PetroChina posts best quarterly profit in seven years

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-owned PetroChina, Asia's largest oil and gas producer, has reported its biggest quarterly profit in seven years, citing rising oil and gas prices and a recovery in Chinese fuel demand from last year's deep coronavirus slump, reported Reuters.

The company swung to a 27.7 billion yuan (USD4.28 billion) first-quarter net profit, having posted a loss in the same period last year, and announced that it is setting up a new investment vehicle with a focus on strategic assets and low-carbon projects.

The new firm, CNPC Kunlun Capital Company, is 51% owned by PetroChina parent China National Petroleum Corp, 29% by PetroChina and 20% by CNPC Capital, with registered capital of 10 billion yuan.

PetroChina's first-quarter revenue was up 8.4% at 551.9 billon yuan, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Oil and gas output grew 0.8% to 417.1 million barrels of oil equivalent, with crude oil production down 4.9% while gas output was up 8% at 1.17 trillion cubic feet. Refinery throughput rose 7.8% to about 3.31 million barrels per day, reversing close to a 10% drop a year earlier.

PetroChina's domestic gas sales rallied nearly 15% and refined fuel surged 20.9% as Chinese fuel demand rebounded in tandem with robust economic growth.

As MRC wrote previosly, PetroChina shut its Guangxi Petrochemical in southern Guangxi province on February 9, 2020, for scheduled 50-day maintenance. The maintenance helped the refinery to offset stock pressure after product demand slumped due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Songwon Industrial Co., Ltd., announces the establishment of its new business entity in China, Songwon International-Qingdao Co., Ltd., said the company.

The new organization will ensure that SONGWON remains well-positioned to continue providing customers in this important strategic region with high quality products and service.

Songwon also announces that the divestment of its shareholding in the Qingdao Long Fortune Songwon Chemical Co., Ltd. joint venture has been completed.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2017, South Korean specialty chemicals company Songwon Industrial Co Ltd launched its new pilot plant in Panoli (Gujarat), thereby strengthening the organisation’s overall specialty chemicals development capability.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Headquartered in Ulsan (South Korea), Songwon Industrial Co is a leader in the development, production and supply of specialty chemicals. The second largest manufacturer of polymer stabilisers worldwide, Songwon operates group companies all over the world, offering the combined benefits of a global framework and readily accessible local organisations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wacker Chemie AG finished Q1 2021 with significant growth in sales and earnings, said the company.

The Munich-based chemical company generated sales of EUR1,359.6 million in the reporting quarter. That was 14 percent higher than in the same period last year (EUR1,197.5 million). Relative to the preceding quarter (EUR1,239.2 million), sales were up 10 percent, chiefly due to high demand in nearly all divisions. Business in construction materials and polysilicon, for example, was especially strong. Higher prices, particularly for solar-grade polysilicon, also lifted sales. On the other hand, exchange-rate effects resulting from the weaker US dollar year over year slowed sales somewhat.

In Q1 2021, Wacker posted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of EUR246.4 million. That was 42 percent higher than in the same period last year (EUR174.1 million). Relative to the preceding quarter (EUR196.0 million), EBITDA climbed 26 percent. This strong growth stemmed from higher volumes and, in some segments, better prices, as well as from overall higher plant utilization rates. The Group's ongoing efficiency program reduced costs, which also had a positive impact on EBITDA. The company encountered headwinds, however, from markedly higher raw-material prices both year over year and quarter over quarter. The EBITDA margin for January through March 2021 was 18.1 percent, compared with 14.5 percent in the same period last year. In the prior quarter, the EBITDA margin was 15.8 percent.

Group earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) also rose markedly year over year due to the factors already mentioned, coming in at EUR154.9 million (Q1 2020: EUR69.8 million). This was more than double the year-earlier figure and corresponded to an EBIT margin of 11.4 percent (Q1 2020: 5.8 percent). Net income totaled EUR106.6 million in the reporting quarter (Q1 2020: EUR68.9 million), corresponding to earnings per share of EUR2.06 (Q1 2020: EUR1.31).

We also remind that in 2013, Wacker launched a new EVA production plant - with an additional 40,000 tonnes annually - at its Ulsan site in South Korea back in February. The production capacity of the site has, thus, almost doubled then, making the plant complex one of the biggest of its kind in South Korea - thereby solidifying the company's global leading position in this segment.

According to MRC's DataScope, in February of this year, EVA imports to Russia increased by 1.44% to 3,140 tonnes from 3,100 tonnes in the same month last year, and by the end of January-February 2021, imports of this type of ethylene copolymer in the Russian Federation increased by 0.68% - to 6.23 thousand tons (6,190 tonnes tonnes in January-February 2020).

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips' Olefins and Polyolefins' (O&P) business has posted adjusted pre-tax income of USD174 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared with USD216 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, as per the company's press release.

The USD42 million decrease was primarily due to winter storm impacts, which resulted in decreased production and higher utility costs.

These items were partially offset by higher margins primarily due to tight supplies, low inventory levels and continued strong demand.

The company's global capacity utilisation was 79% for the first quarter.

Meanwhile, CPChem’s Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics (SA&S) business announced first-quarter adjusted pre-tax income of USD27 million, compared with USD13 million in the fourth quarter. The increase primarily reflects improved margins.

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corp, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year. This unit is one of the largest and most energy efficient crackers in the world. In September 2017, the company announced the successful commissioning and start-up of two new Marlex polyethylene (PE) units in Old Ocean, Texas, based on the company’s proprietary MarTech technologies. Together, these assets form the bulk of the company’s US Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project (USGCPP), which was first announced in 2011.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian oil company Petrobras has lowered diesel and gasoline prices at refineries by about 5 cents per liter since 1 May, 2021, reported Reuters with reference to the Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (Abicom) and consultancy and brokerage StoneX.

The move would be the first under the management of General Joaquim Silva e Luna, who replaced Roberto Castello Branco as the company's top executive after the government apparently disagreed with the state-run company's fuel pricing policy.

Petrobras did not immediately comment on the matter.

After landing the top job at Petrobras, Luna said he would look to avoid volatility in the domestic fuel market while not "disrespecting" international price parity.

In a note on Friday, brokerage Ativa Investimentos said its model indicated a potential 13% rise in gasoline prices, driven by the increasing international oil prices.

As MRC informed before, in December 2020, it became known that Petrobras was seeking 800 million reais (USD152 million) in compensation from engineering group Odebrecht in arbitration proceedings over its alleged violation of the shareholders agreement in petrochemical company Braskem.

We remind that Petrobras may need more than a year to divest its stake in Braskem, said Andrea Almeida, Petrobras CFO, in early July, 2020. She said during the company"s recent webinar that Petrobras plans to give more time for potential investors to make offers for the company"s assets, including for its refineries and stakes at its petrochemical and fuel distribution affiliates. The divestment of Petrobras's stake in Braskem in 2020 would be desirable but "might not be possible" as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed market conditions, she said. The company plans to close part of its refinery sales in 2021. In December, Roberto Castello Branco, CEO of Petrobras, said that he wants to sell the company's stake in Braskem within a year. Petrobras owns 32.15% of Braskem.

We also remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras" activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC