ExxonMobil rejects union proposals to end Texas refinery lockout

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has rejected proposals by the United Steelworkers union to end a seven-week lockout at the company's Beaumont, Texas, refinery, reported Reuters.

Exxon locked out about 650 union workers on May 1 after a prior labor contract expired. It cited a risk of a strike by the USW-represented employees. The plant, which makes gasoline and Mobil 1 motor oil, has continued to operate using managers and replacement staff.

A union official confirmed the two sides met for about two hours on Thursday, but declined to discuss any proposals. No date for another negotiation session has been set.

In a statement posted online, Exxon said the company and union remain far apart based on Thursday's meeting.

"The union provided five partial proposals which included items that significantly increase cost and do not meet the objectives we informed the union of in January," Exxon said.

The company also said its lead negotiator was prepared to meet with the union's lead negotiator next week.

The USW proposals were offers on specific issues the union was willing to make changes to if Exxon reciprocated on its issues, sources familiar with the matter said. The company has insisted the union call a vote on its last proposal, which was made in April. Exxon said its proposal is needed to ensure flexibility to compete in low-margin environments. The USW has refused to call a vote, saying Exxon's proposal would eliminate seniority and create two separate contracts for the refinery and lubricant plant.

As MRC informed previously, Gov. John Bel Edwards and ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery Manager David Oldreive have announced the company’s final investment decision for more than USD240 million in capital improvements at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery.

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.

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) -- Operations returned to normal at LyondellBasell Industries 263,776 barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery following an upset in a waste gas system, said sources familiar with plant operations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The system takes waste gases from production units and uses them to power operations at the refinery, the sources said.

As per MRC, LyondellBasell (LBI), the world's largest producer of polyolefins, has announced force majeure for the supply of linear polyethylene (LLDPE) from its La Porte, TX plant due to an equipment malfunction at the Q1 reactor. According to the letter, the company is currently in the process of assessing the impact of this event on the production process of this enterprise with a capacity of 272,000 tonnes of LLDPE per year.

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.

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

1. Asia Distillates-Gasoil cash differential falls but ends week higher on improving demand in the region

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cash discounts for cargoes of Asia's 10 ppm gasoil slipped on Friday on weaker physical deal values in the Singapore trading window, but ended the week higher on signs of improving demand in Asia, reported Reuters. The 10 ppm cash differential was at a four-session low of minus 4 cents a barrel below Singapore quotes on Friday, down from minus 2 cents in the previous session. The differential climbed to a more than two-week high premium of 5 cents a barrel on Wednesday. Sentiment, however, was capped by concerns of rising regional supplies as refiners in north Asia resume operations following seasonal refinery turnarounds.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's imports of US crude oil rose 21.3% from a year earlier in May, marking the first year-on-year increase in 12 months, as local refiners continued to raise middle distillate output amid improving transportation fuel demand and a widening Brent-Dubai price spread made North American barrels competitive, reported S&P Global with reference to latest data from Korea Customs Service.

The world's fifth-largest crude importer received 1.227 million mt, or 8.99 million barrels, of US oil in May, up from 7.41 million barrels a year earlier, the customs data showed. The country has been receiving more than 4 VLCCs/month from the US since February.

The majority of US crudes that South Korean refiners purchase are light sweet grades rich in middle distillate yield, including WTI and Eagle Ford.

South Korean refiners are expected to continue raising light sweet US crude purchases - and overall feedstock imports - as industrial and consumer fuel demand is set to strengthen on the back of robust economic recovery with the nationwide vaccination program gathering pace, refinery officials and analysts at Korea National Oil Corp. and Korea Petroleum Association told S&P Global.

The country is forecast to consume 240,000 b/d of gasoline in Q2, up from 224,000 b/d in Q1, according to latest data from Platts Analytics.

In total, South Korea imported 10.912 million mt, or 79.98 million barrels, of crude oil in May, up 1.5% year on year, the customs data showed.

South Korea's May crude imports from top supplier Saudi Arabia fell 18.7% year on year to 23.47 million barrels, while shipments from Kuwait fell 37.8% to 8.19 million barrels and from Iraq fell 5.1% to 5.07 million barrels, the customs data showed. However, local refiners are expected to see Middle Eastern crude intake increase gradually in coming months after OPEC and its allies on June 1 agreed to follow through on plans to hike crude production through July.

Saudi Aramco has allocated most Asia-Pacific refiners with their requested term crude volumes for loading in July, Platts reported earlier based on a survey of multiple feedstock procurement managers and refinery officials across Asia. The allocation of full volumes is largely in line with market expectations, with Saudi plans to raise supplies after the OPEC+ group's decision to ease production cuts amid firming demand cues aided by the global recovery.

In addition, South Korean refiners could trim some of their North Sea and West African crude purchases, while increasing Middle Eastern crude procurement, in the second half of the year as spot cargoes from the west of Suez appear expensive after the Brent-Dubai price spread flipped to a lofty premium in recent trading cycles, according to feedstock procurement managers at two South Korean refiners.

The refiners are also keen to pick up more US crude cargoes in the spot market as North American grades are often traded on a Dubai pricing basis in the Northeast Asian market.

South Korea's crude stockpiles fell 14.4% year on year to 41.75 million barrels in April, KNOC data showed. But the

As MRC informed earlier, GS Caltex, a major South Korean petrochemical producer, is planning to start up its new mixed-feed cracker in Yeosu in June 2021. This schedule is earlier than the initial plan of 2022. The new cracker can produce 790,000 tons/year of ethylene and 430,000 tons/year of propylene.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures rose during mid-morning Asian trade June 21 as markets continued to price in a recovery in global oil demand, while keeping an eye on the recently resumed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiations, reported S&P Global.

At 11:28 am Singapore time (0328 GMT), the ICE August Brent futures contract was up 47 cents/b (0.64%) from the previous settle at USD73.98/b, while the NYMEX WTI July light sweet crude contract was up 55 cents/b (0.77%) at USD72.19/b.

This morning's rise extends the uptrend from that of last week ended June 18, during which the Brent and NYMEX light sweet crude markers rose 1.13% and 1.03% to close at USD73.51/b and USD71.64/b, respectively.

The uptrend in the oil markets come despite hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve, which is pushing the dollar higher, and can be attributed to markets buying into the global demand recovery narrative.

With rising vaccination rates, and easing mobility restrictions, the US and Europe are at the forefront of this recovery, and analysts have said that the record crude throughput seen in China in May is likely to persist until winter.

ANZ analysts have also noted nascent signs of improvement in India's downstream products demand, as parts of the country relax lockdown restrictions following a sustained downtrend in COVID-19 infections.

In other news, negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have resumed in Vienna on June 20 after the election of Ebrahim Raisi as Iran's president. Raisi had earlier said that he is committed to the JCPOA.

Raisi's top energy adviser, Alireza Zeyghami, a former deputy oil minister, told S&P Global Platts that under Raisi, Iran would seek a quick return to its pre-sanctions crude production of near 4 million b/d, with or without an agreement. Many buyers of Iranian crude, however, will await the restoration of the JCPOA before purchasing Iranian crude, as they will not want to risk incurring sanctions penalties.

We remind that 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