Iraq oil exports fall 6.6% in May as OPEC producer sold oil at USD21/b

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Iraq's oil exports, excluding those from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, fell 6.6% in May, according to the oil ministry, indicating that OPEC's second-biggest oil producer may have struggled to cut its output by about 23% in accordance with the new OPEC+ agreement, reported S&P Global.

Iraq's oil exports in May averaged 3.212 million b/d, the ministry said in a statement on June 1. In April, exports were 3.438 million b/d.

Iraq had agreed to trim its output by 1.061 million b/d in May and June as part of a broader OPEC+ pact to cut production by a historic 9.7 million b/d during these two months. Iraq, which does not publish its production figures, has a quota of 3.59 million b/d for May and June under the new OPEC+ agreement.

The country struggled for most of last year to comply with its old OPEC+ quota. Iraq and Saudi Arabia affirmed on May 23 their commitment to the OPEC+ agreement during a visit by Iraq's acting oil minister Ali Allawi to the Gulf state.

Iraqi exports from the southern oil terminals reached 3.098 million b/d and from Turkey's Ceyhan 114,000 b/d, the ministry said.

In April, average exports from the southern terminals stood at 3.351 million b/d, from Ceyhan 76,000 b/d and to Jordan 11,000 b/d.

The OPEC producer raked in USD2.09 billion in May by selling its oil at an average price of USD21/b, compared with USD1.4 billion in April at an average of USD13.8/b.

As MRC informed previously, Iraq's oil-rig count has tumbled by almost two-thirds this year after international oil companies were ordered to cut spending because of the oil crash and OPEC's second-largest producer agreed to stringent new OPEC+ cuts.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem announced the selection of Charleston, South Carolina for its new global export hub facility to serve international customers, said Chemweek.

The hub will provide packaging, warehousing and export shipping services to support Braskem's polypropylene (PP) production facilities in the United States. With the design and development phase well underway, the new global export hub is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2020 and will have a capacity to support export shipments of up to 204,000 metric tons/year of PP and specialty polymers.

Braskem is partnering with the Port of Charleston and warehouse provider Frontier Logistics, which will construct, lease and provide services to Braskem under a five-year agreement. Ahead of the facility's completion, the company plans to continue to leverage its existing international export capabilities out of Houston, Texas, which will also be maintained following the launch of the new Charleston hub. The announcement of the new South Carolina facility complements Braskem's existing network of global export hubs which include facilities in North and South America and Europe.

Mark Nikolich, Braskem America CEO said, "As the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and the leading producer of polypropylene in the United States, Braskem is focused on reinvesting in its business and leadership positions to support our clients worldwide. The build out of our new global export hub in South Carolina allows us to leverage our feedstock advantaged, polymer production assets in the US Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, to best meet our international clients’ needs."

The new export hub facility is being developed as Braskem works to complete Delta, its new PP production line at La Porte, Texas, which is nearing completion and is scheduled for the launch of commercial production in the third quarter of 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, Brazil’s sole polyethylene (PE) producer Braskem will raise LDPE and PP prices for the rest of May by Real 150/mt (USD26.61/mt), according to industry sources, while HDPE and LLDPE prices will remain unchanged. Braskem is currently renegotiating its naphtha contract with Petrobras, as prices in North America have edged up on higher crude. The Brazilian petrochemical company’s JV with Idesa in Mexico also has limited feedstock supply. In the beginning of May, the company reduced the price of all PE grades in May to address falling demand and a decline in international feedstock prices.

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.
Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has restarted its acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plant following an unplanned outage, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the US informed that, the company has resumed operations at the plant on May 25, 2020. The plant was shut on May 20, 2020 owing to a flooding caused heavy rains in the region.

Located at Midland, Michigan in the US, the ABS plant has a production capacity of 95,000 mt/year.

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.

According to MRC's DataScope report, overall ABS imports to the Russian market increased in the first four months of 2020 by 5% year on year to 10,900 tonnes. This figure was at 10,400 tonnes in January-April 2019. April imports of material to the Russian Federation rose by 5% to 3,300 tonnes from 3,100 tonnes a year earlier. March ABS imports into the country were 2,800 tonnes.

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.
MRC

1. Rosneft finds extended oil cuts painful

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft does not have enough crude to ship to buyers with which it has long-term supply deals, making it hard for the Russian company to continue with record oil cuts beyond June, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Rosneft has told the energy ministry it would be difficult to maintain cuts to the end of the year, as it has had to cut shipments to major buyers, such as Glencore and Trafigura, despite good demand, two sources close to the talks said on condition of anonymity. "There is no doubt Rosneft will strictly fulfil all obligations under supply contracts with its foreign and Russian counterparties despite output cuts made by the company as a part of OPEC+ deal,” Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said in a statement on Friday. Glencore and Trafigura declined to comment. Russia’s Energy Ministry did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. President Vladimir Putin, who decides on oil policy, spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday about “close coordination” on output cuts, agreed in April to tackle oil market weakness because of the coronavirus pandemic.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Berry Global Group (Evansville, Indiana) has launched a collaboration with longtime customer Mondelez International to supply packaging containing chemically recycled plastic for use by one of Mondelez’s worldwide brands, said Chemweek.

The packaging will contain plastic material recovered using chemical recycling technology from Berry’s partnership with Sabic established in November last year, it says. “By recovering and diverting plastic that would have otherwise been sent to landfill or incineration, we are working towards our common goal of promoting a circular economy,” says Jean-Marc Galvez, president/consumer packaging international division at Berry.

Berry pledged mid-2019 to making all of its fast-moving consumer goods packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. In November last year it said it would collaborate with Sabic to use polyolefin resins made from chemically recycled waste plastic as part of ongoing circular economy initiatives by both companies. Sabic signed an agreement with UK-based Plastic Energy in 2018 for the supply of feedstock known as Tacoil, with the companies to build a semi-commercial plant in the Netherlands by 2021 refining and upgrading the feedstock produced from the recycling of low-quality, mixed plastic waste.

Berry manufactured a recyclable, coextruded stand-up pouch last year containing 30% post-consumer resin (PCR) sourced from initial batches of Sabic’s circular polymer, and committed in November to utilizing a portion of the recyclate materials, which it said had the potential to be used in polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) applications in Berry’s European consumer packaging facilities.

As MRC informed earlier, Berry Global Group announced a collaboration with SABIC to drive the innovation and use of polyolefin resins made from chemical recycling. The companies boast a long partnership and focus on their shared values of sustainability and promotion of a circular economy. The partners will focus on innovation and use of polyolefin resins from chemical recycling. The move is a part of Berry’s sustainability strategy Impact 2025 announced earlier this year.

According to a MRC's DataScope report, April PP imports to Ukraine decreased to 8,100 tonnes under the pressure of quarantine restrictions due to coronavirus against 10,500 tonnes a month earlier.Due to the partial shutdown of capacities, local companies have seriously reduced purchases of all types of propylene polymers. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 39,100 tonnes in January-April 2020, compared to 45,000 tonnes a year earlier.
Only supplies of stat propylene copolymers (PP random copolymers) increased, while the demand for propylene polymers decreased.
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