Shell expects its offshore facility shut due to damage from Hurricane Ida to restart in November

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell, the largest oil producer in the US Gulf of Mexico and the world's petrochemical major, said on Friday it expects an offshore transfer facility, which was , to be operational in the first half of November, restarting production of a popular Gulf of Mexico crude grade earlier than expected, reported Reuters.

The oil major was the hardest-hit producer from Ida, which tore through the Gulf of Mexico in August and removed 28 MM barrels from the market.

Shell previously said it expected its West Delta-143 offshore facility, which transfers oil and gas from three major fields for processing at onshore terminals, to be offline for repairs until the end of 2021.

The fields are a key source of Mars sour crude, a grade prized by oil refiners in the United States and Asia. The disruptions hampered exports and raised crude prices, as buyers searched for substitutes.

Once the WD-143 facility is operational, the Mars oil pipeline expects to resume normal services as producers ramp up production, Shell said. The pipeline was expected to be offline until early 2022.

As MRC informed earlier, 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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

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) -- Berry Global is relying on several ways to make plastic packaging easier to recycle, said the company.

Consumer brand owners now rank recyclability as a criterion for their packaging, a shift from previous years, said Rob Flores, vice president of sustainability, Berry Global. Berry itself has committed to having all of its fast-moving consumer packaging meet this goal by 2025.

One way the company is doing this is by making packing with a single type of material. Berry has been replacing polystyrene (PS) with polypropylene (PP) in part because the latter is easier to recycle.

addition, Berry has developed a container called the Magic Star Airless Dispenser that replaced the metal spring used in the nozzles of dispenser bottles with one made with PP.

In addition, companies are looking for ways to replace the rubber gaskets used on the lids of plastic buckets. Another way to make plastics easier to recycle is through colour modification. Recycling companies often rely on near-infrared (NIR) spectrometres to sort waste plastic by type. Segregating waste plastic by type makes it easier to recycle.

NIR spectrometres run into problems when they are scanning black pigments. Plastic companies are overcoming this challenge by developing pigments that appear black to the human eye but which are still detectable by NIR spectrometres.

As it was reported before, Berry Global Group, Inc. (Evansville, Indiana) says it will break ground in September on a new polypropylene (PP) recycling facility in Leamington, United Kingdom, that it says will produce food-grade materials with a target purity standard of 99.9%. The new facility will be housed in a purpose-built, net-zero carbon, centrally located 13,000-square-meter, or 139,931-square-foot facility, offsetting CO2 emissions with local tree planting.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Berry Global Group, Inc. create innovative packaging and engineered products. Harnessing the strength in its diversity and industry leading talent of 47,000 global employees across more than 295 locations, the company partners with customers to develop, design, and manufacture innovative products with an eye toward the circular economy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refiners' crude oil throughput in September edged higher from the previous month, government data showed on Friday, as refineries boosted output to meet surging demand, reported Reuters.

Refiners processed 4.45 MM barrels per day (bpd) (18.21 MM tons) of crude oil last month, up from the 4.36 MMbpd in August, which was the lowest in 10 mos.

"Refiners have been boosting throughput in order to meet demand during the festive season. Demand is expected to increase compared to previous months, as people travel more during festivities," Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul Haq said.

On a year-on-year basis, refiners' crude oil throughput in September rose about 2.9%, while crude oil production fell about 1.7% to around 600,000 bpd (2.44 MM tons), the data showed.

Indian refiners operated at an average rate of 88.69% of capacity in September, up from 86.89% in August, the government data showed. India's Reliance Industries Ltd, the operator of the world's biggest refining complex, imported nearly 12% more oil in September than in August at 1.2 MMbpd.

"Coal shortages are also resulting in some fuel switching to oil-related products, which is encouraging refiners to boost runs. However, continued high oil prices have the potential to lead to some demand destruction," Ul Haq said.

India's September fuel consumption crawled higher as economic activity continued to ramp up, but soaring global oil prices pose a threat to recovery in the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer.

As MRC wrote previously, India said Oct. 20 that surging oil prices could potentially create hurdles for a post-pandemic economic recovery, and urged the world's leading producers to take steps to potentially rectify the current supply and demand imbalances. Speaking at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the steep rise in prices was a wake-up call that investments need to flow into the oil and gas sector consistently.

We remind that the Indian company Nayara Energy, 49.13% of which is owned by Russia's largest state oil company - Rosneft, has launched a USD750 million petrochemical development program. Nayara Energy has the second largest refinery in India with a capacity of 20 million tons per year. The Indian company has already launched a refinery development program: within the first stage, it is planned to build units for the production of polypropylene (PP) with a capacity of up to 450,000 tonnes per year.

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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro SA, has reached a 559 million real (USD98.75 million) agreement with the country's oil regulator ANP regarding royalties over its SIX refinery, located in the southern state of Parana, reported Reuters.

Petrobras said in a securities filing that 302 million reais have already been provisioned for a potential payment in the second quarter.

It expects to start paying for the deal as soon as the contract is signed.

As MRC informed before, Petrobras said earlier this month it had halted talks with Brazilian conglomerate Ultrapar on the sale of the state-run oil company's Refap refinery, part of its program to sell eight plants. The company said it would relaunch the process of selling Refap in the future but did not provide a date.

We remind that in August 2021, Petrobras hired JPMorgan Chase & Co as an advisor to sell its stake in the petrochemical company Braskem SA.

We also remind that 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 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant is acquiring the remaining 70% stake in Brazilian personal care specialties company Beraca for an undisclosed fee, said the company.

Clariant has held a 30% stake in the family-run company since 2015. The acquisition of the additional stake from Beraca's founders is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, Clariant said in a statement.

The Brazilian company is one of the key manufacturers of natural ingredients for the personal care sector offering inter alia fats, oils and botanicals. Beraca’s business will be integrated into Clariant's Care Chemicals business.

Earlier it was reported, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has closed its transaction to acquire a 30% share in Beraca Ingredientes Naturais S.A. („Beraca"), which assumed the Health & Personal Care Business of Sabara Quimicos e Ingredientes S.A. Beraca is a leading player in natural, sustainable and innovative ingredients.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,638,370 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC