North American chemical railcar traffic fel

North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a fourth straight week, with loadings for the week ended 25 March down 1.6% year on year to 46,366, led by a 3.5% decline in the US, according to the latest freight rail data on Wednesday.

For the first 12 weeks of 2023 ended 25 March, North American chemical rail traffic was down 3.4% year on year to 542,955 railcar loadings, with US traffic down 6.9%, to 385,829 loadings.

In the US, chemical railcar loadings represent about 20% of chemical transportation by tonnage, with trucks, barges and pipelines carrying the rest. In Canada, chemical producers rely on rail to ship more than 70% of their products, with some exclusively using rail.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a third straight week, with loadings for the week ended 18 March down 2.2% year on year to 45,200, led by a 5.8% decline in the US.

mrchub.com

CNOOC, Shell JV sign USD5.6-bn agreement to expand ethylene plant in China

CNOOC, Shell JV sign USD5.6-bn agreement to expand ethylene plant in China

CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Ltd (CSPC), a joint venture established by China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Royal Dutch Shell, signed a framework agreement worth USD5.6-bn with China’s Huizhou city government to expand its ethylene project in the city, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

CSPC is expected to add 1.5 million tons per annum ethylene production capacity on top of its existed 2.2 million tons in Huizhou, according to a statement issued by CNOOC on Sunday night.

The new project will have 14 petrochemical production lines to churn out products including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and ethylene glycol.

We remind, China's mega private refineries are expected to operate at full processing rates or higher until April as their margins have improved after the government lifted COVID-19 restrictions. The rise in crude demand at Zhejiang Petrochemical (ZPC) and Hengli Petrochemical, which account for 6.5% of China's refining capacity, will lift crude imports by the world's top importer, with volumes expected to hit record levels this year and support global prices.

mrchub.com

Borouge supplies materials worth USD32 mln for mega projects in the Middle East and Africa

Borouge supplies materials worth USD32 mln for mega projects in the Middle East and Africa

Borouge Plc, a leading petrochemical company that provides innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions is supplying sustainable ‘Made in UAE’ polyethylene materials worth USD32 mln that are used in several development projects across the Middle East and Africa regions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Borouge’s contribution to these mega projects is driven by collaboration with the local manufacturing companies who selected Borouge’s products due to their unique properties being the optimum materials to be used to make durable and reliable pipelines for various ongoing development projects across Egypt, Oman and Tanzania.

Khalfan AlMuhairi, Senior Vice President, Region MEAE at Borouge, said: “Selecting our materials for such key projects reflects the competitive advantage of Borouge’s materials and the company’s ability to develop sustainable tailored solutions that fit the needs for all types of development projects. We will continue our contribution in shaping the region’s most prominent projects with our infrastructure solutions that are reliable and enable modern living."

The pipes used in these projects were made from various grades of Borouge BorSafe PE100 polyethylene materials, enabled by advanced Borstar technology, which significantly contribute to lowering installation costs, operational costs and maintenance costs for customers and end-users, compared to other materials. Furthermore, Borouge materials also contribute to reducing carbon emissions generated during the manufacturing process of the pipes and their operational lifespan. Pipes made of BorSafe material can also be recycled at the end of their lifecycle.

We remind, Borouge, a leading petrochemical company that provides innovative and differentiated polyolefin solutions, has secured two new contracts worth a combined value of AED55 mln (USD15 mln to supply polyolefins to its partner customers – leading cable manufacturer Ducab and Abu Dhabi-based Union Pipes Industry (UPI).

mrchub.com

Shell publishes reports on sustainability, climate & energy transition lobbying and payments to Governments

Shell publishes reports on sustainability, climate & energy transition lobbying and payments to Governments

Shell plc has published its 2022 Sustainability Report, its 2022 Climate and Energy Transition Lobbying Report and its 2022 Payments to Governments Report, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell has been formally reporting on sustainability-related performance for more than 25 years, with the aim of being transparent about activities that are important to investors, governments, and civil society. The Shell Sustainability Report outlines our social, safety and environmental performance in 2022 and sets out our progress in transitioning our business to net-zero emissions.

In his introduction to the report, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, writes: "As we invest in the energy needed today, our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of our strategy. We are making good progress. By the end of 2022, we had reduced carbon emissions from our operations by 30% compared with 2016 on a net basis, more than halfway towards our target of a 50% reduction by 2030. This report shows what we have achieved so far in our work to be a sustainable business. We aim to do this work responsibly, with discipline and at pace to make a positive difference."

Shell also published its new 2022 Climate and Energy Transition Lobbying Report. This is another step forward on our journey to increase transparency around our advocacy. It builds on the progress we have made since 2019 in reporting on the key industry associations we are members of, and in providing examples of our advocacy on our website.

In addition, Shell published its 2022 Payments to Governments Report, in accordance with the UK’s The Reports on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014 (amended December 2015). In line with the Regulations, this report only covers extractive activities and payments equal to or above the ?86,000 or equivalent materiality threshold, resulting in payments made to governments in 25 countries being included.

We remind, Shell plc has published its Energy Transition Progress Report 2022, which shows it has again met its climate targets as part of its energy transition strategy. The report will be put to shareholders for an advisory vote at Shell’s Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2023.

mrchub.com

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.

mrchub.com