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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp has been operating at 100% capacity since early November as local fuel demand has recovered, its chairman S.M. Vaidya said, said Reuters.
IOC has been gradually raising crude runs at its plants, which plunged to about 39% at the beginning of April when a nationwide coronavirus lockdown hit fuel demand.
Along with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp, IOC controls about a third of the 5 MMbpd refining capacity in India, where fuel demand in October rose by 2.5%, its first year-on-year rise in eight months. IOC is operating at full capacity despite lower global refining margins as its “mandate” is to meet the local fuel demand, Vaidya told an oil industry conference on Thursday.
“Refining margins are very poor, in fact they are just not sustainable ... but we are also investing heavily in petrochemicals as a strategy to de-risk the business of low margins,” Vaidya said during the ADIPEC event. Like other Indian refiners, IOC normally operates its plants at more than installed capacity. Vaidya said the situation will return to normal in next quarter.
As MRC informed earlier, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) has approved the addition of a petrochemical and lube integration component to its previously announced and long-planned project that will expand crude oil processing capacity of its 13.7 million-tonne/year Koyali refinery at Vadodara in India’s western state of Gujarat.
As MRC informed earlier, IOC is expanding its petrochemical capacity by more than 70 per cent from its current 3.2 million tonnes a year. It is also on new technologies that reduces the cost of producing petrochemicals.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC
Indian Oil runs at full capacity on demand rebound
COVID-19 - News digest as of 12.11.2020
1. Total production slammed by OPEC+ cuts, but finances show 'resilience' in Q3
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total's oil and gas production dropped 11% on the year in the third quarter, to 2.72 million b/d of oil equivalent and it forecast full-year output below 2.9 million boe/d on the back of OPEC+ cuts, as its third-quarter results showed financial improvement Oct. 30, reported S&P Global. In a results statement, Total said its Q3 production had been affected by OPEC+ cuts in Angola, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and the UAE as well as voluntary reductions in Canada and disruption in Libya, noting in particular the "reinforcement" of cuts by Nigeria. The company's liquids production was down 16% on the year at 1.44 million b/d, although it noted OPEC+ cuts were offset by increases from the UK's Culzean gas field, Norway's Johan Sverdrup, Brazil's Iara and Italy's Tempa Rossa.In the context of strong OPEC+ compliance and lower North American production, Total "anticipates full-year 2020 production below 2.9 million boe/d," compared with 3.01 million boe/d in 2019, it said. However, CEO Patrick Pouyanne noted a "more favorable" business environment, and the company highlighted its July sale of the UK's Lindsey refinery, as well as its conversion of the Grandpuits refinery to a "zero-oil" producer of biofuels and bioplastics. "The oil market environment remains uncertain and will depend notably on the speed of the global demand recovery, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," Total said.
MRC
PE imports to Ukraine remained in January-October at the level of last year
Last month, external supplies of polyethylene to Ukraine amounted to slightly less than 20,700 tonnes against 21,900 tonnes in September, local companies reduced their purchases of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Thus, overall PE imports reached 224,900 tonnes in January-October 2020, compared to 224,200 tonnes a year earlier.
Imports of all grades of ethylene polymers increased, with LLDPE, demand for which subsided in all consumption sectors, being the only exception. The supply structure by PE grades looked the following way over the stated period.
October imports of pipe HDPE into the country increased to 7,500 tonnes, compared with 6,800 tonnes in September, Ukrainian companies have increased their purchases of pipe and blow moulding polyethylene. Overall HDPE imports exceeded 80,900 tonnes in the ten months of 2020 versus 79,400 tonnes a year earlier.
October imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) into Ukraine were about 6,400 tonnes, which almost the same as a month ago. Overall LDPE imports reached 67,300 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 66,000 tonnes a year earlier.
Last month's imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were about 5,900 tonnes, compared to 7,400 tonnes in September, shipments of Middle Eastern film LLDPE decreased. Overall LLDPE imports reached 65,100 tonnes in January-October 2020, compared to 68,200 tonnes a year earlier.
Imports of other PE grades, including ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA), totalled about 11,500 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 10,500 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC
Wanhua Chemical reached on-spec ethylene cargoes at new cracker in China
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wanha Chemical has started up the LPG feed steam cracker in Yantai, China earlier this month and managed to produce on-spec ethylene cargoes on 9 November 2020, reported CommoPlast.
The cracker has an annual capacity of 1 million tons/year of ethylene, 530,000 tons/year of propylene, and 50,000 tons/year of butadiene.
The cracker is part of the company’s newly constructed petrochemical complex. Downstream units at the same site are integrated with the cracker, however, these units have yet to come online.
The conpany's petrochemical plants will include the following production capacities: 400,000 mt/year of PVC, 150,000 mt/year of ethylene oxide (EO), 350,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), 450,000 mt/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) an 300,000 mt/year of polypropylene (PP).
As MRC wrote previously, in January, 2020 Wanhua Chemical Group disclosed plans for a second ethylene cracker project at its Yantai, China, site with local government officials. The project will include a 1.2-million metric tons/year (MMt/y) ethylene unit; pyrolysis gasoline hydrogenation; aromatics extraction; and production facilities for butadiene, HDPE, low-density (LDPE), polyethylene (PE) plastomers and elastomers, PP, and other derivatives. Timing and other details were not disclosed. The second ethylene project will use naphtha and C4s as feedstock.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers" inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
MRC
MOL Group announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2020
MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2020, said the company.
During the pandemic and economic crises, Clean CCS EBITDA strongly rebounded from the Q2 lows and came in at USD 610mn in Q3 2020, only 12% lower than in the same period last year.
This result brought Q1-Q3 2020 EBITDA to USD 1.59bn, 14% lower year-on-year, implying full year 2020 EBITDA likely to be at the higher end of the guidance range, around USD 1.9bn. Simplified free cash flow jumped in Q3 to USD 306mn on continued capex discipline, bringing year to date simplified free cash flow to USD 662mn, 42% higher than in the first three quarters of last year. Organic capital expenditure was down by 33% in the first three quarters, reflecting strong capex control as well as some COVID-19-related slowdown.
Downstream segment Clean CCS EBITDA strongly rebounded and nearly doubled from the Q2 lows but remained 26% weaker than in 2019 due to depressed refinery margins and slightly weaker petchem margins. The polyol project exceeded 70% overall completion at the end of Q3, although progress is somewhat behind schedule as a result of the pandemic situation. Pandemic protocols have been introduced to mitigate the risk of infection within the construction community and to safeguard business continuity. In Q3, a new 20kt rubber bitumen plant, for recycling tire waste, has been completed in Hungary.
As MRC informed before, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly known as TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, announced force majeure on the supply of polypropylene (PP) from plant No. 4 at the petrochemical complex in Tiszaujvaros (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary) on 23 September 2019.
We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis 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 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.
MOL Group operates three refineries and two petrochemicals plants under integrated supply chain management in Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia, and owns a network of 1940 service stations across 10 countries in Central & South Eastern Europe.
MRC