to a company spokesperson's statement.

The refinery is capable of processing 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and the petrochemical plant will produce 800,000 tonnes per year of ethylene. The project, with first phase investment of 40 billion yuan ($5.59 billion), is located in southern China’s Guangdong province.

The refinery received its first crude oil cargo of 128,900 tonnes from a very large crude carrier (VLCC) that arrived at the plant’s 300,000-tonne capacity berth in early May, Sinopec said on May 9.

The Zhanjiang refinery is Sinopec’s first capacity addition since the start up of the similar-sized Qingdao refinery on China’s east coast in 2009.

The Zhanjiang plant is located about 60 km (37 miles) from Sinopec’s 400,000-bpd Maoming refinery.

Sinopec also owns commercial crude oil storage tanks in Zhanjiang that serve as a delivery point for crude oil futures contracts traded on China’s International Energy Exchange (INE).

The Guangdong provincial government aims to set up an oil refining and petrochemical industry base to shore up its economy. German chemical giant BASF is also building a USD10-billion integrated petrochemical project in Zhanjiang.

An Sinopec executive at the Zhanjiang refinery proposed during China’s annual parliament conference, the National People’s Congress (NPC), to include the Maoming-Zhanjiang base into the list of national-level petrochemical bases, according to a report on the proceedings released by the NPC on Monday.

Companies involved in the national petrochemical bases would be expected to receive preferential policies from the government on taxes and land purchases.

China has seven national-level petrochemical bases at Dalian in Liaoning province, Caofeidian in Hebei province, Lianyungang in Jiangsu province, Shanghai, Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Gulei in Fujian province and Huizhou in Guangdong.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2019, Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), a 50-50 joint venture of Sinopec and SABIC, began construction on an ethylene expansion project in Tianjin Province, China. The project will boost the company's ethylene capacity to 1.3-million t/y from 1-million t/y currently. Cost and a schedule for the project were not given.

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.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

1. Oil prices fall as focus turns to OPEC+ consensus

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude futures fell Wednesday as the focus turned to a lack of consensus among OPEC+ members ahead of the group's next meeting on June 8-10, reported S&P Global. NYMEX July crude settled at USD32.81/b, down USD1.54, while ICE July Brent settled at USD34.74/b, down USD1.43. "Oil's rally stalled out after Russia signaled they want to unwind productions in July, a sign that the battle for market share will resume as crude demand improves," said OANDA analyst Edward Moya. "Russia's comments on easing cuts in July served as a reminder that higher prices and improved crude demand will likely see OPEC+ compliance go out the window." While news that Russia's oil ministry said global oil markets would balance in June or July pulled prices lower, subsequent news Wednesday that Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the need for "close coordination" put a floor in futures."Both sides noted the importance of joint efforts in achieving OPEC+ agreements in April to limit oil production," said a statement from the Kremlin. "They agreed that further close coordination on this issue should take place between energy ministers." The OPEC+ alliance agreed in April to reduce output by 9.7 million b/d in May and June in response to plummeting demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia has since said it will cut a further 1 million b/d in June.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada-based oil refinery operator Irving Oil said it had agreed to buy North Atlantic Refining Corp, the owner of the Come-by-Chance refinery in Newfoundland, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Come-by-Chance refinery, which has an output of 135,000 barrels per day, was the first to close in North America as refiners worldwide began to scale back to adjust to a sudden demand slump due to the coronavirus outbreak.

As MRC informed earlier, North Atlantic Refining Ltd’s Come-by-Chance refinery in Canada will be the first to close in North America due to the coronavirus pandemic as refineries worldwide cut back operations. The company confirmed on Monday that it told stakeholders it was pausing production because of concerns about worker safety as the virus spreads.

As MRC informed earlier, US-based Phillips 66 is delaying three sizeable scheduled shutdowns at its refineries this year, the company said last week, because of concerns that coronavirus could spread among the refineries' workers if the maintenance goes ahead.

We also reminad that Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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.
MRC