PVC exports from Russia up by 11% in 2019, imports more than doubled

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled 193,700 tonnes in 2019, up by 11% year on year. Imports increased more significantly - by 217% year on year - to 50,900 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.


Last month's exports of Russian suspension (excluding shipments to the countries of the Customs Union) were 15,200 tonnes, compared to 13,900 tonnes in November. Some producers increased their exports in the past three months of 2019 due to a seasonal decrease in demand for resin from the domestic market. Thus, overall exports of resin from Russia totalled 193,700 tonnes in 2019 versus 174,000 tonnes a year earlier.

Indian buyers were the main foreign importers of Russian resin in 2019. Overall sales of resin exceeded 105,000 tonnes over the stated period. Belarus and Poland with shipments of 26,700 tonnes and 15,500 tonnes, respectively, occupied the second and third positions.


July accounted for the peak of imports of resin, which totalled 13,700 tonnes, because of scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at SayanskKhimPlast and Bashkir Soda Company' production capacities. After the planned outages, imports of polyvinyl chloride has gradually declined since September. Last month's SPVC imports were 2,400 tonnes, which is comparable to November.

Overall imports of material totalled 50,900 tonnes over the stated period versus 16,100 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

Fire at China petchem plant in Zhuhai put out, no casualties reported

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters put out a fire at China’s Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Co Ltd in southern China’s Zhuhai city, an independent producer that has recently won government quotas to import naphtha, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A fire broke out at 1:40 pm local time (0540 GMT) at the company’s hydrogenation unit. Video broadcast by state television showed flames and dense smoke rising from the plant.

No casualties were reported, local government said on its microblog, without saying if any of the production facilities have been shut.

The company declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Zhuhai Changlian, a subsidiary of Guangdong-based private firm Shenzhen Esson New Energy Group, is one of the four independent petrochemical firms granted quotas to import naphtha for 2020, a feedstock to make petrochemicals.

Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical operates a plant at this sitme, which can produce 40,000 tonnes/year of benzene; 280,000 tonnes/year of mixed xylene; and 150,000 tonnes/year of toluene at the site.

Benzene is the main feedstock for the production of styrene monomer (SM), which, in its turn, is used in the production of polystyrene (PS).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 458,770 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, which corresponds to the level of 2018. November estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics rose by 2% year on year, totalling 49,210 tonnes. PS production remained in January-November 2019 the same as a year earlier. Russian producers manufactured 471,390 tonnes of material in the first eleven months of 2019.

Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd. is an enterprise in China, with the main office in Zhuhai. It operates in the Basic Chemical Manufacturing sector. The company was established on August 20, 2003. There are currently 240 (2018) people employed by Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd.. In its most recent financial highlights, the company reported a net sales revenue increase of 15.41% in 2018. There was a total negative growth of 1.57% in Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd.’s total assets over the same period. In, 2018, the company’s net profit margin decreased by 0.67%.
MRC

Shell New Energies boss Gainsborough to step down

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell's New Energies boss Mark Gainsborough will step down in April and be replaced by Elisabeth Brinton, who joined the business in 2018 and will oversee the company's plans to expand its low-carbon and power business, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Gainsborough, a 39-year Shell veteran, set up Shell's New Energies four years ago as the oil and gas company faces heavy investor pressure to meet the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global warming.

He will leave the company at the end of the year, he said in a post on his LinkedIn page. A Shell spokeswoman confirmed the moves.

Brinton, a Silicon Valley and utility industry veteran, joined Shell in 2018 and is currently vice president for strategy at New Energies, according to her LinkedIn page. She will take over on April 1.

The Anglo-Dutch company has made a number of large investments in renewables, electric vehicle technologies and power markets under Gainsborough, including acquiring British utility First Utility, European electric vehicle battery charging firm NewMotion and a stake in U.S. solar power provider Silicon Ranch.

Shell plans to invest USD2 to USD3 billion a year on its power and low-carbon business compared with an overall spending budget of USD30 billion per year between 2021 and 2025.

The company's growth plans in the sector were dealt a blow last month when it failed to acquire Dutch renewable energy business Eneco which went to a group led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp for 4.1 billion euros.

As MRC informed before, Shell Singapore was to restart its naphtha cracker in Bukom Island last week following a two months maintenance shutdown since the beginning of October 2019. Thus, this cracker was taken off-stream for the turnaround on 1 October 2019. The cracker is able to produce 960,000 tons/year of ethylene and 550,000 tons/year of propylene.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

Chevron, Shell win blocks in Egyptian maiden Red Sea licensing round

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron and Shell have been awarded oil and gas exploration concessions in Egypt's first ever Red Sea licensing round, the country's petroleum ministry said Sunday, according to S&P Global.

Chevron was awarded Block 1 and Shell Block 2, while Block 4 was awarded jointly to Shell and the UAE's Mubadala Petroleum, the ministry said.

The three blocks cover a total exploration area of around 10,000 sq km and carry combined minimum investment commitments of USD326 million, the petroleum ministry said, adding that potential investment would rise to "several billion dollars" if discoveries were made.

Egypt was offering 10 blocks in its maiden Red Sea licensing round covering more than half of its Red Sea maritime shelf which borders with Saudi Arabia. The Chevron and Shell blocks are in the northern sector of the Red Sea and no other bid winners were announced for the remaining seven blocks.

The ministry remained upbeat over future Red Sea exploration, however, saying the interest of western oil majors "constitutes a positive and important indication of the attractive investment climate in Egypt."

"The necessary investments for exploration and development...and the lack of production facilities, indicates the eagerness of Chevron," the ministry said. "In addition to Shell, it is a good indicator...that confirms the continued expansion of the size of investments in the petroleum sector and contributes to increasing the chances of success."

In February, a 2D seismic survey in the Red Sea led by Schlumberger concluded there was a 70% chance of natural gas discoveries in the area, according to local media reports. In September, Schlumberger and TGS reimaged 3,600 sq km of legacy seismic data on the Egyptian Red Sea to support interest in the licensing round.

"The underexplored offshore Egyptian Red Sea area is made up of large, untested structures that offer exceptional growth opportunities for oil companies," TGS CEO Kristian Johansen said at the time.

Egypt's plans to explore for oil and gas in the Red Sea received a fillip in 2017 when it ratified a maritime demarcation agreement with Saudi Arabia, which saw the North African country cede sovereignty over two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

A long-running dispute with Sudan over control over the so-called Halayeb Triangle to the south, however, continues to hang over Egypt's latest exploration drive.

In March, Sudan's oil minister Saad el-Deen el-Bushra called the Red Sea licensing round an "illegal operation" and threatened legal consequences for companies involved in the round. The Halayeb triangle, which is controlled by Egypt, has been claimed by Sudan since the 1950s.

The blocks awarded to Chevron and Shell are well outside the disputed maritime waters.

As MRC wrote before, US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

We also remind that in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, part of Chevron Corp, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 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.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

Dow and Avangard Innovative advance plastic circularity with agreement to supply recycled plastics for Dow technologies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Midland, Michigan-based Dow says it has signed an exclusive supply agreement with Houston-based Avangard Innovative LP (AI), said the company.

Under the agreement, Avangard will supply postconsumer resin (PCR) made from film the company recovers and reprocesses. Dow says this is a significant addition its plastic circularity portfolio that is aligned with the company’s goal to advance the circular economy for plastics and minimize waste in the environment.

The companies say they expect to begin offering Dow’s first-ever PCR-based products later this year to North American customers that demand stronger sustainability profiles in targeted applications, such as liners, shrink wrap and protective packaging, among others. Dow says it initially will use PCR from Avangard to create linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) products.

In a conference call to announce the agreement, representatives from the companies declined to provide specifics on the total volume of PCR that Avangard will supply to Dow under the terms of the agreement.

"We’re giving our customers the tools they need to supply consumers with products made from recycled plastic, like the liners they place into their waste bins and the shrink wrap they use to bundle and ship packaged goods,” says Victor Zapata, Dow’s recycling commercial director for Latin America and North America. “This collaboration combines AI’s waste collection and sortation technology with Dow’s materials science expertise, application expertise and operational scale to bring a consistent processing, reliable supply of PCR-based LLDPE and LDPE to our customers throughout North America."

"Any plastic lost to the environment as waste is unacceptable,” says Nestor de Mattos, Dow North America commercial vice president for Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “That’s why we’re collaborating with Avangard to advance new solutions that maintain the value of used plastics. Not only does this effort help Dow meet its sustainability goals, it will help our customers reach their own sustainability objectives, furthering the shift toward a circular economy for plastics."

The exclusive agreement to supply Dow with PCR to combine with virgin resins to create new LLDPE and LDPE products follows Avangard’s announcement that it is expanding its film collection and sortation business, which will be facilitated by the addition of a second plant in Waller, Texas, and by new plants in Nevada and Mexico.

Jon Stephens, chief operating officer at Avangard Innovative, said in the Jan. 13 press conference about the partnership that the new plant in Waller in the Houston metropolitan area will be able to produce 100 million pounds of PCR from film annually. This is double the capacity of the company’s existing plant in Houston. He declined to comment on how the plant is being funded or to go into detail about what makes Avangard’s process unique to other recyclers that are providing PCR from recovered film.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 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.
MRC