U.S. chemical production fell slightly in June

The U.S. Chemical Production Regional Index (U.S. CPRI) eased by 0.1% in June following gains of 0.5% in May and 1.0% in April, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

Chemical output was mixed across regions. The U.S. CPRI is measured as a three-month moving average (3MMA).

On a 3MMA basis, chemical production within segments was mixed in June. There were gains in the production of synthetic rubber, industrial gases, coatings, manufactured fibers, synthetic dyes and pigments, adhesives, other organic chemicals, crop protection chemicals, other specialty chemicals, and fertilizers. These gains were offset by lower production of plastic resins, organic chemicals, and consumer products.

As nearly all manufactured goods are produced using chemistry in some form, manufacturing activity is an important indicator for chemical demand. Manufacturing output eased by 0.1% in June (3MMA). The 3MMA trend in manufacturing production was mixed, with gains in the output of motor vehicles, aerospace, iron and steel, oil and gas extraction, and rubber products.

Compared with June 2021, U.S. chemical production was ahead by 2.5%, a slower rate of growth than last month. Chemical production was higher than a year ago in all regions except the Gulf Coast, which was 0.5% lower.

The U.S. CPRI was developed to track chemical production activity in seven regions of the United States. The U.S. CPRI is based on information from the Federal Reserve, and as such, includes monthly revisions as published by the Federal Reserve. The U.S. CPRI includes the most recent Federal Reserve benchmark revision released on June 28, 2022. To smooth month-to-month fluctuations, the U.S. CPRI is measured using a three-month moving average. The reading in June reflects production activity during April, May, and June.

As per MRC, U.S. crude oil stockpiles edged lower last week but gasoline inventories posted a larger-than-expected build on weakened demand. Crude inventories fell by 446,000 barrels in the week to July 15 to 426.6 MM barrels, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 MM-barrel rise. Demand figures rebounded from the previous week's sharp fall, and product supplied rose to 21 MMbpd. However, gasoline demand continued to sag, and supply of that product over the last four weeks was 8.7 MMbpd, or about 7.6% lower than the same time a year ago.
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Braskem Q2 resin sales volume in Brazil increased by 11% compared to the same period last year due to higher market share, which had declined in 2Q21, said the company.

Compared to Q1, sales volume fell by 1% on stable local demand for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

Q2 exports increased by 29% from Q2 2021 because of better logistics conditions for exports. Compared to Q1, exports increased by 7% due to higher PE sales in the export market, given the lower PE availability in the US for exports and better logistics conditions for exports.

The average utilisation rate of crackers decreased by 2 percentage points to 74% compared to Q2 2021 due to last year’s scheduled maintenance in the Rio Grande do Sul petrochemical complex and Alagoas PVC plant, and due to the feedstock shortage at the petrochemical complexes of Rio de Janeiro and ABC, Sao Paulo, the Brazilian producer said. Compared to Q1, the average utilisation rate decreased by 12 percentage points.

As per MRC, Nexus Circular and Braskem, the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas, as well as a market leader and pioneer producer of biopolymers on an industrial scale, announced that they have signed a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to secure the production output from a new advanced recycling facility planned near Chicago, IL.The new facility will have an initial capacity to convert over 30,000 metric tons annually of used plastic into new materials, with the potential to rapidly expand the processing capacity to over 120,000 metric tons annually.
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Octavio Romero, director of Mexican state oil Pemex, said the company will work in the second half of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrad?s term on improving its six refineries after completing during the first half of the six-year period the construction of a new 340,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery with a USD10-B investment, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Romero made the comments on July 6 as he inaugurated a three-day Mexican Petroleum Congress in Villahermosa, state of Tabasco, about 500 miles southeast of Mexico City. Separately, Lopez Obrador and Mexican Secretary of Energy, Rocio Nahle, participated on July 1 in a ceremony to celebrate the end of construction of the 340,000 bpd Olmeca refinery in Dos Bocas, also in Tabasco.

That July 1 date marked four years since Lopez Obrador?s electoral victory that led to his inauguration as president in December 2018 and exactly three years since the start of construction. The Mexican Secretary of Energy reported on July 1 in a press release the inauguration of the “first stage in the construction of the Olmeca refinery."

The head of Mexico?s Energy Secretary, Rocio Nahle, said that the plant was “the promise number 71” of Lopez Obrador before his election. The refinery will run on 22 to 24 API crude oil that will help it produce 170,000 barrels of gasoline and 120,000 barrels of ultra-low sulfur diesel, she said.

Construction involved 17 plants of chemical processing that include the combined plant, the coker, the diesel hydrotreater, the naphtha hydrotreater, the reformer, the catalytic and alkylation plants, units for the isomerization of butane and pentane and to treat residual gas. There are also plants to process hydrogen, bitter waters, aminas regeneration, cogeneration and the plant to process water and effluents, she said.

The work completed included also 90 storage tanks of which 56 are vertical to store liquids and 34 spherical for gases, with capacity to store up to 15 MM barrels and also includes the co-generation for the refinery to produce its own electricity with 280 MW capacity.

We remind that n late January, 2022, Pemex signed a long-term crude supply contract with Royal Dutch Shell Plc as part of its acquisition of the Deer Park refinery in Texas. Pemex and Shell in May, 2021, announced the transaction, which is worth almost USD600 MM and will make the Mexican firm the sole owner of the refinery near Houston. The facility has capacity to process 340,000 bpd. Shell will supply about 200,000 bpd of foreign and US crude to the plant for at least 15 years.
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Technip Energies has been awarded a significant contract by Neste for the expansion of their renewable products production capacity in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as part of the existing Partnership Agreement between Technip Energies and Neste, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract covers Engineering, Procurement services and Construction management (EPsCm) for the expansion of Neste’s existing renewables refinery in Rotterdam which will increase Neste’s overall renewable product capacity by 1.3 MMtpy.

This contract follows the Front-End Engineering and Design delivered by Technip Energies in 2021. The production process is based on Neste’s proprietary NEXBTL state-of-the-art technology, which allows the conversion of renewable waste and residue raw materials like used cooking oil and animal fat waste into renewable fuels.

Bhaskar Patel, SVP Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals and Circularity of Technip Energies, stated: “We are pleased to be entrusted once again by Neste for the expansion of their renewable products production platform in Rotterdam. This award relies on our long-term collaboration, illustrated by the successful delivery of two world-scale renewable products refineries in Rotterdam and Singapore and the ongoing expansion project of Neste’s renewable products refinery in Singapore. We are committed to make this project a success as we share a common vision of accelerating the transition towards a sustainable future, using technological advancement as a key lever."

As per MRC, Technip Energies and National Petroleum Construction Company create joint venture to accelerate energy transition. On the sidelines of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Paris, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs witnessed the signing of an agreement to establish a new joint company between National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), a subsidiary of National Marine Dredging Company and Technip Energies.
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Japan's chemical exports rose by 19.6% year on year to yen (Y) 1,058bn in June, supporting the overall increase in shipments abroad, as per official data of Ministry of Finance of Japan.

The country's exports of organic chemicals rose by 22.8% year on year to Y196bn in June, while shipments of plastic materials were up by 13.9% at Y283bn. On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials fell by 4.2% year on year to 474,344 tonnes.

Japan's overall exports rose by 19.4% year on year to Y8,628bn in June, while imports were up by 46.1% at Y10,012bn. This resulted in a trade deficit of close to Y1,400bn, the 11th straight month of shortfalls.

Exports to China, Japan's largest trade partner, rose by 8.3% year on year while shipments to the US were up by 15.7%.

As per MRC, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. announced that it has formed an agreement to acquire the pellicle business of Asahi Kasei Corporation. According to Mitsui Chemical’s Long-Term Business plan VISION 2030, it is aiming with creating and growing a "unique" ICT Solutions business to grow products that will let it create and grow operations here into our third pillar of earnings under the business portfolio transformation.

We remind, Neste and ITOCHU are celebrating the first delivery of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to Etihad Airways, one of the airlines of the United Arab Emirates, in Japan. The delivery of Neste MY SAF to Etihad marks the first time in Japan that SAF will be supplied to an overseas airline at an airport in Japan.
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