INEOS and Imperial Logistics to build the largest butane barges ever used in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS has confirmed it has signed a contract to partner with Imperial Logistics to design and build the largest butane river barges ever used in Europe, said Imperial Logistics.

These barges will link the world’s largest butane tank being constructed at the Oiltanking Antwerp Gas Terminal (OTAGT) in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, with the INEOS site in Koln to enable one of the largest crackers in Europe to be supplied with large volumes of butane as well as naphtha as a source of feedstock.

Hugh Carmichael, Director INEOS Trading & Shipping, says: "This agreement represents a further step in a strategic investment in the future of our naphtha crackers in Koln. The new butane tank in Antwerp and the Imperial butane river barges will provide INEOS with increased flexibility and security of supply that will significantly improve our competitiveness in Europe. It also positions INEOS as a major player in global LPG markets. We are pleased to work together with Imperial Logistics as a major barge operator in this unique project. Our joint expertise and experience will help make this a successful project."

Steffen Bauer, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Imperial’s Business Unit Shipping says: "We are very delighted to be awarded as project partner from INEOS.” He adds: “To design and build the largest butane river barges ever used in Europe, is an extraordinary challenge."

INEOS continues to invest in supply chain flexibility of its European facilities. Today’s announcement builds on its commitment to invest more than 1 billion USD into the supply of ethane from the USA, securing the competitiveness of its gas crackers in Europe, located at Grangemouth, UK, and Rafnes, Norway.

These new state of the art barges will move about 3,000 tons butane each, which is about three times as much as the current barges move on the Rhine system. The shipyards to build these new barges will be selected in the near future and the barges will be operational in 2019.

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 25 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 105 manufacturing facilities in 22 countries throughout the world, employing 18,500 people. INEOS products make a significant contribution to saving life, improving health and enhancing standards of living for people around the world. Its businesses produce the raw materials that are essential in the manufacture of a wide variety of goods: from paints to plastics, textiles to technology, medicines to mobile phones – chemicals manufactured by INEOS enhance almost every aspect of modern life. www.ineos.com

As a wholly owned subsidiary of the South African company Imperial Holdings Limited, Imperial Logistics International is responsible for coordinating and managing all the international logistics business of Imperial Holdings Limited outside Africa.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) into Russia increased by 2% in the first eleven months of the year to 43,900 tonnes cjmpared with 42,900 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Higher HIPS imports boosted the overall shipments, whereas GPPS imports have slightly decreased. November imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) into Russia increased by 6% to 1,980 tonnes, compared with 1,870 tonnes in October, and down 5% year on year.

The imports of Styrolution production material sharply increased to 970 tonnes against 320 tonnes in October, accounting for 49% from overall GPPS imports into the country in November, while in October it was 17%. November GPPS imports from China were 400 tonnes, compared to 230 tonnes in October. Imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) to the Russian domestic market decreased in the first eleven months of 2017 by 4% year on year to 23,200 tonnes from 24,000 tonnes in a year earlier.

Supplies from Styrolution reached 11,400 tonnes or 49% from the total imports of GPPS from the beginning of the year against 15,200 tonnes and a share of 63% in January-November of last year. About half of the total import of GPPS accounted for the material for the production of XPS boards.

November imports of HIPS into Russia increased by 18% to 1,610 tonnes, compared with 1,3600 tonnes in October. In terms of producers last month, it is worth noting the increase in shipments from South Korea to 420 tonnes from 200 tonnes a month earlier. The rest of the volume of imports was supplied by European producers. Overall HIPS imports rose by 10% year on year in the first eleven months of 2017 to 20,700 tonnes from 18,800 tonnes a year earlier.
As a result of eleven months, the volume of imports from all major suppliers of HIPS increased to Russia. Styrolution's shipments grew by 9% to 7,900 tonnes, compared to 7,300 tonnes a year earlier. Shipments of Hungarian Polimeri Europa material increased by 14% to 5,700 tonnes against 5,000 tonnes in the same period last year. Converters directly purchased 17,200 tonnes or 83% of the total GPPS imports in January-November 2017.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall production of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grew in the first eleven months of 2017 by 17% year on year, totalling 820,500 tonnes. Only two producers have grown resin production: SayanskKhimPlast and RusVinyl, according to MRC ScanPlast.

November production of unmixed PVC in Russia rose to 85,200 tonnes from 82,900 tonnes a month earlier, Kaustik Volgograd increased capacity utilisation. Overall PVC production reached 820,500 tonnes in January-November 2017, compared to 701,200 tonnes a year earlier.
Only two plants out of four have increased output, and such a high level of output growth this year was a result of the low stocks of 2016.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV SIBUR and SolVin) last month reduced the capacity utilisation, the enterprise produced about 28,500 tonnes of polyvinyl chloride in November, of which about 2,300 tonnes of emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC), against 29,800 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, RusVinyl's overall production of resin reached 283,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2017, up by 3% year on year.

SayanskKhimPlast decreased capacity utilisation in November, having produced about 26,200 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) compared to 27,800 tonnes a month earlier. SayanskKhimPlast managed to manufacture 238,700 tonnes of resin in January-November 2017, compared to 119,800 tonnes a year earlier (last year's low production was caused by a forced long outage from mid-February to July 2016).

Bashkir Soda Company produced 22,600 tonnes of SPVC last month versus 21,700 tonnes in October. The plant's output of resin totalled about 219,900 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2017, compared to 226,000 tonnes a year earlier. The plant's lower output was largely caused by the forced shutdown in August because of problems with the supply of ethylene.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 8,000 tonnes of suspension PVC in November versus 3,500 tonnes a month earlier (the enterprise from 25 September to 18 October stopped its capacity for preventive maintenance). The plant's overall production of resin reached 79,000 tonnes over the stated period versus 80,400 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — Indonesia's Pertamina expects to import up to 250 Mbpd of crude oil in 2018, the head of the state-owned company's procurement unit said on Tuesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

From Indonesia's crude output of around 800,000 bpd, about 500,000 bpd currently goes to Pertamina's domestic refineries, Toto Nugroho, Senior Vice President of the firm's Integrated Supply Chain unit, told reporters. "Around 250,000 (bpd) is imported," he said, noting that this level would continue in 2018, with imports meeting some 40% of Indonesia's crude oil needs.

Pertamina's existing overseas crude processing deal with Sinopec subsidiary Unipec is due to expire at the end of this month, Nugroho said. Pertamina is waiting for certainty on crude output cuts by OPEC member Iraq, from which it takes a share of Basra crude, before making a new deal, he added.

"How far they will cut, we don't know yet," Nugroho said, adding that there was a possibility Pertamina would sign a new crude processing deal in the second half of 2018. Pertamina's gasoline imports are expected to be at around 9 MMbbl per month in 2018, Nugroho said, roughly half of which would be RON88 gasoline and half RON92 gasoline.

The company is expecting to import around 6.8 MMt of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in 2018, Nugroho said. Pertamina jet fuel imports are expected to climb to around 1 MMbbl per month in 2018 from around 800,000 bbl per month this year "because our demand is good from the aviation sector", Nugroho said.

Pertamina hopes to supply around 90% of its import needs through term contracts, with the rest through spot market deals, Nugroho said. "We only buy products on the spot market if there's an emergency," he said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s natural gas imports in November rose to a record as domestic demand surged while crude imports were the second-highest ever, as refiners ramped up output to cash in on strong profits as fuel prices soar, reported Reuters with reference to customs data.

Crude oil imports rose to 37.04 MMt in November, or 9.01 MMbpd, up from 7.3 MMbpd the previous month, and the second-highest level in history.

The data comes after the government recently released an additional 1.5 MMt in 2017 import quotas to three independent refineries.

Stronger imports have been supported by firm refining margins after China raised domestic fuel prices twice in November.

Year-to-date crude imports rose 12% to 385.98 MMt or 8.44 MMbpd.

As MRC wrote previously, China's crude oil imports will exceed 400 MMt this year, said an executive at a Chinese state oil giant in late July 2017, as continuing low oil prices and declining domestic output sparked increased overseas purchases. China's crude imports are also expected to grow by double digits in 2018, Zhang Haichao, vice president of Sinopec Group, told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry conference in Beijing in late July.
MRC