India to double oil products growth in 2018 - WoodMac

MOSCOW (MRC) - India is poised to double its oil product demand growth (190,000 bpd) in 2018 after a sluggish 2017, when demand grew by only 93,000 bpd, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Last year, demand growth was at its slowest in the past three years. This was mainly due to lower economic activity following demonetization and delayed purchases due to the implementation of the GST. With these economic hurdles cleared, India is set to contribute to 14% of the global demand growth in 2018. Diesel and LPG will be the two main drivers of demand growth in 2018.

We project diesel/gasoil demand to grow by 3.5% (60,000 bpd) year-on-year in 2018 compared with 50,000 bd in 2017, aided by the following factors: Higher commercial vehicle sales for the next six months as evidenced by 50% year-on-year growth in November 2017. Pent-up demand will emerge once GST rates for new purchases are clearer.

A normal monsoon in 2017 is set to boost agricultural output leading to higher diesel demand and rural spending.
Implementation of infrastructure projects ahead of the 2019 general election and the start of election campaigning at the end of 2018.

GST implementation. With no interstate taxes, the logistics sector will be more inclined towards a demand-based approach than a tax-based approach. As a result, freight tonnage demand will stimulate long-haul truck movements.

LPG demand growth will remain robust in 2018 at 5.4% (40,000 bpd) although it is lower than the 60,000 bpd growth achieved in 2017. The number of new household LPG customers continued to surge, driven by the Ujjwala scheme to promote clean cooking fuel in rural areas. The government is on track to expand the network by 50 million users by 2019 after adding 32 million users since May 2016. Consequently, kerosene demand for cooking declined in 2017 as the government gradually started removing subsidies.

The phenomenal growth in LPG usage has reduced India's self-sufficiency of LPG to 50% from about 70% in 2013. Higher imports could also mean an opportunity for US LPG to gain market share in India, traditionally dominated by Middle Eastern suppliers.
MRC

TransCanada lines up enough shippers to take Keystone XL forward

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TransCanada Corp said on Thursday customers committed to using about two-thirds of the capacity on its planned USD8 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline, bringing the company closer to a final decision on when it will begin construction, reported Reuters.

The controversial pipeline has pitted environmentalists worried about spills and global warming against industry advocates who say the project will shore up discounted Canadian oil prices and attract investment to Alberta's oil sands.

TransCanada has secured firm, 20-year commitments for about 500,000 barrels per day for the 830,000 bpd project as it concluded its open season that allowed shippers to commit to space on the pipeline.

"We are progressing towards final investment decision of this project. Having route approval in Nebraska and the necessary commercial support for KXL brings us closer to a final investment decision," TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said in an email.

The commitments include 50,000 bpd from the Alberta provincial government, which receives some oil and gas royalties from producers in the form of bitumen. Alberta had previously committed to ship crude on TransCanada's canceled Energy East project, which would have transported 1.1 MMbpd to the Atlantic Coast.

Premier Rachel Notley told reporters in Calgary the province's oil industry needs more pipeline capacity to avoid crude getting bottlenecked in Alberta, which results in a deep discount on Canadian barrels versus benchmark U.S. crude.

"We can see very clearly right now the (price) differential is quite significant and what it means is that Albertans get a lower return," Notley said. "We remain committed to doing everything we can to diversify our market."

Canadian heavy crude is trading at a discount of around USD24 a barrel to U.S. crude, eating into producers' revenues even as global oil prices rise.

When completed, Keystone XL will ship from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, linking crude from the oil-rich but landlocked Canadian province with U.S. refineries. Primary construction is expected to begin in 2019 and the company will continue to look for additional long-term contracted volumes, TransCanada said.
MRC

Clariant opens new masterbatch production site in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has officially opened its new state-of–the art masterbatch production site in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, as per the company's press release.

The site is owned by Clariant Masterbatches Saudi Arabia, a joint venture between Clariant and Rowad, a leading plastic products manufacturer in the Middle East and part of Tasnee, Saudi Arabia's second largest industrial company.

"As part of its commitment to intensify growth and increase profitability, Clariant invests in capacity expansions that provide competitive and innovative solutions to its customers. This joint investment with Rowad (Tasnee) expands our global network with a stronger position in the Middle East and Africa region, one of the important growth markets for plastic applications," said Patrick Jany, CFO of Clariant.

The new site is located in Yanbu, a city on the Red Sea which is home to many of Saudi Arabia’s leading industries including petrochemicals, hydrocarbon and minerals. It has been constructed on a 38,000 square meters property in Yanbu Industrial Zone 2 and will focus on the production of white masterbatches. This location provides the site easy access to key raw materials and enables it to supply customers in Saudi Arabia as well as the wider Middle East and Africa region thanks to a good logistics network that includes the nearby seaport and airport. It is the second manufacturing hub for Clariant Masterbatches in Saudi Arabia, supplementing an existing site in Riyadh.

"The project is one of the most important investments for the Business Unit Masterbatches in recent years and I am very proud to see it being opened. It’s a logical next step of our relationship with Rowad (Tasnee) and allows us to offer a broader product portfolio to customers in Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East and Africa region", said Marco Cenisio, Head of Business Unit Masterbatches, Clariant.

Saeed Al Ajrafi, Board Member of the Clariant Masterbatches Saudi Arabia Joint Venture and Vice President Plastics at Tasnee, added: "We are very pleased to officially open this site. The additional capabilities allow us to grow and extend our market share in this region's downstream plastics industry."

As MRC informed before, in February 2106, Clariant Masterbatches Saudi Arabia started construction of a new masterbatch production unit in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Celanese to raise February LDPE prices in the Americas Region

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase list and off-list selling prices for low density polyethylene (LDPE) in the Americas region, as per the company's press release.

The price increase will be effective February 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow and will be USD0.04/lb (USD0.09/kg or USD90/tonne).

As MRC wrote before, Celanese last raised its LDPE pricesfor North and South America on February 1, 2017. The price increase then was USD0.05/lb (USD0.11/kg or USD110/tonne).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications.
MRC

CPC Corporation delays restart of No.4 cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corporation is likely to keep its No. 4 cracker off-line owing to technical issues, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the company has delayed the restart of the cracker until next week. The unit was taken off-line for maintenance in mid-November 2017 and was supposed to resume operations in this week.

Located in Linyuan, Taiwan, the cracker has an ethylene capacity of 380,000 mt/year and propylene capacity of 193,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, CPC Corporation shut its cracker No. 4 for maintenance on 11 December 2015 to 1 February, 2016.

All its crackers in Linyuan have a combined capacity of 1.08 million mt/year of ethylene as well as 500,000 mt/year of propylene.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC