Imports of injection moulding PET into Kazakhstan increased by 49% in Jan-Oct 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The supply of imported injection moulding PET chips to Kazakhstan increased by 49% in the ten months of this year compared to the same period in 2018 and amounted to 46,900 tonnes against 31,400 tonnes in January - October 2018, as per MRC's DataScope.
October PET imports in the country were 9,300 tonnes, reaching its maximum this year and exceeding the import volume of the same period last year by four times.

Imports of injection moulding PET chips in September amounted to 6,700 tonnes.

The key supplier of PET chips to Kazakhstan is China, with a 98% share in total imports. The import of Chinese-made material increased this year by 65% and amounted to 46,100 tonnes against 28,000 tonnes in January-October 2018.

MRC

Some French refineries blocked by strike, runs reduced

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil product deliveries remain disrupted Wednesday from a number of French refineries as staff extended the strike, reported S&P Global.

While trucks are often being prevented from leaving the refineries, they are all operating, according to French oil industry association UFIP President Francis Duseux in an interview broadcast on France Info radio.

However, the refineries hit by industrial action are operating at reduced rates, a CGT labor union source said. Supply remains intermittent from Total's Donges, Grandpuits, Feyzin and La Mede sites and Petroineos' Lavera, where staff has extended a strike until the government changes its plans for the pension reform, the source said.

French labor unions, including the CGT, FO and FSU, have called on employees in all sectors to take part in industrial action against the government's pension reforms. The industrial action, which started December 5, has been extended several times, with a renewed call for nationwide protests on Thursday.

The strike has been suspended at Total's Gonfreville refinery where a fire on December 14 led to the shutdown of a crude distillation unit. The refinery is operating partially.

So far, there has been limited impact on truck and rail loadings at Fos sur Mer, but operations are normal with no strike action at ExxonMobil's Gravenchon refinery in Normandy, the company said.

For now, traders and analysts see a greater potential impact from the outage at Gonfreville, where repairs could take several weeks, than from the industrial action. The CDU shutdown has resulted in a rise in diesel imports into France.

Middle distillate cracks rose to a one-month high Tuesday partly in reaction to increased demand for diesel into France. Last week, the impact of the industrial action on the diesel market was fairly limited.

Of France's 200 oil terminals, only four have been blocked by strikers, and around 1% of the 11,000 retail stations have faced product shortages, according to UFIP.

Loadings have resumed at the Fluxel-operated Fos and Lavera oil terminals in the Mediterranean though another strike has been called by the unions for Thursday.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil's cracker at Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France, had an "unexpected stoppage" on Friday, 6 December, following a technical failure this October. Thus, an electric fire Saturday morning, 19 October, 2019, on the ExxonMobil facilities in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon (Seine Maritime) resulted in a plume of smoke, below the regulatory thresholds, which could remain visible for several days.

Besides, ExxonMobil halted polyethylene (PE) production at its site in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France, last week due to commercial reasons, without providing further details. The site houses 500,000 tons/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, including metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE). This plant resumed operations on 19 December 2019.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.
MRC

ExxonMobil resumes PE production in France

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has resumed PE production at its site in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France after a temporary shutdown due to commercial reasons, reported NCT with reference to market sources.

Thus, this plant wa taken off-stream at the end of the 2nd week of December 2019.

The company was not available for comment at the time of press.

The site houses 500,000 tons/year of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, including metallocene linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE).

As MRC informed before, ExxonMobil's cracker at Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France, had an "unexpected stoppage" on Friday, 6 December, following a technical failure this October. An electric fire Saturday morning, 19 October, 2019, on the ExxonMobil facilities in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon (Seine Maritime) resulted in a plume of smoke, below the regulatory thresholds, which could remain visible for several days.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, LLDPE shipments to the Russian market rose in the first ten months of 2019 by 11% year on year to 322,140 tonnes. Domestic producers increased their output by 30%, thereby reducing dependence on imports.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

EPS imports to Kazakhstan rise by 10% in Jan-Oct 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) into Kazakhstan grew in the first ten months of 2019 by 10% year on year, totalling 6,200 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

October EPS imports into the country dropped slightly from September to 799 tonnes from 832 tonnes. Imports of material to Kazakhstan were 509 tonnes in October 2018.


Russia and China were the main importing countries of EPS to Kazakhstan.

Imports of Russian material to the Kazakh market fell in the first ten months of 2019 by 20% year on year: from 5,200 tonnes in January-October 2018 to 4,200 tonnes. The share of EPS imports from Russia in the total shipments to the country decreased significantly in the first ten months of 2019 to 67% from 92% a year earlier.

October shipments of Russian EPS to Kazakhstan were 609 tonnes versus 506 tonnes in September, whereas imports of material were 509 tonnes in October 2018.


At the same time, imports of Chinese material increased by four and a half times in January-October 2019: from 400 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes. The share of Chinese companies in the overall EPS imports to the country grew sharply in the first ten months of 2019 to 32% from 8% a year earlier.

October EPS shipments from China to Kazakhstan slumped by 42% to 190 tonnes from 326 tonnes a month earlier, Chinese material was not imported into the country in October 2018.

MRC

PC imports to Belarus grow 16% in Jan-Oct 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polycarbonate (PC) granules into Belarus rose in the first ten months of 2019 by 16% year on year to 10,000 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was 8,600 tonnes in January-October 2018.


Spain (33%), the Netherlands (23%) and Lithuania (14%) are the main countries-importers of PC into Belarus. The bulk of the imported material is then delivered to Russia.

Including exports of material of 4,500 tonnes from Belarus over the stated period, overall capacity of the domestic market totalled 5,500 tonnes of PC in January-October 2019.

October PC imports to Belarus grew by 42% year on year to 800 tonnes. This figure was at 600 tonnes in October 2018. At the same time, September 2019 imports of material into the country were minimal over the past two years, totalling only 300 tonnes.

MRC