Surgutneftegaz awards 200,000 tons of March ESPO Blend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s Surgutneftegaz sold 200,000 tons of ESPO Blend crude oil ESPO-DUB loading in early March to China’s Sinopec and trading firm Mercuria in a spot tender, reported Reuters with reference to traders' statement.

Surgutneftegaz sold to Sinopec a 100,000-ton cargo loading from Kozmino Feb. 29 - March 5 at premium of about $7 a barrel to March Dubai swaps and a cargo loading March 4-9 to Mercuria at premium of USD6.90-USD7.00 a barrel, traders said.

Mercuria bought a cargo for Chinese refiner Chemchina, traders said.

Surgutneftegaz also awarded a tender for the sale of a further 200,000 tonnes of ESPO Blend loading on March 7-14 and March 11-18 on Friday, but the results were slow to emerge.

As MRC wrote previously, Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical, part of China's petrochemical giant - Sinopec, resumed operations at its cracker on December 5, 2019, following a turnaround. The cracker was shut for maintenance on October 12, 2019. Located in the Guangzhou province of China, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 260,000 mt/year and propylene production capacity of 150,000 mt/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.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. Sinopec's business includes oil and gas exploration, refining, and marketing; production and sales of petrochemicals, chemical fibers, chemical fertilizers, and other chemical products; storage and pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas; import, export and import/export agency business of crude oil, natural gas, refined oil products, petrochemicals, and other chemicals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell announced in a press release that it has successfully produces high-end chemicals using a liquid feedstock made from plastic waste at its chemical plant in Norco, Louisiana, the US, reported NCT.

The company said that a breakthrough technique, known as pyrolysis, was used to make chemicals feedstocks or fuels.

Shell also noted that it aims to use 1 million tons of plastic waste a year in its chemicals plants in Asia, Europe and North America by 2025.

As MRC informed earlier, Shell Singapore restarted its naphtha cracker in Bukom Island in early December 2019, 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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s top economic planner said it would cut the production and use of plastic over the next five years, helping reduce one of the world’s biggest sources of plastic pollution, said Bloomberg.

By the end of this year, non-degradable plastic bags will be banned in places such as supermarkets and shopping malls in major cities, as well as in the country’s ubiquitous food delivery services, according to a plan released by the National Development and Reform Commission on Sunday.

China will significantly reduce the use of disposable plastic in e-commerce, express deliveries and takeaway food by 2022, while promoting alternative materials, the NDRC said. The nation will also establish a system for producing, distributing, consuming, recycling and disposing of plastic products by 2025.

The use of plastic in the world’s most populous nation has risen as online shopping and food delivery apps have become part of everyday life, even in rural areas. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which organizes a 24-hour shopping marathon every year, has been criticized for shipping 1 billion packages in a single day.

The ease with which food can be ordered online, often with waiting times of only 10 to 15 minutes, means an increase in plastic bags, containers, and utensils that are then discarded.

China has taken steps to address the deluge of plastic, including introducing a mandatory recycling system that’s being piloted in cities such as Shanghai. The country will also completely ban the import of plastic waste, the NDRC said on Sunday, without giving a deadline.

The Asian nation will ban non-degradable, single-use plastic straws nationwide by 2020, it said, with the goal of reducing the “intensity of consumption” of such plastic utensils by takeout services in urban areas by 30% by 2025.

By 2022, some delivery services in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai will be forbidden from using non-degradable packaging, with the ban extended to the whole country by 2025.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The leaders of Latvia and Belarus are discussing supplying oil to Belarus from Latvia’s Baltic Sea ports, reported Reuters with reference to Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Karins said.

"We are interested in starting such business," Karins said.

Russia suspended oil supplies to Belarus from Jan. 1, but partially restored them on Jan. 4. Two Russian oil firms, controlled by tycoon Mikhail Gutseriyev, supply Belarus with oil essential to minimum operations at its two refineries.

As MRC wrote before, Belarus’ state oil company Belorusneft suspended supplies of its own oil to Germany this month as Minsk needs to compensate for shortages of Russia-sourced oil amid a contract dispute with Moscow.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates, "Clearlake") in partnership with management announced that it has acquired Pretium Packaging ("Pretium" or the "Company") from Genstar Capital, said the company.

Pretium, of Chesterfield, Missouri, is focused on rigid packaging for end markets such as food and specialty beverage, healthcare, sports nutrition, personal care, beauty, and household products.

Its packaging solutions are based primarily on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high density polyethylene (HPDE), and polypropylene (PP) resin, with an array of options, including up to 100% post-consumer recycled material content.

The company has 19 manufacturing facilities in the US.

Clearlake teamed up with Pretium’s management to buy the company from Genstar Capital. Paul Kayser, Pretium’s CEO, and the existing management team will continue to lead the company.

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.

Pretium Packaging is a leading North American manufacturer of customized, short-to-medium volume, rigid plastic packaging solutions. The company produces containers, bottles, and closures for the food and specialty beverage, healthcare, sports nutrition, personal care, beauty, and household products end markets. Pretium serves its customers through nineteen facilities across the U.S. and Canada, and is headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri.

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a leading private investment firm founded in 2006. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake's operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm's core target sectors are industrials and energy; software and technology-enabled services; and consumer. Clearlake has managed over USD16 billion of institutional capital since inception and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 200 investments.
MRC