French strikes keep record crude volumes on the water, crash storage levels

French strikes keep record crude volumes on the water, crash storage levels

French strike action has led to record amounts of crude and condensate sitting idly offshore while the country's crude stocks have plummeted, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Around 17 cargoes carrying crude oil, oil products or chemical products have been floating in French waters for the past week, according to Kpler crude analyst Johannes Rauball. "Seven of these cargoes are carrying around 7 million barrels of crude and condensate, which marks the highest level on record and represents double what we observed at the peak in October of last year," Rauball said.

Industrial action over the past three weeks has impacted every French refinery. The walkouts differ from the strikes that took place in October, 2022 in that they are coordinated on a national level, also affecting ports and depots, said Koen Wessels, oil products analyst at Energy Aspects.

France's crude oil stocks have fallen to 40.3 million barrels in March, according to consultancy OilX, the lowest since the firm's records began in January, 2010. France's refinery intake has fallen to its lowest level since October at 764,000 barrels per day (bpd), data from consultancy OilX show.

The country's oil stocks have fallen to 40.3 million barrels in March, according to consultancy OilX, the lowest since the firm's records began in January, 2010. The absence of French buying interest has increased supplies elsewhere of crude grades from the North Sea, west Africa and blends from the Caspian pipeline, according to traders.

This has weighed on prices of these crude grades as market players are forced to look elsewhere for buyers. "It's a pretty bad situation," one trader said. French crude oil imports from Nigeria have averaged just 30,000 b/d so far this month, compared with an average 200,000 b/d in January and February, according to Kpler.

"A vast amount of Nigeria's April loadings schedule has gone unsold," Rauball said. Meanwhile, the Ekofisk North Sea crude grade, produced at a field in Norway where TotalEnergies has equity, relies on France for two-thirds of its export stream.

No Ekofisk cargoes have been discharged in France this month, compared with an average of 85,000 b/d in January and February, Kpler data show.

We remind, arecent study investigated reliability-related downtime and slowdown events for olefin plants. These events were calculated as percent of the plant’s proven capability to produce ethylene.1 The causes for lost production were ranked from the highest to the lowest percent of production lost. The trends in production losses from 1999 through 2011, showing total loss production measured in seven biennial studies, are discussed in this article to determine if these losses are increasing or decreasing over time.

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Sinopec's 2022 net profit falls 6.9% as COVID curbs hit fuel, chemicals demand

Sinopec's 2022 net profit falls 6.9% as COVID curbs hit fuel, chemicals demand

Asia's top oil refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec Corp, recorded a 6.9% decline in net income for 2022, as Beijing's COVID-19 curbs weakened fuel and chemicals demand, as per Reuters.

Sinopec said its net profit last year amounted to 66.3 billion yuan (USD9.65 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, versus 2021's 71.21 billion yuan, but was still the third-highest in a decade thanks to higher oil and gas prices.

"For 2022 due to multiple factors, Chinese demand for natural gas, petrochemicals and refined oil products (was) lacklustre," Sinopec said.

China's rigid COVID measures hammered transportation fuel consumption. Sinopec recorded a 11% in gasoline fuel sales and 18.4% decline in aviation fuel sales last year versus 2021. Sales for chemical fibres tumbled 18.1%.

Sinopec reported 4% growth in sales of diesel fuel, thanks to a government policy shift towards late 2022 to boost refined fuel exports.

We remind, Sinopec Corp announced that it has completed trial runs at a 1-MMtpy ethylene plant in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that will boost exports. The facility is part of a 28.6 B-yuan (USD4.15 B) complex built at the site and is the second major petrochemical plant starting this year after a similar-sized facility was announced last week by PetroChina in Guangdong province.

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Grupa Azoty takes first ethylene delivery ahead of startup of world-scale PDH/PP plant

Grupa Azoty takes first ethylene delivery ahead of startup of world-scale PDH/PP plant
Grupa Azoty Polyolefins said that it has taken a first delivery of ethylene feedstock for its USD1.8bn world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plant that it plans to launch in Police, northwestern Poland in the near future, said the company.

A shipment of 3,500 tonnes of ethylene was on Monday delivered to the company’s maritime gas terminal in Police by the gas carrier GasChem Rhone, it added.

Part of the ethylene would be used in the cooling and commissioning of the above-ground tank and related installations at the terminal, Grupa Azoty Polyolefins, a special purpose vehicle of largest Polish chemicals producer Grupa Azoty, said.

Ethylene would then be used to start production of PP copolymers, it also stated. The PHD/PP plant is “99.15% complete”, according to Grupa Azoty Polyolefins.

The installation will boast a PDH facility with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes/year of polymer-grade propylene and a PP facility with a 400,000 tonne/year capacity.

We remind, Grupa Azoty Polyolefins said on Wednesday that it has selected exclusive Europe distributors for the polypropylene (PP) that will be produced by a USD1.8bn world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plant that it plans to launch in Police, northwestern Poland.

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BASF installs first-of-its-kind floating solar system to power McIntosh production site

BASF installs first-of-its-kind floating solar system to power McIntosh production site

As part of its sustainability goal of achieving net zero CO2 emissions1 by 2050, BASF has installed an innovative proof-of-concept floating solar system at its McIntosh, Alabama manufacturing site, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Noria Energy’s first of its kind floating solar system uses renewable energy to power three aerators used to improve the water quality of a scenic pond at the production facility. Floating solar energy capture offers several advantages beyond those of regular land-based solar systems including better operating efficiency due to cooler, more consistent temperatures from the surrounding water. However, the additional design and construction variables of floating solar systems typically come with a higher capital cost. Previous attempts to lower installation costs have reduced the reliability of the system when exposed to the environment. In particular, exposure to intense sunlight leads to degradation and unpredictable failure of traditional pontoons over time.

BASF’s plastic additives business is collaborating with Noria Energy to address these challenges by developing a highly reliable, innovative pontoon design at a lower cost. The final product leverages BASF’s broad portfolio of light stabilizers - which include UV absorbers and Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers (HALS) – that protect the polymer against degradation of harmful UV light. “The additives and antioxidants used for the pontoons and produced at our McIntosh site improve durability and extend the lifetime of the systems,” said Marcus Pezent, McIntosh Site Director, BASF. “We set out to develop an innovative floating solar system to drastically reduce capital requirements, including logistical costs. Working with BASF was instrumental in getting the system from concept to pilot installation in under a year, and a true testament to BASF’s commitment to their carbon-neutral goals,” said Alex Mayer, Chief Technology Officer at Noria Energy.

The pilot unit was installed with the support of the BASF North America Energy Management team who is already exploring additional locations for large scale floating installations at different BASF manufacturing sites. “These types of game-changing renewable energy initiatives reinforce our commitment to a sustainable future,” added Tejuana Edmond, Vice President, Plastic Additives Americas, BASF. “We will continue to work with our customers to help address their needs and challenges through innovation and sustainable solutions."

We remind, BASF begins production of its first bio-based polyol, Sovermol, in Mangalore, India, said the company.
This product serves the fast-growing demand of eco-friendly products for applications in new energy vehicles (NEV), windmills, flooring and protective industrial coatings in Asia Pacific. Utilizing the existing facilities at BASF's Mangalore site, the Sovermol production facility is now operational after comprehensive planning and construction.

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Huntsman prioritises dividends, buybacks before M&A

Huntsman prioritises dividends, buybacks before M&A

Huntsman is placing a priority on dividends and share buybacks for uses of cash, but it is not ruling out acquisitions if the businesses meet the company's criteria, the CEO US-based polyurethanes and materials producer said.

Already, Huntsman's board approved a 12% increase to its quarterly dividend. More recently, Huntsman completed the USD593m sale of its Textile Effects business to Achroma, a company owned by the private-equity firm SK Capital Partners.

The company wants to rank among the upper quartile among chemical companies in regards to returning cash to shareholders, said Peter Huntsman, CEO. He made his comments in an interview with ICIS on the sidelines of the International Petrochemical Conference (IPC), held by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM).

Following the dividend and share buybacks, Huntsman's next priority is maintaining money for potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Huntsman stressed that the company will remain disciplined about acquisitions, even though it has not made any recent ones.

The company is particularly interested in acquiring businesses that would fit in its Advanced Materials and Performance Products segments, he said. "I'd like to see products that are going to be less volatile in their earnings and technologies that will complement what we are doing right now in light-weighting, adhesion and renewable chemistries." Advanced Materials produces epoxy resins and other thermoset resins.

Performance Products makes amines and maleic anhydride (MA). While Huntsman is interested in making acquisitions in those two segments it is not ruling downstream polyurethane deals. Polyurethanes make up the company's largest segment in terms of sales and earnings. Huntsman's next priority for spending is organic growth after dividends, share buybacks and M&A, Huntsman said.

We remind, Huntsman completed the USD593m sale of its Textile Effects division to Archroma, a company owned by the private-equity firm SK Capital Partners. Archroma was set up by SK Capital Partners in 2013 after acquiring the textile chemicals, paper specialties and emulsions businesses from Swiss producer Clariant in 2013. It has about 3,000 employees in 25 facilities globally.

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