Saudi Arabia may cut light crude prices to Asia in February

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, may cut the prices of its light crude grades sold to Asia in February on signs of slowing demand ahead of the region’s peak refinery maintenance season, reported Reuters with reference to six trade sources' statement.

The official selling price (OSP) of flagship Arab Light crude in February could fall by 20-30 cents a barrel, four of six respondents in a Reuters survey said. State oil company Saudi Aramco raised the Arab Light OSP to the highest in six years in January, the fourth month of increases.

Aramco may cut the OSP as the price structure for Middle East crude benchmark Dubai indicated falling crude demand in February as cargoes loading that month are likely to arrive when Asian refineries begin shutting for maintenance in March, the sources said.

The average backwardation between the first and third month cash Dubai price so far this month narrowed by 15 cents from the previous month, Reuters data showed. In a backwardated market prompt prices are higher than those in future months.

The OSPs are also likely to drop as the gross product worth, which measures the value of a crude in terms of the fuels it yields after refining, for Saudi oil grades are lower than last month because of falling refining margins, one of the respondents said.

"Refining margins are under pressure," he said.

Arab Extra Light may see a bigger price cut in February after naphtha cracks weakened this month, the sources said.

However, firm demand for January-loading cargoes and rebounding fuel oil margins will support the OSPs for heavier Saudi oil, they said.

Most of the survey respondents expect the February OSP for Arab Medium to remain unchanged or drop slightly while the view was split between an expected price hike and price cut for Arab Heavy.

Supplies of these grades could remain tight as demand from new Chinese refineries will continue to rise in 2020 even as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are working on resuming output from their joint production in the Neutral Zone between them.Saudi crude OSPs are usually released around the fifth of each month, and set the trend for Iranian, Kuwaiti and Iraqi prices, affecting more than 12 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude bound for Asia.

Saudi Aramco sets its crude prices based on recommendations from customers and after calculating the change in the value of its oil over the past month, based on yields and product prices.

Saudi Aramco officials as a matter of policy do not comment on the kingdom’s monthly OSPs.

As MRC wrote before, Saudi Aramco, which temporarily lost half of its oil production following the September 14 attacks on two key oil facilities, has been running its local refineries at full capacity since November 2019 and is forging ahead with plans to start up new refineries. The company is also starting up a joint venture refinery in Malaysia in 2020. According to Aramco's bond prospectus released in April, the refining and petrochemical joint venture with Petronas - the Malaysian national oil company - collectively known as PRefChem, was supposed to start this year.

The PRefChem joint venture includes a 300,000 b/d refinery, an integrated steam cracker with capacity to produce 1.3 million mt of ethylene located in Johor, Malaysia. Aramco was supposed to provide a significant portion of PRefChem's crude supply under a long-term supply agreement. Jazan and PrefChem will help Aramco reach a gross refining capacity of 5.6 million b/d, it said in the prospectus. The company currently owns and has stakes in four refineries abroad with a total refining capacity exceeding 2 million b/d.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

Contract awarded to build new petrochemical facility outside Edmonton

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A new multibillion-dollar petrochemical facility being developed in Alberta will be built by a 50/50 partnership between Fluor Canada Ltd. and Kiewit Construction Services ULC, said Canplastics.

The partnership is called Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC). "With more than 25 million hours of construction experience in Alberta, we bring together two industry-leading contractors to deliver end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction services for CKPC’s new PDH unit – the third world-scale facility of its kind for Fluor in recent years,” said Mark Fields, group president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business. “Our partnership is committed to building a safe and reliable facility that not only fosters a positive economic impact but also provides a long-term, sustainable solution for polypropylene production in Canada."

The deal with Fluor and Kiewit covers construction of the site’s propane dehydrogenation facility. CKPC said the contractor selection process for the polypropylene upgrading facility is still ongoing.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. and Petrochemical Industries Co. K.S.C. of Kuwait have been planning the facility within the Alberta Industrial Heartland development area northeast of Edmonton for nearly four years.

Pembina has a 50 per cent interest in the joint venture with Petrochemical Industries, which will own the propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene upgrading plants.

Pembina is also paying for projects involving supporting facilities in which it will retain full ownership. The plants will be located next to Pembina’s Redwater fractionation complex, which extracts liquids such as propane, ethane, and condensate from raw natural gas.

The facility is scheduled to open by mid-2023. When complete, the plant and polypropylene upgrading facility will convert locally sourced, low-cost propane into 550,000 tons per year of polypropylene, to be shipped to manufacturers around the world. The facility is expected to consume about 23,000 barrels per day of propane.

In addition to the two units, the complex will consist of a central utility block and product handling area with associated support systems and facilities.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

MRC

Novares to start manufacturing in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Novares has opened its first site in Russia, in Togliatti, home to the AvtoVAZ factory that produces Lada cars, said the company.

It is the 13th new manufacturing site that Novares has inaugurated in the past seven years, as well as extending 23 existing factories, as part of its international expansion strategy to be close to its customers.

The company has rented a 1,860 m2 site situated in the industrial park of AvtoVAZ, which is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The factory will begin producing engine parts in May 2020, then Novares will rent a further 2,600m2 at the start of 2021 and expand production to include making and assembling roof bars.

The site will employ 130 workers by 2021 and is anticipated to achieve a EUR13 mln turnover by 2025.

The factory is one of three, following Mioveni in Romania and Kenitra in Morocco, that Novares has set up to better accompany the Renault-Nissan Alliance as it increases its production around the world.

"Opening this factory in Russia is part of our long-standing growth strategy, which includes being close to our customers wherever they are in the world. It is our first step into the Russian market, and the site will enable us to better evaluate and develop our offer in the country as a whole," said Pierre Boulet, CEO of Novares.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of chemical products dropped by 3.2% in November 2019 month on month.
However, production of basic chemicals increased by 3.6% in the first eleven months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Last month, 255,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced versus 210,000 tonnes in October; by November, Russian producers had completed all their scheduled works. Thus, 2,721,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-November 2019, up by 0.3% year on year.
MRC

Sinochem Unit gets USD1.65 Billion Investment from State Firms

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinochem Energy, a unit of China’s Sinochem Group, has agreed to sell a 20% stake to five state-owned firms for 11.56 billion yuan (USD1.65 billion), reported Kemicalinfo with reference to Xinhua news agency.

The financial investment arms of Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial Bank of China (ICBC), and Citic Securities Investment Co were the strategic investors, the official news agency said late on Friday.

Except for its struggling upstream business that includes overseas oil and gas production, Sinochem Energy operates the group’s oil and petroleum products trading, refining, storage and logistics, as well as distribution and retail businesses.

China National Chemical Corp, or ChemChina, has also approached Chinese state-backed investors for up to USD10 billion in funding as part of a reorganization of its agrichemicals business ahead of a public float.

The fundraising efforts and eventual stock market listing are designed to cut ChemChina’s debts ahead of a long-awaited mega-merger with state-owned peer Sinochem.

Frank Ning Gao Ning, the chairman of both companies, has encouraged individual business units to tap capital markets ahead of any tie-up, which has been in the works since 2016.

As MRC informed before, in late 2015, Sinochem received approval from the Fujian Provincial Development and Reform Commission for a refinery expansion and petrochemicals project in Quanzhou, the China Chemical Fiber Group reporte. The USD 6.8-billion project will expand the refinery by 25 % to 300,000 b/d from the current 240,000 b/d capacity. The company will also add a 1-million-t/y ethylene cracker, an 800,000-t/y paraxylene unit, a 400,000-t/y polyethylene plant, an aromatics extraction unit with 300,000 t/y of capacity, and secondary units. A schedule for the project was not given.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Sinochem Group engages in energy, agriculture, chemicals, real estate, and finance service businesses in China and internationally. It is involved in the exploration and production, refining and trading, warehousing and logistics, and distribution and retailing of oil and gas. The company also produces and distributes fertilizers, such as nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and other fertilizers.
MRC

Vertellus acquires supplier Bercen Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vertellus (Indianapolis, Ind) announced it has acquired Bercen Chemicals, a leading U.S. supplier of alkyl succinic anhydrides and additives used in the fuel, lubricant, and paper industries, said Chemengonline.

"This acquisition expands the range of products Vertellus is able to offer to the North American market” said Jim Elliott, General Manager of Vertellus’ Anhydrides & Specialties business. "The acquisition also provides us with a strong foundation to better serve the global fuel and lubricant additives market."

This acquisition complements Vertellus’ current capabilities and the combined business is better positioned to service global customers. Bercen’s gulf coast location with rail access supports the growing fuel and lube additive market in North America. Pilot facilities will also support the scale-up of new technology, with blending capabilities in Singapore providing a platform to support the growing Asian market.

MA is mostly used in the manufacture of unsaturated polyesters resins (UPRs) used in the production of boat hulls, bathroom fixtures, automobiles, tanks and pipes. Other outlets include 1,4- butanediol (BDO), tetrahydrofuran (THF) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL).

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of chemical products dropped by 3.2% in November 2019 month on month.
However, production of basic chemicals increased by 3.6% in the first eleven months of 2019, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, the largest increase in production volumes on an annualized basis accounted for mineral fertilizers and polymers in primary form. Last month, 255,000 tonnes of ethylene were produced versus 210,000 tonnes in October; by November, Russian producers had completed all their scheduled works. Thus, 2,721,000 tonnes of this olefin were produced in January-November 2019, up by 0.3% year on year.

Founded in 1958, Bercen (a division of Cranston Print Works) has provided customers with high quality chemical solutions for more than 60 years. Based in Denham Springs, Louisiana, Bercen supplies maleic anhydride derivatives for paper sizing and other industrial applications.

Vertellus is a leading provider of specialty chemicals for the agriculture, nutrition, pharmaceutical, fine chemicals, medical, personal care, plastics, coatings and other industrial markets.
MRC