COVID-19 - News digest as of 11.06.2021

1. Crude oil futures slip in Asia after hitting fresh highs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures slipped during mid-morning trade in Asia June 11 after settling at fresh highs as the OPEC Monthly Report for June reinforced a positive demand outlook for the second half of the year, reported S&P Global. At 10.50 am Singapore time (0250 GMT), the ICE August Brent futures contract was down 57 cents/b (0.79%) from the previous settle at USD72/b, while the NYMEX July light sweet crude contract was down 51 cents/b (0.73%) at USD69.83/b. The ICE Brent contract settled at USD72.52/b on June 10, the highest in over a year after the front month contract settled at USD72.62/b on May 16, 2019. Additionally, the NYMEX light sweet crude contract settled at USD70.20/b on June 10, and was last higher at USD71.92/b on October 16, 2018, S&P Global Platts data showed.


MRC

US PE exports fall 12.5% YOY in Jan-Apr 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US polyethylene (PE) exports in the first four months of 2021 were 12.5% lower than the January-April period of 2020, reflecting continued fallout from a deep freeze in February that forced weeks-long production shutdowns, according to S&P Global with reference to US International Trade Commission data June 9.

The US shipped out 1.846 million mt of PE in the January-April period, down from 2.11 million mt in the year-ago span, the data showed.

Production sharply curtailed by freeze-related shutdowns has largely rebounded, but the data reflects a lengthy recovery. Many force majeures on PE declared during the freeze remain in effect as producers race to meet strong demand in US and international markets while trying to restock inventories.

"We continue to see demand strength coupled with constrained inventory levels as the industry manages the backlog of customer orders and supply pressures from the impact of" the February freeze, Dow Chemical CEO Jim Fitterling said at a June 3 conference.

At the height of coronavirus pandemic-related shutdowns in the US in April 2020, some producers cut rates or shut down plants in response to reduced demand. But PE demand in domestic and international markets was more resilient than that for resins used to make more durable plastics.

The US exported 1.834 million mt of PE in the first four months of 2019, when there was no freeze or pandemic-related shutdowns, down 0.6% from January-April 2021 outflows, ITC data show.

As MRC informed earlier, for PE, IHS Markit was assuming outages affect all Texas and western Louisiana facilities. "We currently assume that 88% of all US PE capacity is offline and will be so until this weekend at the earliest," IHS Markit said in H2 February, 2021. "We are assuming that upstream supply of key feedstocks for ethylene production, like ethane gas, are also experiencing issues as well as the actual ethylene crackers themselves."

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased.
MRC

Crude oil futures slip in Asia after hitting fresh highs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures slipped during mid-morning trade in Asia June 11 after settling at fresh highs as the OPEC Monthly Report for June reinforced a positive demand outlook for the second half of the year, reported S&P Global.

At 10.50 am Singapore time (0250 GMT), the ICE August Brent futures contract was down 57 cents/b (0.79%) from the previous settle at USD72/b, while the NYMEX July light sweet crude contract was down 51 cents/b (0.73%) at USD69.83/b.

The ICE Brent contract settled at USD72.52/b on June 10, the highest in over a year after the front month contract settled at USD72.62/b on May 16, 2019. Additionally, the NYMEX light sweet crude contract settled at USD70.20/b on June 10, and was last higher at USD71.92/b on October 16, 2018, S&P Global Platts data showed.

"The same thing happened yesterday, with oil closing higher on day in the West, but drifting downward in Asian hours," Vandana Hari, CEO of Vanda Insights, told Platts on June 4.

"Oil is mostly being led up by growing demand optimism with regard to the Western hemisphere, as the US has mostly reopened and Europe gradually reopens," she said.

Citing data from Eurocontrol, a European air traffic management organization, analysts at ANZ on June 11 said that jet fuel markets were showing signs of recovery, with flights in Europe rising by 17% in the past two weeks.

"While Asian recovery remains a slight reason for concern, the market is not too worried as governments are adopting a new playbook of rapid responses and ringfencing clusters," Hari said.

Meanwhile, as MRC informed earlier, Indian refiners, anticipating a lifting of US sanctions, plan to make space for the resumption of Iranian imports by reducing spot crude oil purchases in the second half of the year. The world"s third-largest oil consumer and importer halted imports from Tehran in 2019 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 accord and re-imposed sanctions on the OPEC producer over its disputed nuclear programme.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

Ufaorgsintez resumes LDPE production

MOSCOW (MRC) - Ufaorgsintez (UOS, Bashneft’s petrochemical asset) has resumed operations at some of its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production capacities after a scheduled shutdown for maintenance, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said Ufaorgsintez resumed its second LDPE line (158 grade and 153 grade polyethylene - PE) after a scheduled turnaround on 9 June. The outage of the second PE line was short and took only a week. The first LDPE line (108 grade PE) will be shut for scheduled maintenance works in September.

It is also worth noting that Ufaorgsintez's LDPE production capacities will operate with reduced capacity utilisation until the end of the month due to a shortage of ethylene. The shortage of ethylene was caused by the consequences of a fire that occurred in February in the gas distribution workshop. But already in July, the producer is forced to reach 100% capacity utilisation.

Ufaorgsintez's overall LDPE and polypropylene (PP) production capacities are 90,000 and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively.

It is also worth noting that Angarsk Polymers Plant will shut its LDPE production for a 30-day turnaround in the 20th of June.

PJSC Ufaorgsintez produces phenol, acetone, synthetic ethylene-propylene rubber, high and low pressure polyethylene, polypropylene, more than 30 types of petrochemical products and over 25 consumer products.
MRC

PVC imports to Ukraine fell by 41% in January-May, exports remained steady

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased by 41% in the first five months of this year, compared to the same period in 2020 and reached about 10,600 tonnes. Export sales of Ukrainian PVC did not grow, despite record-high price levels in several regions of the world, according to MRC' DataScope.

Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market increased to 2,000 tonnes from 2,200 tonnes in April, with European producers continuing serious export restrictions. Overall SPVC imports reached 10,600 tonnes in January-May 2021, compared to 17,800 tonnes a year earlier.
Limited export quotas from European producers and high prices at North American ones were the main reason for such a serious drop in imports.
European producers with the share of about 98% of the total imports over the stated period were the key suppliers of PVC to the Ukrainian market. Last month, Karpatneftekhim decreased the volume of external sales significantly, the export sales of Ukrainian PVC amounted to 10,500 tonnes against 19,100 tonnes in April.

Overall, a little more than 90,000 tonnes were shipped for export in the first five months of 2021, compared to 89,600 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC