PVC production in Russia up by 2% in January-April 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) - Russian producers of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have decreased capacity utilisation in April. Overall PVC output totalled 351,000 tonnes in January-April 2020, up by 2% year on year, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

April production of unmixed PVC in Russia was 83,900 tonnes from 89,900 tonnes a month earlier, producers RusVinyl and SayanskKhimPlast decreased capacity utilisation. The total volume of PVC production increased to 351,000 tonnes in January-April against 343,400 tonnes a year earlier.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (JV of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 26,500 tonnes of PVC in April, with emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC) accounting for 2,500 tonnes, compared to 29,900 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at RusVinyl increased to 118,700 tonnes in the first four months of this year, compared to 116,100 tonnes in the same period in 2019.

SayanskKhimPlast produced 27,000 tonnes of suspension PVC (SPVC) in April, whereas this figure was 28,500 tonnes in March. The Sayansk plant managed to produce about 110,300 tonnes of PVC in January-April, compared to 108,000 tonnes a year earlier.

Baskhir Soda Company produced about 23,200 tonnes of SPVC in April, against 24,200 tonnes a month earlier. Total SPVC production at Baskhir Soda Company increased to 92,900 tonnes in the first four months of this year, compared to 91,100 tonnes in the same period in 2019.

Kaustik (Volgograd) produced about 7,200 tonnes of SPVC in April, compared with 7,400 tonnes in March. The plant's overall production of PVC reached 29,100 tonnes over the stated period versus 28,200 tonnes a year earlier.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia and Russia are firmly committed to achieving oil market stability and expediting a rebalancing of the market, the energy ministers of the two countries said in a joint statement, said Hydrocarbonprocesing.

Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russian counterpart Alexander Novak held a phone conversation as part of their consultations on oil market developments, the statement said.

“We are also pleased with the recent signs of improvements in economic and market indicators, especially the growth in oil demand and the ease in concerns about storage limits as various countries around the globe begin to emerge from their stringent lockdowns,” the ministers said.

They said they were “confident that our partners within OPEC+... will comply with the OPEC+ agreement.” OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed last month to reduce output by 9.7 million bpd for May and June, a record production cut.

Saudi Arabia on Monday said it would voluntarily deepen oil output cuts from June by 1 million barrels per day, saying the new reductions were designed to expedite draining a global supply glut and rebalancing the oil market. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates both joined Saudi Arabia and also pledged to cut more than their commitments under the OPEC+ supply pact by a total of 180,000 bpd.

The joint statement said Novak welcomed the additional voluntary substantial production cuts made by Saudi Arabia and the steps that United Arab Emirates and Kuwait took to support Saudi efforts. The statement said such action was needed to help to expedite the rebalancing of the oil market.

Producers will slowly relax the production curbs under the OPEC+ agreement after June, but supply reductions will remain in force until to April 2022.

Sources told Reuters this week that OPEC and its allies want to maintain existing oil cuts beyond June rather than scaling them back to help to shore up prices and demand, which has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Contec, Inc. (Valley Falls, South Carolina) and Milliken (Spartanburg, North Carolina) have partnered to scale up production of Contec’s Sporicidin, a disinfect shown to kill coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to Chemweek.

Milliken “undertook an intensive technical process” to manufacture Spiricidin on behalf of Contec and completed all necessary US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements and training. Milliken began production on 12 May after just four weeks of ramp up. Typical similar partnerships require three to six months to arrange, the companies say.

Sporicidin is used for infection and contamination control by hospitals, medical and dental offices, veterinary clinics, and restoration professionals. The EPA-registered intermediate level disinfectant cleans, disinfects and deodorizes, and it provides 100% kill of pathogenic vegetative organisms, including MRSA, VRE, and Avian Influenza A Virus (H9N2 and H1N1) with continuous residual activity for up to six months. Compatible with plastics, wood, glass, and metals, the alcohol-free Sporicidin brand disinfectant is nonstaining, nonabrasive, and noncorrosive. Notably, the disinfectant carries a Category IV EPA toxicity rating the lowest toxicity rating given to antimicrobials.

As MRC informed before, in August 2019, Milliken & Company unveiled plans to construct a new, state-of-the-art chemical manufacturing plant and knowledge center in Asia. Expected to begin operations in Q1 2021, the facility expands Milliken’s chemical manufacturing footprint to support increasing demand across Asia, including rapidly growing markets in India and China. The company currently operates an applications lab and technical service and sales office in Singapore, and recently celebrated its 20-year presence in the region.

We also remind that at Hispack 2018 trade fair in Spain, Milliken Chemical showcased containers of NX UltraClear polypropylene (PP) made using its Millad NX 8000 clarifier, and highlighted why that material is the preferred solution for packaging.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.

Milliken is an innovation company that has been exploring, discovering, and creating ways to enhance people’s lives since 1865. The company creates coatings, specialty chemicals, and advanced additive and colorant technologies that transform the way we experience products from automotive plastics to children's art supplies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Deliveries of low-sulfur gasoil for May rose to 3,645 lots, or 364,500 tonnes, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to InterContinental Exchange data showed on Tuesday.

The contract expired at USD244.25 a tonne, down from USD295 at the April expiry, when deliveries reached 1,857 lots.

As MRC informed before, Asian gasoil markets will continue to face headwinds over the next few months even as refineries cut processing rates further and economies gradually start picking up as the coronavirus pandemic becomes contained.

We remaind that India’s state oil refiners have reduced crude processing as local fuel demand has tumbled due to lockdowns in much of the country that are aimed at halting the spread of coronavirus.

We also remind that state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) will invest about Rs25,000 crore to set up an ethylene cracker plant at Rasayani, 50 kilometres from its Mumbai refinery, as the firm pushes further into the petrochemicals business to fuel growth.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses, and Brent held near $30 a barrel as potential OPEC+ plans to deepen supply cuts were tempered by demand concerns exacerbated by a possible second wave of coronavirus infections as countries ease lockdowns, reported Reuters.

Brent crude was flat at USD29.98 a barrel by 1332 GMT, after hitting a low of USD28.92 a barrel earlier.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 5 cents, or 0.19%, to USD25.83 after falling to USD25.07 a barrel.

“Fears are running rife that easing lockdown measures will trigger a second wave of coronavirus infections,” said Stephen Brennoc at oil brokerage PVM.

U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci on Tuesday told Congress that easing coronavirus lockdowns could set off new outbreaks of the COVID-19 disease that has killed 80,000 Americans and badly damaged the world’s biggest economy and oil consumer.

New outbreaks have been reported in South Korea and China, where the health crisis started before spreading across the globe, prompting governments to lock down billions of people, devastating economies and demand for oil.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) now expects world oil demand to fall by 8.1 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to 92.6 million bpd, compared with a previous forecast for a drop of 5.2 million bpd.

The agency also expects U.S. output to fall by 540,000 bpd, against a previous forecast of 470,000 bpd. It expects global output of 11.7 million bpd this year and 10.9 million bpd in 2021.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries also slashed its world oil demand forecast and now expects it to contract by 9.07 million bpd this year, it said in a monthly report. Last month, OPEC expected a contraction of 6.85 million bpd.

On the supply side, OPEC+ is looking to maintain existing cuts beyond June, when it meets next in Vienna, sources told Reuters.

OPEC and other producers including Russia - a group known as OPEC+ - agreed to cut output by 9.7 million bpd in May and June and to scale back cuts to 7.7 million bpd for the rest of the year.

Saudi Arabia’s cabinet has urged OPEC+ countries to reduce output further to restore balance in global crude markets, the country’s state news agency reported early on Wednesday.

Riyadh said it would add to planned cuts by reducing production by a further 1 million bpd next month, bringing output down to 7.5 million bpd.

“Suffice to say, the tug-of-war between OPEC-led cuts and virus anxieties will limit upside price potential,” PVM’s Brennoc said.

In the United States, crude oil inventories rose by 7.6 million barrels last week to 526.2 million barrels, against analyst expectations for an increase of 4.1 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday.

Still, stocks of crude at the Cushing delivery hub in Oklahoma fell by 2.3 million barrels, API said. If confirmed by official data, that would be the first drawdown since February, ING Economics said.

“Concerns over hitting storage capacity have eased, as we see demand gradually recovering, along with supply cuts hitting the market,” ING said in a note, pointing to the decline in Cushing stocks.

As MRC wrote before, global oil consumption cut by up to a third. What happens next in the oil market depends on how quickly and completely the global economy emerges from lockdown, and whether the recessionary hit lingers through the rest of this year and into 2021.

Earlier this year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40 per cent in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

We 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 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
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