Haldia Petrochemical shuts naphtha cracker after ports declare force majeure

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's private-sector Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) has shut its naphtha cracker, a person familiar with the matter said, after ports in the country declared force majeure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, reported Reuters.

The petrochemical maker operates a 670,000 tonnes per year cracker, which on average would need more than 150,000 tonnes of naphtha feedstock a month if the unit is at full capacity, based on Reuters calculations.

Haldia Petrochemicals buys naphtha from Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) and Indian Oil Corp (IOC).

The federal shipping ministry in India has issued a letter allowing ports to use the COVID-19 pandemic as valid grounds to declare force majeure.

As MRC wrote before, on 20 September 2019, a major fire broke out at Haldia Petrochemicals’ cracker in India. The company's plant restarted operations in early October, 2019, after a nearly 10-day closure caused by a September 20 fire that had claimed the lives of two employees.

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).

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd is a modern naphtha based petrochemical complex at Haldia, West Bengal, India. Haldia has played the role of a catalyst in emergence of more than 500 downstream processing industries in West Bengal with a capacity to process more than 3,50,000 TPA of polymers, among which are PE and PP.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borouge (part of Borealis) has brought on-stream its No. 1 cracker following a turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source based in the Middle East informed that the company resumed operations at its cracker in mid-March, 2020. The cracker remained under maintenance for around one month.

Located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in UAE, the No.1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 600,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, Borouge restarted its No. 3 cracker in UAE in mid-March 2019, following a maintenance turnaround. The cracker was shut for maintenance on January 5, 2019. Located at Ruwais, Abu Dhabi in UAE, the No.3 cracker has a production capacity of 1.5 mmt/year.

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).

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of injection moulding PET chips to Ukraine grew by 21% in January-February this year and amounted to 21,800 tonnes. PET imports in the country reached 18,000 tonnes in January-February 2019, according to MRC DataScope.

External supplies of material from Lithuania produced by Neo Group to the Ukrainian market quadrupled in the two months of this year and amounted to 14,700 tonnes against 3,300 tonnes in January - February 2019. The share of Lithuanian material in the total volume of deliveries during this period significantly increased and amounted to 67% against 19% at the same time last year. The main buyers of Lithuanian bottled PET were Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine Limited and Retal.

Imports of Chinese material to Ukraine fell sharply in January - February compared to the same period last year and amounted to 3,800 tonnes against 14,200 tonnes. The share of material in the total volume fell to 17% against 79%. Key suppliers of injection moulding PET chips to the region this year were Dragon, China Resources and Jiangsu.

February import deliveries of injection moulding PET chips to Ukraine amounted to 9,400 tonnes against 12,500 tonnes a month earlier and 8,900 tonnes in February 2019. The volume of foreign deliveries from Lithuania to Ukraine increased almost five times in comparison with the same month of 2019 and reached 7,500 tonnes against 1,500 tonnes, the January import volume amounted to 7,300 tonnes.

The supply of Chinese bottled PET to the Ukrainian market last month decreased significantly and amounted to 700 tonnes compared to 7,200 tonnes in February 2019 and 3,100 tonnes in January of this year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp plans to shut the small gasoline-producing unit at its 560,500 barrels-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery early this week because of low demand due to efforts to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Reuters.

The shutdown of the 90,000 bpd gasoline-producng fluidic catalytic cracker 2 (FCC 2) could have happened as early as this weekend, sources said.

Exxon spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry said operations were continuing at the Baytown refinery, but declined to discuss the status of specific units.

The shutdown would mean all three of Exxon’s US Gulf Coast refineries have reduced production.

Crude oil intake was reduced by 60,000 bpd at the company’s 502,500 bpd Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery, sources familiar with operations at that plant told Reuters.

Exxon’s 369,024 barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas, refinery began a planned overhaul with the shutdown of the 240,000 bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) last Monday.

As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil Corp cut production at its 502,500 barrel-per-day Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery as poor demand has pushed up inventories and filled storage tanks. The number of contract workers at the Baton Rouge refinery was cut by 1,800 people on Friday as Exxon begun informing service companies of planned spending cuts. The refinery’s production was cut to about 440,000 bpd on Saturday, the sources said.

We also remind that, 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 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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The American Chemistry Council (ACC) urged G20 leaders to lift tariffs and export restrictions to improve access to the products necessary to healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Kemicalinfo.

American Chemistry Council (ACC) President and CEO, Chris Jahn, in response to the virtual G20 summit, said, "US chemicals manufacturers are calling for G20 leaders to increase international coordination and prioritize multilateral responses to the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Healthcare workers and workers in essential industries around the globe are in dire need of products and equipment that can help save lives, and chemicals and plastics have been recognized for their critical role in efforts to ramp up the production and distribution of those products."

"Life-saving products belong in the hands of the heroes who are saving lives - both in the United States and around the globe. We urge G20 leaders to fortify the global supply chains that make these products possible by lifting tariffs and export restrictions and avoiding barriers to trade that will otherwise impede efforts to save lives," he added.

As MRC wrote previously, ACC’s US chemical production regional index (CPRI) declined by 0.2% in February, following a 0.1% gain in January and 0.2% dip in December. Output declined in all regions of the country except the Gulf Coast, ACC says.

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