October prices of European PP up by EUR10-15/tonne for CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The October contract price of propylene was settled in Europe up by EUR25/tonne from the previous month. As a result, European producers raised their October contract polypropylene (PP) prices for the CIS countries. But the price increase was not proportional to the rise in monomer prices, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations over October export prices of European PP were over last week. All market participants said almost all European producers still had export restrictions on propylene copolymers. Producers also raised their export PP prices for October shipments. Propylene copolymers accounted for the greatest price increase, whereas prices of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) grew slightly.

Deals for October shipments of homopolymer PP were done in the range of EUR1,600-1,680/tonne FCA, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of EUR1,1590-1,660/tonne FCA. Deals for block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,850-1,900/tonne FCA, up by EUR15-50/tonne from the previous month.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new biojet fuel developed by energy group Eni was used for the first time on Friday to power Alitalia successor ITA as part of plans to cut carbon footprints, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made from waste products and residues, will be produced at Eni refineries in Taranto and, early next year, in Livorno, Eni said in a statement.

SAFs are an alternative to traditional jet fuel considered more climate friendly since they help replace dirtier petroleum products while providing new uses for waste products.

Eni said production of its new biojet fuel was part of plans to double its bio-refining capacity of 1.1 MM tons per year by 2024, raising it to 5-6 MM tons per year by 2050.

Earlier this year, Eni pledged to fully decarbonise all its products and processes by 2050, in part by growing output from bio-refineries.

As MRC informed previously, in September 2021, Italian energy group Eni and Atlantia's airport unit Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) signed an agreement to develop biofuel for aviation to fight climate change.

As MRC reported earlier, Eni is evaluating conversion of its Livorno refinery in northwest Italy into a biorefinery, as part of the Italian company's wider strategy to make its activities more environmentally sustainable. Eni has already converted two of its Italian refineries and is looking to almost double its biorefining capacity to around 2 million mt/year by 2024, and expand this to at least five times by 2050, as part of its pledge to achieve complete carbon neutrality 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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Eni, abbreviation of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, in full Eni SpA, Italian energy company operating primarily in petroleum, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Established in 1953, it is one of Europe's largest oil companies in terms of sales.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies and Shell Catalysts & Technologies announce that their jointly developed improvements on the Cansolv CO2 Capture technology are being tested in a pilot plant campaign at Fortum Oslo Varme’s Waste to Energy plant, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In response to the increased global interest in Carbon Capture & Storage, the technologists and engineers of Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies are working closely to bring continuous improvements to the Cansolv CO2 capture system’s process design, efficiency and costs. These efforts are to ensure improved affordability and aid wide scale deployment of carbon capture solutions by their Clients.

The 3-month test campaign has been kicked off in August 2021 and will entail different test phases that will support the extension of the related improvements.

This is the second test campaign conducted by this collaboration. In the first campaign, the low volatility and amine emissions of the DC-103 solvent used in the process was demonstrated as well as its low absorption energy and solvent degradation.

Nick Flinn, General Manager Decarbonisation of Shell Catalysts & Technologies, commented:” Although we have been designing and operating capture facilities for many years, we continue to strive to lower the cost through continuous improvement and development. This can only be achieved through close partnerships with the owner, the engineering company and the technology provider. This collaboration with Fortum Oslo Varme and Technip Energies is a nice example of 3 companies working in lockstep to achieve a common goal: decarbonising in a cost-effective manner.”

Technip Energies and Shell Catalysts & Technologies are engaged in an alliance for the development and application of Shell’s high efficiency and commercially proven Cansolv CO2 capture system.

As MRC wrote before, Shell and BASF are collaborating to accelerate the transition to a world of net-zero emissions. To this end, both companies worked together to evaluate, de-risk, and deploy BASF’s Sorbead Adsorption Technology for pre- and post-combustion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) applications. The Sorbead Adsorption Technology is used to dehydrate CO2 gas after it has been captured by Shell’s carbon capture technologies such as ADIP Ultra or CANSOLV.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste and Hesburger, a Finnish restaurant chain, will engage in a significant circular economy collaboration, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Used cooking oil from more than 300 Hesburger restaurants in Finland and in the Baltics will be recycled to produce renewable diesel. As a result of the collaboration, Hesburger will begin using Neste MY Renewable Diesel in the majority of its transport vehicles in Finland, reducing the greenhouse gas emissions in these transports by up to 90%.

“We reduce our emissions by investing in plant protein products and energy efficiency, and by planning our transports effectively. Recycling and the circular economy have also been important focal points in the development of our activities, and this circular economy collaboration with Neste is a perfect match with our aims. Every year, our restaurants in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania produce up to 420 tons of used cooking oil which is collected and transported as ecologically as possible. Neste uses the cooking oil and other renewable waste and residue raw materials to produce renewable diesel to be used also in Hesburger’s trucks. As the used cooking oil is collected by trucks delivering goods to the restaurants, it will not result in extra mileage,” says Heini Santos, Communications Manager at Hesburger.

Hesburger’s transportation vehicles that will begin using Neste’s renewable diesel travel annually a total of roughly 680,000 kilometers. By replacing fossil diesel with Neste’s renewable diesel, the amount of annually reduced greenhouse gas emissions compares to removing as many as 350 private cars from Finland’s roads for one year.

As MRC reported earlier, in July, 2021, Finnish Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia's jet fuel refining margins slipped to USD13.42 a barrel on Friday, but were just 8 cents shy of a near two-year high reached in the previous week, reported Reuters with reference to Refinitiv data in Eikon.

This came as oil prices hit a fresh three-year high on Friday, climbing above USD85 a barrel on forecasts of a supply deficit over the next few months as rocketing gas and coal prices stoke a switch to oil products.

Asian refining margins for jet fuel have climbed in October to their highest levels since January 2020 as air travel demand recovers in Asia, according to analysts and Refinitiv data.

Asia-Pacific nations, home to some of the world's strictest pandemic-related travel rules, are gradually easing border restrictions resulting in a surge in flight bookings and travel enquiries.

The recovery in aviation fuel demand coincides with the peak heating season for kerosene - which belongs to the same grade of refined oils - lifting the outlook for the middle distillate fuel which has been the biggest drag on global oil refiners' margins since 2020.

Jet refining margins have also surged in Europe to their highest since the first quarter of 2020 amid a boost to air travel, while excess supplies disappeared as refiners cut output of the fuel, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report on Thursday.

Gasoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell 2% to a three-week low of 1.99 MM tons in the week ended Oct. 14, according to Dutch consultancy Insights Global.

We remind that slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries. The result is a wave of closures, often centering on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after the recession in 2008/09.

We also remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85% to 90% from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC