As Saudi oil cuts raise prices, Asia refineries buy elsewhere

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Refiners across the top-importing region of Asia are being forced to adapt buying patterns as the additional output cuts by Saudi Arabia have reduced availability of their preferred medium sour grades of crude, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

On September 5, the Kingdom, the top oil exporter and de facto leader of the OPEC+ group, extended its voluntary production cut of 1 MMbpd until the end of the year, while Russia, the second largest producer in the group, extended its 300,000 bpd output cut over the same period.

Reacting to tighter supplies, global benchmark prices have risen: Brent reached $90/bbl last week for the first time in 10 mos. But the main benchmarks are toward the light sweet end of the crude spectrum, whereas the impact of the OPEC+ output cuts has been felt most strongly in the medium sour segment.

Many of the newer, complex refineries in Asia prefer medium sour crude, as it offers a higher yield of middle distillates such as diesel and jet fuel. The lower exports from Saudi Arabia and several other Middle East producers, such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have left them scrambling to secure supplies. As a consequence, prices for these grades have outperformed the light sweet benchmarks.

The Brent-Dubai exchange for swaps, which measures the difference between Brent and Dubai, a medium crude, has narrowed and briefly flipped from its usual premium for Brent to a discount. Brent slipped to a discount of $0.17/bbl to Dubai on August 28, before recovering slightly to end at a premium of $0.85 on Monday.

However, it is worth noting that at the start of this year, Brent commanded a premium of $5.97/bbl over Dubai, and it reached as high as $17.50 in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A medium sour crude such as Iraq's Basrah Light, which historically has traded at a discount to dated Brent, is currently commanding a premium of $2.63/bbl.

Altered flows. The higher prices for medium crude grades are impacting the ways in which crude is flowing around the world.

India is a case in point, with Asia's second-biggest importer switching to Russian Urals crude and away from more expensive Middle East grades.

Russian crude has been sold at a wide discount to other grades as a result of Western sanctions against Moscow, but this discount has narrowed sharply in recent weeks. The reason is that India's refiners are struggling to source medium crudes such as Urals and have little choice but to pay more for the Russian grade.

India's imports from Iraq were 29.17 MMbbl in July, the highest month so far this year, but they dropped to 26.43 MMbbl in August and are on track to drop again to around 24.63 MMbbl this month, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.

China is also changing its buying patterns by boosting imports from suppliers outside of OPEC+. Assessing imports from Iran is difficult, as China doesn't formally report purchases from the Islamic Republic, which is under Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

We remind, Russia loaded the second oil cargo for delivery to Brazil in September, two traders said and LSEG data showed. A tanker Apus loaded 100,000 tons of Varandey oil sourced by Lukoil in the Arctic port of Murmansk on Sept. 10, LSEG data shows. The vessel is expected to arrive in Brazil's Pernambuco area at the end of the month, according to LSEG data.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's Sakhalin Energy, which produces liquefied natural gas and oil, has fully resumed production following maintenance, as per Reuters, quoting Gazprom's Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov.

The company has said it planned maintenance in July without providing a timeframe. Sakhalin Energy's Sakhalin-2 operating company was transformed into a Russian entity via a presidential decree amid Western sanctions against Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.

Global energy major Shell has left the project and operations in Russia. It 2022, Sakhalin-2 produced 11.5 million tons of LNG and 3.7 million tons (74,000 bpd) of oil.

Apart from Gazprom, Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi also have stakes in the project, jointly owning 22.5%.

We remind, Russia is shipping its first crude oil cargo to Brazil, as it seeks to diversify its list of buyers, which has been drastically limited by U.S. and EU sanctions. Russia has been heavily relying on India and China as main buyers of its crude after European embargo and price cap policies were imposed in December last year after Russia's action in Ukraine that Moscow calls a special military operation.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia loaded the second oil cargo for delivery to Brazil in September, two traders said and LSEG data showed, as per Reuters.

A tanker Apus loaded 100,000 tons of Varandey oil sourced by Lukoil in the Arctic port of Murmansk on Sept. 10, LSEG data shows. The vessel is expected to arrive in Brazil's Pernambuco area at the end of the month, according to LSEG data.

Lukoil did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. Lukoil loaded 80,000 metric tons of Varandey blend in August for delivery to Brazil making it the first Russian oil supply to the Latin American country on record.

The Stratos Aurora vessel was set to offload in the terminal of Madre de Deus port in Brazil, operated by Transpetro, a subsidiary of Petrobras, according to sources and shipping data.

Brazil has become one of major buyers of Russian fuel this year. The country is an oil producer and has it own refineries, but the produced volumes are not always enough for domestic demand. Brazil also imports crude oil for refining from west Africa and Saudi Arabia to add to refinery feeedstock.

We remind, Russia is shipping its first crude oil cargo to Brazil, as it seeks to diversify its list of buyers, which has been drastically limited by U.S. and EU sanctions. Russia has been heavily relying on India and China as main buyers of its crude after European embargo and price cap policies were imposed in December last year after Russia's action in Ukraine that Moscow calls a special military operation.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sabic and Sinopec announced the commercial operation of a new polycarbonate (PC) plant at their 50-50 joint venture (JV) - Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Co Ltd (SSTPC), said the company.

Established in 2009, SSTPC is a mega-size petrochemical complex that already consists of nine world-scale production plants producing chemicals, polyethylene, and polypropylene. With an annual designed capacity of 260 KT, the new PC plant is a vital component of Sabic's PC growth strategy in China, allowing for further collaborations with global and local customers.

The development of the PC plant marks the next chapter of the JV and strengthens the partners' capability to meet regional PC market demands. The availability of SABIC's polycarbonate will primarily be for customers in the Greater China region, targeting major PC-related industries such as Electricals & Electronics, Consumer Goods & Appliances, automotive, healthcare products and Building and Construction applications. SABIC's portfolio of PC materials produced at SSTPC will be marketed under its LEXAN™ resin brand.

We remind, Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), one of the leading global petrochemical companies, today (August 3) reported a 85% plunge in its net profit for the second quarter which fell to SR1.18 billion (USD315 million) from SR7.9 billion (USD2.1 billion) last year mainly due to lower average sales prices. The net profit beat analysts’ mean estimate of SR1.05 billion, according to data compiler Refinitiv. Announcing its results for the three-month period ended June 30, 2023, Sabic said the group's average selling prices fell by 26%, while sales volumes were 4% lower due to scheduled maintenance activities.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Chemicals and Ottogi are actively taking the lead in reducing carbon emissions by applying 100% circular recycled materials to food containers for the first time in Korea, said Petnology.

SK chemicals announced on the 5th that it applied 100% of its circular recycled PET (CR-PET) to Ottogi's renewed pork cutlet and steak sauce packaging.

Circular recycle is SK chemicals' "chemical recycling" technology that enables infinite reuse by breaking down waste plastic to a molecular level and remanufacturing it into raw materials. Compared to the "mechanical recycling" method that cleans or cuts waste plastic into smaller sizes (flake form) for reuse, it has the advantage of maintaining the high-quality physical properties and safety.

Ottogi's renewed meat sauce containers use 100% "SKYPET CR," which were jointly developed by SK chemicals and Poonglim P&P, a food packaging subsidiary of Ottogi, after signing an MOU last year.

By applying SKYPET CR to meat sauce containers, greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly reduced compared to previous petroleum-based PET, meeting the needs of consumers who prefer eco-friendly products. In addition, there is an advantage in exporting to overseas countries such as in Europe where greenhouse gas regulations are strengthening.

We remind, Coca-Cola India recently launched its new 100 % rPET bottle for water – a significant milestone as it is the first time that a packaging made of 100 % recycled plastic is used for food or beverages in India. The food-grade rPET for the new bottles is produced by Srichakra Polyplast (India) Pvt Ltd on a Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line.

mrchub.com