OMV resumed production at its cracker in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- All petrochemical units at Germany’s Burghausen refinery had gradually restarted following a technical incident and had come back in operation by Sunday, 1 September 2019, according to Hellenic Shipping News with reference to the company's statement.

First deliveries of propylene have also commenced, it said.

Due to the incident on August 24, "no ethylene and butadiene are currently being delivered from the Burghausen refinery," owner OMV said, adding that the facility’s customers have been informed. Then, OMV declared force majeure on supplies from its cracker in Burghausen Refinery, Germany.

According to local media, the glitch occurred at the cooling system of the ethylene plant. During the restart, flaring were expected.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH, part of the TAIF group) reduced quantities of Ukrainian buyers' pre-orders for the current month by 2-3 times, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

On the back of this, the current shortage of polystyrene (PS) is expected to remain in the domestic market. Besides, the deficit might intensify by the end of the month, which can lead to an acute shortage of material.

Stocks at PS sellers' warehouses are expected fall drastically in September. Some traders hold back material in anticipation of the development of the situation in the Ukrainian PS market.

As reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim announced an increase in PS prices for September deliveries to Ukraine. Nizhnekamskneftekhim shipped general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) to the region at USD1,130/tonne FCA Nizhnekamsk, including VAT, and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) - at USD1,190/tonne FCA Nizhnekamsk, including VAT, this month.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Stavrolen, Russia's major polyolefins producer, has shut down its high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) production capacities for a scheduled turnaround, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said Stavrolen took off-stream its HDPE and PP production capacities for a long scheduled maintenance on 6 September. The outage will last until 15 October.

It is also worth noting that Kazanorgsintez intends to start a gradual shutdown for a turnaround, which will last until 20 October, at its HDPE production from 14 September. The plant's overall annual capacity is 540,000 tonnes.

As reported earlier, Tomskneftekhim took off-stream its polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) production capacities for a two-week maintenance on 5 September.

Stavrolen's (part of Lukoil) annual capacity of PP and HDPE production is 120,000 and 300,000 tonnes, respectively. The plant's output of propylene polymers and HDPE exceeded 99,500 tonnes and 33,800 tonnes, respectively, in the first four months of 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tomskneftekhim (TNKhK), a subsidiary of SIBUR and one of the largest Russian producers of polymers - polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE), shut down its production capacities for a scheduled maintenance, according to ICS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said Tomskneftekhim took off-stream its LDPE and PP production capacities for the scheduled turnarounds on 5 September. The outage will last for two weeks.

It is also worth noting that this is the first shutdown from a series of outages for maintenance at Russian plants in September. Stavrolen shut its PP production on 6 September, and Ufaorgsintez will take off-stream some of its LDPE production capacities on 17 September.

Tomskneftekhim, LLC, was established in July 2003 on the basis of Tomsk enterprises - CJSC "Metanol", OJSC "Plant Benzol", OJSC "Tomsk Petrochemical Plant", OJSC "Tomsk Petrochemical Enterprise". Tomskneftekhim is a subsidiary of SIBUR and one of the largest Russian producers of polymers - PP and LDPE. The capacity for Tomskneftekhim's production of LDPE is 240,000 tonnes/year and production of PP - 140,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil inventories fell across the board last week, with crude drawing down for a third consecutive week despite a jump in imports, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration's statement.

Crude inventories dropped by 4.8 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 30, nearly double analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 2.5 million barrels.

At 423.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were at their lowest since October 2018, and at the five-year average for this time of year.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for US futures fell by 230,000 barrels, to their lowest since December, the EIA said.

Crude futures extended gains after the report. US crude was up USD1.25 a barrel at USD57.51 by 11:31 a.m. EDT (1531 GMT). Global benchmark Brent crude was up USD1.43 at USD62.13 a barrel.

"We ripped higher - it’s definitely a bullish report all around," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho in New York. "A big import number would usually be bearish, but it didn’t seem to dent the bullish end to the equation."

Net US crude imports rose last week by 934,000 barrels per day. Imports were at 6.9 million bpd, up from 5.9 million bpd a week earlier. Exports rose 42,000 bpd to 3.1 million bpd, the data showed.

US crude production dropped to 12.4 million bpd from its record at 12.5 million bpd hit the previous week, which contributed to the lower oil stockpiles.

Refining activity also remained high with crude runs edging down by 27,000 bpd to 17.38 million bpd and utilization rates down just 0.4 percentage point to 94.8% of total capacity, EIA data showed.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.4 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5 million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.5 million barrels, versus expectations for a 484,000-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.
MRC