Elkem profits dropped in 2020 on lower prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Elkem has announced its results for full-year 2020 and says that net profits dropped 69%, to 278.0 million Norwegian kroner (USD32.9 million), despite a 9% increase in sales, to NKr24.7 billion, reported Chemweek.

The company says that “even though realized prices declined in 2020 and overall market demand was weak, Elkem’s sales volumes increased in the year owing to an enhanced sales strategy, enabled by competitive cost positions and improved operations compared to 2019.” EBITDA increased 1%, to NKr2.7 billion and EBIT declined 19%, to NKr957 million. The company's fourth-quarter profits and sales increased significantly year on year, as reported in February.

“We remain optimistic regarding the longer-term global trends that will drive demand for our products. We have all the ingredients in place to make 2021 a successful year for Elkem, while remaining mindful of the uncertainty in our external environment,” says Michael Koenig, CEO of Elkem.

As MRC informed previously, in 2015, a consortium of industrial companies, including BASF, universities and research institutes recently launched project RECOBA (Cross-sectorial REal time sensing, advanced COntrol and optimization of BAtch processes, saving energy and raw materials). Under the project coordination of BASF SE, the RECOBA partners include ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe AG, Germany; ELKEM AS Technology, Norway; University of Cambridge, United Kingdom; RWTH Aachen University, Germany; University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czech Republic; the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain; VDEh-Betriebsforschungsinstitut GmbH, Germany; Cybernetica AS, Norway; and Minkon Sp. z o.o., Poland.

We remind that in mid-February, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted last Wednesday due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other"s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year, according to IHS Markit data.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall polyethylene (PE) imports into the Ukrainian market totalled 34,900 tonnes in the first two months of 2021, down by 13% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports, according to MRC DataScope report.

Last month's PE imports to Ukraine were 17,700 tonnes versus 17,200 tonnes in January, local companies increased their purchases of high density polyethylene (HDPE). Thus, overall PE imports reached 34,900 tonnes in January-February 2021, compared to 39,900 tonnes a year earlier. HDPE imports decreased significantly, whereas linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) imports increased.

The structure of PE imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's HDPE imports were 5,800 tonnes, compared to 5,100 tonnes in January, Ukrainian companies increased their purchases of extrusion blow moulding (EBM) PE. Overall HDPE imports totalled 10,900 tonnes in the first two months of 2021 versus 15,900 tonnes a year earlier.

February imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) into Ukraine were 5,500 tonnes versus 6,100 tonnes a month earlier. Overall LDPE imports totalled 11,600 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 12,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Last month's LLDPE imports were 5,800 tonnes, compared to 4,700 tonnes in January, shipments of film grade LLDPE from the USA decreased. Overall LLDPE imports reached 10,500 tonnes in the first two months of 2021, compared to 9,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Imports of other PE grades, including ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA), totalled 1,900 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 2,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's daily refinery throughput rose 15% in the first two months of the year, from a low base a year earlier, as fuel demand remains solid and refineries rush to hike production ahead of maintenance season, reported Reuters.

Refinery processing reached 114.24 million tonnes in the January-February period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, equivalent to about 14.13 million barrels per day (bpd). The agency didn't disclose numbers for January and February separately.

The daily rate is about the same level as in December 2020, up from 12.07 mln bpd in Jan-Feb 2020 and also above the 12.68 million bpd recorded in the first two months of 2019.

Chinese refineries slashed output in the first quarter last year as the rapid spread of the coronavirus decimated fuel demand.

Chinese refined fuel consumption has staged a strong rebound from coronavirus-induced weakness as the economy recovered and government stimulus kicked in.

The latest data also showed China's crude oil production in the first two months rose 0.4% from a year earlier to 32.08 million tonnes, or 3.97 million bpd. That compared with an average of 3.89 million bpd for 2020.

Meantime, China's natural gas output expanded 13.5% in January-February from a year earlier to 34.8 billion cubic metres, extending a jump that saw near 10% growth for full-year 2020.

As MRC informed before, in early December 2020, Sinopec’s board approved plans to build a 1.2-million metric tons per annum ethylene plant and downstream units in the Nangang area of the port of Tianjin, China. Sinopec estimates the cost of the project at 28.8 billion renminbi (USD4.4 billion).

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, today announces that it has reached an agreement to sell its Advanced Solar business in backsheet products to Worthen Industries, Inc., a company specializing in polymer technologies for multiple end-markets, said the company.

In September 2020 DSM announced it had reached an agreement to sell the coatings business of DSM Advanced Solar to Covestro AG as part of a broader agreement to sell the Resins & Functional Materials business including DSM Niaga® and DSM Additive Manufacturing. For the remaining solar business, an agreement has now been reached with Worthen Industries that will create a global business which benefits from complementary innovation and enhanced production capability. Completion of the transaction is expected mid-2021. Financial details of the transaction will not be disclosed.

Pascal de Sain, Vice President DSM Advanced Solar, said: “I am proud that this deal, which recognizes the value of DSM’s innovation and the team’s expertise, will create an innovation leader in backsheet products for solar modules. Worthen Industries shares our vision on sustainability and the importance of increasing the positive impact of solar energy through more effective, durable technology that also produces lower waste and emissions. Merging DSM’s next-generation product and technology design capabilities with Worthen’s unrivalled strengths in process design and optimization will drive considerable benefits for customers and the world."

David Worthen, CEO at Worthen Industries, said: “The acquisition of DSM’s business in backsheets and conductive backsheets, along with its excellent team, is a strong next step in Worthen’s strategy to serve the global PV industry with sustainable, high-performance solutions that are VOC-free, zero-waste, and 100% recyclable - enabling a greener, better-performing industry worldwide. This is a great combination of shared values and complementary expertise which will accelerate our ability to support the world’s transition to clean energy."

As MRC informed earlier, in September, 2020, DSM formed a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with VDL Groep (Eindhoven, Netherlands), called Dutch PPE Solutions, to produce medical facemasks and establish the first permanent production of critical facemask components in the Netherlands. The companies are investing several million euros to purchase manufacturing equipment and build manufacturing facilities to produce meltblown polypropylene (PP), the critical material layer in medical facemasks that filters viruses, and make medical masks.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc is preparing to restart the crude distillation units (CDUs) at its 318,000 bpd joint-venture Deer Park, Texas refinery, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

The restart of the 270,000-bpd DU-2 CDU and the 70,000-bpd DU-1 CDU between Sunday night and Monday, assuming no setbacks, will begin the restart of all other units at the refinery, the sources said.

A Shell spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Shell began preparing to restart the crude units on Saturday. The CDUs were shut by a pump seal failure on Feb. 14. Other units at the refinery were shut on Feb. 15 because of the effects of severe cold weather.

The Deer Park refinery is last to begin restarting following the severe cold that cascaded across the US Gulf Coast in mid-February.

The Deer Park refinery is a 50-50 joint-venture between Shell and Mexico’s national oil company, Pemex. Shell is the managing partner.

As MRC informed before, Royal Dutch Shell Plc pushed back the restart of its 318,000 bpd joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery to March 13. Shell had planned to restart the 270,000-bpd DU-2 crude distillation unit (CDU), the largest at the refinery, by early last week. Shell is continuing repairs at the refinery to enable it to restart from the Feb. 15 shutdown because of cold weather. Repairs could last until April.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC