Russian imports of PE in April dropped by 7%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) to Russia in April 2013 fell by 7% to 61,400 tonnes. The decline in imports was seen in the supplies of all PE grades with the exception of low density polyethylene (LDPE), according to MRC DataScope.

Low demand for finished products and large leftovers of feedstock forced many Russian companies to reduce in April the purchases of polyethylene in foreign markets.

In April, imports of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) to the Russian market on the back of excess supply from Russian producers and the low demand for finished goods decreased to 27,000 tonnes.

The largest decrease was seen in the supply of HDPE for extrusion coating of large steel pipes for the production by blow moulding.

External supplies of linear polyethylene (LLDPE) in April decreased by 8% compared with March and totalled 18,000 tonnes.

Reduction in imports resulted from the low demand for the finished film products and the reopening of LLDPE production by Nizhnekamskneftekhim.

Imports of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) in April made to 10,900 tonnes with the import from Belarus, which was close to the March figure - 10,500 tonnes. Amid sufficient supply of domestic LDPE Russian companies reduced their purchases in Belarus, while the purchases of LDPE in Europe, by contrast, grew up.

Imports of copolymers of ethylene and other compositions of polyethylene in April of this year totalled 5,600 tonnes.

During the first four months of this year, the total volume of imports of polyethylene to Russia made 236,000 tonnes, up 13% compared with the same period a year ago. Import volumes of linear polyethylene (up 45%) and other copolymers of ethylene and PE compositions (up 49%) increased substantially.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil company Total SA has confirmed that it acquired Royal Dutch Shell PLC's fuel retail network in Egypt as part of its strategy to strengthen its distribution position in the country and wider region, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"Through this acquisition, we reaffirm our ambition to pursue our development in Africa and in the Middle East in the retail business," a spokesman for Total said. Asked about the price of the transaction, he declined to disclose any detail.

Total already owns 70 fuel stations in Egypt, representing a 4% market share, and will acquire 85 more from Shell to become Egypt's fourth-largest gasoline retailer, doubling its market share, the company said.

The French company is strengthening its position as the largest gasoline retailer in Africa, the spokesman added.

"The sale is consistent with Shell's strategy to concentrate its downstream footprint on a smaller number of assets and markets," Shell said in a statement. It cited the recent sale of some refineries in the U.K. and Germany and its refining and marketing businesses in Finland and Sweden as examples of this. Besides, as MRC reported earlier, Royal Dutch Shell PLC had announced it plans to sell its only oil refinery in Australia, as the local industry struggles to compete with low-cost operators in Asia.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) Government of India vide its Notification No. 25/2013 -Customs dated 8th May 2013 had increased the Customs Duty on Plastic Polymers (except Polycarbonate) from 5% to 7.5%, as per Plastemart.

In late April, 2013, as MRC wrote, The Finance Ministry has imposed a definitive anti-dumping duty on soda ash imports from Russia and Turkey. This anti-dumping duty will be valid for a period of five years.

Earlier, India has lifted an anti-dumping duty on imports of a polypropylene from Saudi Arabia. India had imposed a 6.5% duty on imports of polypropylene from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Singapore. The duty has been removed on imports from Saudi Arabia only.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea imported natural gas liquids from Iran for the second straight month in April, reported Plastemart with reference to customs data.

Though a source with direct knowledge of the matter said it was part of a delayed shipment from an earlier contract.

Imports into South Korea of Iranian natural gas liquids were halted last July because of EU sanctions restricting insurance on tankers carrying Iranian oil, but South Korea's Samsung Total Petrochemicals (STC) concluded a spot deal earlier this year lured by cheap fuel.

South Korea, the world's fifth-largest crude oil and second-largest liquefied natural gas importer, purchased a total of 136,604 tons of natural gas liquids last month, with 77,254 tons coming from Iran, the customs data showed. The shipment compared with 72,750 tons imported in March. There were no imports a year ago. South Korea bought 464,963 tons of natural gas liquids last year. Of the total, 372,203 tons came from Iran and the rest from the United Arab Emirates, according to customs data.

The resumption of Iranian imports of natural gas liquids had been expected after Samsung Total Petrochemicals in January revived a contract. The French half-owner of the joint venture, Total, later said it objected to the deal, and there was only one spot deal. The company took the full Iranian volumes for the two months, as per sources. The United States and the EU have imposed sanctions aimed at halting Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is being used to develop arms. Tehran says its program is only for peaceful purposes.

As MRC reported previously, Iran exported 14.53 million tons of gas condensates and petrochemicals, worth USD11.8 billion, from Pars Special Energy and Economic Zone (PSEEZ) in the southern province of Bushehr over the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012. The exported goods included polyethylene, gas condensate, propane, butane, benzene, and paraxylene.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian environmental regulators will join state-run energy giant Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) in appealing an injunction that halted work on a major USD8 billion Comperj refinery project in Rio de Janeiro state, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Petrobras, Inea and federal environmental regulator Ibama will appeal the decision together, said Marilene Ramos, president of Rio state environmental regulator Inea.

Earlier Petrobras said it had been informed that a federal judge suspended environmental licenses granted by Inea for the refinery under construction in Rio de Janeiro state. According to Ms. Ramos, the judge ruled that Ibama had jurisdiction over licensing the project, forcing a halt in construction until Ibama issued new licenses.

The suspension stems from a case brought by federal prosecutors in 2008 that regulators thought had been resolved in 2009, Ms. Ramos said.

Petrobras said that it was evaluating all possible measures related to the halt, which would stop work on one of the company's largest projects.

The Comperj refinery will have installed capacity to process 165,000 barrels of crude oil per day when it enters operation in April 2015, according to the company. A second phase, expected to be completed by 2018, would double capacity.

When completed, the refinery would ease Petrobras's dependence on expensive fuel imports that have undercut the company's profits over the past two years.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Petrobras kept its five-year investment plan flat for the first time in years. Petrobras' new investment plan is a relief to those investors who'd feared another increase. Petrobras has one of the largest investment budgets of any firm in the world at USD236.7 billion for the next five years, as it seeks to develop some of the biggest oil discoveries the world has found in decades.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in the Southern Hemisphere by market capitalization and the largest in Latin America measured by 2011 revenues.
MRC