HDPE imports to Russia hit a record high in the past seven years

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) into Russia grew in January-December 2019 by 44% year on year and reached 363,100 tonnes. Pipe grade and film grade polyethylene (PE) accounted for the greatest increase in imports, according to MRC's DataScope report.

December HDPE imports grew to the last year's maximum for the entire last year - about 37,900 tonnes against 30,200 tonnes a month earlier. Overall HDPE imports reached 363,100 tonnes in 2019 versus 251,500 tonnes a year earlier. Thus, the indicators of external deliveries of HDPE have reached a record level since 2013, a higher import volumes were only in 2012 - 410,200 tonnes. Pipe and film HDPE accounted for the greatest increase in shipments.

The structure of PE production by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

December HDPE imports exceeded 14,000 tonnes from 12,700 tonnes a month earlier, shipments from Uzbekistan and Ukraine increased.
Overall HDPE imports in the country grew to 131,900 tonnes in 2019, up by 65% year on year. Last month's imports of HDPE for extrusion blow moulding (EBM) decreased to 6,600 tonnes, compared to 7,300 tonnes in November; supplies of Uzbek polyethylene decreased. Total imports of blow moulding HDPE in the country exceeded 68,100 tonnes in Jan-December 2019, up 20% year on year.

December injection moulding HDPE imports increased to 4,600 tonnes from 2,700 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of these products exceeded 60,300 tonnes in 2019, up by 4% year on year.

December imports of pipe HDPE into the country increased to 8,000 tonnes, compared with 4,800 tonnes in November. on a stronger purchases of natural HDPE from Turkmenistan. The overall imports of other ethylene polymers exceeded 58,700 tonnes over the stated period versus 27,500 tonnes a year earlier.

Overall imports of other grades of HDPE to Russia were 44,100 tonnes in 2019 compared to 29,300 tonnes year earlier.

MRC

Exports of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus up 20% in eleven months 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) - Export deliveries of injection moulding PET chips from Belarus in January-November increased by 20% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 15,200 tonnes against 12,600 tonnes year on year, according to MRC DataScope.
At the same time, exports of injection moulding PET remained at the level in November 2019 against the same month of the previous year and amounted to 1,700 tonnes. In October of last year, material from the country was exported in the amount of 1,400 tonnes.

Exports to Russia amounted to 45% (6,800 tonnes) in January-November from the total exports against a share of 74% (9,400 tonnes) in the same period last year. The share of exports to Russia from Belarus in November reached 67% (1,100 tonnes), in October it amounted to 31% (440 tonnes).

MRC

EPS imports to Kazakhstan rise by 9% in Jan-Nov 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) into Kazakhstan grew in the first eleven months of 2019 by 9% year on year, totalling 6,800 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

EPS imports into the country slumped by 33% in November 2019 from October 2019 to 537 tonnes. Imports of material to Kazakhstan were 564 tonnes in October 2018.

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

Thus, imports of Russian material to the Kazakh market fell in the first eleven months of 2019 by 18% year on year: from 5,700 tonnes in January-November 2018 to 4,700 tonnes. The share of EPS imports from Russia in the total shipments to the country slumped over the stated period to 69% from 91% a year earlier.

November 2019 shipments of Russian EPS into the country were 467 tonnes versus 609 tonnes in October 2019, whereas imports of material were 442 tonnes in November 2018.


At the same time, imports of Chinese material to Kazakhstan increased in January-November 2019 to 2,100 tonnes from 500 tonnes a year earlier. The share of Chinese companies in the overall EPS imports to the country grew sharply in the first eleven months of 2019 to 30% from 9% a year earlier.

November EPS shipments from China to Kazakhstan fell to 69 tonnes from 190 tonnes a month earlier, whereas imports of Chinese material were 103 tonnes in November 2018.

MRC

HIPS and GPPS imports to Kazakhstan down by 5% in Jan-Nov 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Kazakhstan decreased in the first eleven months of 2019 by 5% year on year to 8,700 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 9,200 tonnes in January-November 2018.


Imports of material to the country remained in November 2019 at the level of October, whereas November imports of this polystyrene (PS) grade almost doubled year on year: from 700 tonnes to 1,200 tonnes.

HIPS and GPPS are mainly shipped to Kazakhstan from Russia.

The share of the Russian Federation dropped by 13% year on year in the total imports in January-November 2019 to 74% (6,500 tonnes a year earlier).

November import of Russian material into the country decreased by 3% from October 2019 to 1,000 tonnes. In November 2018, HIPS and GPPS imports from Russia to Kazakhstan were 600 tonnes.

MRC

Eni signs up for 1.5 million mt/year of LNG from Nigeria LNG

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italy's Eni said Monday it has signed a new long-term contract for the purchase of 1.5 million mt/year of LNG from the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) project, less than a week after France's Total also agreed a new 1.5 million mt/year deal, reported S&P Global.

The LNG under both deals will be produced from the existing Trains 1, 2 and 3 of the NLNG facility at Bonny Island.
NLNG last year began remarketing LNG volumes from the first three trains as initial sales contracts with key buyers including Turkey's Botas and Portugal's Energia expire this year and next.

Eni already signed up for 1.1 million mt/year last December, while global trader Vitol also agreed late last year a 10-year deal for 0.5 million mt/year.

NLNG - a joint venture between state-owned NNPC (49%), Shell (25.6%), Total (15%) and Eni (10.4%) - currently has a production capacity of some 22.5 million mt/year, but plans to increase it to 30 million mt/year with the addition of a seventh train.

The shareholders in NNPC made the final investment decision for Train 7 in December last year.

Eni said the two deals with NLNG would allow it, from 2021, to "increase its global LNG portfolio and to support further the development of its presence in the main destination markets worldwide."

As MRC informed earlier, Italy’s Versalis (part of Eni) took its cracker in Dunkirk, France offline in early September, 2019, due to a fire which broke out at the company’s petrochemical plant. Local media sources also reported that the fire was brought under control with no reported injuries and the company was assessing the required repairs. The cracker has a production capacity of 380,000 tons/year of ethylene and 95,000 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.

ENI is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of EUR68 billion (USD 90 billion), as of August 14, 2013. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
MRC