US fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline shuts its entire network after cyber attack

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Top US fuel pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline shut its entire network, the source of nearly half of the US East Coast's fuel supply, after a cyber attack that industry sources said was caused by ransomware, reported Reuters.

The company transports 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products through 5,500 miles (8,850 km) of pipelines linking refiners on the Gulf Coast to the eastern and southern United States.

Colonial shut down systems to contain the threat after learning of the attack on Friday, it said in a statement.

That action has temporarily halted operations and affected some of its IT systems, the company said.

While the US government investigation is in its early stages, one former US government official and two industry sources said the hackers are most likely a highly professional cybercriminal group. Investigators are looking into whether a group dubbed "DarkSide" by the cybersecurity research community is responsible, the former government official said.

Colonial has engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to launch an investigation and contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies, it said. Cybersecurity company FireEye has been brought in to respond to the attack, the cybersecurity industry sources said. FireEye declined to comment when asked if it was working on the incident.

The US Transportation Security Administration told Reuters it is working with other agencies on the situation.

During the trading session on Friday, gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 0.6% to settle at USD2.1269 a gallon, while diesel futures rose 1.1% to settle at USD2.0106 a gallon - both outpacing gains in crude oil. Gulf Coast cash prices for gasoline and diesel, meanwhile, edged lower on prospects that supplies could accumulate in the region.

"As every day goes by, it becomes a greater and greater impact on Gulf Coast oil refining," said Andrew Lipow, president of consultancy Lipow Oil Associates. "Refiners would have to react by reducing crude processing because they've lost part of the distribution system."

If the system is shut for four or five days, the market could see sporadic outages at fuel terminals that depend on the pipeline for deliveries, he said. Gulf Coast prices could weaken further, while prices in New York Harbor could rise, one market participant said - gains that could portend increases at the Northeast pumps.

As MRC informed previously, on 7 October, 2020, Braskem informed its shareholders and the market that, in view of an identified cyber-attack occurred in its Information Technology environment, the protection system interrupted, as a precautionary measure, the access to some of its servers and software, impacting its operations. And in a couple of weeks after the cyber-attack that led the company to declare force majeure in Brazil, Braskem notified that its systems were back online and restored normal operations.

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.
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India eyes regular oil supplies from Saudi Aramco in June

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian state refiners have placed orders for regular supplies from Saudi Aramco for June, after reducing purchases this month, drawn by lower prices by the world’s top oil exporter, reporte Reuters with reference to four sources' statement.

The refiners - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd - normally buy 14.8 million-15 million barrels of Saudi oil a month.

“This time there is no direction from the ministry to cut imports in June and unlike last time they (Aramco) have reduced the prices as well,” said one of the sources.

Saudi Arabia has cut the June official selling prices (OSPs) of all crude grades it sells to Asia. It set the June OSP for the flagship Arab light crude at USD1.7 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average for Asia, down 10 cents from May and its first price cut since December last year, sources told Reuters.

India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer, imports more than 80% of its oil needs and relies heavily on the Middle East.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2021, Mammoet completed the lifting of three columns for the Guru Gobind Singh Polymer Expansion Project in Bathinda, Punjab, India. Thus, the team lifted a 1,305t ethylene fractionator, and 2 propylene fractionators weighing 1,200t and 2,490t - the second of which was lifted in two sections.

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.
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BP said it will remain a member of the American Petroleum Institute

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP said it will remain a member of the American Petroleum Institute (API) after the largest U.S. oil and gas trade lobby group addressed some differences with the British energy company over climate change, said Reuters.

BP, which plans to sharply cut its oil output and boost its renewable energy capacity over the next decade, said in a report that despite "uneven progress", the API was "heading in the right direction". The API has faced growing pressure from member companies and activist groups to change its policies relating to climate change and drilling regulations.

The trade group started to shift some of its positions as the climate-focused Biden administration came to power this year. In March it said it supports a carbon price as one measure to mitigate climate change risk. BP said it was "encouraged" by the API's support for federal regulation on limiting emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas and its support for carbon pricing as well as improving its transparency.

"API's progress has been uneven at times but, on the whole, the organization has moved considerably over the past year and is heading in the right direction," BP said in the report. "We will continue to make our case – as members – to influence API on climate and many other areas relevant to our business in the US."

London-based BP, led by CEO Bernard Looney, last year quit the main U.S. refining lobby and two other trade groups but stuck with the API despite saying it was only "partially aligned" with its policies. BP will publish a comprehensive review of its membership of the API and other associations next year.

France's Total in January became the first major global energy company to quit the API due to disagreements over its climate policies and support for easing drilling rules, saying it would not renew its 2021 membership. Total's stance put pressure on other European oil majors that have set out strategies to sharply reduce carbon emissions.

Royal Dutch Shell also chose to extend its API membership despite "some misalignment" with its climate stance. BP's interim report also reviewed its participation in four other associations which were partly aligned with its policies including the Australian Institute of Petroleum and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. BP said it was encouraged by progress made by all four groups over their climate stances.

As per MRC, Rosneft, the largest state oil company in the Russian Federation, was the first Russian oil company to decide to develop its hydrogen business. British BP will act as a partner. Together they will study the prospects for new projects using renewable energy sources (RES), as well as the use of technologies for capturing, utilizing and storing CO2. Earlier in Russia, Gazprom and Novatek spoke about their intention to create a hydrogen business and new technologies for the disposal of harmful emissions.

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.

BP plc (until May 2001 - British Petroleum) is a British oil and gas company, the second largest publicly traded oil and gas company in the world.
MRC

Borealis will use new heat recovery technology at LDPE plant in Belgium

MOSCOW (MRC) - Borealis will use a new system to convert waste heat into process energy at its LDPE plant in its Antwerp, Belgium complex, the first commercial application of the technology, the manufacturer said.

This Qpinch technology uses a chemical process to raise the temperature of the waste heat, which allows it to be used for production with lower operating costs and power consumption than conventional heat pumps.

Qpinch won the ICIS Innovation Awards at the end of 2020 because its technology allows manufacturers to more efficiently use waste heat to control production by creating a closed loop system.

The technology scales from 1 to 50 megawatts. The Borealis demonstration plant intends to test the process capabilities with a view to expanding its use in the company's production facilities.

Earlier it was reported that Borealis in March last year resumed production of high-density polyethylene (LDPE) in Stenungsund (Stenungsund, Sweden) after planned repairs. This production with a capacity of 350 thousand tons of LDPE per year was closed for repairs in December 2019.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, in March the estimated consumption of LDPE in Russia increased to 62,100 tonnes against 36,580 tonnes a year earlier. Russian manufacturers have reduced their export supplies of LDPE due to more attractive prices on the domestic market. In the first three months of this year, the estimated consumption of LDPE in the country amounted to about 149,910 tonnes, which is 10% more than a year earlier.

Borealis, headquartered in Vienna, is a leading manufacturer of polyolefins, basic chemicals and fertilizers. Borealis is the majority shareholder in Saudi state-owned International Petroleum Investment (IPIC), which also owns North American ethylene and polyethylene producer NOVA Chemicals and Middle Eastern petrochemical company Borouge.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 11.05.2021

1. Saudi Aramco beats quarterly profit forecast with 30% rise in Q1 2021 earnings

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State-run oil producer Saudi Aramco beat analysts' forecasts with a 30% rise in first-quarter net profit, helped by strong oil prices, reported Reuters. Earnings by global energy companies such as Exxon Mobil have climbed on the back of rising crude prices, which are up by about a third this year, as fuel demand recovers from the pandemic and as a global surplus of crude shrinks. "Given the positive signs for energy demand in 2021, there are more reasons to be optimistic that better days are coming," Amin Nasser, chief executive of the world's top oil exporter, said in a statement. "And while some headwinds still remain, we are well-positioned to meet the world's growing energy needs as economies start to recover," he said.


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