Venezuela earmarks a third oil cargo to Chevron under U.S. license

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has assigned a third crude cargo to Chevron Corp under a U.S. authorization that restarted exports to the United States after a nearly four-year pause, said Reuters.

Chevron received a U.S. license in November allowing it to revive its oil output and expand operations in Venezuela, part of Washington's effort to encourage talks towards elections in the OPEC country, which has been under U.S. oil sanctions since 2019.

The third cargo represents a solid start to an agreement expected to last at least six months. U.S. Gulf Coast refiners prize Venezuela's heavy crude but have been barred from purchasing it under U.S. sanctions in recent years.

The first Chevron-chartered tanker carrying Venezuelan oil departed on Tuesday and is set to deliver the crude next week to its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery. The second and third tankers also are expected to deliver their cargoes this month.

Chevron separately made its first delivery of imported heavy naphtha to its Petropiar joint venture this week at PDVSA's Jose terminal. A second cargo of about 450,000 barrels of the fuel is expected to depart from a U.S. port in the coming days, the people added.

Chevron so far has taken 500,000 barrels of Hamaca heavy crude from its Petropiar oil project. That cargo is sailing to the United States on tanker Sealeo after a ship-to-ship transfer off Aruba. Another cargo of some 240,000 barrels of Boscan heavy crude is onboard the tanker Kerala after loading at Venezuela's Bajo Grande terminal and passing Maracaibo Lake's channel.

The third cargo will be carried by Chevron-operated vessel Carina Voyager, one of the people said. The ship arrived in the Caribbean Sea last week and has been awaiting a loading window at the Jose port, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Chevron this week confirmed shipping activities under the U.S. license began this month. The company said is focused on "operating safely and reliably" at its affiliated joint ventures. PDVSA did not reply to requests for comment.

Chevron is relying on to ship-to-ship (STS) transfers to consolidate cargoes from its joint ventures in Venezuela before they sail to the United States amid infrastructure limitations that hit the South American country's exports last year.

The transfers near Aruba and at Venezuela's Caquetios area aim to overcome problems from power outages to equipment malfunctioning and a silt-clogged navigation channel, which often delay shipments.

We remind, Chevron Corp plans to export this month its first cargo of Venezuelan crude to its Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery following a U.S. license granted last year. The 500,000-barrel cargo of Hamaca heavy crude, to be loaded at state-run PDVSA's Jose port, comes from the Petropiar oil joint venture operated by both companies.

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Plastic material and resin manufacturing firm Samyang has developed sustainable polycarbonate materials containing more than 90% of post-consumer recycled polycarbonate, said the company.

South Korea-based Samyang, a chemical and food affiliate of the Samyang Group, has designed the PC as an engineered plastic that is transparent, impact- and heat-resistant. The new offering can be used as a material for interior and exterior uses in cars, home appliances, soundproof walls, and medical device parts.

According to the firm, PCR PC is created using a compounding method that calls for advanced technology and knowledge and involves combining new PC raw material with recycled PC in a specific ratio.

Flame retardants, strengthening agents, dyes, and other additives are used to produce the polycarbonate material in order to increase the polymer’s functionality and visual appeal.

Samyang has used its expertise in redesigning and optimising the ratio of recycled material and additives during the compounding process to maintain the inherent physical properties of PC.

The Korean firm was also successful in finding high-quality recycled PC material suppliers who carefully control the level of contamination and foreign elements.

Samyang CEO Hosung Kang said: “There are only a few places in the world that produce PCR PC products that contain more than 90% of recycled plastic materials while retaining the physical properties of conventional PC.

“We will continue to expand our high-quality, eco-friendly product portfolio to meet the global market’s demand and contribute towards the group’s ESG competitiveness.”

The newly developed PCR PC has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 6,200 tons based on the production of 1,000 tons compared to general PC, Samyang claimed. The Korean resin manufacturing firm intends to use PCR PC initially in tiny electrical home appliances like laptops before broadening its applicability in the future to a variety of fields, including electronics and decorative gadgets.

We remind, Samyang Corporation AM BU and Axiom, a Canadian global automotive parts maker, held a MOU signing ceremony, at KINTEX on October 5. This business agreement calls for Samyang to supply about $30 million (about 42 billion KRW) of EP materials for electric vehicle parts to Axiom over the next five years. Axiom is an automotive plastic module company founded in 1987 and specializes in manufacturing plastic parts and modules for automotive as well as electric vehicle across North America.

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Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track to gain over 7% on the week due to solid signs of demand growth in top oil importer China and expectations of less aggressive interest rate rises in the United States, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Brent crude futures rose by 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $84.34 a barrel by 1420 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 44 cents, or 0.6%, to USD78.83 a barrel. Brent has jumped 7.3% so far this week and WTI is up 7.1%, recouping most of last week's losses.

Analysts said recent Chinese crude purchases and a pick-up in road traffic fueled confidence in a demand recovery in the world's second-largest economy following the reopening of its borders and easing of COVID-19 curbs after protests last year. In another encouraging sign, ANZ analysts said a congestion index covering the 15 Chinese cities with the largest number of vehicle registrations had risen 31% from a week earlier.

" gains are penciled in as traders look ahead to a further drop in Russian supply and the normalization in China's fuel demand," PVM oil analyst Stephen Brennock said. "Before then, however, renewed bouts of selling cannot be discounted given the current looseness of the oil balance," he added.

Oil prices have also been buoyed by a slide in the dollar to a nearly nine-month low, after data showed U.S. inflation fell for the first time in 2-1/2 years, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would slow the pace of rate hikes. A weaker greenback tends to boost demand for oil, as it makes the commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

We remind, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation officially published the “China Energy Outlook 2060” (the “Outlook”) on December 28 in Beijing. This is Sinopec’s first publicly released research findings of their medium and long-term energy outlook, providing a new perspective for the scientific planning of transformation and development of China’s energy and chemical industries. This in the context of the “Dual-Carbon” goals laid out by the Chinese government, with the core goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

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Covestro’s group accounts for fiscal year 2022, preliminary full-year financial figures deviate from capital market expectations, based on the average values of latest consensus estimates of financial analysts, said the company.

"Covestro's business development last year was clearly impacted by the sharp rise in energy and raw material costs, high inflation and a weakening global economy," says Dr. Markus Steilemann, CEO of Covestro. "Nevertheless, our products are part of the solution to the current crisis and essential for a sustainable and circular future."

Dr. Thomas Toepfer, CFO of Covestro, adds: "The recessionary environment and the extraordinary depreciation, in particular as a result of the current difficult economic conditions in Europe, additionally weighed on the Group's earnings. However, our record-high sales and clearly positive free operating cash flow also show that even in these difficult times we are succeeding in generating cash. Our balance sheet is very solid, so we are also prepared for a prolonged economic downturn."

Covestro provides already today the following preliminary key financial data for fiscal year 2022:

Preliminary sales amount to 17,968 million euros. The consensus expects this figure to be 17,999 million euros.

Preliminary EBITDA amounts to approx. 1,610 million euros. The previous guidance expected EBITDA to be between 1,700 million euros and 1,800 million euros. The consensus expects this figure to be 1,679 million euros.

Preliminary net income amounts to approx. –300 million euros. The consensus expects this figure to be 420 million euros. The Group's net income is particularly burdened by extraordinary depreciation of non-current assets in the amount of approx. 470 million euros and by adjustments of deferred tax assets in the amount of approx. 250 million euros.

Preliminary free operating cash flow (FOCF) amounts to approx. 130 million euros. The previous guidance expected FOCF to be between EUR 0 and EUR 100 million. The consensus expects this figure to be –39 million euros.
The Annual Report 2022 will be published on March 2, 2023.

We remind, Covestro has again been awarded an „A-“ rating in this year’s climate protection ranking by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This underpins Covestro’s climate protection efforts and maintains its position among the leading companies in this segment. After already achieving very good results last year, Covestro participated in the survey again this year and con-vinced with its complete focus on the circular economy.

Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, cosmetics and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.

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BASF has appointed Dr. Achim Sties to lead the global plastic additives business unit effective January 1, 2023. The headquarters of this business will be in Singapore, said the company.

Prior to his current role, Achim Sties was already heading the plastic additives business in Europe. He began his career with BASF in 2005 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and held various positions in different functions in Europe and South America. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Heidelberg, Germany.

“We proactively collaborate with our customers and the relevant stakeholders to create new value for plastics. Our new brand VALERAS™, under which we bundle all products and services of our plastic additives portfolio that deliver significant sustainability benefits, continuously evolves to support our customers on their plastics journey. We are combining our resources and expertise for plastic additives worldwide into a global business unit to focus on the increasing challenges and truly drive the business to the next level. I am excited to deliver on this promise with my team,” said Achim Sties.

We remind, BASF has broken ground on the third and final phase of the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) expansion project at its Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, announced in July 2022. The company will increase production capacity to approximately 600,000 metric tons per year by the middle of the decade to support the ongoing growth of its North American MDI customers.

BASF is a leading supplier, manufacturer, and innovation partner of plastic additives. Its comprehensive and innovative product portfolio includes additives that provide ease in processing, and heat and light resistance to a variety of polymers and applications including molded articles, films, fibers, sheets, and extruded profiles.

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