January prices of European PVC remained steady

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for January shipments to the CIS countries started last week. Weak demand and stability of ethylene prices made European producers roll over December PVC prices for January deliveries, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The January contract price of ethylene was agreed at the level of December, which did not lead to an increase in the net cost of PVC production. Demand also remained weak from many export markets, which forced European producers to maintain December export prices for January shipments.

Weaker demand from a number of export markets already made European producers reduce their export PVC prices for the CIS markets back in the second half of November. Prices also dropped for these markets in December.

Negotiations over January shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS countries were held in the range of EUR715-780/tonne FCA, which virtually corresponded to the level of December prices. European producers do not have any restrictions for exports this month.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Eleven men were charged in a Singapore court on Tuesday in connection with a large-scale oil theft at Shell's biggest refinery, while police said they were investigating six other men arrested in a weekend raid, said Reuters.

Police in the island-state said on Tuesday they had detained 17 men, whose ages ranged from 30 to 63, and seized millions of dollars in cash and a small tanker during their investigations into theft at the Pulau Bukom industrial site, which sits just south of Singapore's main island.

Oil refining and shipping have contributed significantly to Singapore's rising wealth during the past decades. But the case underlines the challenges the industry faces in a region that has become a hot-spot for illegal oil trading.

The investigation began after Shell contacted the authorities in August 2017, police said in a news release. After "extensive investigations and probes," the Criminal Investigation Department, Police Intelligence Department and Police Coast Guard launched a series of simultaneous raids across Singapore, which led to the arrests.

Nine Singaporeans were immediately charged in the theft, of which eight were employees of the Singapore subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC, court documents showed. Two Vietnamese nationals were charged with receiving stolen goods on a small tanker named Prime South (IMO: 9452804), the documents showed.

Shell confirmed on Tuesday that eight of the 11 men charged were current or former employees at Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd.

Shipping data from Thomson Reuters Eikon showed the Prime South had been shipping fuel between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Singapore for the past 30 days.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu KK said late last week that its group refineries would refine 5 percent less crude for the local market in January-March than the same time a year ago, in line with the outlook for domestic demand, said Reuters.

Showa Shell said its four group refineries would refine 7.35 million kilolitres (513,700 barrels per day) of crude in the first quarter of the year. They have a total capacity of 588,000 bpd.

Refining volumes for export markets were not released. The four group refineries are: Showa Shell's 255,000-bpd Yokkaichi plant, unit Toa Oil's 70,000-bpd Keihin plant, affiliate Seibu Oil's 120,000-bpd Yamaguchi refinery and a 143,000-bpd Sodegaura refinery operated by Fuji Oil in which Showa Shell has a 6.6-percent stake.

There will be no group refinery maintenance during the three months, a Showa Shell spokeswoman said.

Idemitsu Kosan Co has completed the purchase of just under a third of Showa Shell, but its goals for full integration have been delayed indefinitely after opposition from Idemitsu's founding family.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Olivier Thorel has joined Saudi Aramco effective Jan. 1, 2018, as executive director for the company’s Chemicals business, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Thorel joined Shell in France in 1990 and held various positions in the Chemicals business in manufacturing, sales, marketing, supply chain, and as global general manage, based in France, the Netherlands, and London until 2006.

He then led the global base oil business and thereafter became vice president of supply, distribution and Shell pipelines for North America, based in Houston. Over the past four years, Olivier has led various parts of the Shell Chemicals business as vice president of Global intermediates, and then vice president of Chemicals Asia, Ventures and New Business Development, based in Singapore.

Thorel graduated in 1988 from Ecole Polytechnique (science and economics) and holds a master’s degree in Finance from Universite Paris-Dauphine. He completed an executive MBA at Insead in 2002. Olivier is French, married and father of four children. He originates from Corsica and is a passionate skier.

As MRC wrote previously, Saudi Arabia changed the status of its national oil giant Aramco to a joint-stock company as of Jan. 1, in a key step for an initial public offering (IPO) planned for later this year.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- A vessel that may be carrying liquefied natural gas from Russia's new Yamal LNG export terminal could be heading to the United States despite sanctions against the company that operates the Russian facility, according to a report by S&P Global Platts and Thomson Reuters shipping data.

The tanker Chris. De Margerie picked up a cargo from Novatek PAO's Yamal facility, Russia's second LNG export terminal, on Dec. 9 and dropped it off at National Grid Plc's Isle of Grain LNG facility near London on Dec. 28, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Since then, Engie SA's Gaselys LNG tanker picked up LNG from the UK facility on Dec. 30 and is expected to arrive in Boston on Jan. 22.

It is possible that some of the LNG on the Gaselys is from Yamal, according to a report by S&P Global Platts. Reuters has not independently verified that report, but the shipping data does show the routes the tankers are taking. The final destination could change.

Carol Churchill, a spokeswoman for Engie, which bought the cargo in the United Kingdom and loaded it onto one of its vessels, said: "This transaction is compliant with all U.S. trade laws."

"Given the exceptionally cold temperatures and resulting high gas demand in the U.S. Northeast, Engie purchased this spot cargo to supplement our other contracted supplies from Trinidad," Churchill said. Engie owns the Everett LNG import terminal near Boston.

Churchill did not answer a question about whether any of the gas came from Russia.

National Grid said customer confidentiality limited what information it could disclose.

"But I also believe we told people at the time that the gas from the Christophe de Margerie had not entered the UK grid," said Sean Kemp, said a spokesman for National Grid, directing further questions to the shippers and owners.

The U.S. Energy Department was not immediately available for comment.
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