Trinseo reduces September PS prices in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe, have announced a price reduction for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe, according to the company's press release as of September 2.

Effective September 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below went down, as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR65 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR55 per metric ton;

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo raised its prices for its PS grades, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) on August 1, 2021, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS -- by EUR45 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech HIPS - by EUR60 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR130 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR90 per metric ton.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim raised its September selling HIPS an GPPS prices for most buyers by Rb700-750/tonne amid an increase in delivery costs. However, some market participants reported a price roll-over.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Scheduled maintenance works at Russian producers of low density polyethylene (LDPE) result in an imbalance between supply and demand in the market. Tight supply also puts pressure on prices, the main sellers announced a price increase of roubles (Rb) 2,000-7,000/tonne for in September, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

A limited supply of LDPE from Russian producers was reported by many converters back in August. Supply of LDPE will become even tighter in September due to the planned shutdowns for the repair of facilities in Ufa and Kazan.
Also in the past few weeks, problems with road transport have worsened, and transportation costs have increased.
Because of this LDPE prices increased in early September by Rb2,000/tonne and more.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat shut its LDPE capacities for the annual scheduled maintenance works from 20 July; the turnaround was originally planned for 30 days. But due to objective factors, the turnaround continues to this day, and new launch dates are not yet known.

Ufaorgsintez began a sequential shutdown for the repair of the capacities of the first LDPE line (PE 108) from 1 September, which will take a little less than two weeks according to the plan. However, the biggest loss for the market in the autumn is the shutdown of Kazanorgsintez's facilities for the turnaround, which will start on 15 September and will last a little less than a month. It is the second largest LDPE manufacturer in Russia.

This week's spot offer prices of 108 grade LDPE has started from Rb144,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, PE 108 prices increased to Rb149,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said it was restarting its 517,700 b/d refinery at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after it was shut down ahead of Hurricane Ida, reported S&P Global with reference to a company spokesperson's statement Sept. 1.

"The Baton Rouge refinery, chemical plant and other ExxonMobil Baton Rouge facilities are safely progressing restart procedures. Our facilities did not sustain any significant damage during the hurricane," said Julie King, ExxonMobil company spokesperson via email.

The refinery was shut down ahead of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall on Aug. 29 as a Category 4 hurricane at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, about 100 miles south of New Orleans.

As MRC informed earlier, Shell found evidence of building damage at its 230,611-bpd Norco, Louisiana refinery. Sources familiar with plant operations said damage had been found at the Norco refinery but did not know the extent of the damage or time needed to make the repairs. Shell is awaiting the restoration of external electrical power to the Norco refining and chemical plant complex.

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.

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) -- Braskem recently announced that the rating agency S&P Global Ratings (S&P) raised the company's global scale risk level to BBB-, with a stable outlook, said the company.

According to the statement, the agency highlighted that the upgrade of the rating to investment grade reflects the considerable improvement in profitability and cash generation indicators, the company's commitment to leverage and the expectation that Braskem will continue to benefit from the highs petrochemical spreads in the coming quarters.

"The company reinforces its continuous commitment to financial rigidity and maintenance of a solid cash position, maintaining a very long indebtedness profile", says the document.

As MRC informed before, Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

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 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. crude stocks dropped sharply while petroleum products supplied by refiners hit an all-time record despite the rise in coronavirus cases nationwide, the Energy Information Administration said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 27 to 425.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop. Product supplied by refineries, a measure of demand, rose to 22.8 million barrels per day in the most recent week. That's a one-week record, and signals strength in consumption for diesel, gasoline and other fuels by consumers and exporters.

The four-week average rose to 21.4 million bpd, highest since September 2019. "Total products supplied increased a fair amount. That's surprising to me as we see product demand remaining robust despite some of the Delta variant concerns," said Tony Headrick, analyst at CHS Hedging.

Next week's figures are likely to be skewed by the drop in offshore output due to Hurricane Ida, which has also shut numerous refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. U.S. production rose to 11.5 million barrels per day, highest since May 2020, even though weekly output figures are volatile and analysts generally rely more on monthly data from EIA on production.

Refinery crude runs fell by 134,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 1.1 percentage points in the week as the summer driving season wanes and the less-active turnaround season approaches. Many refiners delayed maintenance last year due to a lack of workers related to COVID-19.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 227.2 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 1.6-million-barrel drop. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 650,000-barrel drop. Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 45,000 barrels per day, EIA said.

Oil prices remained lower on the day. U.S. crude fell 1.1%, or 81 cents, to USD67.69 a barrel as of 10:53 a.m. EDT (1453 GMT). Brent dropped 74 cents, or 1%, to USD70.90 a barrel.

As per MRC, oil fell on expectations for demand to fall after Hurricane Ida shuttered refiners on the US Gulf Coast, and as producing nations in OPEC+ geared up to meet on Wednesday with the United States calling for suppliers to pump more crude. Brent crude futures for October, due to expire on Tuesday, fell 39 cents, or 0.5%, to USD73.02 a barrel by 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 43 cents, or 0.6%, at USD68.78.

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.

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