European chlorine output dipped in August

In August, the European chlorine production stood at 625,537 tonnes. With 20,179 tonnes, the August 2023 average daily production was 5.1% lower than in the previous month (July 2023: 21,257 tonnes) and 4.9% lower than in August 2022 (21,208 tonnes), said Eurochlor.

With 240,402 tonnes, the August 2023 caustic soda stocks were 3.4% higher than in the previous month (July 2023: 232,412 tonnes). No comparison can be made with the August 2022 stock levels since we could not publish them in respect of the Cefic statistical rules.

The following tables give the details of chlorine production and caustic soda stocks in the EU-27 countries plus Norway, Switzerland, and the UK in August 2023.

We remind, in July, the European chlorine production reached 658,845 tonnes. With 21,253 tonnes, the July 2023 average daily production was 6.9% higher than in the previous month (June 2023: 19,879 tonnes) but 4.2% lower than in July 2022 (22,179 tonnes).

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At least 37 people, including two pregnant women, were burned to death after a blast at an illegal oil refinery in southern Nigeria, as per Reuters.

Illegal refining is common in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria as impoverished locals tap pipelines to make fuel to sell for a profit. The practice, which can be as basic as boiling crude oil in drums to extract fuel, is often deadly.

The latest incident happened in the early hours of Monday in the Ibaa community, in Rivers State, Rufus Welekem, the head of security in the community said.

A Reuters witness saw charred remains of 15 people at an open space surrounded by burnt palm trees and a motorbike.

"Thirty five people were caught in the fire. Two people who were lucky to escape also died this morning in hospital," said Welekem. Relatives had identified some of the victims and taken them for burial, he said.

Nigeria has for years tried to clamp down on illegal crude refineries, with little success, in part because powerfully connected politicians and security officials are involved, local environmental groups say.

Crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and legal battles over oil spills are pushing oil majors operating in Nigeria to sell their onshore and shallow water assets to concentrate on deep water operations.

We remind, Russia is setting no time frame for the fuel export ban it introduced last month, and it will remain in place as long as necessary to stabilize prices and address shortages on the domestic market. Another news agency, TASS, cited Novak as saying that the government plans to prevent the prices of fuel at the pump from rising above general consumer price inflation in 2023 and 2024.

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Russia is setting no time frame for the fuel export ban it introduced last month, and it will remain in place as long as necessary to stabilize prices and address shortages on the domestic market, Interfax cited Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying, as per Reuters.

Another news agency, TASS, cited Novak as saying that the government plans to prevent the prices of fuel at the pump from rising above general consumer price inflation in 2023 and 2024. Despite being one of the world's top oil producers, Russia has suffered shortages of gasoline and diesel in recent months as high export prices made it more advantageous for refiners to sell their products abroad.

Traders also cited distortions between wholesale and retail prices, as well as infrastructure bottlenecks such as congested railways, as factors behind the fuel crisis. To address the issue, Russia introduced the gasoline and diesel export ban on Sept. 21, while easing it a few days later by allowing cross-border supplies of some fuel, such as marine fuel and high-sulfur gasoil.

The ban has impacted world markets, particularly for diesel, of which Russia was the world's top seaborne exporter until the measure was introduced. Under Western sanctions, Russia has diverted diesel exports to Brazil, Turkey and a number of African and Gulf states since the start of the Ukraine conflict.

Expectations for the length of the fuel ban vary. JP Morgan said it could last a couple of weeks until harvest season concludes in October, while FGE Energy said replenishing Russia's gasoline stocks could take up to two months. "Our key goal is to ensure that prices at gas stations rise throughout the year at a level no higher than inflation. This was observed in previous years, and this year the same task is also set, and for future years," Novak said, according to Russian news agencies.

Russia's gasoline and diesel prices continued to slide on the local exchange. Since the ban was introduced, gasoline prices have declined by almost 10%, while diesel prices plummeted by 23%. According to the state statistics service Rosstat, as of Sept. 25, retail gasoline prices in Russia had increased by 9.9% from the end of 2022, while the price of diesel rose by 11.3%.

We remind, Russia may introduce quotas on overseas fuel exports if a complete export ban imposed last week does not succeed in bringing down persistently high gasoline and diesel prices, its Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. The government said in a statement late on Thursday that Novak told a meeting of senior managers at Russian oil companies that the ban on the export of gasoline and diesel had initially led to a fall in prices on the commodity exchange.

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Malaysia is considering expansion of its B10 biodiesel program, which requires the mandatory use of 10% palm oil, to the industrial sector, said Reuters.

Malaysia, the world's second biggest producer of palm oil, currently implements the B10 program only for the transportation sector.

Minister Fadillah Yusof did not say when a decision on the B10 mandate for industrial use would be finalized.

Malaysia has rolled out a B20 program in phases, and the nationwide implementation of that would increase crude palm oil consumption to over 1 million tons per annum, Fadillah said.

A mandate to use biodiesel with 30% palm oil would be implemented by 2025, Fadillah said, reiterating Malaysia's earlier targets.

We remind, Honeywell announced today that Repsol has licensed Honeywell Ecofining technology to produce renewable fuels from feedstocks such as used cooking oil and waste animal fat at Repsol’s facility in Puertollano, Spain. Repsol is designing this plant to convert approximately 240 thousand metric tons per annum (KMTA) of waste feeds/feedstocks to renewable diesel and other products.

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ADNOC announced its Ruwais Refinery has received International Sustainability Carbon Certification for the production of SAF, making it the first company in the Middle East to earn the distinction, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This important milestone underscores ADNOC’s commitment to collaborating with its customers to accelerate their decarbonization journeys.

The ISCC EU/CORSIA PLUS "Co Processing" international certification enables ADNOC to supply its SAF to international airlines at Abu Dhabi Airport. It is produced from used cooking oil feedstock that is blended with jet fuel at ADNOC’s Ruwais Refinery. The first batch, enough to fuel a return 787-10 Dreamliner flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris, will be available later this month.

Sultan Al Bigishi, Acting-CEO of ADNOC Refining, said: “The development of sustainable aviation fuel is a key part of our strategy to deliver lower carbon fuels to our customers. We are committed to supporting the aviation industry’s effort to ramp-up the use of sustainable aviation fuel as one of the key pillars to decarbonize air travel.”

ADNOC Global Trading is responsible for sourcing suitable bio feedstocks from the market into refinery operations. As our face to the market, trading can ramp up these activities to supply global and domestic customers with lower-carbon and more sustainable alternative fuels, products and feedstocks.

We remind, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co has increased its buyout offer for Covestro AG to around 11 billion euros (USD12.3 billion). ADNOC's latest bid values Covestro at about 57 euros per share, the person said, up from a mid-50 euro per share range. Covestro had rejected ADNOC's initial takeover proposal last month, saying the offer was too low. A Covestro spokesperson declined to comment, while ADNOC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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