BP Whiting refinery returns to normal operations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP's 413 Mbpd Whiting, Indiana refinery returned to normal production by Monday morning for the first time since late July, said Reuters.

The refinery has been running at reduced production levels since the weekend of July 30-31, when a malfunctioning wastewater plant forced BP to cut production to prevent releasing sediment beyond permitted levels into Lake Michigan.

As MRC informed earlier, BP is seeking buyers for its 50% stake in Chinese petrochemicals joint venture SECCO, its largest investment in China, in a deal sources said could fetch USD2-USD3 B. State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (Sinopec), which owns the other half of the venture and has a right of first refusal, said it was discussing the conditions put forward by BP, but has made no decision.

BP is a leading producer of oil and gas and produces enough energy annually to light nearly the entire country for a year. Employing about 17,000 people across the country, BP supports more than 170,000 additional jobs through all of its business activities.
MRC

PetroChina sees net profit dive 98% in H1


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Net profit of PetroChina, the country’s biggest oil producer, plunged 97.9% in the first half of this year, said Shanghaidaily.

Net profit was 531 million yuan (USD79.8 million) in the first six months, down drastically from 25.4 billion yuan it made in the same period last year, Hong Kong-listed PetroChina said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The figure was its lowest half-year net profit since it listed in 2000, Bloomberg News reported. "Due to the combined effects of the slow recovery of the global economy and geopolitical factors, international crude oil prices reached the bottom and began to move up in an unsteady way," PetroChina said in the earnings report.

At the same time, China’s economic growth slowed to 6.7 percent in the first quarter, its weakest quarterly expansion in seven years. "Low crude price is a killer for companies like PetroChina as they pretty much rely on oil income to make a living," Tian Miao, a Beijing-based analyst at North Square Blue Oak, told Bloomberg News.

"The performance is not unexpected and what they do in the second half hinges on whether oil can really rebound."

Earlier this year PetroChina posted its first quarterly loss since listing of 13.79 billion yuan in January to March. The company warned of tougher conditions in the second half. Financial markets "will tend to be unstable due to significant political events including Brexit," it said.

As MRC informed earlier, Sinopec's Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Corp. (LPEC) subsidiary has announced the successful hand-over to PetroChina Yunnan Co. of a 13-million-t/y refinery project built for PetroChina Yunnan in Anning, Yunnan, China.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

PE production in Russia grew by 1% in Jan-July 2016

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polyethylene (PE) in Russia increased to 958,400 tonne in first seven months of this year, up 1% year on year, compared to the same period of 2015. The decrease in supply accounted for low density polyethylene (LDPE), according to MRC ScanPlast.

July PE production in Russia decreased to 126,300 tonnes, while in June it was about 136,500 tonnes. The decrease in production mainly resulted from the scheduled maintenance works at low density polyethylene (LDPE) production at Tomskneftekhim and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Total PE production in Russia reached 958,400 tonnes in January-July 2016 against 949,600 tonnes year on year. Production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased significantly, while LDPE production decreased.

Structure of PE production over the reported period looked as follows.

July production of HDPE in Russia decreased to 74,600 tonnes, compared with 83,900 tonnes in June. The main reason was the shift of Nizhnekamskneftekhim for the production of LLDPE and a week-long shutdown at Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Total HDPE production in the country increased to about 577,300 tonnes in January-July 2016, up 11% year on year.
July output of LDPE decreased to 33,700 tonnes compared to 46,200 tonnes a month earlier on the back of turnarounds in Salavat and Tomsk, as well as unsteady operation Angarsk ZP. Total LDPE production in Russia was 334,100 tonnes in January-July 2016 against 388,400 tonnes year on year. One of the main reasons for the reduction in output was the forced shutdown of Angarsk ZP since mid-February to the early July because of equipment failure at ethylene production. Total production of LLDPE in Russia exceeded 47,000 tonnes in the first seven months of the year compared with about 40,000 tonnes year on year.

MRC

Refiners and petrochemical companies in China to propose CO2 benchmarking plan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China refiners, petrochemical companies to propose CO2 benchmarking plan
Aug 23 China's oil refining, petrochemical and chemical companies will propose a plan to benchmark their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as the first step toward setting up an emissions market for the sector, the group's industry association said, reported Reuters.

The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF), China's oil industry lobbying group, plans to make a proposal by September on how to set benchmarks for the CO2 produced while manufacturing products ranging from diesel fuel to benzene, it said in its China Chemical Industry News newsletter.

The benchmarks will be used to set CO2 emissions caps for nearly 2,400 companies in the sector under the national carbon market that will start next year, the CPCIF said.

China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, will need to benchmarks to help create reduction targets for its large petrochemical and chemical factories that are responsible for up to 70 percent of the sector's CO2 emissions, the CPCIF said.

The number of the petrochemical and chemical companies participating in China's domestic carbon market will account for one-third of the total number of companies participating nationally, said Li Yongliang, a CPCIF official, as cited by China Chemical Industry News.

China plans to bring in up to about 8000 companies in eight industries into its national carbon trading programme, including from the power, steel, cement and transportation sectors.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, Russian petrochemical company Sibur is in talks with shareholder Sinopec about investing in a planned gas chemical plant in Russia's Far East, said Reuters, citing Sibur boss Dmitry Konov. Sibur plans to buy gas from fields which Russia's Gazprom will develop in Eastern Siberia. He said a subsidiary of the Chinese firm, Sinopec Engineering Group, may also take part in constructing the plant. In December 2015, Sinopec paid USD1.338 billion for a 10% stake in Sibur and said it planned to acquire an additional 10% within three years.
MRC

Global thermoplastic polyolefins market predicted to register CAGR of over 5% until decade end

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The global thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) market size was evaluated at more than 970,000 tons for 2015 and is predicted to register a CAGR of more than 5% until decade end, as per Plastemart with reference to Global Market Insights, Inc.

Rising automotive sales and construction expenditure in India, China and Brazil are projected to enhance the demand. With modern technology used in producing vehicle parts, polymers are finding novel applications in automobile sector. Polymers offer holistic approach to vehicle component production by all aspects that include static & mechanical strength and resistance to temperature & oxidation. This makes it desirable over other items and can drive the industry growth. Commercial & personal vehicle production was evaluated at 222.41 billion and 685.31 billion units respectively for 2015.

Increasing automotive sector is projected to remain a driving force for increase in global demand for the product. Further, strict rules favouring rising vehicle fuel efficacy has encouraged industry players to minimize vehicle mass. Growing expenditure on construction in countries like Brazil, China and India may fuel product demand. India & China construction expenditure was more than USD422 billion and USD1.71 trillion respectively for 2015 which is predicted to contribute to enhanced demand of the product.

Global Industry is segmented into key geographical regions like Latin America, North America, APAC, Europe and MEA. North America dominated the industry and was evaluated above $861 million for 2015. U.S. led the global thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) market share during that year. Growing durable applications like automotive application, construction application, packaging application and industrial application is predicted to promote industry growth in the region.Europe is predicted to register CAGR of more than 5% in terms of revenue. It is led by countries like UK, Germany, Italy and France.

Growing use of these items over traditional polymers and elastomers in medical & packaging applications are predicted to produce favorable effect in the region. APAC thermoplastic polyolefins (TPO) market is predicted to cross USD1.31 billion mark by end of 2023 and register a CAGR of 6.71% during forecast timeframe. Growing construction expenditure in countries like Japan, China and India is predicted to fuel product demand in the region during forecast timeline. Also the increasing demand for these products can be attributed to the fact that they are widely utilized in roofing both commercial as well as residential infrastructures.

Global thermoplastic polyolefins market share is competitive. Key companies include A. Schulman, Dow chemical, Arkema S.A, Sumitomo Chemical, and ExxonMobil, SABIC, DuPont, INOES, LyondellBasell, S & E SpecialtyPpolymers, Polisystem UK, Saudi Aramco, and RTP. Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell are integrated forward along the value chain to develop fabricated TPO compounds.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in March 2016, Sabic announced that it had acquired a majority stake in Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastics (FRT; Lelystad, Netherlands). The business specializes in the production of engineered thermoplastic, fiber-reinforced unidirectional (UD) tapes. The tapes can be used across a wide variety of industries, ranging from building and construction, to transportation and energy.
MRC