North American weekly chem rail traffic increased by 2.1%

North American chemical railcar traffic rose by 2.1% year on year to 46,855 loadings for the week ended 30 July, according to the latest freight rail data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

U.S. railroads originated 906,903 carloads in July 2022, up 0.2 percent, or 2,213 carloads, from July 2021. U.S. railroads also originated 1,033,906 containers and trailers in July 2022, down 3 percent, or 32,094 units, from the same month last year. Combined U.S. carload and intermodal originations in July 2022 were 1,940,809, down 1.5 percent, or 29,881 carloads and intermodal units from July 2021.

In July 2022, 10 of the 20 carload commodity categories tracked by the AAR each month saw carload gains compared with July 2021. These included: coal, up 5,588 carloads or 2.2 percent; crushed stone, sand & gravel, up 5,197 carloads or 6.7 percent; and motor vehicles & parts, up 3,726 carloads or 8.2 percent. Commodities that saw declines in July 2022 from July 2021 included: primary metal products, down 7,065 carloads or 19.2 percent; all other carloads, down 3,311 carloads or 15.1 percent; and stone, clay & glass products, down 2,202 carloads or 6.7 percent.

Excluding coal, carloads were down 3,375 carloads, or 0.5 percent, in July 2022 from July 2021. Excluding coal and grain, carloads were down 4,356 carloads, or 0.8 percent.

Total U.S. carload traffic for the first seven months of 2022 was 6,900,820 carloads, down 0.1 percent, or 6,610 carloads, from the same period last year; and 7,912,632 intermodal units, down 5.8 percent, or 485,376 containers and trailers, from last year.

Total combined U.S. traffic for the first 30 weeks of 2022 was 14,813,452 carloads and intermodal units, a decrease of 3.2 percent compared to last year.

As per MRC, last week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 498,901 carloads and intermodal units, down 0.8 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 23 were 232,565 carloads, up 1.1 percent compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 266,336 containers and trailers, down 2.5 percent compared to 2021.
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OxyVinyls, the chemical division of Occidental Petroleum, is planning a USD1.1 bn expansion and modernization project at its chlor-alkali plant in La Porte, Texas, according to documents filed with the Texas Comptroller's Office, as per S&P Global.

The company's plan, dubbed Project Orca, involves an expansion and upgrade of current system equipment and processes with integration of new equipment that better utilizes membrane cell technology.

The documents, posted June 6, did not reveal higher capacities for chlorine and caustic soda production at the La Porte site, known as Battleground.

They said the proposed work would address potential future industry regulations that could require the company to cease using its existing production technology. "The benefits of this project would help to ensure long-term viability of the Battleground plant operations," the documents said.

The La Porte site can currently produce up to 527,800 mt/year of chlorine and 580,000 mt/year of caustic soda.

As per MRC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental, and bio-engineering startup Cemvita Factory announced a plan to construct and operate a one metric ton per month bio-ethylene pilot plant, applying a jointly developed technology using human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of hydrocarbon-sourced feedstocks.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV) is a subsidiary of Occidental, an international energy company with assets in the United States, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. OLCV is focused on advancing cutting-edge, low-carbon technologies and business solutions that enhance Occidental's business while reducing emissions. OLCV also invests in the development of low-carbon fuels and products, as well as sequestration services to support carbon capture projects globally.
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Westlake Corp. said its earnings soared to new highs after a spree of acquisitions expanded its revenue base in a time when demand for its products are high, said Houstonchronicle.

The Houston chemical and materials company said its revenues jumped 57 percent during the second quarter to a record USD4.5 billion from USD2.9 billion in the prior year period. It also reported a record USD858 million profit, up 64 percent compared to USD522 million last year.

"We are pleased to deliver another quarter of record results driven by Westlake's strategic market position, which has expanded over the past year with acquisitions that increased our reach into new markets and products while solidifying our ability to capture market value,” said Westlake’s CEO Albert Chao.

High demand lifted prices for chemicals and materials — up 32 percent compared to last year — more than compensating for rising costs for raw materials, energy and shipping, boosting Westlake’s bottom line.

Chao said the company also benefited from a strong residential construction and remodeling market that supported high demand for polyvinyl chloride, or PVC.

We remind, Westlake’s Q1 sales rose 72.1% year on year and net income more than tripled on strong demand and higher prices and margins. Significantly higher sales prices and margins across most of Westlake’s businesses, as well as contributions from recently acquired businesses, drove the Q1 results, it said. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 135% to USD1.3bn and the EBITDA margin rose to 32% from 23% in Q1 2021.
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Synthomer PLC shares tumbled as its half-year was hit by soft demand for nitrile gloves, after a record performance the year before, said the company.

The Essex-based chemicals maker said pretax profit in the first half dropped 55% to GBP115.5 million from GBP254.4 million a year before. Shares in Synthomer were 11% lower at 209.64 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. This was despite growth in revenue, which was 8.5% higher at GBP1.22 billion compared to GBP1.23 billion.

The decline in profit was mostly due to the outperformance in the firm's Performance Elastomers division in the year before. "Around the world, the exceptional demand for [nitrile butadiene rubber] gloves during the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a record performance last year. Current destocking has meant that demand has softened substantially, resulting in lower nitrile volumes, revenues and [earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation]," the company explained.

NBR is frequently used in latex and surgical gloves. Operating profit dropped 87% to GBP27.8 million for the PE division. Profit growth was seen across all other divisions compared to 2021, however. Ebitda of GBP173.1 million trailed behind GBP322.7 million the year before, but compared favourably with GBP100.2 million and GBP99.7 million in 2020 and 2019 respectively, the firm noted. Synthomer proposed an interim dividend of 4.0p, down year-on-year from 8.7p.

As per MRC, Eastman has completed the previously announced sale of its adhesives resins business to UK-based Synthomer for USD1bn in cash. The sale included the hydrocarbon resins (including Eastman Impera tyre resins), pure monomer resins, polyolefin polymers, rosins and dispersions, and oleochemical and fatty-acid based resins product lines. All of these businesses were previously part of Eastman's Additives & Functional Products segment.
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Enterprise Product Partners and Occidental Petroleum plan to forge a carbon dioxide sequestration and transportation system that could sell carbon management services to emitters along the Texas Gulf Coast, they said in a statement, said the company.

They plan to combine the pipeline company’s transportation network with carbon sequestration hubs under development by Oxy, an oil producer expanding into the carbon management business. The idea is to focus initially on capturing emissions along the industrial corridor from Houston to Beaumont and Port Arthur.

“For many years, Enterprise and Oxy have successfully collaborated in developing traditional oil and gas projects," Enterprise co-CEO Jim Teague said, “We are excited to evolve that relationship." Oxy announced plans last month to spend up to USD1 billion on a facility that could remove 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide directly from the air. It would be the world’s largest direct air capture project.

The energy transition is driving interest in carbon capture projects, which are on track to increase tenfold by 2030, Norwegian energy consultancy Rystad Energy said Tuesday. Still, it said the planned influx is not aggressive enough — planned carbon capture capacity falls short of what is needed to meet the International Energy Agency’s net-zero scenario.

We remind, Enterprise Products Operating LLC, a subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD), and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental (OXY), have announced they have executed a letter of intent to work toward a potential carbon dioxide (CO2) transportation and sequestration solution for the Texas Gulf Coast. The joint project would initially be focused on providing services to emitters in the industrial corridors from the greater Houston to Beaumont/Port Arthur areas. The initiative would combine Enterprise’s leadership position in the midstream energy sector with OLCV’s extensive experience in subsurface characterization and CO2 sequestration.
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