Crude oil futures rise in Asia on US hurricane Ida and weaker dollar

Crude oil futures rise in Asia on US hurricane Ida and weaker dollar

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 30 after Hurricane Ida forced the shutdown of more than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production and the US dollar softened on latest indications from the US Federal Reserve, reported S&P Global.

At 10:25 am Singapore time (0225 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 35 cents/b (0.48%) from the previous close at USD73.05/b, while the NYMEX October light sweet crude contract was 3 cents/b (0.06%) higher at USD68.77/b.

"Oil prices were trading higher with Hurricane Ida driving evacuation from offshore rigs and putting a cap on oil supplies in the near term," IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said Aug. 30.

Ida was upgraded to a Category 4 hurricane by the US National Hurricane Center Aug. 29 with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph before making landfall south of New Orleans just before noon CT as one of the most powerful storms to ever hit the US Gulf Coast. By 4 pm CT, Ida remained at Category 4 strength, with sustained winds at 130 mph.

The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement Aug. 29 reported that 95.65% or 1.741 million b/d of the US Gulf's crude oil was shut in, as well as 93.75% or 2.091 Bcf/d of the region's 2.2 Bcf/d of natural gas production,. An estimated 288 offshore platforms were evacuated -- 51.4% of the US Gulf's total.

The US dollar has also weakened since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the recent Jackson Hole Symposium said the central bank may begin tapering its bond buying program before year end. The market had largely expected Powell to announce the start of the tapering program in September, and the unexpectedly dovish stance weighed heavily on the dollar.

Amid the upswing in oil prices, market watchers remained cautious ahead of the OPEC+ alliance meeting scheduled for Sept. 1.

However ING analysts said in a note: "We do not foresee any fireworks from the group following the more recent recovery in prices and we expect that they will continue the easing of their supply cuts as planned."

As MRC informed previously, crude oil stockpiles fell modestly in early August, 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.
MRC

Polyplastic Group launched a new line for the production of three-layer polymer pipes

MOSCOW (MRC) - The Polyplastic Group, the largest manufacturer of polymer piping systems in Russia, has launched a new line for the production of three-layer polymer pipes with a diameter of 160 to 450 mm at the Sibgazapparat Tyumen pipe plant, the company said.

"Investments in the amount of Rb62 m in new production will lead to an increase in the supply of innovative products with a long service life (more than 50 years) and unique technology to strategically important construction and housing and communal services facilities. New equipment has been purchased for the production of innovative products at the pipe plant," he said general director of the plant Oleg Kukharevich.

The produced three-layer pipes have increased resistance to tensile forces due to the absence of soot in the carrier layer.

"The launch of a new line of three-layer polymer pipes is a significant event for the formation of a petrochemical cluster in the Tyumen region. The petrochemical cluster will unite industrial and service enterprises of the Tobolsk industrial site and enterprises engaged in the processing of petrochemical products," the message says.

The first batch of three-layer tubular products from the Sibgazapparat plant will go to a facility in Perm. The new line will cover the demand for pipes of the entire Ural Federal District, Perm Territory and Orenburg Region, and its more active use will increase the quality and safety of utility and industrial facilities networks.

Earlier it was reported that the Novomoskovsk Polymer Pipes Plant (NZPT), a member of the Polyplastic Group (Moscow), on 25 September, 2020 opened the first production of a special reinforced profile made of unplasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in Russia for the restoration of pipelines. The Polyplastic Group's investments in new production exceeded Rb 140 m.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 1.176.86 m tonnes in the first half of 2021, which is 5% more than in the same period a year earlier. The supply of exclusively low-density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased.

The Polyplastic Group was founded in 1991 and today is a leading European supplier of thermoplastic compounds and polyethylene pipes for construction with an annual turnover of about EUR1 billion. The company's factories are located in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The group unites 20 enterprises and exports products to more than 50 countries.
MRC

Tesco adds flexible plastic recycling points to all large UK stores

MOSCOW (MRC) -- UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced it will start collecting flexible plastics packaging at all of its large stores nationwide after a successful trial earlier in the year, said Circularonline.

The supermarket first trialled in-store collections for soft and flexible plastics at ten stores in 2020, during which customers returned more than ten times the expected amount of plastic.

Then, this March, Tesco began adding the recycling points to 171 stores across Wales and the South West of England.

Tesco has now announced that it has added the facility to every large UK store, following further positive feedback from customers. When those using the 171 stores in Wales and the South-West were polled, 85% said the facility helped them to recycle more than they would have done otherwise, with the majority finding it convenient to use.

Plastics collected by Tesco are washed and sorted before being directed to a recycler. Most of the collected material is made into new products and packaging and Tesco has vowed that material that cannot be reprocessed in this way will be kept out of landfill, primarily through energy-from-waste systems.

During the initial trials in 2020, collected plastics were used to make food-grade packaging for Tesco own-brand cheeses. In a recent sample, 80% of the plastic collected was recycled and 20% was sent to energy-from-waste generation facilities.

Packaging formats that will be recycled under the scheme include bread bags, crisp packets, salad bags and sweet wrappers. Tesco is anticipating that it will collect and recycle around 1,000 tonnes of plastics annually under the scheme.

As MRC informed earlier, LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (Rotterdam the Netherlands) announced another step towards its ambition to advance the circular economy by making virgin quality polymers from raw materials derived from plastic waste at its Wesseling, Germany. Produced by the thermal conversion of plastic waste, this raw material is converted into ethylene and propylene in the LyondellBasell production facilities, and then processed into polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) in the downstream units for plastics production.

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.
MRC

Colonial Pipeline halts fuel deliveries due to Hurricane Ida

Colonial Pipeline halts fuel deliveries due to Hurricane Ida

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Colonial Pipeline Co, the largest petroleum products pipeline in the United States, said it would temporarily halt fuel deliveries from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina, due to Hurricane Ida, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The pipeline operator, which carries nearly half the fuel consumed along the US East Coast, said supplies would continue to be available at its terminals throughout the Southeast. It expects to resume full service when it is safe to do so, it said in a note to shippers.

Colonial suffered a crippling cyberattack earlier this year that disrupted fuel supplies for almost a week, leaving thousands of gas stations in the Southeast without fuel and prompting airlines to reroute planes to get jet fuel.

Hurricane Ida prompted US Gulf of Mexico oil operators to shut in some 95% of crude production on Sunday, while refineries that produce gasoline and jet fuel along the Gulf Coast are shutting plants or reducing production due to the storm.

Phillips 66 shut its Alliance plant in Belle Chasse, Valero Energy temporarily halted operations at its Meraux and St. Charles refineries, and Exxon Mobil Corp reduced production at its Baton Rouge refinery ahead of the storm's landfall. All the facilities are in Louisiana.

As MRC reported before, the fourth-largest US refiner Phillips 66 said earlier this month that it put the smaller of its two Louisiana refineries up for sale amid continued losses and an uncertain future for motor fuels. The company is holding talks with a potential buyer on the sale of its 255,600 barrel-per-day (bpd) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, according to two people familiar with the matter. The identity of the potential buyer could not immediately be learned. US refiners have closed or sold oil processing plants as the COVID-19 pandemic slashed demand for gasoline and jet fuel, generating losses for the industry.

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.
MRC

Tropical storm Ida hits US oil production, gasoline supplies

Tropical storm Ida hits US oil production, gasoline supplies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hurricane Ida pummelled US Gulf Coast energy suppliers, knocking out most of the region's offshore wells, nearly half its motor fuel production and closing energy-export ports, reported Reuters.

The storm moved into Mississippi on Monday after leaving a trail of destruction in Louisiana and rampaging through US offshore oil and gas fields. Hundreds of oil production platforms were evacuated and more than 1.3 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and Mississippi were without power.

Production losses - including at six Gulf Coast refineries - will lift retail gasoline prices by 5 to 10 cents a gallon, tracking firm GasBuddy said. Crude oil eased on Monday after an earlier rally to a four-week high.

Colonial Pipeline, the largest US fuel pipeline network, halted motor fuel deliveries from Houston to Greensboro, North Carolina. A spokesman on Monday did not say when it expects to resume full operations. Its lines supply nearly half the gasoline used along the US East Coast and an extended May shutdown led to fuel shortages.

Some 1.74 million barrels of oil output were lost to shut-ins on Sunday, an amount greater than Mexico's daily production. US Gulf of Mexico natural gas also was cut by 94%, or 2 billion cubic feet, a government tally found.

Six refineries that process 1.92 million barrels per day of oil into gasoline and other petroleum products, either shut or curtailed some production, sources familiar with the operations and companies said. That includes two Valero Energy plants in Louisiana that combined process 335,000 barrels per day and Phillips 66's 255,000 bpd Alliance, Louisiana, refinery.

Oil companies on Monday are beginning damage surveys of offshore platforms before taking crews back and restoring any output. Royal Dutch Shell plans a flyover of its offshore properties.

We remind that Royal Dutch Shell plans to reduce its refining and chemicals portfolio by more than half, it said in July 2020 without giving a precise timeframe. The move is part of the Anglo-Dutch company's plan to shrink its oil and gas business and expand its renewables and power division to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050.

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.
MRC