High oil supply disruptions set stage for next slump

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global oil output is being hit by expanding US sanctions and other unplanned disruptions which, in an echo of market conditions around five years ago, are pushing prices higher in the short term but also setting the stage for the next slump, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Unplanned factors reduced global production by 2.8 million barrels per day in March, down from 3.3 Mbpd in February, but up from 1.8 Mbpd a year earlier, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Disruptions among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reached 2.49 Mbpd in March, double the same month last year. In recent months, OPEC and total disruptions have been running at the highest levels for almost three years and near some of the highest for a decade (“Short-Term Energy Outlook”, EIA, April 2019).

And the EIA figures do not include Venezuela, where output has been erratically declining and too variable to define a "normal" undisrupted level. Nor do they take into account the potential impact of renewed fighting in Libya, which could upset production and exports in the next few months if it intensifies.

The figures, therefore, understate the extent to which involuntary production cuts - actual and threatened - have caused the oil market to tighten in recent months.

Sanctions and unplanned problems can help make Saudi Arabia’s role as swing producer more effective by simplifying coordination with other producers and reducing the risk of cheating.

But unplanned problems can also cause the oil market to over-tighten temporarily, pushing prices higher and masking underlying imbalances between production and consumption, contributing to a subsequent slump.

The recent sudden tightening bears many similarities to events in 2013 and early 2014 - which paved the way for a slump in late 2014 and through 2015.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that talks with China regarding reducing Beijing’s tariff on U.S. ethanol products were “positive” but cautioned the discussions were not over, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"There have been conversations with China on reducing that tariff on ethanol, which would obviously be good for our domestic corn industry," he told reporters. "While things look positive, it’s never over till it’s over with the Chinese."

Beijing last summer imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 70 percent on U.S. ethanol shipments, which made exports to the key market uneconomical. The United States and China have been embroiled in a tit-for-tat tariff battle since July 2018, roiling global financial markets and supply chains, and costing both of the world’s two largest economies billions of dollars.

U.S. officials are pressing China to make changes to address longstanding concerns over industrial subsidies, technology transfer and intellectual property rights.

The two sides wrapped up the latest round of talks in Washington late last week and will be resuming discussions this week remotely.

Perdue also added that he wanted the Environmental Protection Agency to more tightly control its use of small refinery waivers that exempt plants from their obligation to blend biofuels like corn-based ethanol under the Renewable Fuel Standard, and had discussed the matter with EPA chief Andrew Wheeler.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP has agreed to buy a 30% stake in Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa from an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund in a USD3.6 billion deal including debt, reported Reutres with reference to Financial Times, citing people with knowledge of the transaction.

The sale gives the business a total enterprise value of USD12 billion, roughly the same price tag that Cepsa’s owner Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company sought ahead of a failed attempt at a stock market listing last year, the FT said.

Carlyle will have at least two board seats, and Musabbeh Al Kaabi, a senior executive at Mubadala, will remain as chairman, the newspaper said, citing sources.

As part of the agreement, Carlyle reserves the right to buy up to 40% of Cepsa, which is one of the largest privately-owned oil companies in Europe and has been under Mubadala ownership for the last three decades, the FT said.

Carlyle, Cepsa and Mubadala could not be immediately reached for a comment.

As MRC informed earlier, in May 2018, The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced it had signed a project development agreement with Cepsa of Spain for a new, world-scale Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) facility in ADNOC’s refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, UAE.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ARLANXEO announced the appointment of Donald Chen as new Chief Executive Officer of the leading rubber producer ARLANXEO with effect from May 1, 2019, said the company.

He succeeds Jorge Nogueira, who is retiring after a career spanning nearly 40 years in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

It was written earlier, that in January 2019 Lanxess finished the sale of its remaining 50% stake in the rubber firm Arlanxeo to Saudi Aramco.

The remaining interest of Lanxess in Arlanxeo was transferred to the previous joint venture partner Saudi Aramco. In return, Lanxess received proceeds of around EUR 1.4 bn.

ARLANXEO is a world-leading synthetic rubber company and was established in April 2016 as a joint venture of LANXESS and Saudi Aramco. Since January 1, 2019 ARLANXEO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America, recently entered into an agreement with Siemens to modernize a cogeneration power and steam plant at its Petrochemical Complex in Sao Paulo, Brazil, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Completion of the project is expected in early 2021. The two SGT-600 turbines for this project will feature third-generation dry low emissions (DLE) technology and run on residue gas with high concentrations of hydrogen.
The two SGT-600 turbines for this project will feature third-generation dry low emissions (DLE) technology and run on residue gas with high concentrations of hydrogen.

Siemens will be responsible for implementation and the 15-year operation of an electric and steam cogeneration plant. The plant’s state-of-the-art technology solutions will combine high energy efficiency and extreme operational reliability with low emissions. Project deployment is already underway, whereby Siemens will implement a fully integrated and redundant equipment solution, including two SGT-600 gas turbines, an E-house, as well as an extension of the existing high-voltage substation, three reciprocating compressors, an advanced load-shedding system, and associated software for plant control.

These elements are part of an energy-as-a-service concept, which means that the customer will receive the energy without having to invest in, build, and operate the plant on its own. “This energy-as-a-service contract underscores the value our newly aligned Siemens Gas and Power Operating Company brings to customers, with synergies crossing the entire energy value chain,” said Tim Holt, Chief Operating Officer of Siemens Gas and Power, effective April 1, 2019.

Braskem’s project involves the complete overhaul and technological update of the existing cogeneration plant, which provides steam and power to the petrochemical complex’s cracking unit. The unit has an ethylene production capacity of 700,000 metric tons per year (kta) and produces raw materials for the chemical and plastic sectors. The optimized design leads to an increased efficiency of the ethylene plant. Braskem estimates that the upgrade project will reduce the cracking unit’s water consumption by 11.4 percent and CO2 emissions by 6.3 percent.

"Siemens was uniquely capable of proposing this comprehensive engineering and service solution that will help Braskem meet its sustainability goals and maximize value over the life of the cogeneration plant,” said Dan Simpson, Head of Global Solutions for Siemens Gas and Power, Oil & Gas. “The integrated and redundant design of the facility and use of Siemens equipment, coupled with the adoption of a build, own, and operate business model will result in 100 percent plant availability and reduced energy consumption, both of which are critical to Braskem’s business."

The power output of an SGT-600 turbine is 24 megawatts (MW). For this application, each turbine will provide 19 MW of power and 80 tons per hour (t/h) of steam. In addition, they will feature third-generation dry low emissions (DLE) technology and run on residue gas with high concentrations of hydrogen. The DLE technology will reduce CO2 emissions, and NOx levels from the turbines will be low at just 25 parts per million (ppm). A load shedding system ensures safe operation of the plant by managing all loads depending on the available power supply.

The entire electric and steam cogeneration plant will be engineered, deployed, operated, and maintained by Siemens for a period of 15 years under a long-term contract that includes performance guarantees for reliability, availability, efficiency, costs, maintenance, and emissions.
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