AFPM cancels annual refining industry conference because of coronavirus concerns

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers canceled its annual refining industry conference over coronavirus concerns, adding to the events scrapped as the global outbreak of the virus spreads across the United States, reported Reuters.

The conference, scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas, later this month, was one of the largest U.S. conferences to bring together oil refining industry officials and chief executives. The conference regularly drew more than 1,000 participants, AFPM said.

"It is clear to us that canceling these meetings is the right course of action to protect the health and safety of our meeting registrants and vendors, our staff, and the Austin and New Orleans communities," said AFPM Chief Executive Chet Thompson in a statement.

The group also canceled its International Petrochemical Conference scheduled for the end of the month in New Orleans.

More than 119,100 people have been infected by the coronavirus across the world and 4,298 have died, the vast majority in China, according to a Reuters tally. The United States has 975 cases and 30 deaths.

As MRC informed previously, BP has recently said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent this year, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

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 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC and Neste, owner of the world’s leading NEXBTL technology, announced that they have established a partnership whereby TechnipFMC will become Neste’s provider of Front End Loading (FEL) services for future Neste NEXBTL projects, said TechnipFMC on its site.

The agreement also covers TechnipFMC’s participation during the execution phase of future NEXBTL projects.

The NEXBTL technology allows the conversion of second generation feedstock like vegetable oil or waste fat into renewable diesel and other renewable products. The NEXBTL technology is becoming increasingly important as it provides an efficient and sustainable solution in the fuels sector, while addressing environmental concerns. The technology allows production of renewable diesel that helps its users reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% over the lifecycle of the fuel compared to conventional fossil diesel.

The TechnipFMC-Neste partnership is a result of our long-term collaboration, illustrated by the successful delivery of two world-scale renewable fuels units in Rotterdam and Singapore and the ongoing expansion project of Neste’s renewable products facility in Singapore. This partnership aims to achieve industry-leading capital productivity, through the highest standards of HSE, improved operability, accelerated innovation and reduced project cycle time.

Catherine MacGregor, President Onshore/Offshore at TechnipFMC and CEO-Elect of Technip Energies, commented: "We are extremely proud to be Neste’s partner of choice for its future NEXBTL facility projects. This agreement confirms our leading position as a player geared towards technological advancement and solutions to support renewable fuels growth. It also reinforces our long-term relationship with Neste and our positioning in the energy transition journey."

Peter Vanacker, The President and CEO of Neste, noted: "Neste has transformed from a regional oil refining company into a global leader in renewable solutions. The transportation of people and goods is undergoing a rapid change. To combat climate change the world needs new and more solutions for decreasing emissions.

We are confident that in working closely together, the design and execution expertise of TechnipFMC will significantly further enhance the robustness of our NEXBTL technology as we grow our business where our strength lies."

As MRC wrote before, Neste, together with several European Union Member States and forerunner companies representing different parts of the European plastics sector, have just signed the European Plastics Pact in Brussels, Belgium. The European Plastics Pact is a frontrunner initiative and a platform for leading countries and private organizations from the entire plastics value chain from across Europe to collaborate and accelerate the systemic shift to a circular plastics economy in Europe.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The board of directors of Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH) proposed to allocate 16.6 billion rubles for dividends, writes Kazanfirst.

The decision on the direction of dividends will be taken on April 9 at the company's annual general meeting. For one share they offer 9.07 rubles. In addition, the board of directors proposes to allocate 7.1 billion rubles to the strategic development program of NKNKh.

Earlier it was reported that NKNH's net profit in 2019 decreased by 2.2% to 23.7 billion rubles. Revenue amounted to 174.088 billion rubles, which is 7.8% less than in 2018. Gross profit decreased by 4.2%, to 44.5 billion rubles, profit from sales - by 7.6%, to 27.7 billion rubles. Cost of sales decreased by 9% to 129.6 billion rubles. The accounts receivable of the enterprise last year decreased by 2 times to 14.4 billion rubles as of December 31, 2019, the accounts payable - by 1.9%, to 11 billion rubles.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim reduced production by 2.6% in 2019.

PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" is one of the largest manufacturers of synthetic rubbers in the world and plastics in Russia. The authorized capital of PJSC is 1.83 billion rubles, it is divided into 1.611 billion ordinary and 218.9 million preferred shares with a par value of 1 ruble. The main shareholder of the company is the TAIF group.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it has acquired capital in APB Corporation (APB), a pioneer in the development of a next-generation lithium-ion battery called the "All Polymer Battery," with the aim of growing Yokogawa's energy management system (EMS) business, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The two companies have agreed that Yokogawa will provide energy management technology needed for the efficient operation and optimization of large-scale storage batteries.

Yokogawa engages in broad-ranging activities in the areas of measurement, control, and information. The industrial automation business provides vital products, services, and solutions to a diverse range of process industries including oil, chemicals, natural gas, power, iron and steel, and pulp and paper.

APB is a Japanese startup working toward the practical application of their All Polymer Battery. The battery that APB has developed delivers high energy density and has high flexibility in shape and size, so it can be used in a wide range of applications, starting with the large-scale storage batteries required by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power generation systems.

Through the agreement, Yokogawa will provide its EMS for use with the energy storage systems (ESS) that APB will build and sell, and will also collect the condition data of individual cells or modules and the operation data of the ESS to optimize these systems and deliver efficient operation plans.

As the adoption of renewable energy continues to grow, the market for large-scale fixed storage batteries that enable the efficient use of power is expanding. Yokogawa is leveraging its control and information technologies in a range of businesses related to the efficient production and use of energy, such as the plant energy management business, which includes the optimized control of wind and biomass power generation systems and the efficient operation of boiler, turbine, and generator (BTG) equipment, as well as the virtual power plant (VPP) resource aggregation business. By acquiring a stake in APB, Yokogawa will be able to apply the optimization and efficient operation technology it develops to a range of large-scale storage batteries and develop its business for the distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) that utilize these batteries.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2019, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced that it had entered into a strategic alliance framework agreement to accelerate collaboration with Yokogawa Electric Corporation. The agreement includes selection of Yokogawa as a preferred supplier of control systems.

We remind that SABIC took off-stream its Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

Besides, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of SABIC, conducted maintenance works at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands this autumn. The planned maintenance started in September and lasted around 2 months. The company operates two steam crackers in Geleen which are capable of producing 1,250,000 tons/year of ethylene and 675,000 tons/year of propylene in total.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.

Yokogawa established Yokogawa Saudi Arabia in 2006 and Yokogawa Service Saudi Arabia in 2007. Yokogawa engages in broad-ranging activities in the areas of measurement, control, and information. The industrial automation business provides vital products, services, and solutions to a diverse range of process industries including oil, chemicals, natural gas, power, iron and steel, and pulp and paper.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic is good for the environment because competing products including paper packaging and fiber-based textiles are worse, said Bloomberg, citing Exxon Mobil Corp.

"From a sustainability viewpoint, plastic packaging beats alternatives," Jack Williams, a senior vice president at Exxon, said at an investor presentation in New York Thursday.

Manufacturing plastics takes less energy than other products, he said, citing a study by researcher Franklin Associates and sponsored by the American Chemistry Council industry group. Alternatives generate five times the amount of waste and use more water, Williams said.

"Bottom line: plastics provide a net benefit to society and to the environment," he said.

Exxon’s comments come in marked contrast to cities, governments and companies that are taking action against single-use plastics including bags, straws and coffee cups due to their impact on the environment. Total plastic waste in the oceans is expected to more than double by 2030 without significant policy changes, the International Energy Agency said in a 2018 report.

Williams acknowledged that plastic waste is “an important societal issue” that must be addressed. Exxon is exploring ways to use more recycled material in its chemicals production and is funding efforts to improve waste management.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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).

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC