Chinese independent refiners slash operations as virus hits fuel sales

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Independent refineries in China’s eastern Shandong province, who collectively import about a fifth of the country’s crude, have slashed output by 30% to 50% in just over a week as the coronavirus outbreak hit fuel demand and distribution, reported Reuters with reference to executives and analysts.

Utilisation rates dropped below 50% by the end of January at key plants, from around 66% a week earlier, the lowest since at least 2015, according to surveys of around 40 plants conducted by local consultancies JLC Network Technology and Longzhong Information Group.

The sudden production cut left crude oil storage tanks full at China’s top crude import terminal of Qingdao, causing delays in discharging cargoes and leaving refiners, already under pressure from weak margins, facing hefty demurrage charges to compensate shipowners for delays

is grim - we have gasoline and diesel demand shrinking on one hand, and fuel logistics stalling on the other as local governments put in traffic curbs to contain the spread of the virus,” said a plant executive based in Dongying, a refining and chemicals hub in Shandong.

He and other executives declined to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media.

While the central province of Hubei, where the virus first emerged, is in virtual quarantine, authorities elsewhere in China have placed restrictions on travel and business to try to contain the spread of the virus.

Spot premiums for Russian ESPO crude, among the most popular grades for the Shandong plants, sometimes known as ‘teapot’ refineries - have hit their lowest in five months.

The city of Dongying, home to some 40 teapot refineries, introduced a ban on Friday on vehicles entering the city from outside and asked local manufacturers to apply for special passes to facilitate the logistics required for production, two refinery executives briefed on the matter said.

"This means refineries can’t move their products out, or at least it slows down the flows drastically" said the Dongying executive.

He said a typical 60,000 barrels per day refinery uses 200-300 trucks a day to deliver refined fuel.

A second executive estimated that even with such steep production cuts in place, most of the plants might have to reduce output again in about 10 days because of logistics constraints.

Shi Linlin, senior analyst with JLC said overall run rates in Shandong could drop to 40% in February.

As MRC wrote before, in April 2019, BP agreed a three-year framework crude oil deal with independent Chinese refinery Shandong Tianhong Chemicals, for annual supplies of 8 million barrels from last year. Li Dongbo, president of Shandong Tianhong Chemicals, told Reuters the deal covers 2019 to 2021.

We also remind that in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- More Chinese investors are targeting central Serbia in a new bid to establish a plant to produce recycled polymer granules from waste plastics, said Sustainableplastics.

Last month, the Chinese company Zhong Xiao Nengyuan Zhi signed an agreement with the municipal council of Cuprija to lease a local industrial site for the initial phase of a EUR2m polymers project.

The firm, which will take on a 50-strong workforce at the start, said it plans to expand the operation at a later stage hiring a further 150 employees.

Cuprija was earlier targeted by other investors linked with China’s Taihe Group who proposed to spend €12m on a scheme to build four plastic waste recycling plants. These would provide a polymer raw material base and semi finished products to feed a planned cluster of plastics processing enterprises.

Early in 2018, the representatives of the Taihe-controlled Serbia-based company Blue Sky Europe International Industry & Trade Technology d.o.o. signed a memorandum of understanding for the project with Cuprija’s mayor Ninoslav Eric.

That Chinese company, understood to be 75% controlled by Taihe Group, said it would create as many as 500 jobs in the initial phase of its project development, with the first stage expected to be completed in 2019.

The latest Cuprija investment scheme was unveiled last month (Sept) when Quang Xi He, chief executive officer of the Chinese firm Zhong Xiao Nengyuan Zhi signed a concession agreement with the town’s mayor. This allowed his company to lease the former local factory site of Mladost, a producer of paper and cardboard.

At the 1,500m2 factory site, the Chinese investors intend to install initially a number of lines for producing polymer granules. Later, the company aims to construct a new production hall and create more than 100 new jobs in the new industrial zone, developed specifically to attract entrepreneurs from China.

As MRC informed earlier, China’s polyolefin suppliers have cut their post-holiday production due to logistics restrictions amid authorities’ efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Domestic inventories are high as the plants did not stop production during the Lunar New Year holiday period, which started on 24 January, with most storage warehouses now full.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, and Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co., Ltd., has recently announced they have signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation and development agreement, as per Celanese's press release.

The agreement aims to further expand cooperation in product research and development, expansion into emerging markets, and the advancement of industry, safety and environmental protection practices and sustainability.

Key components of the strategic cooperation agreement include the sharing of information and practices in the use of emulsions for waterproofing applications. Additionally, the companies will evaluate where Celanese can develop new product applications for use in Oriental Yuhong’s waterproofing business. Furthermore, the companies will begin the sharing of product development information and engage in discussions around plant productivity and sustainability in order to drive cost savings and identify potential opportunities for improving production and operational sustainability. Finally, the companies are expected to evaluate potential new supply arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Celanese and Oriental Yuhong have been working together commercially for more than a decade in the area of emulsions and vinyl acetate chemistry and this strategic cooperation agreement is the next logical step in our business relationship,” said Florian Kohl, Celanese Vice President, VAM and Emulsions. "Celanese and Oriental Yuhong are committed to a collaborative agreement to advance the sustainable development of the waterproofing and emulsions industry with chemistry solutions that outperform competing technologies."

"Oriental Yuhong has been working with Celanese for more than 10 years. Through our collaboration, both companies have achieved remarkable results in R&D and continuous business development," said Xiang Jinming, Vice Chairman and Executive President, Beijing Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology. "This agreement marks the joint effort of the two companies in providing fast-rising technologies in the construction and coatings business and expanding into emerging markets. It also provides a gateway for promoting more eco-friendly solutions in the future. This agreement will fulfil our mission to create a more sustainable and safe environment and customers will, therefore, enjoy high-quality construction products and services. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Celanese, a world-renowned brand with strong innovation, research and technical development capabilities, to build a better world for everyone."

Financial, contractual and commercial terms of this strategic cooperation and development agreement are not being disclosed at this time.

As MRC reported beofre, Celanese Corporation announced preliminary plans to expand its emulsion polymers derivatives business to extend the value of its global acetyl chain. Celanese is starting a debottlenecking project at its Nanjing ethylene-vynil-acetate (EVA) production facility of 20,000 metric tons per annum by 2022. Celanese will further expand EVA production capacity at its Nanjing facility by 65,000 metric tons per annum by adding a third EVA reactor by late 2022, taking the total Nanjing EVA capacity from 130,000 to 215,000 metric tons per annum. These expansion steps support emulsions growth plans in Asia through Celanese’s sustainable products and solutions in end uses such as redispersible powders and waterproofing.

According to MRC's DataScope report, November EVA imports to Russia dropped by 8,9% year on year to 3,440 tonnes from 3,780 tonnes in November 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-November 2019 by 18,9% year on year to 35,95 tonnes (44,330 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2018 net sales of USD7.2 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Worn Again Technologies of Nottingham, UK, has launched its pilot R&D facility for chemical recovery of PET from non-reusable textile and PET bottle and packaging waste, said Sustainableplastics.

The chemical process uses solvents to separate, decontaminate and extract PET polymer and cellulose from the waste, to be used again as raw materials, the company said in a statement.

With the capacity to process 80kilo batches, the facility is located at CPI, a technology and innovation centre in Redcar, England.

Designed and built with the help of leading equipment providers, the plant aims to develop further process data, knowledge and understanding as part of a move towards industrialisation of the technology.

CPI was chosen as the facility to host the plant in view of the technical excellence it provides to help accelerate technologies to market, Worn Again said.

“The pilot is a significant step in developments as it will allow us to confirm and further optimise the different steps in the process in one unit, accelerating our engineering development to the next step of a demonstrator plant,” said Nick Ryan, Worn Again Technologies’ technology director.

The pilot facility, according to Cyndi Rhoades, founder of Worn Again Technologies, is the “next tangible step” in bringing the company closer to a scalable, commercially viable industrial process.

As per MRC's DataScope, imports of injection moulding PET chips in Russia increased by 13% in 2019 compared with the same period a year ago and reached 126,600 tonnes. The same indicator in January-December 2018 amounted to 111,700 tonnes, according to MRC"s ScanPlast. The share of imports from China of bottled PET remained at the level of the previous year and amounted to 87% in January - December 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese policymakers are readying measures to support an economy jolted by a coronavirus outbreak that is expected to have a devastating impact on first-quarter growth, policy sources said, as per Reuters.

The sources said the government is debating whether to lower the planned 2020 economic growth target of around 6 percent, which many private sector economists see as well beyond China’s reach.

With the death toll from the virus epidemic climbing to over 420 and risks to growth mounting, China’s central bank is likely to lower its key lending rate - the loan prime rate (LPR) - on Feb. 20, and cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRRs) in the coming weeks, said the sources who are involved in internal policy discussion.

"Currently, monetary policy is being loosened, but the central bank will follow a step-by-step approach and watch the virus situation,” said a policy insider.

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has already pumped in hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial system this week as it attempted to restore investor confidence and as global markets shuddered at the potentially damaging impact of the virus on world growth. In the past two days, the PBOC has injected 1.7 trillion yuan (USD242.74 billion) through open market operations.

In order to minimize job losses, China’s stability-obsessed leaders are likely to sign-off on more spending, tax relief and subsidies for virus-hit sectors, alongside further monetary easing to spur bank lending and lower borrowing costs for businesses, according to the policy insiders.

"We have policy reserves and will step up policy support for the economy. The most urgent task is to put the virus outbreak under control,” said a source who advises the government, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Support measures will be concentrated on the retail, catering, logistics, transportation and tourism sectors, which are likely to be hit hard and are especially vulnerable to job losses, they said. Increased government spending could push up the annual budget deficit relative ratio to 3% this year from 2.8% in 2019, and local governments could be allowed to issue more debt to fund infrastructure projects, the policy insiders said.

Policymakers deem targeted measures as more effective than unfettered credit easing at this stage, given that the outbreak has weighed on factory and investment activities due to the extended holiday in some regions, the insiders said.

The Lunar New Year holiday has been effectively extended by 10 days in many parts of China including powerhouse regions such as Shandong province and the cities of Suzhou and Shanghai, while transport networks have been curtailed to curb the spread of the disease. More than 40 foreign airlines have suspended flights to China.

“It’s necessary to step up policy support for the economy but we don’t need to use strong stimulus at this stage,” said one of the policy insiders. While Beijing has rolled out a series of support measures in the last two years, mainly in the form of higher infrastructure spending and tax cuts, leaders have pledged they will not embark on massive stimulus like that during the 2008-09 global crisis, which saddled the economy with a mountain of debt.

The PBOC has cut the RRR, or the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves, eight times since early 2018, with the latest reduction taking effect on Jan. 6. It has also lowered its key lending rates modestly since August.

China’s economy grew 6% in the fourth quarter, bringing 2019 expansion to 6.1% in 2019, the weakest in nearly three decades as demand at home and abroad weakened in part due to the bitter Sino-U.S. trade war. Growth of about 5.6% this year is seen enough for meeting the long-term gross domestic product target.

This year is symbolically crucial for the ruling Communist Party to fulfill its goal of doubling GDP and incomes in the decade to 2020, turning China into a “moderately prosperous” nation.

Chinese leaders face a more challenging job than they did during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2002-03, as the economy is now driven more by consumption and services, and growth has been on a downward trajectory.

The virus has killed 425 and infected 20,438 in China, most of them in central Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

As MRC informed earlier, China’s polyolefin suppliers have cut their post-holiday production due to logistics restrictions amid authorities’ efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Domestic inventories are high as the plants did not stop production during the Lunar New Year holiday period, which started on 24 January, with most storage warehouses now full.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC