Crude oil prices slip from 2014 highs

MOSCOW (MRC) - Oil slipped on Thursday as investors took profitsfollowing a month-long rally in prices, but strong demand and short-term supply disruptions continue to support prices close to their highest levels since late 2014, reported Reuters.

Brent crude futures fell 49 cents, or 0.6%, to USD87.95 a barrel as of 0740 GMT, after falling more than USD1 earlier. The global benchmark rose to USD89.17 a barrel on Wednesday, its highest since October 2014.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for February delivery were down 6 cents, or 0.1%, at USD86.90 a barrel, after dropping nearly USD1 earlier. WTI climbed to as much as USD87.91 on Wednesday, the highest since October 2014.

The February WTI contract will expire on Thursday and the most-actively traded contract, for March delivery, is at USD85.41 a barrel, down 0.5%.

"The International Energy Agency said global oil demand is on track to hit pre-pandemic levels," analysts at ANZ bank said in a note.

"Shorter-term supply disruptions are also helping tighten markets. Brent crude rallied sharply after reports a key oil pipeline running from Iraq to Turkey was knocked out by an explosion."

However, the flow of crude oil through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has resumed, after it was halted on Tuesday due to a blast near the pipeline in the southeastern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras, officials said on Wednesday.

Supply concerns have mounted this week after Yemen's Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates, the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Meanwhile Russia, the world's second-largest oil producer, has built up a large troop presence near Ukraine's border, stoking fears of invasion and subsequent supply uncertainties.

Underpinning oil prices is the broad post-coronavirus pandemic recovery in demand for fuel.

OPEC officials and analysts say that an oil rally may continue in the next few months, and prices could top USD100 a barrel as demand shrugs of the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

OPEC+, which groups the cartel with Russia and other producers, is struggling to hit a monthly output increase target of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd).

US crude and gasoline stocks rose while distillate inventories fell last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Crude stocks rose by 1.4 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 14. Gasoline inventories rose by 3.5 million barrels while distillate stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

As MRC informed before, US commercial crude stocks fell 3.48 million barrels to 413.96 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 17, to more than 8% below the five-year average, Energy Information Administration data showed. Stocks were last lower Oct. 5, 2018.

We remind that in late August, 2021, US 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. 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.

We also remind that US crude oil production was expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, EIA said in a monthly report earlier last year, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.
MRC

TotalEnergies joins Masdar and Siemens Energy in initiative to use green hydrogen to produce SAF

TotalEnergies joins Masdar and Siemens Energy in initiative to use green hydrogen to produce SAF

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Masdar, Siemens Energy and TotalEnergies have signed a collaboration agreement on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2022, to act as co-developers for a demonstrator plant project, which will be established at Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable urban development, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Masdar revealed that TotalEnergies will join the Masdar-led initiative focused on green hydrogen to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Masdar announced ahead of ADSW 2021 last year that it was collaborating with Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Siemens Energy, and Marubeni Corporation on the demonstrator plant initiative. Having joined the initiative, the aim now is that TotalEnergies will offer its expertise in SAF production, offtake and supply the partner airlines.

Since January 2021, the partners in the initiative have completed a range of evaluations on technology suppliers, feasibility studies and conceptual designs, while working closely with regulators on compliance issues. The aim is to proceed to the front-end engineering design stage later this year.

As MRC reported previously, earlier this month, TotalEnergies and Plastic Energy formed a joint venture to build a 33,000 tonne/year chemical recycling plant for plastics in Seville, south Spain. Financial details were not disclosed. The facility will be built within Plastic Energy facilities in Seville and expected to start up in 2025.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. The company rebranded itself from Total to TotalEnergies during Q2 2021. The French firm has announced allocating part of surplus revenues to share buybacks. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
MRC

PVC imports to Ukraine fell by 20% in 2021, exports up by 23%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased by 20% in 2021, compared to the same period in 2020 and reached about 26,700 tonnes. Export sales of Ukrainian PVC rose by 23% year on year, with Turkey accounting for the largest export volumes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market dropped to 1,200 tonnes from 2,600 tonnes in November, Ukrainian companies seasonally reduced their shipments of polymer from Europe. Overall imports of suspension PVC reached 26,700 tonnes in 2021, compared to 33,400 tonnes a year earlier.

Limited export quotas and record high prices from European and North American producers were the main reason for such a serious drop in import volumes. European producers with the share of about 88% of the total imports over the stated period were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market.

Last month, Karpatneftekhim increased the volume of external sales, the export sales of Ukrainian PVC amounted to 16,300 tonnes against 15,100 tonnes in November. Overall, about 191,700 tonnes of PVC were shipped for export in 2021, compared to 155,300 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

Enterprise Products to acquire Navitas Midstream

Enterprise Products to acquire Navitas Midstream

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Midstream oil and gas company Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), through its affiliate, has agreed to acquire Navitas Midstream Partners in a debt-free transaction for USD3.25bn in cash, according to Offshore Technology.

The company will acquire Navitas from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus.

Navitas provides natural gas gathering, treating, and processing services in the Midland Basin, located in the Permian Basin. It owns 1,750 miles (2,816km) of pipelines, as well as the Leiker processing plant, which is due to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2022.

Once the Leiker plant comes on stream, Navitas will have a processing capacity of more than one billion cubic feet of cryogenic natural gas per day.

Enterprise’s general partner co-chief executive officer and chief financial officer Randy Fowler said: “The system, including its large footprint of low-pressure natural gas gathering, is an attractive processing franchise that provides value-added services to producers.

“This investment will provide Enterprise with an attractive return on capital, and support additional capital returns to our limited partners through distribution growth and buybacks of common units.”

As MRC reported before, earlier this year, Enterprise Products Partners reported flaring at its propane dehydration, or PDH, unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas. According to the filing made public Aug. 10, the 750,000 mt/year PDH unit was shut down following a leak on Aug. 9. Sources confirmed on Aug. 10 that the unit was offline, but did not give an estimated timeframe of when the unit is expected to come back online.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals.
MRC

Grasim commissions caustic soda projects

Grasim commissions caustic soda projects

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Grasim Industries has commissioned caustic soda projects at Rehla, Jharkhand and Balabhadrapuram, Andhra Pradesh, said Constructionweekonline.

The ongoing expansion project at Rehla has been completed and the company has successfully commissioned Phase-II of the expansion project — 80 tpd caustic soda lye at Rehla, taking overall caustic soda lye capacity of Rehla unit to 550 tpd.

Moreover, the company had acquired the stalled Chlor Alkali Project of 200 tpd in 2019 from KPR Industries (India) situated at Balabhadrapuram.

With systematic investments, the company is in the process of increasing the capacity at Balabhadrapuram unit to 400 tpd of caustic soda and three value added chlorine derivatives.

The company has now successfully commissioned Phase-I of the project — 70 tpd caustic soda lye at Balabhadrapuram and it is in ramp up phase.

As per MRC, Lubrizol Advanced Materials, a global specialty chemical leader and the market leader for CPVC, and Grasim Industries Limited have entered into a definitive agreement to manufacture and supply CPVC resin in India to meet growing demand for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipe and fittings. Once commissioned, this near 100,000 metric-ton state-of-the-art CPVC plant at Grasim’s site in Vilayat, Gujarat, will be the largest single-site capacity for CPVC resin production globally.

As per MRC, India plans to impose anti-dumping duties (ADD) ranging from USD8.32 to USD88.61 per tonne on imports of caustic soda from Japan, Iran, Qatar and Oman. The Directorate-General of Trade Resources (DGTR) recommended the introduction of ADD after its investigation proved dumping had adversely affected the domestic industry.
MRC