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(textination) -- The provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions Borealis AG, Vienna/Austria announces total annual sales of EUR 7.09 billion (+13.2%) in 2011.
Growth in the 4th quarter of 2011 at 3.6% was slightly lower when compared to the prior year. Sales were about EUR 1.59 billion.
High volatility was a factor in the 2011 economic climate. The shift in market sentiment due to the sovereign debt crisis resulted in significant margin erosion in the polyolefins industry. As a result, Borealis' Polyolefins business segment recorded lower profits in 2011 compared to 2010.
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Borealis showed strong financial results for 2011
Chinese refiners promised reform of fuel prices
(news.flanders-china) -- The central government is determined to reform the domestic fuel price-setting mechanism this year after years of concerns that such a move would stoke inflation. The timing of the reform will be key to determining profitability of China's oil refining industry, which is dominated by state-controlled PetroChina and China Petroleum & Chemical (Sinopec).
"Efforts on the reform are on and we are striving to push ahead with it," Liu Tienan, Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said on the sidelines of this year's National People's Congress (NPC). His comments come two weeks after Zhou Wangjun, Deputy Director of the Pricing Department at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told Xinhua that reform on energy pricing would be launched this year "at the right time, according to economic conditions". Premier Wen Jiabao said in his annual government work report that Beijing would reform the pricing mechanism of refined oil products and natural gas. It is thought it will include a greater frequency of price adjustments and give oil companies the right to set their own fuel retail prices in keeping with international crude oil price movements.
Currently the government restricts price rises, squeezing the refineries' margins. A Sanford Bernstein research report said Sinopec needed a gross refining profit margin of at least USD4 a barrel to break even on its refining operation. It relies heavily on profits from upstream oil and gas production to offset the losses. It made a margin of USD1.50 a barrel in last year's first half, the report said. The brokerage expects the reform to give refiners gross margins of USD4 to USD5 a barrel when crude prices range from USD100 to USD120 a barrel, the South China Morning Post reports.
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"Efforts on the reform are on and we are striving to push ahead with it," Liu Tienan, Director of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said on the sidelines of this year's National People's Congress (NPC). His comments come two weeks after Zhou Wangjun, Deputy Director of the Pricing Department at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told Xinhua that reform on energy pricing would be launched this year "at the right time, according to economic conditions". Premier Wen Jiabao said in his annual government work report that Beijing would reform the pricing mechanism of refined oil products and natural gas. It is thought it will include a greater frequency of price adjustments and give oil companies the right to set their own fuel retail prices in keeping with international crude oil price movements.
Currently the government restricts price rises, squeezing the refineries' margins. A Sanford Bernstein research report said Sinopec needed a gross refining profit margin of at least USD4 a barrel to break even on its refining operation. It relies heavily on profits from upstream oil and gas production to offset the losses. It made a margin of USD1.50 a barrel in last year's first half, the report said. The brokerage expects the reform to give refiners gross margins of USD4 to USD5 a barrel when crude prices range from USD100 to USD120 a barrel, the South China Morning Post reports.
MRC
Saudi Polymers starts polystyrene marketing drive ahead of plant startup
(plastemart) -- Saudi Polymers has begun marketing product from its new 200,000 tpa polystyrene plant in March, despite a delay in startup.
A polystyrene converter has received offers from Saudi Polymers on their general purpose grade polystyrene crystals, but declined to comment on price details or volumes. Samples will be received from Saudi Polymers. Thereafter, it will take three months to test the GPPS and about 9-12 months to test the high impact polystyrene before placing an order.
The PS plant will receive styrene monomer feedstock from Jubail Chevron Philips Company's 777,000 tpa styrene monomer plant at Al Jubail. Prior to the startup of the PS plant, Chevron Philips had been shipping around 10,000-15,000 mt/month of styrene out to its storage facilities in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp area. Chevron Philips leased two storage facilities owned by Vopak in the ARA area but gave up on those agreements in 2012 as the excess styrene would be channeled as feed for the PS plant.
Saudi Polymers' integrated petrochemicals complex is built around an ethane-propane mix gas cracker, with the capacity to produce 1.165 mln tpa of ethylene and 445,000 tpa of propylene. The entire olefins production is slated for captive use. Downstream from the cracker there is also a 400,000 tpa polypropylene plant and a 100,000 tpa 1-Hexane plant.
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A polystyrene converter has received offers from Saudi Polymers on their general purpose grade polystyrene crystals, but declined to comment on price details or volumes. Samples will be received from Saudi Polymers. Thereafter, it will take three months to test the GPPS and about 9-12 months to test the high impact polystyrene before placing an order.
The PS plant will receive styrene monomer feedstock from Jubail Chevron Philips Company's 777,000 tpa styrene monomer plant at Al Jubail. Prior to the startup of the PS plant, Chevron Philips had been shipping around 10,000-15,000 mt/month of styrene out to its storage facilities in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp area. Chevron Philips leased two storage facilities owned by Vopak in the ARA area but gave up on those agreements in 2012 as the excess styrene would be channeled as feed for the PS plant.
Saudi Polymers' integrated petrochemicals complex is built around an ethane-propane mix gas cracker, with the capacity to produce 1.165 mln tpa of ethylene and 445,000 tpa of propylene. The entire olefins production is slated for captive use. Downstream from the cracker there is also a 400,000 tpa polypropylene plant and a 100,000 tpa 1-Hexane plant.
MRC
Sinopec Luoyang plans to increase crude oil processing by 21% this year
(bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the nation's biggest refiner, plans to boost oil-processing volume at its Luoyang refinery by 21 percent this year.
The plant in the central Henan province will process 8 million metric tons of crude, up from 6.6 million tons in 2011, when the refinery was shut for 45 days for maintenance, said Wei Wenbo, president of the facility. He spoke today in Beijing at China's annual parliamentary sessions.
The refinery, which has no maintenance scheduled until 2016, relies on imported crude from West and North Africa, the Middle East and South America for half its needs. The other half comes mainly from the western parts of China.
Luoyang lost USD10 on every barrel of oil it processed in 2011, resulting in an annual net loss of 2.6 billion yuan (USD410 million), Wei said. Refining losses were 2.9 billion yuan, while the plant had a profit of 300 million on petrochemicals. Sales were 46.8 billion yuan last year and may reach 52 billion yuan this year, he said.
The plant in the central Henan province will process 8 million metric tons of crude, up from 6.6 million tons in 2011, when the refinery was shut for 45 days for maintenance, said Wei Wenbo, president of the facility. He spoke today in Beijing at China's annual parliamentary sessions.
The refinery, which has no maintenance scheduled until 2016, relies on imported crude from West and North Africa, the Middle East and South America for half its needs. The other half comes mainly from the western parts of China.
Luoyang lost USD10 on every barrel of oil it processed in 2011, resulting in an annual net loss of 2.6 billion yuan (USD410 million), Wei said. Refining losses were 2.9 billion yuan, while the plant had a profit of 300 million on petrochemicals. Sales were 46.8 billion yuan last year and may reach 52 billion yuan this year, he said.
"Under the current system in China, it's impossible to make profits from refining," Wei said. Luoyang also has "geographical disadvantages" because it's too far from oil supplies, he said, referring to Xinjiang fields to its west and oil ports on the eastern seaboard.
The Luoyang plant has crude-distillation capacity of 8 million tons a year and a splitter capable of processing 1.5 million tons of condensate annually, he said. The plant's refining costs are 200 yuan a ton more than the China Petroleum's average, Wei said, without being more specific.
OPEC lowers its forecast for 2012 oil demand
(France-Presse) -- The OPEC oil cartel on Friday trimmed its 2012 global oil demand growth forecast for the second time in two months because of worries about developed countries' economies and higher crude prices.
The Organization of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries now expects daily demand this year of 88.63 million barrels
per day, down from its forecast a month ago of 88.76 million bpd, it said in its March monthly report.
This still represents growth compared to 2011, when demand was 87.77 million bpd, according to OPEC figures
that were revised slightly downward.
"The weak pace of growth in the OECD economies is negatively affecting oil demand and imposing a high range
of uncertainty on potential consumption growth," the report said.
"Although U.S. economic data points toward a better performance, the situation in Europe along with higher oil
prices has resulted in considerable uncertainties on the future oil demand for the remainder of the year."
Geopolitical factors, most notably tensions over Iran's nuclear program and speculation of Israeli military action,
sent OPEC's reference basket oil price 5.1 per cent higher in February to USD117.48 per barrel.
The monthly average was the highest since April last year. Solid economic data in the United States and easing worries over the eurozone debt crisis, coupled with speculative activities in oil futures markets, also served to push the price of crude higher, OPEC said.
MRC
The Organization of Petroleum Ex-porting Countries now expects daily demand this year of 88.63 million barrels
per day, down from its forecast a month ago of 88.76 million bpd, it said in its March monthly report.
This still represents growth compared to 2011, when demand was 87.77 million bpd, according to OPEC figures
that were revised slightly downward.
"The weak pace of growth in the OECD economies is negatively affecting oil demand and imposing a high range
of uncertainty on potential consumption growth," the report said.
"Although U.S. economic data points toward a better performance, the situation in Europe along with higher oil
prices has resulted in considerable uncertainties on the future oil demand for the remainder of the year."
Geopolitical factors, most notably tensions over Iran's nuclear program and speculation of Israeli military action,
sent OPEC's reference basket oil price 5.1 per cent higher in February to USD117.48 per barrel.
The monthly average was the highest since April last year. Solid economic data in the United States and easing worries over the eurozone debt crisis, coupled with speculative activities in oil futures markets, also served to push the price of crude higher, OPEC said.
MRC