China key oil product exports set to fall in 2020 amid tepid international demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China is set to register a sharp decline in oil product exports for calendar 2020 and oil companies may fail to fully utilize their export quotas as they find sales in the international market difficult during the coronavirus pandemic, said S&P Global.

Over January-September, China was likely to export about 36.2 million mt of oil products, S&P Global Platts estimated based on recent customs data and company export plans. This could mean that Chinese oil companies would have to offer about 20 million mt of oil products into the international market in the fourth quarter if they are to fully use up their quotas.

Oil companies typically strive to utilize all their quota allocation by year end in a bid to increase the chances of securing their export permits for the following year. In 2019, they used 99% of their quota by raising export volumes by 20% year on year to 55.37 million mt, Platts data showed.

However, the state-run refinery official said authorities may take a more lenient approach in assessing export permit grants for next year as domestic fuel producers struggle to sell their cargoes overseas amid lackluster international demand due to the pandemic.

"China's oil product exports will fall far behind the quota volume, but the government should understand as this year is very special due to the COVID-19 pandemic," the trading official said.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the 2021 budget would call for spending on priority infrastructure, including refineries and oil production, and would not raise taxes, reported Reuters.

The Finance Ministry is due to present the budget next Tuesday, with the government facing scrutiny over an economy that has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Gross domestic product could shrink almost 13% this year, the central bank has warned.

Asked during his daily news conference if the new budget would include a plan to reactivate the economy based on infrastructure projects, he listed a variety of works slated for public spending, including refineries, oil production and electric power.

Financing will also be allocated for highways and roads, the completion of a new international airport for Mexico City, and construction on the “Mayan Train” tourist railway on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The projects will include the private sector, “but without putting the country into debt,” the president said.

Lopez Obrador said he did not agree with a proposal by lawmakers from his own Morena party to increase taxes on products such as junk food.

“You can’t traffic in the health of the people,” he said, adding he preferred government campaigns promoting nutrition and exercise.

Lopez Obrador has said previously there will be no tax increases before 2021.

Mexican Finance Minister Arturo Herrera, in a television interview on Wednesday, backed up the president’s vow not to increase taxes.

“Today, companies have little money, families have little money. It’s not the moment to think of that,” Herrera said.

As MRC informed earlier, Mexico's oil giant Pemex is advancing a refinery rehabilitation program that will enable it to process 1.2 million b/d of crude oil by the end of 2020 and evaluating a reconfiguration of its petrochemical facility at Cangrejera, Mexico, into what would be its eighth refinery.

We also remind that in 2016, Pemex shut its steam cracker at its Cangrejera complex for maintenance on February 15. The cracker was idle for about 14 days. The conducted repairs at the cracker were a part of planned maintenance.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saad Helal, the Chairman of Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM), stated that his company is rapidly working on implementing a number of seven new projects to the national plan for the period of 2020-2035, according to a press release.

He said that these projects include one by Wood Technology Company for producing medium-density fibreboard (MDF) wood which is being installed and implemented by Petrojet, a methanol derivative production project which produce a capacity of 140 tons per year and is worth USD117 million, and a project by the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) for producing rubber polybutadiene at a capacity of 36,000 tons per year with costs USD183 million.

Helal added that the company is finalizing the procedures for Al Alamein project which costs USD7.5 billion, in addition to a complex for medium and small industries relying on the production of Al Alamein complex. He explained that they are preparing a detailed feasibility study for Suez refining and petrochemical project which is worth USD7 billion, clarifying that these two projects are targeting to produce diverse petrochemical and petroleum products to meet the local market needs and export the surplus.

The chairman mentioned that the company is intensifying the efforts to economically improve the petrochemical complex in Al Nahda at Alexandria which will raise the productivity of the petroleum companies there.

Helal noted that ECHEM and its subsidiaries produced about four million tons of petrochemical products during the fiscal year (FY) of 2019/20 despite the challenges they faced, pointing that the company is keen on providing the needed funds to implement the national plan projects.

This came during the general assembly meeting of the company which was headed by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek El Molla to approve the operational results of FY 2019/20.

For his part, El Molla stressed on developing and updating the national plan for petrochemical projects to cope up with the sector’s developments giving directives towards implementing such projects rapidly to increase production.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ADNOC Onshore, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced the award of two Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contracts to upgrade two Main Oil Lines (MOLs) and crude receiving facilities at the Jebel Dhanna Terminal in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The EPC contracts have a combined value of around USD245 million (AED 899.9 million) and were awarded to China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company Limited - Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi-based Target Engineering Construction Co. L.L.C.

Over 50 percent of the total award value will flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) program, underscoring ADNOC’s drive to prioritize ICV as it invests responsibly and pursues smart growth to maximize value from its assets and deliver sustainable returns to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Yaser Saeed Almazrouei, Executive Director of ADNOC’s Upstream Directorate, said: “The EPC contracts awarded by ADNOC Onshore will increase the capacity of the two main oil lines and upgrade the Jebel Dhanna Terminal to enable it to receive Upper Zakum and Non-System crude for delivery to the Ruwais Refinery West project. The awards follow a very competitive tender process and highlight how ADNOC is making smart investments to optimize performance and unlock greater value from our assets. Crucially, a significant portion of the awards will flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s ICV program, reinforcing our commitment to maximize value for the nation as we create a more profitable upstream business and deliver our 2030 strategy.”

The EPC contract awarded to China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Company Limited – Abu Dhabi is valued at approximately USD135 million (AED 496.8 million) and the scope is to replace the two MOLs which transport ADNOC’s premium grade Murban crude oil from its oilfields at Bab (BAB), Bu Hasa (BUH), North East Bab (NEB), and South East (SE) to Jebel Dhanna terminal, increasing the capacity of the pipelines by over 30 percent.

The contract is expected to be completed in 30 months and will see over 45 percent of the award value flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s ICV program.

The EPC contract awarded to Target Engineering Construction Co.L.L.C. is valued at approximately $110 million (AED 403.7 million) and will see the contractor upgrade the crude receiving facilities at the Jebel Dhanna Terminal, enabling ADNOC to utilize parts of the terminal’s existing facilities to import Upper Zakum (UZ) crude oil from offshore and Non-System (NS) crude, for delivery to the new Ruwais Refinery West (RRW) project, located approximately 12 kilometers to the east of Jebel Dhanna terminal.

This ability to import other grades of crude at Jebel Dhanna following the completion of the project will provide ADNOC greater flexibility, highlighting how the company is extracting value from every barrel of crude it produces. The terminal was originally conceived and operated as a Murban crude oil export facility since its inception in the 1960s.

The contract is expected to be completed in 20 months and will see over 60 percent of the award value to Target Engineering flow back into the UAE’s economy under ADNOC’s ICV program.

As part of the selection criteria for the awards, ADNOC carefully considered the extent to which bidders would maximize ICV in the delivery of the project. This is a mechanism integrated into ADNOC’s tender evaluation process, aimed at nurturing new local and international partnerships and business opportunities, fostering socio-economic growth, and creating job opportunities for UAE nationals. The successful bids by the two contractors prioritized UAE sources for materials, local suppliers and workforce.

As MRC informed earlier, in early May, 2020, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) began a gradual restart of its Ruwais oil refinery complex after a scheduled maintenance shutdown. The Ruwais complex, which has capacity of 835,000 barrels per day, was shut down early this year, the ADNOC spokesman said.

And in late July 2019, ADNOC said its Ruwais refinery west cracker was offline for maintenance.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Axens says it will license its alpha-olefins production technology to Baltic Chemical Plant LLC (BCP LLC), a subsidiary of RusGazDobycha (Moscow, Russia), for its gas-based petrochemical project at Ust-Luga, near St. Petersburg, Russia, said Chemweek.

Axens will supply its AlphaButol technology for the production of high-purity butene-1 by ethylene dimerization, and its AlphaHexol process to produce high-purity 1-hexene through ethylene trimerization. Both products are used as comonomers in the production of various grades of polyethylene (PE), including linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Butene-1 will be produced at two 60,000-metric tons/year units at the petchems complex, while 1-hexene will be produced at a single 50,000-metric tons/year plant on the same site. The agreement includes the transfer of the license, the process book, a number of chemicals such as catalysts and adsorbents, and proprietary equipment, says Axens. It will also provide training to the customer’s employees, plus technical support, it says.

"Work on the construction of a gas chemical complex, as part of an ethane-containing gas processing complex, is proceeding according to the schedule," says Konstantin Makhov, project operator BCP LLC’s general director. “Conclusion of an agreement for the supply of technology for the production of alpha-olefins is the completion of the next significant stage in the project," he says.

The gas chemical project being built on the shore of the Gulf of Finland is planned to produce 3 million metric tons/year of PE, alongside an integrated complex for processing and liquefying natural gas, as well as marine terminals for the shipment of commercial products. The overall USD13.2-billion ethane gas processing complex is a joint project between RusGazDobycha and Gazprom (Moscow). Long-term contracts were signed by both companies in June guaranteeing the supply of 45 billion cubic meters/year of ethane feedstock for a period of at least 20 years.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output.

BCP LLC chose Univation Technologies’ Unipol PE process for six 500,000-metric tons/year PE lines at the complex last year. China National Chemical Engineering Co. (CNCEC) will build the complex, centered on two steam crackers, each with capacity to produce 1.4 million metric tons/year of ethylene. The complex will also have capacity for 274,000 metric tons/year of linear alpha-olefins (LAO). The units are slated for start-up during 2023–24. Lummus Technology will provide the process design package, engineering, and the license for the olefin production and recovery units.
MRC