Repsol upstream production slips 8% at 648,000 boe/d in 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish integrated energy group Repsol reported Jan. 19 that its estimated upstream oil and gas production in 2020 decreased 8% year on year at 648,000 b/d of oil equivalent - its lowest annual total since the 2015 purchase of Talisman - with Libyan interruptions and the oil price impact from the pandemic weighing on volume, according to S&P Global.

The full-year total was nonetheless in line with the company's postpandemic revised target of 650,000 boe/d, which it sees through to 2030.

By region, Europe and Africa showed the largest production decline in 2020, falling 29% year on year to 86,000 boe/d. Repsol's share in the Libyan El Sharara field can supply up to 39,000 boe/d net to Repsol, but output suffered interruptions throughout the year following a shutdown at the field in January 2020 and a blockade of oil terminals.

Output from Europe and Africa regions did increase 37% from the third quarter to 96,000 boe/d in the fourth quarter, but this was still a decline of 23% year on year.

Other regions also returned negative numbers for 2020, with Latin American production down 11% year on year at 295,000 boe/d and production in the Asia/rest of world region dropping 5% year on year at 69,000 boe/d.

The one region that posted increased production was North America, where Repsol boosted output 9% year on year at 198,000 boe/d after the company upped its interest in Eagle Ford during 2020, and reported resilient operating economics at two other US operations - Marcellus and Buckskin.

For the fourth quarter, however, all four of its global regions reported declining volume on an annual basis for a combined total of 628,000 boe/d, which was a 14% decline from a record quarter in Q4 2019 of 730,000 boe/d.

All production figures are provisional with confirmed results due to be published Feb. 18.

In the downstream business, Repsol said its refining margin in Q4 2020 returned to positive, rising to an estimated USD1/b from minus 10 cents/b in Q3, although this compared with a USD5.60/b margin in Q4 2019.

The full-year average refining margin indicator in 2020 was USD2.20/b, down from USD5/b in 2019.

The refinery utilization rate for the year came at 74%, including 73.6% in Q4. This compared with an 88.4% rate for full-year 2019 and 85.7% in Q4 2019.

The conversion rate was even more heavily impacted by the pandemic-related economic slowdown, falling to 86% in 2020 and 77.3% in Q4, compared with 103.3% in 2019 and 104.3% in Q4 2019.

Repsol owns and manages five refining complexes in Spain - Cartagena, Coruna, Bilbao, Puertollano and Tarragona - with a total capacity of about 896,000 b/d, but has trimmed back production to meet market needs, particularly on a sharp plunge in jet fuel demand, which is currently at about 25% of its prepandemic levels in Spain.

As MRC reported earlier, Repsol shut down its cracker in Tarragona (Spain) for maintenance in the fourth quarter of 2019. The turnaround at this steam cracker, which produces 702,000 mt/year of ethylene and 372,000 mt/year of propylene, was pushed back from Q3 2019. The exact dates of maintenance works were not disclosed.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports

Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis AG (Borealis) and IINO Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd.(IINO) are delighted to announce the order for a 91,000 CBM Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) in South Korea, as per Borealis press release.

The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dual fuel VLGC, set for delivery in the first quarter of 2023, is committed on time charter to Borealis.

This ship is IINO’s second VLGC with a LPG dual fuel engine. LPG as a fuel reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM), sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) compared to conventional heavy fuel oil. In addition, DSME’s unique Shaft Generator Motor (SGM) system is to be fitted on the ship. The SGM enables the generation of electric-power from the LPG dual fuel engine during navigation and contributes to lower fuel/lubricant oil consumption and lower emissions.

This innovative shipping solution will support Borealis future sourcing of feedstock for their , currently under construction. Borealis looks forward to the partnership with IINO to develop and operate a safe, environmentally friendly and reliable, VLGC shipping solution, based on the latest technology.

IINO has been engaged in LPG Shipping with local and overseas LPG Charterers, End-users and Traders for many years based on medium to long term contracts. This year, IINO has set the target of reducing 40% Green House Gas emissions per transport unit in its operating ships by 2030 compared to 2008. The additional eco-friendly VLGC would be an important step to achieve a sustainable society.

Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals, fertilizers and the mechanical recycling of plastics. With head offices in Vienna, Austria, Borealis employs 6,900 employees and operates in over 120 countries.

As MRC reported earlier, Borealis has fully resumed production at its steam cracker in Stenungsund, Sweden. Thus, the cracker with the capacity of 625,000 mtyear of ethylene was restarted on 15-17 January, 2021. Meanwhile, the status of the force majeure on the products from this cracker remains unclear at the moment. Force majeure at Stenungsund was declared after a fire started at the cracker on 10 May last year. A restart of the cracker was initially planned for the fourth quarter of 2020, a Borealis spokesperson told OPIS in September.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OMV (Vienna, Austria) says it is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany, said Chemweek.

The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade, it says.

“By expanding the cracker, OMV is consistently delivering on its petrochemical strategy for a future-proof refinery,” says OMV’s Thomas Gangl, chief downstream operations officer. “This goes hand in hand with the growth in the chemical industry and serves as a response to increasing customer demand,” he says.

The increased production of ethylene and propylene will help to meet growing demand for the products in the neighboring Bavarian chemical triangle and in international markets, OMV says.

The 3.8-million metric tons/year crude refinery in Burghausen is part of OMV’s wider network, operating alongside two other refining and petchem sites in Schwechat, Austria, and Petrobrazi, Romania. Burghausen’s refinery produces petchems including ethylene, propylene, and butadiene, as well as middle distillates such as kerosene, diesel, and heating oil.

As per MRC, OMV is considering increasing its investment in the processing industry in Abu Dhabi by expanding its existing joint venture with Borouge.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

MRC

1. Petrobras has not signed Brazil antitrust body deferral for refinery sales

MOSCOW (MRC) - Brazilian oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has not signed an agreement with antitrust regulator Cade on additional commitments regarding refinery divestments, reported Reuters with reference to a securities filing, issued on Monday. Petrobras has been trying to sell refineries in one of the world's largest fuel markets for almost a decade and it relauched its plan under Chief Executive Officer Roberto Castello Branco, who took office in January 2019. The latest amendment, which it has not signed, would give the company more time to sign deals after the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for fuel and affected the valuation of the plants.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Johnson Matthey (JM), a global leader in sustainable technologies, has taken the next major step in its plans to commercialise technologies to enable production of zero carbon ‘green’ hydrogen, announcing new manufacturing capacity for the production of catalyst coated membranes, said Chemweek.

This capacity is co-located with JM’s cutting edge plant in Swindon, UK, where high performance fuel cell components including membrane electrode assemblies, catalyst coated membranes, and fuel processor catalysts are produced at scale.

Hydrogen has the potential to significantly contribute to the fight to tackle the climate crisis by decarbonising industries that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy industry, heavy mobility, aviation and shipping. This is a critical step in helping societies meet their ambitious net zero targets.

JM specialises in catalyst coated membranes which sit at the heart of electrolyser units and enable the green hydrogen production process, creating hydrogen through the electrolysis of water with no harmful emissions.

The new capacity enables JM to produce components now, initially for tens of megawatts of hydrogen production – enough to power several thousand homes. The largest electrolyser units in operation in the world today range from 10 to 20 MW. As such, the new capacity puts JM in a position to work with world scale projects, with a roadmap to scale to multi-gigawatt manufacturing capacity in line with customer demand as the market continues its anticipated growth.

As MRC informed earlier, Johnson Matthey (JM; London, U.K.) has secured a multiple licence win for China’s Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group’s latest project to develop five of the largest single-train methanol plants in the world. Located at Baofeng’s Ordos City complex in Inner Mongolia, PRC, the plants have a planned capacity of 5 x 7,200 metric tons (m.t.) per day, and mark the fourth project on which Baofeng has selected Johnson Matthey as its collaboration partner for methanol technology.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

MRC