U.S. crude stockpiles soar unexpectedly despite record refinery runs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. crude oil stockpiles jumped unexpectedly last week despite record high refinery runs, while gasoline stocks decreased and distillate inventories grew, the Energy Information Administration said, as per Reuters.

"We've gotten hit by a wall of crude," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "This is really unheard of to have refiners running at 98 percent at this time of year and have it not impacting the crude stockpiles."

Crude inventories rose 6.8 million barrels in the week to Aug. 10, compared with analysts' expectations for a decrease of 2.5 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for U.S. crude futures rose 1.64 million barrels, EIA said.

Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 1.34 million barrels per day. Refinery crude runs rose by 383 Mbpd to 17.98 MMbpd, the highest on record, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.5 percentage points to 98.1 percent, the highest since 1999.

The build in crude stockpiles added to downward pressure on crude futures, which had dropped USD1 a barrel prior to the report. U.S. crude futures extended losses to more than USD2 after the data and was last trading at USD64.85.

Gasoline stocks fell by 740,000 barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 583,000-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1 million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.
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Citgo to resume Aruba refinerys refurbishing work next month

MOSCOW (MRC) - A unit of Citgo Petroleum in September plans to resume long-delayed work to refurbish an idled, 235,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) oil refinery on Aruba, the Caribbean island’s government said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Due to a lack of credit, Citgo Aruba Refining in February had slowed efforts at the plant amid U.S. financial sanctions imposed since 2017 on its parent company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

Under a USD685-million project that was approved in 2016 by Aruba’s government in a 25-year lease contract, Citgo aims to revamp and restart a facility that has been idled since 2012 when the previous operator, U.S.-based Valero Energy, halted crude processing due to low profits.

Citgo declined to comment.

PDVSA and its subsidiaries are increasingly under pressure to gain access to a Caribbean terminal or a refinery since U.S. producer ConocoPhillips in May began seizing the company’s overseas assets to satisfy a $2 billion arbitration award.

The project’s latest phase will require about USD35 million in investment and will take eight to 10 months to be completed, Aruba’s Labor Ministry said in a statement. Some 150 additional workers will be hired for the task.

"The total number of workers, mostly local, is now reaching 500 people ... Financing for this stage is already available," Aruba’s Labor Minister Glenbert Croes said.

The plan was submitted by Citgo to the government of Aruba earlier this week, according to three sources with knowledge of the talks.

Citgo appointed new executives for its Aruba unit in June in preparation for the new stage of the refurbish plan.
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HDPE plant taken off-stream by Shanghai Golden Phillips

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shanghai Golden Phillips Petrochemical Co, a subsidiary of Sinopec Shangai Petrochemical Co, has shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant owing to poor economic fundamentals, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has undertaken an unplanned shutdown at the plant on August 14, 2018. The exact duration of the outage could not be ascertained.

Located in Shanghai, China, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 135,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, the company shut down its HDPE plant in Shanghai from end-May to 13 June, 2017, owing to a lack of feedstock availability.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
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Henkel drives the future of e-Mobility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Building on years of experience and expertise in engine and powertrain applications, Henkel is actively investing in new technologies and products for efficient large-scale manufacturing of safe and reliable electric drive systems, as per the company's press release.

Key solutions addressing the "pain points" of OEMs and tier suppliers in this segment include innovative liquid gasketing, magnet bonding, thermal management and potting products as well as a state-of-the-art impregnation service.

Electric, digital and autonomous – the automotive industry is facing disruptive changes, where advanced battery technology and electronics are going to reshape the design and manufacture of vehicles. Henkel is determined to play a decisive role in this transformation, helping customers drive the future of e-Mobility and benefit from the company’s comprehensive product and service portfolio for efficient, reliable, safe and sustainable solutions across the entire manufacturing chain of components.

Next to liquid sealants, thermal interface materials, adhesives and impregnation resins for new-generation battery packs, Henkel is leveraging existing and new products and technologies for the emerging trend towards e-drive modules combining electric motor, power electronics and gearbox in one integrated e-axle unit. In addition, customers are also supported with appropriate design guidelines and recommendations for process requirements including equipment enabling automated high-volume production.

"The electrification of vehicles is gaining pace and helps automakers reduce their fleet fuel consumption and CO2 emission footprint in line with strict regulation targets," says Frank Kerstan, Global Business Development, Powertrain & e-Mobility, Henkel. “As all major OEMs and new players in the automotive industry are launching more and more full hybrid and battery electric vehicles there is a need for seamlessly matching technologies designed to support these new drive concepts and manufacturing schemes. With our innovative adhesive solutions, we are ideally positioned as a full-service partner of customers at the forefront of e-Mobility."

Henkel’s portfolio of efficient, safe and sustainable solutions for the entire value chain of e-drives manufacturing is focused on six key application areas:

Liquid gasketing: Henkel offers a wide range of different gasketing technologies. Latest product innovations include Loctite AA 5820, which is especially suitable to provide a reliable seal of multi-substrates or any flange design of e-drive housings. The polyacrylate adhesive shows excellent resistance to oils, including automatic transmission fluids (ATF), and can withstand temperatures from -40°C to +150°C.

Potting: Another polyacrylate technology – Loctite AA 5831 – is used for protection and fixation of parts in the e-motor or in the conversion electronic control unit. The compound has an ideal fit in large-series potting operations and cures within seconds under UV light and moisture.

For e-drive stator coil potting applications, Henkel offers the two-component epoxy technology of Loctite PE 8082 which has a thermal conductivity of 1 W/mK, resulting in a significantly reduced working temperature. In addition, it shows outstanding oil resistance.

PCB Technologies: Printed circuit board solutions include conformal coatings, thermal interface materials, low pressure molding products, and next generation of solder technologies for e-drive power conversion control units.

Henkel has a well-established reputation for its flexible capability of developing and tailoring specialized solutions to customer specifications. This is backed by technical test centers around the world and a strong focus on R&D and innovation. In addition, the company also maintains an extensive partner network for equipment, tools and engineering to serve a global OEM and Tier 1 customer base. The complete line of Henkel’s adhesive solutions for the design and large-series production of next-generation automotive electrical drive systems underscores the company’s commitment to anticipate the needs its customers for electrification.
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Milliken Infrastructure Solutions and WrapMaster enter strategic alliance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Milliken Infrastructure Solutions, LLC (MIS) has announced a strategic alliance with WrapMaster in order to offer customers a broader set of composite repair solutions. WrapMaster, a Texas-based fiber reinforced polymer manufacturing company, specializes in rigid coil systems for the Oil & Gas industry, as per the company's press release.

"Our partnership with WrapMaster emphasizes our commitment to integrity and bringing best-in-class solutions to our customers," said Jim Souza, Director of Technology at MIS. "Together, we now have the industry’s widest composite repair product offering, with the only rigid coil system to be third-party tested and approved up to 80 percent wall loss."

The Pipe Wrap family of products, which include A+ Wrap, Atlas, FormaShield and SplashGard, combined with the capabilities of WrapMaster’s products, will offer a broader set of solutions to its customer base. WrapMaster manufactures PermaWrap and WeldWrap, the only composite pipeline repair sleeves designed to be detected by MFL "smart pig" tools.

PermaWrap composite reinforcement sleeve is a patented, pre-manufactured rigid coil system available in widths up to 18 inches with "diamond grip" embossment technology. This technology provides a mechanical locking system that allows the individual layers of the wrap to nest within each other, minimizing the risk of telescoping and providing an overall easier installation process. PermaWrap no longer requires the composite to solely rely on the adhesive and risk disbondment, an unresolved issue among other rigid coil systems.

WeldWrap is the only single unit rigid composite pipe repair system designed to reinforce defects in or near the girth weld, which can reduce repair time by nearly 60 percent and save on material costs.

"It makes sense to align with MIS and its similar values of superior customer service and continuous innovation," said Glenn Davis, President and CEO of Wrapmaster. "Our constant dedication to providing a worldwide customer base with trusted products that last will continue with this partnership."

As MRC informed earlier, in H1 2018, Milliken Chemical intoduced containers of NX UltraClear polypropylene (PP) made using its Millad NX 8000 clarifier. Containers made with NX UltraClear PP are lightweight, microwaveable, can be hot-filled, and are recyclable.

Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. The company creates coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies.
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