Glencore charters world largest tanker to store crude at sea

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trading house Glencore has chartered the 3 million barrel crude carrier ‘Europe’ to store oil at sea for at least 6 months, reported Reuters with reference to trading sources' statement.

The vessel is one of two so-called ultra large crude carriers (ULCC), the largest tankers in the world.

Glencore booked the vessel at a rate of USD37,000 a day for the first six months, according to the sources.

A Glencore spokesman declined to comment.

Sources told Reuters last week that Royal Dutch Shell had provisionally booked at least three supertankers to store crude oil at sea for at least three months as traders brace for a sharp rise in global stocks after OPEC and its allies abandoned a production cut deal.

Each of these vessels can each carry a maximum of two million barrels of oil.

The glut of oil in world markets has prompted efforts by oil players to find storage options including both on land and offshore on tankers.

As MRC reported 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 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) - California's largest oil refinery began cutting production on Wednesday as the push to end the spread of coronavirus destroyed demand for motor fuels in the Los Angeles area, according to sources familiar with plant operations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Marathon Petroleum Corp MPC.N expects to make a dramatic cut in production at its Los Angeles Refinery, the sources said, to bring costs in line with reduced demand. The exact amount of the planned cut was unknown on Wednesday night.

A Marathon spokesman was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday night.
The 363,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, located in two adjoining plants in the Los Angeles suburbs of Carson and Wilmington, was the first U.S. refinery to report a coronavirus infection.

An employee at the refinery tested positive for the virus and, along with those who worked close by, went into quarantine on March 11.

On Wednesday, Marathon told California environmental regulators it was utilizing the safety flare system at the refinery, indicating a change in the level of production. The safety flare system is used to burn off excess hydrocarbons when units are shut or malfunction.

Marathon maintained regular production in the week after the worker went into quarantine.

The coronavirus has infected more than 200,000 people worldwide and over 8,700 of those have died. In the United States, more than 8,000 people have been infected and over 150 people have died.

As MRC wrote previously, a portion of Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 363,000 barrel-per-day Carson refinery in California was shut in late February 2020, following a fire.

We also remind that the gasoline-producing unit at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 585,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, remained shut for six weeks for repairs in late Juney-early August 2019. The 140,000-bpd gasoline-producing Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit 3 (FCCU 3) was shut on June 29 2019 to repair a leak. The refinery’s 65,000 bpd reformer, called Ultraformer 4, was also shut down.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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) -- Russia’s Moscow Refinery, owned by oil producer Gazprom Neft, has launched a new crude oil processing unit with an annual capacity of 6 million tons, said Eco-petrol.

The unit, which was launched on March 16, would allow the refinery to maintain oil processing levels which otherwise were on track to fall by 600,000 tonnes next month due to planned maintenance works, the sources said.

Gazprom Neft did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

As MRC informed earlier, Gazprom Neft and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have entered into a Framework Agreement on Strategic Cooperation. The companies will explore opportunities for implementing joint projects in the upstream and downstream sectors, as well as in information technologies, artificial intelligence, and other areas.

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.

Gazprom Neft is a vertically integrated oil company, primarily involved in oil and gas exploration and production, refining, and the production and sale of oil products. The Gazprom Neft’s corporate structure comprises more than 70 production, refining and sales subsidiaries throughout Russia, the CIS, and abroad.
The company’s proved and probable reserves (SPE-PRMS) are estimated at 2.78 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (btoe), making Gazprom Neft one of the top-20 largest oil and gas companies in the world, and one of Russia’s top three largest companies in terms of production and refining volumes. Total production in 2017 reached 89.75 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe), with refining volumes of 40.1 million tonnes.
Gazprom Neft products are exported to more than 50 countries worldwide, and sold throughout the Russian Federation and abroad. The company’s filling station network totals more than 1,850 outlets throughout Russia, the CIS and Europe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian producer MOL announced Wednesday a small oil and gas discovery in the Norwegian North Sea, reported S&P Global.

Preliminary evaluation of the main discovery in license 820S showed recoverable resources of 12 million-71 million barrels of oil equivalent with light oil at API 40 gravity, MOL said.

The discovery was successfully tested producing a combined oil and gas maximum flow rate of 3,463 boe/d due to limited by surface equipment, MOL said.

The main borehole and two sidetracks were drilled in 126 meters of water to a maximum depth of 2,652 meters below sea level. MOL also discovered smaller volumes of oil and gas in several other formations.

Norway, MOL's biggest exploration target, is where the company spent USD58 million across several offshore exploration licenses last year.

The latest discovery was "consistent with MOL's stated strategy of replenishing reserves through a combination of exploration and acquisitions," the company said.

MOL said it will now initiate a commercial feasibility evaluation phase, assessing the need for further appraisal wells, and looking at development options including a timeline for first production.

The 820S license, located 200 km west of Stavanger, is operated by MOL Norge with a 40% working interest, alongside Lundin Norway (40%), Wintershall Dea Norge (10%) and Pandion Energy (10%).

As MRC informed earlier, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly known as TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, on 23 September announced force majeure on the supply of polypropylene (PP) from plant No. 4 at the petrochemical complex in Tiszaujvaros (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas PLC is an integrated oil and gas company. The Company produces crude oil, petroleum products, bitumens, lubricants and natural gas. MOL owns and operates refineries, oil and gas pipelines, service stations, and natural gas storage facilities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products Partners says it is reviewing its capital spending program due to the potential impacts of lower commodity prices and demand on customers, according to Seeking Alpha.

Enterprise says it is "evaluating opportunities to reduce or defer capital expenditures, as well as continuing to explore joint venture opportunities with strategic partners."

The company says it will provide specifics to its 2020 capex guidance with its Q1 results due on April 29.

Enterprise also declares a Q1 distribution of USD0.445/unit, a 1.7% increase over its year-ago distribution.

As MRC informed before, Enterprise Products Partners and LyondellBasell Industries said in September 2019 they had executed long-term contracts to support construction of EPD's second propane dehydrogenation plant at the Mont Belvieu, Tex. complex. The decision to build the PDH 2 plant stems from recently executed long-term polymer grade propane (PGP) supply contracts between Enterprise and LyondellBasell Industries N.V.

Besides, we remind that Enterprise Products Partners' Mont Belvieu PDH in Texas restarted from planned maintenance in the first week of December, 2019. The PDH unit went offline for maintenance on November 13, 2019. That day, the company said in a filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that the RAC "B" turbine shut down, which resulted in flaring. The flaring was estimated to last 72 hours. The unit has a capacity of 750,000 mt/year.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas. It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004. The company ranked No. 105 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue
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