PP imports into Kazakhstan increased by 17% in Jan-July 2018, exports down by 39%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) into Kazakhstan exceeded 21,300 tonnes in first seven months of this year, up 17% compared to the same period of 2018. PP exports decreased by 39%, reported MRC analysts.

July 2019 PP shipments to Kazakhstan grew to 3,800 tonnes from 3,100 tonnes a month earlier, local converters increased their purchasing of homopolymer PP in Russia. Total PP imports into the country exceeded 21,300 tonnes in January - July 2019, compared with 18,200 tonnes in the same time a year earlier. The demand for homopolymer PP increased, while demand for propylene copolymers decreased.

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

July imports of homopolymer PP grew to 3,000 tonnes from 2,400 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their purchasing of homopolymer PP raffia from Russian producers. Overall imports of homopolymer PP reached 17,100 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, compared to 13,400 a year earlier.

Shipments of propylene copolymers rose to 834 tonnes in July from 695 tonnes a month earlier, local pipes producers raised their purchasing.
Thus, imports of propylene copolymers reached 4,200 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 4,180 tonnes a year earlier.

Kazakhstan's PP exports over the first seven months dropped to 12,400 tonnes, whereas this figure was 17,200 tonnes a year earlier. Such a significant decrease in export volumes was due, among other things, to the long shutdown of the local producer, the Neftekhim LTD Company in May - July of the current year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis AG has declared force majeures in two production sites in Kallo, Belgium and Burghausen, Germany, as per Plastemart.

FM has been declared on refinery grade propylene and propane from its production site in Kallo, Belgium. Operations in Burghausen, Germany experienced an incident due to a disruption in monomer supply from the nearby OMV cracker on Aug. 24.

Force majeure has been declared on all of its Burghausen production of polypropylene (PP) on 2 September, 2019.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2018, Borealis and United Chemical Company LLP (UCC) signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of a world-scale polyethylene project, integrated with an ethane cracker, in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia's Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Company, or Petro Rabigh, said it sees ethane gas supply cut by 8% and crude oil by 12.5%, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's statement Tuesday.

Several petrochemical companies announced feedstock supply disruptions after oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were attacked on Saturday.

These companies are: Saudi International Petrochemical Company, or Sipchem, Advanced Petrochemical Company, National Industrialization Co, or Tasnee, Yanbu National Petrochemical Company, or Yansab, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company and Saudi Basic Industries Corp, or Sabic. The companies announced feedstock supply disruptions of around 30%-50%.

Attacks on Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais field on Saturday morning have led to production cuts of around 5.7 million b/d, representing about half of the company's production capacity.

Petro Rabigh has a refinery in Rabigh with a crude processing capacity of 400,000 b/d. The company also has an ethane cracker which is able to produce 1.6 million mt/year of ethylene. Its downstream units can produce 600,000 mt/year of monoethylene glycol and 1.06 million mt/year of polyethylene.

Saudi Aramco supplies ethane and crude oil to Petro Rabigh and also owns a 37.5% stake in the company. Japan's Sumitomo Chemical owns another 37.5% stake in Petro Rabigh.

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

PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, has an annual output capacity of 18 million tonnes of refined products and 2.4 million tonnes of petrochemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia had 73.1 million barrels of crude oil in three major storage sites as of early September, according to satellite data and analytics firm Ursa Space Systems, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

At the country's key export terminal Ras Tanura, Ursa said it observed 39.2 million barrels in storage, or about 60% of tank capacity, on Sept. 5.

Ursa observed 31.1 million barrels at Yanbu on Sept. 9 and 2.8 million barrels at Khafji on Sept. 5.

U.S.-based Ursa uses a network of radar satellites to monitor global oil storage as well as other key infrastructure.

As MRC informed earlier, Saudi Arabia has pledged to use its oil reserves to compensate for the disruption of supply for its customers after Saturday's attacks on Saudi Aramco's oil facilities, while global condemnation of the attacks continued. The latest attacks on the Kingdom's oil facilities in the Eastern Province resulted in the halt of an estimated 5.7 million barrels of crude oil supplies, or about 50 percent of Aramco’s production, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said on Sunday. The attacks also caused a halt in associated gas production of about two billion cubic feet per day, he confirmed in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has shut its only naphtha cracker and half of its Panipat refinery since early this month for maintenance, reported Reuters with reference to head of refineries S M Vaidya's statement Tuesday.

IOC shut a naphtha cracker which can produce around 800,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of ethylene and it has also idled 50% of its 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Panipat, Vaidya said at the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) in Singapore.

The units will resume operations on Sept. 25, he said.

Capacity of the cracker is set to be raised to 1.1 million tpy in 2021/2022, he said.

As MRC reported before, Indian Oil witnessed a massive blast in its refinery at Panipat, Haryana. A domestic source informed then that the blast took place in the naphtha cracker of the refinery in the afternoon, on 22 January 2018. One contractual employee of IOCL was reportedly killed in the accident while 5 others were injured.

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

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC