U.S. refiners turn to export markets as gasoline growth slows at home

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. gasoline consumption has leveled off as the stimulus provided by low and falling oil prices between 2014 and 2016 has faded, so refiners are increasingly turning to diesel and customers in emerging markets, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

U.S. gasoline consumption is forecast to rise by just 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2018, after remaining essentially unchanged last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Smoke is released into the sky at a refinery in Wilmington, California March 24, 2012. Picture taken March 24, 2012.

Slower consumption growth stands in contrast to the earlier surge when usage rose by almost 260,000 bpd in 2015 and another 140,000 bpd in 2016 (“Short-Term Energy Outlook”, EIA, February 2018).

Traffic volumes are also growing more slowly, after rising sharply during most of 2015 and 2016, according to separate estimates from the Federal Highway Administration.

Traffic on U.S. roads was up by less than 1 percent in the three months to November compared with the same period a year earlier (“Traffic volume trends”, FHWA, January 2018).

Traffic growth has slowed from a peak of well over 3 percent per year in the early part of 2016, shortly after oil prices hit their lowest point in the current cycle.

Oil prices have been trending higher for more than two years and are now within USD10 per barrel of their average real level over the entire of the last cycle.

So while the cost of fuel is not expensive, it is no longer especially cheap, and the steady increase in prices has started to moderate consumption growth.

The nationwide weighted-average retail price of gasoline was USD2.67 per gallon in January, an increase of more than 60 cents per gallon compared with two years previously.

If oil prices continue to climb through the remainder of 2018 and into 2019 as the price cycle matures, U.S. gasoline consumption growth will likely slow even further.
MRC

Successful start-up of world largest wet gas sulfuric acid plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bestgrand Chemical Group has announced the successful start-up of its wet gas sulfuric acid (WSA) plant - the world’s largest with a production capacity of 300,000 tons of sulfuric acid per year, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will treat 131,000 tons of acid gas over-the-fence per year from the neighboring world-scale refinery plant operated by a joint venture between CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation) and Shell in Huizhou City, China.

Bestgrand Chemical Group has focused on the environmental benefits from using WSA to capture gaseous sulfur and convert it into commercial grade sulfuric acid. It has also been a deciding factor that both the energy efficiency and the heat recovery of the process are very high. The company predicts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 220 Mtpy and to reduce sulfur (SO2) emissions to a level 50% lower than what is required of the sulfuric acid industry.

"Haldor Topsoe is proud to be awarded the license, engineering design, tech service, and hardware & catalyst contract for the world’s largest WSA plant by Bestgrand Chemical Group. The successful start-up is a milestone for the WSA technology both in China and globally, and it proves that this technology has an important role to play in reducing harmful sulfur emissions in a commercially sound way," says Frank Lei, Senior Sales Director, Topsoe in China.

Since 2000, Topsoe has sold 68 WSA plants in China, 54 are already on stream, and 14 plants are being constructed.

WSA is a patented Topsoe technology, including proprietary equipment and performance catalysts, that removes sulfur from off-gas streams in the refining industry, chemical production from coal, and steel production. WSA converts the sulfurous gases into concentrated sulfuric acid which is re-used in production or sold as a commercial product.
MRC

Celanese appoints Scott Richardson as Chief Financial Officer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation has announced that chief financial officer, Chris Jensen, has tendered his resignation after a successful 12 years with the company to spend time with his family and commence the next chapter of his career. He will be succeeded as CFO by Scott Richardson, currently Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials, effective as of 19 February, as per the company's press release.

"We are thankful for the many years of service and leadership Chris has given to Celanese," said Chairman and CEO Mark Rohr. "Chris has been instrumental to the Company's success and his actions to oversee transformative change at the Company. We understand and support Chris' decision and wish him and his family the very best."

Richardson joined Celanese in 2005 and held a variety of roles at the Company including Vice President and General Manager of Acetyls, and his most recent role as Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials.

"I am excited for this opportunity to lead Celanese forward and want to thank Chris for his leadership and partnership over the years. I am grateful to be able to benefit from his experience," said Richardson.

Rohr continued, "I believe that with Scott's extensive industry knowledge and experience, coupled with his proven abilities as a global leader, he will build on Chris' record of success and continue to deliver solid results."

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation increased list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. The price increases below were effective February 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases:

- by EUR50/mt - for Europe and the Middle East;
- by USD0.05/lb - for USA and Canada;
- by USD100/mt - for Mexico and South America.

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. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,300 employees worldwide and had 2016 net sales of USD5.4 billion.
MRC

PP imports into Belarus decreased by 0.4% in 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) into Belarus decreased to about 95,500 tonnes in 2017, down 0.4% year on year.
The greatest decrease in imports occurred for propylene copolymers, according to MRC DataScope.

December PP imports into Belarus actually remained at the level of November and amounted to about 8,500 tonnes, purchases of homopolymer PP increased, while demand for propylene copolymers declined. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 95,500 tonnes in January-December 2017, compared to 95,900 tonnes a year earlier.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.


December imports of homopolymers of propylene to the Belarusian market rose to 6,000 tonnes against 5,600 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased the volume of purchases of PP in Russia on the eve of a long New Year holidays at local producers. Thus, overall shipments of homopolymer PP reached 64,400 tonnes in 2017, which is practically equal to the previous year's figure.

Russian producers with the share of about 86% of the total shipments were the key suppliers. December imports of propylene copolymers to Belarus decreased to 2,500 tonnes from 2,900 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their procurement of injection moulding statistical copolymers (PP random copolymers) in Russia.

Thus, overall imports of propylene copolymers reached 31,100 tonnes in January-December 2017, whereas this figure was 31,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

US ethane consumption, exports to increase as new petrochemical plants come online

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Over the next two years, EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) projects growth in US consumption of ethane in the petrochemical industry will exceed increases in consumption of all other petroleum and liquid products - such as motor gasoline, distillate, and jet fuel - combined, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

EIA also projects that ethane exports will continue increasing, as ethane is exported both by pipeline to Canada and by tankers to more distant destinations.

Ethane is separated from raw natural gas at natural gas processing plants along with other hydrocarbon gas liquids(HGL) such as propane, normal butane, isobutane, and natural gasoline. Ethane is mainly used as a petrochemical feedstock for the production of ethylene, which is a building block for plastics, resins, and other industrial products.

As U.S. natural gas production has increased, the amount of ethane contained in raw natural gas production streams has exceeded domestic demand or the ability to export it abroad. This situation has led producers to leave some of the ethane in the natural gas stream, up to allowable limits set by natural gas pipelines and distribution systems, and to sell it as natural gas, rather than recover and market ethane as a separate product.

Nonetheless, ethane is increasingly being recovered from the natural gas stream, and US ethane consumption is increasing as existing ethylene crackers have expanded and new plants have begun operating. In addition, expanding pipeline networks and two new ethane export terminals have allowed US ethane exports to increase.

In 2017, construction was completed on the first three of a series of new ethylene crackers - two early in the year and a third in late December, all on the Texas Gulf Coast. These crackers expanded the capacity to consume ethane in the United States by 210 Mbpd, and EIA expects ethylene plant capacity to continue to expand: six ethylene crackers, collectively capable of consuming 380 Mbpd of ethane, are planned to be completed by the end of 2019. EIA expects annual U.S. ethane consumption to grow from an estimated 1.2 MMbpd in 2017 to 1.4 MMbpd in 2018 and 1.6 million MMbpd in 2019 as these new plants and related infrastructure ramp up operations.

EIA also projects continued growth in ethane exports, with average annual exports increasing from 180 Mbpd in 2017 to 290 Mbpd in 2018 and 310 Mbpd in 2019. Ethane exports by pipeline to Canada are expected to increase in early 2018 as shipments on the Utopia pipeline that crosses the US-Canada border near Detroit begin to flow and as an ethylene plant in Sarnia, Ontario, expands capacity.

Ethane is also exported by tanker from terminals at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, and Morgan’s Point, Texas, which both opened in 2016. Ethane shipments from these facilities currently supply petrochemical feedstock to countries including the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, India, and Brazil. By the end of 2019, ethane exports from the United States may also reach China when a new ethylene plant there begins operation.
MRC