Singapore's middle distillates inventories cross 10 MMbbl

Singapore's middle distillates inventories surged more than 1MMbbl week on week to more than a three-month high level despite gains in net exports for both jet fuel, kerosene, diesel and gasoil, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Stockpiles of gasoil/diesel and jet fuel/kerosene at key oil storage hub Singapore were at 10.175 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 28, up from 8.845 million barrels last week, the data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Net exports of diesel/gasoil climbed by around 20% week on week, a reflection of the decline in total imports for the week.

Total imports fell by around 39% from a week ago, with volumes from China and South Korea absent for the week.
India and the Middle East were key contributors for this week's total imports. Arrival cargoes from India were at its highest level since the year started, the data showed.

This came largely in line with earlier expectations given better economic sense for sellers to send their cargoes east instead of west owing to high freight costs in most parts of end-January and early February, one source said.

India-origin diesel arriving into Singapore for February is slated to hit around a six-month high, Kpler and LSEG shiptracking data showed.

However, analysts are expecting this trend to change in March given an improvement in seller profits to northwest Europe in recent days. "Towards the end of March, Singapore should experience a reduction in diesel flows from the AG/WCI, as these shipments are increasingly directed toward Europe," said Sparta Commodities' James Noel-Beswick.

Total diesel/gasoil exports declined at a slower pace this week, with exports continuing to notable regional destinations such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The city-state returned to a net exporter position for jet fuel/kerosene, following last week's net importer situation, as total imports declined almost 100% with China arrival volumes missing.

Total exports of the heating and aviation fuel also fell by 31% week on week, with regional destinations still being the key contributor.

We remind, Idemitsu Kosan has agreed with Mitsubishi Corporation and Proman to participate in the development of the proposed clean ammonia production project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, (U.S.). The Project targets to produce approximately 1.2 MMt of ultra-low carbon clean ammonia per year by FY2030 and will adopt the SynCOR of Topsoe A/S and the Advanced KM CDR Process developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc, which is state-of-the-art low-carbon technology of Japanese company.

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BASF has strengthened its partnership with OQEMA, one of Europe’s leading chemical distributors, with regard to BASF’s standard amines portfolio excluding ethanolamines in the UK and Ireland, effective January 1, 2024, said the company.

The companies, which have enjoyed a productive partnership in Germany and Eastern Europe for over two decades, will now join forces in the UK, combining OQEMA’s extensive distribution and sales network and in-depth local market knowledge with BASF’s ability to deliver high-quality, competitively priced products at scale.

“We are thrilled about the expanded partnership with our long-standing partner BASF in the UK. This new venture provides us with an opportunity for joint growth, allows us to offer our customers an extended product portfolio in amines, and strengthens our market position,” said Tobias Hinz, Head of Technical Applications, OQEMA GmbH.

Kristina Yeates, Director Sales Standard Amines Europe, BASF, added, “Broadening our regional scope by adding the UK and Ireland will support our collective goal to grow in the coming years by leveraging our mutual strengths. Our partnership with OQEMA allows us to manage supply chain complexities and customer service and enables us to focus on our core competencies. Having worked with OQEMA in various countries over two decades, I am convinced that this enhanced level of cooperation will open up numerous business opportunities for BASF’s standard amines portfolio and beyond.”

BASF’s Intermediates division develops, produces and markets a comprehensive portfolio of more than 600 intermediates globally. The division’s key product groups include amines, diols, polyalcohols, acids and specialties. These intermediates are used as precursors for coatings, plastics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, detergents and crop protectants. Innovative intermediates from BASF help to improve both the properties of final products and the efficiency of production processes. The ISO 9001 certified Intermediates division operates plants at production sites in Europe, Asia and North America.

We remind, BASF is utilizing its extensive global expertise in chemical recycling, employing pyrolysis technology known as ChemCycling, to introduce International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus certified "Ccycled" materials sourced from the BASF TotalEnergies Petrochemicals facility located in Port Arthur, Texas, said the company. This facility operates as a joint venture between BASF and TotalEnergies, with a ownership split of 60/40 respectively, with TotalEnergies headquartered in France.

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Air Liquide and Sasol have signed new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Enel Green Power RSA for the long term supply of an additional capacity of 110 MW of renewable power to Sasol’s Secunda site in South Africa, said the company.

This is the fourth set of PPAs signed by Air Liquide and Sasol after those announced in 2023. Together, these PPAs represent a total renewable power capacity of around 690 MW. For Air Liquide, these contracts will represent an annual reduction in its CO2 emissions of approximately 1.2 million tonnes, and contribute to Air Liquide’s targeted reduction by 30% to 40% of the CO2 emissions associated with oxygen production in Secunda by 2031.

Within the framework of this agreement, Enel Green Power will create a local company with strong socio-economic development commitments which will build a wind farm located in the Eastern Cape province. This renewable energy production facility is scheduled to be operational by 2026.

We remind, Sasol North America, a subsidiary of the renowned Sasol conglomerate, recently undertook an unexpected shutdown of its olefins production facility located in Lake Charles. The abrupt halt in operations was necessitated by the adverse impact of freezing temperatures in the region. Commencing on January 15, the company made the decision to suspend the production of key elements such as ethylene, ethylene oxide, propylene, and ethylene glycol, a hiatus expected to extend until the conclusion of the current week. The extreme weather conditions not only disrupted Sasol's industrial operations but also posed challenges to personnel and logistics across the affected region.

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Arlanxeo, a global leader in performance elastomers, today announced the planned construction of a hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) plant in Changzhou, China, said the company.

With a nameplate annual production capacity of 5,000 tons, the first phase of construction will allow for the production of 2,500 tons of high-quality rubber per year. The plant is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2025.

“Arlanxeo continues to invest in high-growth markets, and today we are delighted to announce our plans for a new Therban® plant in China. This announcement marks a significant step toward meeting the growing global demand for advanced synthetic rubber products,” said Stephan van Santbrink, CEO, Arlanxeo.

Arlanxeo produces and markets HNBR grades under the Therban® brand. Therban® is renowned for its resilience to extreme temperatures, chemicals, and abrasion, and is widely used in demanding applications in automotive systems, oil exploration, mechanical engineering, aerospace, and batteries for new mobility solutions.

“Arlanxeo new Therban® plant in Changzhou will allow us to serve the growing market demand for HNBR with high-quality, locally produced synthetic rubber. We look forward to collaborating with our customers and business partners as we continue to explore the considerable application potential of Therban®,” said Hong Sun, Managing Director, Arlanxeo China.

We remind, Arlanxeo, a leading global manufacturer of synthetic elastomers, has present its new terpolymer Therban ST 3107 VP, as per the company's press release. The fully hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) has a new, innovative termonomer, which has never been used before with HNBR rubbers.

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Idemitsu Kosan has agreed with Mitsubishi Corporation and Proman to participate in the development of the proposed clean ammonia production project in Lake Charles, Louisiana, (U.S.), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Project targets to produce approximately 1.2 MMt of ultra-low carbon clean ammonia per year by FY2030 and will adopt the SynCOR of Topsoe A/S and the Advanced KM CDR Process developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc, which is state-of-the-art low-carbon technology of Japanese company.

Idemitsu aims to establish an ammonia import terminal utilizing the existing infrastructure at the Tokuyama plant (Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture), and supply over 1 MMt of the clean ammonia by 2030 to various industrial companies, including those that produce and supply materials in the chemicals and steel sectors.

Mitsubishi Corporation aims to turn its part of the LPG terminal located in Namikata-cho, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, into an ammonia terminal and supply clean ammonia for various industrial applications, mainly in the Shikoku and Chugoku regions.

Both Idemitsu and Mitsubishi Corporation intend to supply clean ammonia produced by the Project to Japan through these terminals.

As ammonia does not emit carbon dioxide during combustion and can be transported and stored by existing facilities, it is expected to contribute positively to the low-carbon and decarbonization targets of customers in various industries.

Mitsubishi Corporation, Proman, and Idemitsu will continue to study the feasibility of establishing a robust, large-scale clean ammonia supply chain.

We remind, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation will supply critical turbomachinery packages to Dow for their Fort Saskatchewan Path2Zero Project – the world’s first net-zero scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions ethylene cracker. The Path2Zero Project, which supports the drive for industrial decarbonization, is projected to decarbonize approximately 20 percent of Dow’s global ethylene capacity.

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