Qatar Petroleum joins Total to buy 45% interest in Cote d'Ivoire blocks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Qatar Petroleum said Monday it joined with France's Total to acquire a 45% participating interest in exploration blocks offshore of Cote d'Ivoire, reported S&P Global.

The blocks CI-705 and CI-706 are located in the Ivorian-Tano basin, covering an area of about 3,200 sq. kilometers, Qatar said in a statement. The farm-in agreement marks QP's first foray into Cote d'Ivoire. Terms were not disclosed.
The area could include several hydrocarbons, located in water depths of 1,000 to 2,000 meters, 35 km from shore and about 100 km from nearby Foxtrot, Espoir and Baobab fields.

"The acquisition of working interests in these two blocks marks an important addition to QP's upstream portfolio in Africa," Saad al-Kaabi, QP's CEO, said in the statement. "Africa's offshore is a key target area for QP's international growth strategy."

The farm-in agreement is subject to customary approvals by Cote d'Ivoire's government.

Since June 2017, Qatar has been under a diplomatic and trade embargo by its Gulf neighbors Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. Since then, the nation has looked to boost its international presence through a number of overseas upstream and downstream deals in countries including Oman, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Guyana, the US and Brazil. Earlier this month, QP entered into three farm-in agreements - also with Total - to acquire about 30% of Total's participating interest in blocks 15, 33 and 34 located in the Campeche basin, offshore Mexico. The deal brought to six the number of Mexican blocks QP holds an interest in.

As MRC informed earlier, Total has recently disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ukraine's polypropylene (PP) imports totalled about 39,100 tonnes in January-April of this year, down 13% year on year.
Supply of all grades of PP decreased, according to a MRC's DataScope report.

April PP imports to Ukraine decreased to 8,100 tonnes under the pressure of quarantine restrictions due to coronavirus against 10,500 tonnes a month earlier.Due to the partial shutdown of capacities, local companies have seriously reduced purchases of all types of propylene polymers. Overall imports of propylene polymers reached 39,100 tonnes in January-April 2020, compared to 45,000 tonnes a year earlier.
Only supplies of stat propylene copolymers (PP random copolymers) increased, while the demand for propylene polymers decreased.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

April imports of homopolymer PP to the Ukrainian market decreased to 5,800 tonnes from 8,000 tonnes a month earlier, with Russian injection moulding homopolymer PP accounting for the main decrease in shipments. Total homopolymer PP imports were 30,400 tonnes in January-April, compared to 36,000 tonnes a year earlier.

April imports of PP block copolymers into the country amounted to about 800 tonnes compared to 1,000 tonnes in March, local companies reduced the volume of purchases of injection moulding polypropylene. Over the reporting period, about 3,400 tonnes of propylene block copolymers were imported against 4,300 tonnes for the same period in 2019.

April stat PP imports decreased to 1,200 tonnes against 1,300 tonnes a month earlier, local converters reduced their purchases of pipe and injection moulding PP random copolymers. Overall PP random copolymers imports reached 4,600 tonnes in January-April 2020, compared to 4,200 tonnes a year earlier.

Overall imports of other propylene copolymers totalled slightly less 700 tonnes over the stated period.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF-YPC (BASF-Yangzi Petrochemical) ,a 50-50 joint venture of BASF and Sinopec, has undertaken a planned shutdown at its polystyrene (PS) unit, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that , the company has started a turnaround at the unit on May 5, 2020. The unit is expected to restart on June 20, 2020.

Located in Jiangsu, China, the PS unit a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, March 2020 estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics dropped by 2% year on year, totalling 42,130 tonnes. The estimated consumption totalled 121,880 tonnes in the first three months of 2020, down by 2% year on year. Overall, Russian plants produced 42,790 tonnes in March 2020. Overall output of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) totalled 32,100 tonnes in March 2020. 98,390 tonnes of HIPS and GPPS were produced in January-March 2020. The decrease in Russian plants' output was 3%.

Yangzi Petrochemical - BASF Co., Ltd. is an enterprise located in China, with the main office in Nanjing. The enterprise currently operates in the Basic Chemical Manufacturing sector. It was established on December 04, 2000. There are currently 1,894 (2018) people employed by Yangzi Petrochemical - BASF Co., Ltd.. In 2018, the company reported a net sales revenue increase of 2.5%. Over the same period, its total assets decreased by 3.89%. The net profit margin of Yangzi Petrochemical - BASF Co., Ltd. decreased by 3.59% in 2018.
MRC

1. Thai refinery IRPC delays USD1 B chemical project amid coronavirus outbreak

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thai oil refiner and petrochemical producer IRPC Pcl has delayed a 32.4 billion baht (USD1 billion) petrochemical investment and cut run rates by 20% as demand for petroleum and petrochemical products falls amid the coronavirus outbreak, the company’s president said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing. “We are delaying the paraxylene project for now because demand is slowing and it uses a lot of capital … it is good project, but should be delayed given the current situation,” IRPC President, Noppadol Pinsupa, told Reuters in an interview.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petronas Chemicals (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia’s leading petrochemicals player, today reported a drop in first-quarter sales and earnings citing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Chemweek.

The sharp decline in petrochemical product prices following the outbreak of COVID-19, the deepening industry downcycle as crude oil prices collapsed due to the OPEC+ fallout, and the recessionary global economic outlook have hurt results, the company says.

Profit after tax was down 39.4% to 493 million Malaysian ringgit (USD113.2 million), while operating profit slipped 36.4% to RM606 million. Lower product spreads and margin compression led to a decline in EBITDA margin to 20%. EBITDA stood at RM764 million, 39% down on the first quarter in 2019. Revenue was down 6% to RM3.89 billion.

Despite the unprecedented environment, Petronas Chemicals recorded high plant utilization rates and sales volume. Plant utilization rates averaged 94% and were comparable with the year-earlier quarter. Commenting on the results, Sazali Hamzah, CEO of Petronas Chemicals, says that despite the pandemic and the OPEC+ fallout, the group continued to demonstrate resilience in the first quarter by maintaining operational efficiency, customer centricity, and a diverse product portfolio. "Our solid operational and commercial capabilities allow us to be responsive to market changes. We have been able to circumvent the disruptions from lockdowns that are happening worldwide and sustain our business," he says.

He adds that despite operating in a challenging period, Petronas Chemicals continues to be focused on its growth strategy. "In 2020, we will proceed with the commissioning and commercialization of our chemical plants within the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC)."

The ramp-up and commercialization of Petronas Chemicals’ chemical plants within the PIC, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Petronas and Saudi Aramco, are continuing. The complex, at Pengerang near Singapore, is designed to produce polyethylene, polypropylene, and ethylene glycol. It was built downstream from a refinery and steam cracker, also a 50/50 JV between Aramco and Petronas Chemicals’ parent, Petronas. Construction of the steam cracker was completed earlier this year. It is designed to produce 1.291 million metric tons/year of ethylene, 630,000 metric tons/year of propylene, 185,000 metric tons/year of butadiene, 660,000 metric tons/year of pyrolysis gasoline, 175,000 metric tons/year of benzene, and 550,000 metric tons/year of methyl tert-butyl ether.

Sazali in his outlook for the rest of the year says, "The COVID-19 pandemic and OPEC+ fallout have heightened economic as well as market uncertainties. Product prices will generally remain under pressure in this difficult environment. It is imperative that we remain resilient as we face the full impact of the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn. We are confident that our business continuity plan will ensure that we overcome these challenging times."

As MRC informed earlier, a fire killed five people at a refining and petrochemicals complex in southern Malaysia owned by Petronas and Saudi Aramco, reported Reuters with reference to authorities' statement on 16 March 2020. It was the second fire in less than a year at the USD27 billion Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor. Petronas and Saudi Aramco each have a 50% stake in the PRefChem joint venture, which owns and operates the refinery and some petrochemical plants at PIC.

We remind that PRefChem abruptly shut down its cracker in Pengerang, Malaysia, on 25 October 2019, due to an unspecified technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene. Sources with knowledge of the matter said then that it might take roughly ten days for the cracker to come back online.

We also remind that the company received commercial ethylene and propylene at its new cracker in Pengerang on 13 September, 2019.

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.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC