Sekisui Chemical & Sumitomo cooperate to produce polyolefin using waste

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sekisui Chemical and Sumitomo Chemical have agreed to form a strategic alliance to deploy technology for manufacturing polyolefin using waste as a raw material, according to Apic-online.

The alliance combines Sekisui's production technology for converting waste into ethanol with Sumitomo's technological know-how in manufacturing polyolefin.

Pilot production is scheduled to begin in fiscal 2022, with full-scale market launch of the production method expected in fiscal 2025.

Sekisui's process, developed in cooperation with LanzaTech, was launched in December 2017. It enables gasification of combustible waste accumulated at waste disposal facilities into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, without the need for waste separation, and converts these gases into ethanol using a microbial catalyst, which prevents the need for heat or pressure, the companies explained.

Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

As MRC reported before, in September 2015, Japan-based Sumitomo Chemical permanently terminated the operations of an ethylene plant at its Chiba Works in Ichihara, Chiba, following a decline in domestic demand for ethylene derivatives.

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).

Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese based manufacturer of a diverse range of products, including basic chemicals, petrochemicals and plastics, fine chemicals, agricultural chemicals, IT-related chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Petroleos Mexicanos posted a USD18.3 billion net loss for 2019 on Thursday, nearly doubling the previous year’s loss and dealing a major blow to the Mexican president’s quest to revive the heavily-indebted state oil company, reported Reuters.

The company known as Pemex said it had racked up a USD9 billion loss in the fourth quarter, or about half the year’s total losses, as it struggled to reverse a 15-year streak of declining crude output.

When last year’s actuarial losses from employee benefits are added, the total 2019 loss rises to some USD35 billion, according to a statement filed with the Mexican stock exchange.

The dismal results mark one of Pemex’s worst annual financial performances not primarily attributable to an outside factor, such as a sudden plunge in international oil prices.

"It’s not even possible to put into words how bad these results are for the company," independent oil analyst Gonzalo Monroy said, later describing them as "really terrible."

Pemex’s search for the “easiest barrels” and its large refining losses were especially problematic, he said.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office in December 2018 pledging to boost Pemex’s oil output by about half by the end of his six-year term and ease its punishing debt load.

Instead, oil production declined last year compared to 2018 and the government struggled to make headway in reducing its debt, despite some hefty capital injections.

Pemex’s total financial debt stood at USD105.2 billion last year, down just 0.6% compared to USD105.8 billion in red ink posted at the end of 2018.

Credit ratings agencies have warned of Pemex’s extremely high debt load, Lopez Obrador’s decision to spend more on the money-losing refining business while eschewing new investment opportunities for foreign and private oil companies.

Last year, Fitch Ratings downgraded Pemex debt to junk status, and if another major ratings agency does the same this year, some funds would likely be forced to sell billions of dollars in Pemex bonds.

The company’s debts to its service providers in 2019, meanwhile, rose on the year by almost a quarter to USD9.8 billion.

But in a conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Alberto Velazquez argued things were going well.

"We have registered significant improvements in many of our indicators, confirming that the company is on the right track," he said, touting more spending on exploration and production and dramatically less fuel theft last year.

In a break with years of practice, Pemex executives did not take any questions on the call.

Under Lopez Obrador, Pemex’s engineers have pledged to discover and develop 20 new oil and gas fields each year, targets viewed as extremely optimistic by industry analysts.

Only three of the 20 priority projects selected last year reported crude production as of December, according to data from Mexican oil regulator CNH.

Lopez Obrador, a leftist who has pursued a state-centric energy model, has pushed back against overtures from business groups to boost production via oil auctions open to private producers that were championed by his centrist predecessor.

Pemex’s 2019 crude production averaged 1.68 million barrels per day (bpd), less than half the 3.4 million bpd the company pumped in 2004 and down by about 7% compared to 2018 levels.

The company pointed to a 9% drop in the average price of its crude exports in 2019 as a factor in its falling revenue, which slid about 16% during the year to USD74.3 billion. The volume of Pemex’s crude exports also fell by about 80,000 bpd.

As MRC wrote previously, in 2016, Pemex shut its steam cracker at its Cangrejera complex for maintenance on February 15. The cracker was idle for about 14 days. The conducted repairs at the cracker were a part of planned maintenance.

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

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea is on track to overtake Canada as the top buyer of U.S. crude oil in 2020 as a mix of steep price discounts to alternative supplies, attractive refining economics and rebates on shipping charges prove too good to resist for big refiners, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

South Korean purchases more than doubled in the first 11 months of 2019 from a year earlier to 142.3 million barrels, Energy Information Agency (EIA) data showed. That was by far the fastest growth rate among top destinations for U.S. crude, and placed South Korea less than 10 million barrels behind top market Canada.

With the United States set to become a net exporter of crude for the first time in 2020, Asia is expected to be a focus for more shipments, especially as European refiners have limited capacity for more shale. Historically attractive pricing has been a key driver behind U.S. export momentum.

South Korea, the world’s fifth-biggest oil importer, bought more than 375,000 barrels per day (bpd) of U.S. oil in 2019, taking its share of Korean imports to nearly 13%. Buyers paid on average $1.70 a barrel less than for crude from top supplier, Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters calculations based on state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) data.

This compares with a 97 cents a barrel premium in 2018. “It is economically more attractive, and trade companies, midstream (firms) and producers have been aggressive seeking out buyers for American crude in Asia,” said Stephen Wolfe, a Houston-based oil analyst at Energy Aspects.

"Light sweet (crude) is attractive in Korea as a substitute for Iranian South Pars, especially in petrochemically-integrated plants, and especially after the implementation of IMO 2020 (ship fuel rules).”

U.S. crude oil is normally more expensive for Asian buyers than Middle East grades due to longer journey times and the fact that it yields more quality fuels at a lower refining cost.

Light sweet crude contains more naphtha, used in petrochemicals, and also has a lower sulphur content, making it suitable for very low sulphur fuel oil, which has been mandated for shipping since the start of 2020.

As MRC wrote before, Russian dealers of Hyundai sold 178,809 cars in 2019, which corresponds to the level a year earlier. As a result, Hyundai ranked fourth in sales among all automakers in Russia, and the brand’s market share was 10.2% versus 9.9% a year earlier, according to AEB.

In September 2010 Hyundai Motor Company launched a plant in St. Petersburg (Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus). Currently, the factory produces Hyundai Solaris and Kia Rio models. The Hyundai plant accounts for the bulk of cars produced in St. Petersburg. Hyundai Motor's Russian plant operates on a full production cycle. Creating a car begins with stamping body panels from steel coils. The welding process is fully automated. All paintwork both outside and inside the body is applied by robots.

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the main feedstock materials for the production of interior parts of the car.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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) - Italian energy company Eni pledged on Friday to reduce its oil production from 2025 and slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% and in one of the most ambitious clean-up drives in an industry under pressure from investors to go green, said Reuters.

The plan announced by Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi comes amid pressure on Eni to cut carbon emissions faster and also comes just weeks before the Italian government decides whether to reappoint the veteran oil man. Eni plans to boost its oil and gas production 3.5% a year until 2025 but then progressively cut back, mainly on crude, to ensure natural gas, which emits less carbon when burnt than oil, made up 85% of its overall output by 2050.

"The result will be a portfolio that is more balanced and integrated and will be stronger for its adaptability and competitive shareholder remuneration," Descalzi said. Descalzi, who ran Eni's exploration division before becoming CEO in 2014, is under pressure to prove he can shift the company towards cleaner sources of energy without inflicting too much damage on profitability.

Senior political sources told Reuters earlier this month the government, which owns 30% of Eni, was leaning towards giving Descalzi a third term - provided he works with a new board to speed up efforts to cut carbon emissions.

Under its new plan, Eni is aiming to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 in absolute terms, including emissions from refined products such as diesel or petrol when they are used by customers to drive cars, for example.

While rivals such as Britain's BP and Spain's Repsol have also included emissions from the use of their products in carbon targets, Eni went one step further.

It is including refined products made from oil and gas from third parties, as well at its own production which it says will grow as a percentage, while rivals have only pledged to cut emissions from barrels they have pumped out of the ground.

Others, such as Total and Royal Dutch Shell , have focused on cutting the amount of carbon emitted by each unit of energy they produce. Technically, that means their headline target measures could fall even though their absolute emissions rise with increased production.

"If you can't deliver green products you're going to lose your customers very quickly," Descalzi told analysts.

Oil and gas producers are feeling the heat from shareholders and environmental activists to cut emissions to meet the 2015 Paris climate goals with big institutional investors looking increasingly to green credentials to steer investments.

In a research note, Citi said as major European energy companies raced each other to be seen as the most sustainable, there was a risk some could commit to targets that end up being a rod for their back.

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. 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 polyprolypele (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).

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 68 billion euros (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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco expects the coronavirus impact on oil demand to be short-lived and for consumption to rise in the second half of the year, Chief Executive Amin Nasser told Reuters.

Oil prices have fallen this year as the rapid spread of the coronavirus in China, the world’s largest energy consumer, has dented demand. Prices fell again on Monday as the number of cases in countries outside China continued to climb.

“We think this is short term and I am confident that in the second half of the year there is going to be an improvement on the demand side, especially from China," he said. "I do not think it is going to have a long-term impact."

Nasser said that Aramco, the world’s biggest oil-producing company, has not evacuated its staff from China and that its key marketing staff have stayed to manage the company’s business in the Asian nation. The coronavirus has infected nearly 77,000 people and killed more than 2,500 in China, most of them in Hubei.

South Korea’s fourth-largest city, Daegu, became increasingly isolated on Monday after a rapid increase in the number of infections. Italy, meanwhile, reported a seventh death from the flu-like virus and 220 infections in Europe’s biggest outbreak.

Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Iraq on Monday recorded their first new coronavirus cases, all involving people who had been in Iran, which has had 61 cases and 12 deaths.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de-facto leader, has held talks with other OPEC members and Russia to discuss potential deeper oil supply cuts to counter the impact on crude prices. But Russia has yet to announce its final position on the proposal.

OPEC and allies are due to meet over March 5-6 to decide on production policy.

As MRC wrote earlier, in October 2019, McDermott International announced that it had been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco and Total Raffinage Chimie (Total) for their joint venture (JV) Amiral steam cracker project at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Amiral is a JV in which Aramco holds 62.5% and Total the rest. The plant, designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene, will be one of the world's largest mixed-feed crackers.

Aramco and Total launched their USD5-billion Amiral JV project in October 2018. The steam cracker will be fed with a mixture of 50% ethane and refinery off-gases. It will supply ethylene to a downstream 1 MMt/y polyethylene manufacturing complex and other petrochemical products. The project aims to fully exploit operational synergies with the adjacent refinery, owned by Satorp, another JV between Aramco and Total. Third-party investors, including Daelim and Ineos, will locate plants at the value park adjacent to Amiral with a combined investment of USD4 billion. A final investment decision is expected in 2021.

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).

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