January prices of European PE fall for CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The January contract price of ethylene was agreed in Europe at the last month's level. However, some European producers announced a slight reduction in export polyethylene (PE) prices for shipments to the CIS markets, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Negotiations over January prices of European PE began in the first decade of the month. All market participants said some European producers reduced their export prices of ethylene polymers by EUR30-60/tonne for this month's shipments. But demand for European PE was very weak from companies from the CIS countries, buyers reported significantly lower prices of suppliers of Middle Eastern and North American PE.

January deals for low density polyethylene (LDPE) were discussed in the range EUR1,750-1,820/tonne FCA, whereas last month's deals were done in the range of EUR1,800-1,880/tonne FCA.

Deals for January shipments of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were negotiated in the range of EUR1,430-1,560/tonne FCA versus EUR1,460-1,590/tonne FCA a month earlier.

Many buyers do not plan to purchase PE in January, citing weak demand, as well as more attractive offer prices for PE shipments from other regions. Thus, Middle Eastern HDPE for January shipments was offered at USD1,480/tonne CFR and lower. Suppliers of North American HDPE for February shipments reduced their prices well below USD1,350/tonne CFR.

A similar situation was registered for LDPE shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Total Petrochemical has reportedly reduced operating rates at its polyethylene (PE) plants in Daesan, South Korean amid the negative profit margins, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The producer owns PE plants at this site with the combined capacity of 1.1 million mt/year of PE, which have been operating at 70% capacity since early January 2022.

Hanwha Total Petrochemical has yet to set the date to restore normal run rates at its PE units.

At the same time, it is unclear on the operating rates at the company's polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plants in Daesan at the time of this report.

As MRC informed before, Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co Ltd said in December 2017 that it planned to spend USD331.29 MM on a new factory in South Korea to increase PE output by 400,000 mt by 2019. The joint venture of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group and French oil and gas company Total SA in a statement said the factory will raise its PE capacity to 1.12 mln mt/year when completed by the end of 2019. However, the new PE plant started up in January, 2020.

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.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hanwha Total Petrochemical has reportedly cut operating rates at its styrene monomer (SM) plants in Daesan, South Korean amid the negative profit margins, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

The producer operates two plants with a capacity of 400,000 tons/year and 650,000 tons/year of SM, respectively, which have been operating at 70% capacity since early January 2022.

The producer has yet to set the date to restore normal run rates at its SM plant in Daesan.

As MRC reported earlier, Hanwha Total Petrochemical declared force majeure on SM supply from its No. 2 unit in Daesan im mid-May, 2019, due to an ongoing labour strike.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics was 518,560 tonnes in January-November 2021, up by 14% year on year. November estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics rose by 7% year on year, totalling 48,620 tonnes.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

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

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