BASF raises April prices for TPU systems in North America

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF, the largest world's petrochemical company, has increased April prices for all thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU) products in North America, as per the company's press release.

Thus, the price rise was USD0.22/lb for orders shipping on or after April 1, 2021, or as contracts allow.

As MRC reported earlier, in pursue of more ambitious goals on its journey to climate neutrality and net zero emissions by 2050, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, is also significantly raising its medium-term 2030 target for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions: the company now wants to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 25% compared with 2018 - and to achieve this despite targeted growth and the construction of a large Verbund site in South China.

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.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 17,000 employees in North America and had sales of USD18.7 billion in 2020.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil and Porsche are testing advanced biofuels and renewable, lower-carbon eFuels, as part of a new agreement to find pathways toward potential future consumer adoption, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The first iteration of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel is a blend of primarily advanced biofuels and is specially formulated by ExxonMobil’s in-house team of scientists and engineers. Analysis indicates the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a liquid fuel. The fuel will be tested in race conditions with Porsche’s high-performance motorsports engines during the 2021 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race series.

Porsche and ExxonMobil’s collaboration will also focus on eFuels, which are synthetic fuels made from hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide. As early as 2022, the companies plan to test the second iteration of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel, which will contain eFuel components. The eFuel is anticipated to achieve a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of up to 85 percent, when blended to current market fuel standards for today’s passenger vehicles.

The eFuel will be sourced from the Haru Oni pilot plant based in Chile that generates hydrogen, which is then combined with captured carbon dioxide drawn from the atmosphere to produce methanol. ExxonMobil is providing a license and support for the proprietary technology to convert the methanol to gasoline, which will result in a lower-carbon fuel.

In the pilot phase, around 35,000 gallons of eFuels will be produced in 2022. As the fuel’s primary user, Porsche will use the eFuels from Chile among others in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup starting in the season of 2022. The first on-track testing of Esso Renewable Racing Fuel is scheduled for March 30, 2021 in Zandvoort, Netherlands, and will continue throughout the 2021 and 2022 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup race series.

The collaboration with Porsche builds on ExxonMobil’s continuing efforts to develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions, including high-efficiency fuels and lubricants, advanced plastics and other products that can enable cars and trucks to use less fuel. For example, the two companies have collaborated on a line of specially formulated lubricants for the electric vehicles market, Mobil EVTM range.

In January, ExxonMobil announced the creation of a new business, ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, to commercialize its extensive low-carbon technology portfolio and plans to invest USD3 billion on lower emission energy solutions through 2025. Last year, ExxonMobil announced plans to distribute renewable diesel within California and potentially other domestic and international markets as soon as 2022.

Over the past two decades, ExxonMobil has invested more than USD10 billion to research, develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions, resulting in highly efficient operations that have eliminated or avoided approximately 480 million tonnes of CO2 emissions - the equivalent of taking more than 100 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

Porsche is committed to invest USD17.9 billion in electromobility and digitalization by 2025. In 2030 the sports car manufacturer will offer more than 80 percent of its vehicles with electric engines. The company seeks carbon neutrality in its products and operations by 2030, investing around USD1.2 billion in sustainable mobility.

As per MRC, Plastic Energy (London, UK) is collaborating with ExxonMobil on a new recycling plant in France, which is anticipate to start up in 2023. The new facility will convert post-consumer plastic waste into raw materials for the manufacture of virgin-quality polymers. Plastic Energy and ExxonMobil have been developing plans since 2018. A final investment decision on this project is expected in mid-2021 with startup anticipated in 2023.

According to MRC"s ScanPlast report, January 2021 estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics in Russia rose by 12% year on year, totalling 45,640 tonnes. The estimated consumption increased year on year for all PS grades.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world"s energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PT Polytama Propindo has reportedly taken its polypropylene (PP) plant in Balongan, Indonesia offline after a fire broke out at the Pertamina refinery at the nearby location that disrupts the propylene supply to the company, reported CommoPlast.

This facility can produce 380,000 tons/year of PP.

There have been a number of reports from market players that the producer has canceled contract obligations for the current week due to the shutdown while delaying the announcement of second-quarter contract volume to the end of the week.

“The shutdown at our PP plant is a precautionary measure to prevent any potential issue spreading from the fire at the upstream complex. We were informed that it might take roughly a week for propylene supply to resume, in the meantime, we are looking for other sources of supply,” a source close to the producer reported.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2017, the company conducted maintenance at this plant from end-January to mid-February.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

PT Polytama Propindo was established in 1993 as a signifcant manufacturer of polypropylene resin (PP resin) in Indonesia. Polytama is taking a leading role in Indonesia's fast growing economy by utilizing the country wealth i.e. the secondary processing yield of oil and natural gas , through industrial manufacturing. The factory located in Balongan, Juntinyuat district, Indramayu-West Java, using one of the best technology in the world, the Spheripol technology of Montell (now LyondellBasell), with an installed capacity of 100,000 metric tons per year.

Two years later the construction of the factory was completed on July 27, 1995 and PT Polytama Propindo started the production (the product trade name: Masplene), the supply of raw material propylene with high purity from PERTAMINA refinery UP-VI (now RU-VI ) Balongan. In 1996, and the plant capacity grown to 180,000 tons per year. Response to the addition of propylene production capacity of PERTAMINA RU-VI in 2004, PT Polytama Propindo increased its capacity to 200,000 tons per year.
MRC

1. Global oil demand will improve after COVID-19 vaccination - Kuwait Oil Minister

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kuwait's Oil Minister Oil Mohammad Abdulatif al-Fares expressed "cautious optimism" that the global oil demand will improve as COVID-19 vaccination programs gather pace and industrial output recovers, as per Rueters. Speaking ahead of a joint meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers, he said the market supply/demand balance has largely improved as result of output cuts implemented by the group known as OPEC+, according to state news agency KUNA. He called on the group to the fully comply with these cuts.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India has imposed anti-dumping duties (ADD) on bottle grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin imports originating in or exported from China for five years, according to Kemicalinfo.

Bottle grade PET imports from China grew from 88,000 metric tonne in FY18 to 147,600 MT in FY19, a 67% increase, whereas imports from other countries decreased, as per govt data.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the Department Of Commerce, had recommended in December last year that anti-dumping duty ranging from USD60.92 to USD200.66 (depending on the material quality) be imposed on the import of bottle grade PET resin from China to offset the injury to the domestic industry from cheaper imports. The Finance Ministry accepted and notified the same on Saturday.

The Finance Ministry, in its notification, said, “imposition of anti-dumping duty is required to offset the injury to the domestic industry caused by the dumped imports of subject goods from the subject country and has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country and imported into India.”

The PET resin, having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 decilitres per gram or higher (bottle-grade PET resin, excluding recycled PET resin), is used for manufacturing bottles and jars for storage of mineral water, carbonated soft drinks, pharmaceutical products.

It also observed that imports entered the market at a price significantly below the selling price of the domestic industry, thus undercutting the prices of the domestic industry in the market. “It is seen that the market share of subject imports increased considerably over the injury period, while the market share of the petitioning domestic industry fell,” added DGTR.

Reliance Industries and IVL Dhunseri Petrochem Industries - two largest producers of the product in India, accounting for over 90% of the domestic production - had applied for the anti-dumping investigation before DGTR, which it initiated in October 2019.

The domestic industry, in its submission to DGTR, said that the imports from China have increased dramatically during the investigation period.

Importers of the PET resin said that there is no injury to the domestic industry as it is still profitable, and inventories reflect a decline in the injury period. The importers said, “The imports had no price effect on the domestic industry as the domestic prices increased by 26% over the injury period while the import prices increased by 33% and thus, analysis of price undercutting is meaningless.”

Indian Plastics Federation (IPF), a user of the imported raw material, in its submission said that any anti-dumping duty on imports from China will affect the domestic processors adversely and, therefore, the proposed anti-dumping duty should not be imposed.

IPF added, “Large discounts are offered to big companies. This is not available to small and medium units. This price disparity goes against small and medium industries. Hence small and medium industries prefer to import raw materials from China since their pricing policy and terms and conditions of payment are easier.”

As MRC reported earlier, The US International Trade Commission (USITC) is investigating a statement by American manufacturers that imports of granular polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) from India and Russia are being sold in the United States at below fair prices, said USITC in March. Daikin America (Orangeburg, New York) asked the USITC and the US Department of Commerce for the investigation in a petition filed on 27 January. The USITC announced that it had found enough support to begin the final phase investigation on 15 March.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption increased in January 2021 by 3% year on year. Thus, January estimate PET consumption in Russia totalled 57,420 tonnes.
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