Toyo Engineering gets contract from Prime Polymer for construction of new PP plant in Chiba

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Toyo Engineering Corporation (TOYO) has been awarded a contract for a project to construct a polypropylene (PP) plant in Ichihara-shi, Chiba, Japan from Prime Polymer, as per the company's press release.

TOYO will carry out the EPC contract on a full turn-key basis that includes engineering, procurement, and construction.

The new plant's production capacity will be 200,000/mt year. The completion of construction worls is scheduled for 2024.

Responding to the social needs aspire all business entities to contribute on sustainability, the client awarded the contract to TOYO because of evaluation as an active partner from early stage for several years along with the company's rich experiences of petrochemical projects, execution ability of large-scale EPC projects and our proposal from the viewpoint of safety, cost, quality, delivery and environment.

As MRC wrote previously, TEC Project Services Corp., a subsidiary of Toyo Engineering, said in April, 2019, it was awarded a propylene splitter project from Maruzen Petrochemical to produce a "high-grade product" at Maruzen's plant in Ichihara-shi, Chiba, Japan. TEC will be responsible for detailed engineering, procurement of equipment and materials, and construction. Completion is scheduled in 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

1. US crude and gasoline stockpiles slightly down

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil stockpiles fell modestly last week, while gasoline inventories dipped to their lowest level since November, reported Reuters with reference to the US Energy Information Administration's statement. Crude inventories fell by 447,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 6 to 438.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop. Overall crude inventories have been on the decline for several weeks due to increased demand. Fuel consumption, as measured by product supplied, fell in the most recent week, led by declines in gasoline and jet fuel supplied. The weekly figures are volatile, however, and over the last four weeks produced supplied sits at 20.6 million barrels per day (bpd), roughly in line with 2019 levels. Analysts said if fuel demand starts to decline as a result of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, it would be negative for energy prices.




MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were slightly higher during midmorning trade in Asia Aug. 12 on a weaker dollar, but a mixed report from the US Energy Information Administration and calls from the White House for an increase in OPEC+ supply limited the market's upside potential, reported S&P Global.

At 11:38 am Singapore time (0338 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 11 cents/b (0.15%) from the previous close at USD71.55/b while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was also up 11 cents/b (0.16%) at USD69.36/b.

The uptick in prices came amid a depreciation of the dollar after data from the US Labor Department showed that the rise in the core US Consumer Price Index in July was both lesser than market expectations and than the rise seen in June. Core CPI rose 0.3% in July, just shy of market expectations of 0.4% and significantly below the 0.9% jump seen in June.

The US dollar index was trading at 92.90 at 11:28 am Singapore time, down 0.167% from Aug. 10 close. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated assets, such as oil futures, more attractive to buyers holding foreign currency, and hence boosts their demand.

Meanwhile, the weekly EIA report released late Aug. 11 showed total US crude commercial stocks declining 450,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 6 to 438.78 million barrels. The draw reported by the EIA came in short of the 600,000-barrel draw expected by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, and was also smaller than the 816,000 barrel draw reported by the American Petroleum Institute a day earlier.

Downstream products data was mixed, with any bullishness from a 1.4 million barrel decline in US gasoline inventories to 227.47 million barrels offset by a 1.77 million-barrel jump in US distillate inventories to 140.51 million barrels.

The fall in gasoline inventories was not necessarily indicative of improved demand-side fundamentals, which the data suggests have instead deteriorated amid a rise in COVID-19 infections in the country.

Implied gasoline demand fell around 3.5% on the week to 9.43 million b/d, while total implied demand for all products slid nearly 8% to 19.51 million b/d -- a four-week low.

Analysts said the market also has come under pressure after media reports surfaced that the Biden administration has called for OPEC+ to increase oil supply in excess of the coalition's current plan to add back 400,000 b/d of oil monthly from August onward. OPEC+ has received similar calls from other countries, including India, all of whom have said the producer group's output cuts have led to higher oil prices, which could jeopardize the global economic recovery.

As MRC informed earlier, crude oil stockpiles fell modestly last week, while gasoline inventories dipped to their lowest level since November, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories fell by 447,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 6 to 438.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop. Overall crude inventories have been on the decline for several weeks due to increased demand.

We remind that US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.

We also remind that BP raised Aug. 3 its 2025 oil price assumption by USD5/b to USD60/b to reflect an expected supply constraint, while promising a recovery in its own production volumes following a maintenance-related slump in the second quarter.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The international rating agency Fitch has confirmed the long-term issuer default ratings (IDR) of Bashneft, part of Rosneft, in national and foreign currencies at the BBB level with a stable outlook, said Finam with reference to the agency's press release.

"Bashneft's ratings are given considering the very high level of integration between Bashneft and its parent company Rosneft, Bashneft's autonomous credit profile and our assessment of Rosneft's creditworthiness," explains Fitch's rating action.

The agency predicts an improvement in Bashneft's credit metrics and a decrease in the net leverage to funds from operating activities (FFO) ratio below 1.5x. In addition, Fitch expects the company's EBITDA to nearly triple in 2021 as oil prices rise and refining and sales performance improves. By 2024, the agency predicts this figure to be at the level of Rb115 billion.

At the same time, Fitch said Bashneft's oil production is more sensitive to OPEC + restrictions than most of Rosneft's other assets.

"We expect Bashneft to benefit significantly from the future relaxation of OPEC + oil production restrictions," said the agency.

As MRC reported earlier, Bashneft ended 2020 with a loss of Rb11.1 billion under IFRS against a profit of Rb76.59 billion a year earlier. The company linked the loss to a decrease in world oil prices and demand for crude oil on the back of a worsening economic situation around the world due to the pandemic.

Bashneft (a subsidiary of Rosneft) has oil reserves and a resource base in the Volga-Ural province, Timan-Pechora and Western Siberia. More than 180 fields are in commercial operation of the company. Production of hydrocarbons is over 21 million tons of oil per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR has been awarded a technology licensing contract by Hyundai Engineering and Tecnicas Reunidas for PKN ORLEN’s Petrochemical Development Program in Plock, Poland, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide technology license, basic engineering design, and proprietary equipment for its leading ethylene technology, Selective Cracking Optimum Recovery (SCORE), for PKN ORLEN’s Olefins Complex III Project. This is Europe’s largest petrochemical project in 20 years.

“KBR is privileged to be selected as the ethylene technology licensor for this ambitious project and contribute to PKN ORLEN’s growth and sustainability objectives,” said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. “SCORE continues to lead the industry in delivering the highest yields and operational flexibility, while minimizing the carbon footprint.”

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2021, PKN Orlen signed a final contract with Hyundai Engineering and Tecnicas Reunidas for the engineering and construction of the main units for PKN Orlen's previously announced Olefins Complex III project at Plock, Poland.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

PKN Orlen is a leading player on the fuels and energy markets, and the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, listed in prestigious global rankings such as Fortune Global 500, Platts TOP250 and Thompson Reuters TOP100. The ORLEN Group operates in 6 home markets – Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada.

KBR has been a leader in olefins technology development, plant design for over 50 years. The company has licensed more than 100 grassroot ethylene plants utilizing our cost-effective and energy-efficient cracking technologies to produce ethylene, propylene and other valuable byproducts from a variety of feedstocks.
MRC