COVID-19 - News digest as of 22.11.2021

1. Gazprom Neft to boost hydrocarbons output over 100 mln mt in 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's Gazprom Neft said Nov. 18 it would hit its long-standing goal of reaching annual hydrocarbons output of over 100 million mt of oil equivalent in 2021, reported S&P Global. The company was seeking to reach this target despite oil production limitations under the OPEC + pact by diversifying gas and condensate portfolio. The company's output of hydrocarbons totaled 96.1 million mt in 2020, or 1.95 million b/d of oil equivalent. "For the full year, the company is expected to produce over 100 million mt of oil equivalent for the first time in its history, with further growth potential next year," CEO Alexander Dyukov said in a release. Gazprom Neft "proactively" boosted hydrocarbons production in the third quarter, he added, amid recovering demand for oil.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Nov. 22 as a risk-off sentiment continued to drive a sell-off in oil markets with Europe battling its fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and the possibility of a release of state oil reserves still present, reported S&P Global.

At 10:04 am Singapore time (0204 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down 59 cents/b (0.75%) from the previous close at USD78.30/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract fell 46 cents/b (0.61%) to US75.48/b.

"The headlines surrounding COVID-19 resurgences in Europe (is) likely to lead market sentiments into the new week," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

"While the longer-term trend is still leaning towards more economic reopening, fresh restrictions drive concerns of a delayed process and that more countries may potentially follow suit in rolling back reopening plans to curb virus spreads," Yeap added.

Austria is set to go into full lockdown starting Nov. 22 as daily cases in the country crossed 15,000 last week, following the Netherlands which went into partial lockdown from Nov. 13. Germany, Europe's largest economy, has not ruled out following suit as the country's recent caseload hit record highs.

The bearish headlines, coupled with reports of the US and other major oil consuming countries possibly tapping into their oil reserves, have worked against the narrative of a tightly-supplied market and the consequent bull run in oil prices.

Since hitting multi-year highs in late October, crude prices have struggled to break further ground. Surging energy costs have drawn the attention of governments worldwide as they grapple with the accompanying rise in inflation.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, earlier this month, TotalEnergies and Daimler Truck AG signed an agreement on their joint commitment to the decarbonization of the road freight in the European Union. The partners will collaborate in the development of ecosystems for heavy-duty trucks running on hydrogen, with the intent to demonstrate the attractiveness and effectiveness of trucking powered by clean hydrogen and the ambition to play a lead role in kickstarting the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure for transportation.

We also remind that TotalEnergies has recently inaugurated the extension of Synova in Normandy, the French leader in recycled polypropylene production. TotalEnergies is therefore doubling its mechanical recycling production capacity for recycled polymers, to meet growing demand for sustainable polymers from customers, such as Automotive Manufacturer (Auto OEM) and the construction industry.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stavrolen, Russia's major polyolefins producer, has begun a gradual resumption of its high density polyethylene (HDPE) production after shutdown for a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's clients said Stavrolen began a sequential resumption of it HDPE production after the scheduled maintenance on 17 November. The outage was quite long and lasted for over 30 days. The plant's annual production capacity is 300,000 tonnes.

Thus, the cycle of this year's scheduled turnarounds of Russian producers came to an end.

As reported earlier, Stavrolen fully resumed its polypropylene (PP) production after repairs on 11 November. The outage lasted for 26 days. The plant's annual production capacity is 120,000 tonnes.

Stavrolen, Lukoil's subsidiary, is Russia's second largest high density polyethylene (HDPE) producer after Kazanorgsintez and the fifth largest PP manufacturer. Stavrolen's HDPE and PP production capacities are 300,000 tonnes and 120,000 tonnes per year, respectively, the plant also produces 80,000 tonnes of benzene and 50,000 tonnes of vinyl acetate per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's Gazprom Neft said Nov. 18 it would hit its long-standing goal of reaching annual hydrocarbons output of over 100 million mt of oil equivalent in 2021, reported S&P Global.

The company was seeking to reach this target despite oil production limitations under the OPEC + pact by diversifying gas and condensate portfolio.

The company's output of hydrocarbons totaled 96.1 million mt in 2020, or 1.95 million b/d of oil equivalent.

"For the full year, the company is expected to produce over 100 million mt of oil equivalent for the first time in its history, with further growth potential next year," CEO Alexander Dyukov said in a release.

Gazprom Neft "proactively" boosted hydrocarbons production in the third quarter, he added, amid recovering demand for oil.

In accordance with OPEC + efforts to counter the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the company cut oil output to about 1.06 million b/d in May 2020, compared to 1.33 million b/d in April 2020, when the deal was not yet in effect, according to the energy ministry's data.

Dyukov previously said Gazprom Neft could increase oil output by over 10% in 2022, depending on quotas set by the Russian energy ministry.

As MRC wrote previously, Gazprom Neft could increase oil production in 2020 by 10% year on year, said the company's CEO Alexander Dyukov on Oct. 14.

We remind that in August, 2021, Gazprom Neft redeemed BO-01 and BO-04 series bonds ahead of schedule on 24 August. Bonds were repaid ahead of schedule at the outstanding part of the par value, while the coupon yield was paid for the coupon period, on the date of payment of which the securities are repaid ahead of schedule. Bond issues with a total par value of Rb15 bln. were placed in 2016 with maturity in 2046.

Gazprom Neft (headquartered in St. Petersburg, part of Gazprom, which owns 95.68% of its shares) is one of the largest Russian oil companies. In 2015, Gazprom Neft remained one of the leaders in the oil industry in terms of key performance indicators - the level of operating profit and return on invested capital. In 2015, Gazprom Neft produced 79.7 mln tonnes of hydrocarbons, increasing production by more than 20% compared to 2014 and thus achieving the highest production growth in the Russian oil industry.

Gazpromneft - Moscow Oil Refinery is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft. The plant's production capacity is 12.15 mln tonnes/year of hydrocarbons. The company produces motor gasolines, diesel, marine and aviation fuel, fuel oil, high-octane additives to motor gasoline, bitumen and gases for various purposes, as well as polypropylene (PP). And in 2010, Moscow Oil Refinery and SIBUR created a joint venture for PP production - NPP Neftekhimiya LLC.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's Shandong province has ordered its refineries, including three plants under state-run Sinochem Holdings, to self-inspect and self-rectify any irregular fuel tax practices, a document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday showed.

The move is part of a national clamp-down on smaller and mostly independently run refineries related to crude oil import quota usage and tax payments, as Beijing works to consolidate its bloated industry.

The plants were asked to complete a self-check and come up with rectification plans within five days from Nov. 15, the document, issued by the provincial government of Shandong, said.

The provincial government of Shandong, which is home to some 60 independent refineries, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Sinochem did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Shandong authorities did not elaborate in the document on how many refineries are included in this round of inspections, but stated that plants should reveal all relevant irregular tax issues dating back to January 2019.

"In the case of failing to submit factual reports on time, the highest degree of punishment will be applied and relevant individuals will be held responsible according to relevant laws," the document said.

A special audit team has been dispatched to three Sinochem plants, according to the document, without naming the plants or giving any details of their tax situation.

Two industry sources suggested that Changyi refinery, Huaxing refinery and Zhenghe refinery, with a combined annual primary crude oil processing capacity of 20 MM tons (400,000 bpd), might be among those under scrutiny. The three plants are under China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, which was merged earlier this year with state-run Sinochem Group to form a new entity called Sinochem Holdings.

As MRC informed before, in February, 2020, ChemChina annnounced plans to invest CNY50 billion in the construction of a cracking unit in Dongying, Shandong Province. If approved by the government, ChemChina will build its first cracker.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC