Global jet fuel demand stays under pressure from new COVID-19 variant

Global jet fuel demand stays under pressure from new COVID-19 variant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global jet fuel markets stayed under pressure on Tuesday as more countries expanded border restrictions to keep the new Omicron coronavirus variant at bay, prompting travelers to reconsider their plans, reported Reuters.

Jet fuel demand - the biggest laggard in the oil complex - had been forecast to post the strongest growth of 550,000 bpd to 5.9 MMbpd in fourth quarter, according to the International Energy Agency in its Nov. 16 report.

But now Omicron poses the greatest risk to jet fuel consumption. Hong Kong expanded a ban on entry for non-residents from several countries, the latest to expand travel curbs after Israel and Japan have already announced border closures to all foreign travelers.

Britain and Australia have tightened rules for all arrivals in response to the new variant while hundreds and thousands of would-be travelers are now considering to cancel or delay their trips in response to renewed restrictions.

"The real risk from the new variant is ... the reimposition of more widespread flight restrictions during the winter and again reducing current global jet fuel demand of some 6 MMbpd significantly," energy consultancy FGE said in a note.

Asian refining margins for jet fuel slumped to their lowest in more that two months on Monday at USD6.92 a bbl, while the front-month time spread for the aviation fuel in Singapore flipped to a contango for the first time since end-September.

"Current jet demand levels are just 1 MMbpd above last winter, when cases and hospitalizations were far higher and before any widespread vaccinations," Goldman Sachs analysts said in a Nov. 26 note.

"While a worst case outcome could be a return to last winter's levels, 0.5 MMbpd downside to our current base-case until 2Q22 would be a conservative assumption given what we know at present."

As MRC informed earlier, the Omicron coronavirus variant kicked oil prices lower late last week and has sapped refining margins, but with crude futures rallying on Monday, the impact could be limited. Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday - their largest daily drop since April 2020 - but recovered some of those losses on Monday, standing up nearly 5% on the day. Analysts said the Friday sell-off had been excessive. Refining margins fell further, increasing the impact of new coronavirus curbs that had already been rolled out in Europe.

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.
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EVBox Group to use polycarbonate from Covestro from mass-balanced biowaste

EVBox Group to use polycarbonate from Covestro from mass-balanced biowaste

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The expansion of electromobility is progressing, and the need for charging stations is growing accordingly, said the company.

The European Green Deal fixes a target of one million public charging points to be available by 2025. They will be needed to power the 13 million electric cars then expected on European roads. Covestro is driving the transition to electromobility with innovative material solutions and has been cooperating for more than ten years with EVBox Group, a leading Dutch full-service provider for electric car charging. By using Makrolon® RE, the ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balanced polycarbonate, both companies aim to achieve an even more sustainable solution.

The objective is to set a new standard for charging infrastructure: while electric vehicles no longer require fossil fuels for power, both partners are now looking to conserve resources for charging stations as well and equip them with more sustainable materials. Joint developments are just beginning, but ISCC PLUS-certified Makrolon® RE has already cleared one important hurdle: it meets the technical requirements of charging station manufacturers.

As MRC informed previously, earlier this month, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro is among the world’s leading polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. In doing so, Covestro is fully committed to the circular economy. The main industries served are the automotive and transportation industries, construction, furniture and wood processing, as well as electrical, electronics, and household appliances industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics, health and the chemical industry itself. At the end of 2020, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
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Petrobras completes sale of Rlam refinery

Petrobras completes sale of Rlam refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrobras concluded the sale of the Landulpho Alves Refinery (Rlam) and its associated logistical assets, in Bahia, for the Mubadala Capital group, with the payment of USD1.8 billion, informed the state oil company in a statement to the market on Tuesday.

Acelen, a company created by Mubadala Capital for the operation, will take over from December 1 the management of Rlam, which will be renamed Refinaria de Mataripe.

Located in the municipality of Sao Francisco do Conde in Bahia, the refinery has the capacity to process 333,000 barrels of oil per day, or 14% of the country’s total capacity.

Its assets include four storage terminals and a set of pipelines that connect the refinery and terminals totaling 669 km in length.

“Petrobras will continue to support Acelen in refinery operations during a transition period. This will happen under a service provision agreement, avoiding any operational interruption”, said the company.

The amount paid reflects the purchase price of USD1.65 billion, preliminary adjusted due to monetary restatement and changes in working capital, net debt and investments until the closing of the transaction.

The contract also provides for a final adjustment to the acquisition price, which is expected to be determined in the coming months, added Petrobras.

Rlam was the first of eight refineries that Petrobras plans to sell to have its divestment completed, as part of a broad plan to open up the refining sector to private investment in the country. The state-owned company wants to keep in its portfolio only its five refineries located in the states of Rio de Janeiro e Sao Paulo.

“This sale operation is an important milestone for Petrobras and the fuel sector in the country,” said the president of Petrobras, Joaquim Silva and Luna.

As MRC informed before, Petrobras said in November 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 1,868,160 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.

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

Sumitomo Chemical, updated its commitments to reflect its new environmental efforts

Sumitomo Chemical, updated its commitments to reflect its new environmental efforts

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Chemical, as an "Eco-First Company" certified by the "Eco-First Program" of the Ministry of the Environment, has updated its "Eco-First Commitments” to reflect its new environmental conservation efforts and presented it as a declaration to Minister of the Environment Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, said the company.

In the "Eco-First Program," established in 2008, companies make a pledge to the Minister of the Environment to take measures to protect the environment, such as climate action and waste management and recycling, and the Minister certifies the company as an environmentally advanced company in the industry that is engaged in "advanced, unique and industry-leading business activities" in the field of the environment. In November 2008, Sumitomo Chemical became the first diversified chemical company to be certified as an "Eco-First Company." The Company has now made the third renewal of the commitments.

In this updated "Eco-First Commitments," the Company has made a commitment to contribute to the circulation of plastic resources, and further deepened the content of commitments related to the realization of a carbon-neutral society and chemical substance management.

As per MRC, Sumitomo Chemical has successfully conducted the first waste-based polyolefin production at its laboratory in Japan earlier this year, by use of the ethylene produced by Axens ethanol-to-ethylene technology Atol. This process value chain is complemented with the upfront “Waste to Ethanol” technology by Sekisui Chemical.

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.

Sumitomo Chemical, a leading Japanese chemical company, was founded with a mission to drive societal impact and solve environmental challenges through technology. They have been exploring new opportunities to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
MRC

Covestro and Ceres Holographics strengthen their partnership

Covestro and Ceres Holographics strengthen their partnership

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro and Ceres Holographics, Scotland, are now expanding their collaboration to make transparent displays with volume holographic optical elements fit for application readiness in the automotive industry in particular, said the company.

The opening of Ceres Holographics' new digital mastering and replication facility in Livingston is another important step for both companies to build and scale this technology.

Looking out of the car onto the road and seeing the speed and navigation instructions displayed on the windshield as if on a screen: this is made possible by a new generation of transparent displays. The technology offers a particularly wide range of design freedom and excellent imaging. In addition, the necessary projection system requires less installation space in the dashboard. In the innovative displays, a volume holographic film is integrated into the windshield or side window.

Covestro and Ceres Holographics, Scotland, are now expanding their collaboration to make transparent displays with volume holographic optical elements fit for application readiness in the automotive industry in particular. The opening of Ceres Holographics'new digital mastering and replication facility in Livingston is another important step for both companies to build and scale this technology.

The technical collaboration will focus on optimizing Covestro’s Bayfol® HX film and Ceres’ HoloFlekt® mastering and replication equipment with respect to the system geometry of various vehicle classes, imaging performance, as well as integration requirements. "By expanding our relationship with our long-time partner Ceres, we are significantly advancing forward-looking display solutions. The interest and exchange with OEMs shows us that a new generation of displays for mobility applications are important," says Moritz Winterstein, Head of Growth Ventures Specialty Films at Covestro.

As MRC informed previously, earlier this month, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
MRC