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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd has issued a force majeure notice to Iraq’s Oil Marketing Company (SOMO) to cancel two oil cargoes as local fuel demand is hit by a lockdown to stem spread of coronavirus, reported Reuters with reference to an industry source.
State-run HPCL was scheduled to lift these cargoes containing one million barrels each in the first half of April, this source said. The source did not wish to be identified citing confidentiality.
No immediate comment was available from HPCL. SOMO could not be immediately reached for comments.
HPCL is the third Indian company to invoke force majeure for crude supplies. Last week two India refiner- Indian Oil Corp and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd have invoked force majeure on crude imports mainly from middle east.
Many Indian refiners have reduced crude processing as fuel demand drops.
HPCL has cut crude processing at its Mumbai refinery by 10%, while it is operating its Vizag refinery at 100% capacity to feed southern Indian market.
As MRC informed before, India's private-sector Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) has shut its naphtha cracker, after ports in the country declared force majeure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 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.
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
HPCL invokes force majeure on Iraqi oil
Ukrainian EPS imports up by 9% in Jan-Feb 2020
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of expandable polystyrene (EPS) to the Ukrainian market rose in the first two months of 2020 by 9% year on year to 3,900 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.
This figure was 3,600 tonnes in January-February 2019.
The share of Russian material grew significantly in the total shipments in the first two months of the year, accounting for 78% (3,100 tonnes), compared to 41% (1,500 tonnes) a year earlier. Chinese EPS shipments fell sharply over the stated period to 8% (300 tonnes) from 51% (1,800 tonnes) in January-February 2019.
February EPS imports to Ukraine were 1,800 tonnes versus 2,100 tonnes a month earlier, this figure was also at 2,100 tonnes in February 2019.
The share of Russian material remained in February at the level of January, totalling 79% (1,400 tonnes). The share of Chinese shipments dropped to 7% (128 tonnes) in February from 8% (172 tonnes) a month earlier.
MRC
March prices of Russian LDPE up by an average of Rb14,000/tonnes
MOSCOW (MRC) -- Under the pressure of stronger demand and tight supply, prices of low density polyethylene (LDPE) have risen on a weekly basis since early March. LDPE prices had gone up by more than Rb14,000/tonne by the end of the month, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.
Demand for LDPE in the Russian market has begun to recover actively since late February, after oversupplied December and January. In early March, the need in polyethylene (PE) grew even more due to early spring in a number of regions, whereas most sellers' supply was tight, and some of them had sold out all their March quotas by the middle of the month. As a result, LDPE prices rose on a weekly basis, and some sellers announced a further price increase for April shipments this week.
108 grade LDPE was the most scarce PE grade throughout the whole March. The key suppliers - Angarsk Polymers Plant, Ufaorgsintez, and Kazanorgsintez - virtually did not have large stocks of this PE. And increased demand led to a price rise from Rb62,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in the last week of February to Rb76,000/tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, by the end of March.
The situation was also similar with 158 grade LDPE in the second half of March, many sellers had sold out all their March quantities by the middle of last month, whereas demand remained at good. The scheduled maintenance at Kazanorgsintez’s production capacities (from 11 April to 10 May) only aggrevated the situation. And if at the beginning of the month prices of this PE started from Rb70,000//tonne, CPT Moscow, including VAT, then by the end of March, they went up to Rb84,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, and higher.
In late March, some producers announced an increase of Rb3,000-5,000/tonne in April LDPE prices.
MRC
US propylene inventory rises by 2,7% in the 3rd week of March
MOSCOW (MRC) -- US nonfuel-use propylene inventories totaled 5.496 million barrels (bbl) during the week ending 20 March, up 145,000 bbl (2.7%) from the previous week and roughly even with the level of two weeks ago, reported Chemweek with reference to the US Department of Energy.
Propane and propylene stocks decreased by 1.8 million bbl (2.7%) to a total combined inventory of 64.9 million bbl.
Combined propane and propylene stocks in Gulf Coast (PADD 3) region decreased by 1.3 million bbl to 48.6 million bbl week over week. The Midwest (PADD 2) remained flat at 10.5 million bbl. PADD 1 inventories dropped 300,000 bbl to 4 million bbl, and PADDs 4 and 5 decreased by 300,000 bbl to 1.8 million bbl.
Products supplied for propane and propylene fell this week by 20,000 b/d on the week to 1,059,000 b/d.
Propane and propylene imports week over week saw an increase of 26,000 b/d to 149,000 b/d, and exports rose 285,000 b/d to 1,433,000 b/d.
US inventories are up 25.7% from the year-ago period.
OPIS is an IHS Markit company.
We reminad that, as MRC informed before, Enterprise Products Partners' Mont Belvieu propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Texas restarted from planned maintenance in the first week of December, 2019. The PDH unit went offline for maintenance on November 13. 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, according to Platts data.
Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in supplies.
MRC
PP production in Russia increased by 53% in January-February 2020
February PP production in the country decreased to 157,700 tonnes, compared with 168,600 tonnes in January; several producers decreased their capacity utilisation. Russia's overall PP production reached 326,300 tonnes in January-February 2020, compared to 212,700 tonnes a year earlier. Six out of eight producers increased capacity utilisation, while the two largest producers from Tobolsk provided the largest increase in production volumes.
The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.
SIBUR Tobolsk reduced its capacity utilisation in February, the plant's total PP output was 44,200 tonnes versus 45,500 tonnes a month earlier. The Tobolsk plant's total PP production reached 89,700 tonnes in the first two months of 2020, up by 54% year on year.
ZapSibNeftekhim in February produced about 38,000 tonnes of polypropylene compared with 40,900 tonnes in January. The production output in the first two months of this year totalled 78,900 tonnes.
Poliom produced about 16,880 tonnes of PP in February, which actually corresponds to the figure a month earlier. Total PP production at the plant over the reported period was about 33,600 tonnes, down 1% year on year.
Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced 17,200 tonnes of propylene polymers in February versus 18,900 tonnes a month earlier. The Nizhnekamsk plant's overall output of polymer exceeded 36,100 tonnes in the first two months of 2020, compared to 35,300 tonnes a year earlier.
Tomskneftekhim in February produced about 11,500 tonnes of polypropylene to 13,100 tonnes in January. Total PP production by the producer increased to 24,600 tonnes in January-February 2020, up 2% year on year.
February PP production at Ufaorgsintez increased to 10,500 tonnes from 10,600 tonnes a month earlier. The Ufa plant's overall output of polymer reached 21,100 tonnes in JanuarFebruaryty 2020, up 5% year on year.
Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) last month produced about 10,800 tonnes of PP, compared with 13,100 tonnes in January. The plant's overall PP output reached 23,900 tonnes over the stated period, up by 1% year on year.
Stavrolen (LUKOIL) shut its capacity utilisation for a short maintenance works in early February, total polypropylene production had dropped to 8,600 tonnes against 9,800 tonnes in January. In general, the total production of polymers of propylene in the first two months of this year at the Budenovsk enterprise reached 18,400 tonnes against 15,100 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC