Asia Distillates-Jet fuel cash differentials flip back to discounts on the back of fresh waves of coronavirus infections

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia's cash differentials for jet fuel flipped back into discounts on Wednesday, 19 May, after staying in positive territory for two weeks, as fresh waves of coronavirus infections in several regional markets weighed on aviation demand, reported Reuters.

Cash differentials for jet fuel JET-SIN-DIF plunged to a discount of 3 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, compared with a premium of 5 cents a barrel on Tuesday.

A resurgence in coronavirus cases and a slow rate of vaccinations are forcing people to avoid travel and governments to keep border restrictions intact.

The Asian jet fuel market, however, is expected to benefit from arbitrage shipments to the West, where aviation demand is recovering faster, they added.

Refining margins for jet fuel in Singapore climbed 20 cents to USD6.29 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours on Wednesday as feedstock crude prices fell.

As MRC informed previously, Asia's cash differentials for jet fuel flipped into premiums for the first time this year in early May, partly supported by firmer deals in the physical market, while prompt-month spread for the aviation fuel stood at its narrowest contango in more than two months.

We remind that slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries. The result is a wave of closures, often centering on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after the recession in 2008/09.

We also remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85 to 90 percent from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Despite the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, the global plastics industry is expected to rebound in 2021 due to the resumption of activities in its major end markets in line with progressive containment of the pandemic, a new report forecasts, said Canplastics.

In its report, "Industry Convergence to Transform the Global Plastics and Composites Market, Outlook 2021," business consultancy group Frost & Sullivan predicts that global revenue will rise to an estimated USD558.71 billion this year, up from USD533.04 billion in 2020, a CAGR of 4.8%. Moreover, the ongoing focus on the circular economy is likely to stimulate new regulations and product development in the plastics and composites sector.

"The recycling, re-use, and upcycling of plastics and composites are becoming key avenues for product development and value addition,” said Aditya Krishnan, chemicals, materials, and nutrition analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “The increasing relevance of energy efficiency and carbon neutrality goals will also drive new product design and development in several end-use sectors such as automotive, electronics, and consumer goods. Plastics and composites are expected to play an important part due to their versatile properties and longevity."

Krishnan also noted that the trend of reshoring, or having products manufactured locally, is expected to have a significant impact as manufacturers look to secure supply chains by building new facilities and expanding operations in key regions such as Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East.

As per MRC, Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), increased 1.2% on a sequential three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis in May. This follows a 1.0% increase in April. The CAB was up 18.6% on a year-on-year (YOY) basis, as the year-ago period included the deep trough of the COVID-19 recession.

As MRC informed before, Russia's output of chemical products rose in March 2021 by 5.4% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 6.7% in the first moths months of 2021. March production of polymers in primary form was 958,000 tonnes versus 861,000 tonnes in February. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 2,740,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8.5% year on year.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell (LBI), the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin technologies, has announced Inner Mongolia Baofeng New Material Co., Ltd. a fully owned Chinese subsidiary of Ningxia Baofeng, will use the LyondellBasell Spheripol technology for its new mega facility, as per LBI's press release.

The process technology will be used for four polypropylene (PP) lines, each producing 500 KTA, to be built in Erdos, Inner Mongolia, P.R. China.

Spheripol technology is the leading PP process technology with more than 30 million tons of licensed capacity. The latest fifth generation Spheripol technology includes process improvements that further maximize operational efficiency. The plant will commence operations using Avant ZN catalyst.

New licensees can take advantage of LyondellBasell’s in-house expertise of continuous production improvement, sustainable product development and catalyst knowhow by optionally joining LyondellBasell’s Technical Service program.

As MRC reported earlier, in April, 2021, LyondellBasellreceived the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certification for its cracker in Wesseling, Germany, and European polymer sites.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest polypropylene producers, a leading supplier of polyethylene and catalysts, and a developer of polyethylene and polypropylene technologies. The company manufactures products at 58 production sites in 18 countries around the world. In addition, LyondellBasell is the developer of the Spheripol process, which is the basis for polypropylene production at Omsk Poliom and Nizhnekamskneftekhim.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexico should recover its investment in the Deer Park oil refinery in Texas during the next two to three years, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, as per Hydrocarbonprocesing.

This week Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) announced the purchase of the controlling stake in the 340,000-barrel-per-day refinery from its partner Royal Dutch Shell for some USD596 million.

Pemex Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero said during a news conference with the president that the transaction is an important step toward Mexico's self-sufficiency in fuels, so that it can stop importing gasoline by 2023.

Lopez Obrador, who has moved to strengthen state control over energy since taking office in late 2018, said Mexico would not have to take on new debt to pay for the refinery.

As per MRC, Pemex will invest USD2.64 billion to complete a coking plant at its Tula refinery as the country seeks to reduce its dependence on imported fuels. The project, which Pemex expects to finish by 2023, will allow Pemex to process 90% of the fuel oil produced at Tula and at neighboring Salamanca.

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.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a deal that involves Canadian plastics pioneer Vic De Zen, Los Angeles-based private equity firm OpenGate Capital has sold Energi Fenestration Solutions Ltd., a maker of rigid and cellular vinyl window and patio door profiles, to three Canadian companies, each of which are acquiring various portions of the business, said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deals have not been disclosed. One of the buyers is Woodbridge, Ont.-based Vision Group of Companies, which makes PVC and fibreglass columns, vinyl fences, PVC railing, patio doors, basement windows, and custom profiles. “The integration will be complete within the coming months and we will be able to maximize our manufacturing, purchasing, and human resources,” Vision Group chairman and CEO De Zen said in a May 18 statement.

Energi was formerly a division of Axiall Corp.’s Royal Building Products portfolio, which was part of De Zen’s old Royal Plastics Group business, so the deal returns ownership of Energi to one of its predecessors. When OpenGate acquired Energi through a corporate carve-out from Axiall Corp. in 2016, it rebranded the business and transformed it into a wholly independent, standalone entity.

A second buyer is Sainte-Julie, Que.-based Novatech Group, which acquired Energi Terrebone Patio Doors, which operates out of Terrebone, Que. In a statement, Novatech officials said the company plans to make “significant investments in the coming months” at the Terrebone facility. “Effective immediately, the current Novatech sales force will be responsible for patio door sales out of Terrebonne,” the statement said. “The customer service team in Terrebonne will remain in place for all inquiries and orders."

Third, Energi’s extrusion plant in Laval, Que. has been sold to a group of former Energi executives, who have now started up a new company in Laval called Thermoplast Extrusions. “The transaction is effective immediately and…the entire team remains in place,” the group said in a statement.

As per MRC, Novatec Solar and BASF have commissioned a solar thermal demonstration plant based on a new type of molten salt technology, known as direct molten salt or DMS technology. The plant is located on the site of the solar-thermal power plant PE1 in southern Spain. The innovative feature of the new plant design is that the solar collector uses inorganic molten salt as heat transfer fluid. Most solar thermal power plants currently use heat transfer oils, which have a limited qualification temperature. Using inorganic salts as heat transfer fluid allows operating temperatures above 500°C, resulting in a significant increase in power yield.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 346,100 tonnes in the first four months of 2021, down 1% year on year. All producers decreased production volumes over the reported period, with the exception of the Bashkir Soda Company.
MRC