Petrobras set to cut gasoline prices

Brazil's Petrobras will reduce gasoline prices at its refineries by about 5% on Wednesday, the state-run oil company said in a statement, its first price cut since late 2021, making analysts review projections for the country's inflation, said Reuters.

Federal lawmakers and President Jair Bolsonaro have been putting intense pressure on the company's leadership to bring down prices at the pump ahead of an October election. The government has already provided some relief to consumers by effectively capping state fuel taxes and subsidizing truckers, a key constituency for Bolsonaro, who trails leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the polls.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said average prices will drop to 3.86 reais (USD0.714) per liter from 4.06 reais. It characterized the move as consistent with its official policy of pegging domestic fuel rates to international prices, with some room for variation during periods of unusual volatility. "This reduction follows international benchmark prices, which have stabilized at a lower level for gasoline, and is in line with Petrobras' pricing policies," the company said.

The move comes after three consecutive price hikes this year, including one of roughly 20% in mid-March, and takes the average prices back to levels last seen in June. Brazil-listed preferred shares in Petrobras were up 0.9% in afternoon trade, slightly outperforming the nation's benchmark Bovespa equities index. JP Morgan revised down Brazil's 2022 inflation outlook due to the announcement, which it called a "surprise". "We now look for inflation to end the year at 7.4% over year ago instead of the 7.6% we were forecasting before," it said. The revised projection remains far above the central bank's official target of inflation at 3.5% this year.

As per MRC, Petrobras’ PBR eligibility committee recently stated that two of the Brazilian government's seven nominees for a refurbished board at the company did not meet the requirements to hold the position. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro picked the two ineligible nominees – Jonathas Assuncao Salvador Nery de Castro and Ricardo Soriano de Alencar. Both of them, however, are not qualified to become the board members of PBR based on the company’s internal bylaws, the committee established, per the minutes of its last meeting.

As per MRC, Petrobras’ PBR eligibility committee recently stated that two of the Brazilian government's seven nominees for a refurbished board at the company did not meet the requirements to hold the position. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro picked the two ineligible nominees – Jonathas Assuncao Salvador Nery de Castro and Ricardo Soriano de Alencar. Both of them, however, are not qualified to become the board members of PBR based on the company’s internal bylaws, the committee established, per the minutes of its last meeting.
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Mexican polyester producer Alpek reported on Tuesday a rise in Q2 earnings because sales rose faster than costs, said the company.

The company attributed the increase to high demand and costs for marine freight, which restricted imports.Volumes rose because of the recent acquisition of OCTAL. Excluding that deal, volumes would have been down 2% quarter on quarter and flat year on year because of scheduled maintenance at a plant.

Earnings rose because of higher margins.

Volumes fell because of slightly lower demand for polypropylene (PP). This was partially offset by higher volumes for expandable polystyrene (EPS).

Earnings rose year on year because of higher margins for PP.

Looking ahead, Alpek raised its guidance because margins were higher than expected during the first half of the year for PET, PP and EPS. Overall, Alpek's outlook remains positive for the rest of 2022.

We remind, Alpek, Indorama and FENC announced earlier that Corpus Christi Polymers (CCP) will resume construction on the facility in August. The plant is expected to begin production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) in early 2025. Construction of the state-of-the-art plan is resuming following a period of pandemic-related disruptions. The new facility is expected to be the largest vertically integrated PTA-PET production plant in the Americas, with annual capacities of 1.1m tonnes of PET and 1.3m tonnes of PTA. It will employ three state-of-the-art technologies.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell's sprawling chemical plant in Channelview may get even bigger, said Houstonchronicle.

The international chemical giant, operated out of Houston, said Wednesday it is evaluating an expansion to potentially boost the Channelview plant's ethylene capacity by 550 million pounds per year. Preliminary engineering work has begun to determine the feasibility of the project. If LyondellBasell decides to proceed, the expansion could be finished by 2017.

Among the largest petro­chemical plants along the Gulf Coast, the Channelview facility covers 3,900 acres and employs 2,000 people. The north side of the complex makes feedstocks such as ethylene, propylene and benzene for operations at the south plant, which makes propylene oxide, styrene monomer and other chemical building blocks for the manufacturing of clothing, bedding, packaging and automotive parts.

The proposed expansion project would be the latest investment for the company, which has announced a series of expansions and construction projects in recent years. The U.S. shale boom touched off a petrochemical resurgence along the Gulf Coast, thanks to vast supplies of natural gas, which have created cheap and abundant fuel and feedstock for chemical plants. Nearly 200 projects worth USD124 billion have been announced in the past four years.

At Channelview, Lyondell has work underway to install two large cracking furnaces slated to boost production by 250 million pounds per year. Construction is set to finish early next year. The company recently completed a project in La Porte to add 800 million pounds of ethylene capacity and the same amount of capacity is being added to its Corpus Christi plant, with work slated to be done in late 2015.

The capacity boost provided by those projects is equal to building a new stand-alone cracking unit, the company said. Combined, these expansions will boost LyondellBasell's ethylene capacity to1.85 billion pounds per year. Adding to the Channelview plant could raise that number up to 2.4 billion pounds per year.

As per MRC, LyondellBasell, the world's largest polyolefins producer, has shut its Equistar Chemicals polypropylene (PP) plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, following a lightning strike. The lightning strike occurred July 13.

Equistar Chemicals, LP, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a joint venture between Lyondell Chemical Company and Millennium Chemicals Inc. and combines their olefins, polymers and oxygenated chemicals businesses. Equistar is one of the world's largest producers of ethylene, propylene and polyethylene and a leading producer of ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, polypropylene, specialty polymers, wire and cable resins, and polyolefin powders. Equistar was formed in December 1997 and has 17 manufacturing sites located primarily along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Midwest.
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TotalEnergies signed today with Sonatrach, Occidental and Eni an extension of its Production Sharing Contract for a period of 25 years for onshore Blocks 404a and 208 in the Berkine basin, in Eastern Algeria, sai the company.

This contract, signed under the new Algerian Hydrocarbon Law published in 2019, will allow to develop additional liquids hydrocarbon resources, while reducing these fields carbon intensity through a dedicated carbon reduction program. The opportunity to develop and valorize associated gas resources will be studied by the partners, thus increasing export potential towards Europe.

“This new contract on Berkine asset, under the Algerian new Hydrocarbon Law, marks a new milestone in the strategic partnership with Sonatrach. This project is in line with the Company’s strategy to develop low-cost oil while contributing to carbon reduction programs to minimize our carbon footprint”, commented Laurent Vivier, Senior Vice President Middle East and North Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have successfully completed the first biofuel bunker operation for a vehicle carrier in Singapore. The local operation was made possible with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The MOL-operated car and truck carrier, Heroic Ace, was refueled by TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel on 11th June 2022 via ship-to-ship transfer, while the carrier performed cargo operations simultaneously. The biofuel has been consumed during the carrier’s voyage to Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates.
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BASF gave final approval for the construction of its Zhanjiang chemical complex, the company said, with the focus now on building a steam cracker and several plants for producing petrochemicals and intermediates.

The site, which will be the company's third-largest globally once complete, is due to be fully operational by 2030.

The company will focus on building the core of the site, which will include a steam cracker and several other petrochemicals and intermediates, BASF said.

The company plans to invest up to EUR10bn by 2030 to build the new site, it said. By then, the site should be fully operational. It will be BASF’s third largest Verbund site, after Ludwishafen, Germany, and Antwerp, Belgium.

BASF had started construction of the first plants at the site in 2020. It is starting up the first engineered plastics unit. A plant that will make thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) should start up in 2023.

As per MRC, BASF and Sinopec are further expanding their joint Verbund site in Nanjing, China. It is manufactured by BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. (BASF-YPC), a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies. The capacities of several downstream chemical plants will be expanded for the growing Chinese market. This also includes the construction of a new tertiary butyl acrylate plant.

As per MRC, BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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