PP imports to Ukraine down by 13% in January-April 2020

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Liquid bulk chemicals freight volumes at Port of Antwerp, Belgium, have risen slightly year on year (YOY) for the first four months of 2020, despite the growing impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, reported Chemweek.

Freight volumes of liquid chemical products grew by 0.6% YOY over the four-month period, although overall liquid bulk freight volumes fell by 2.5% YOY due mainly to lower demand for oil derivatives, says the Antwerp Port Authority (APA). Freight volumes of liquid bulk chemicals at the port had grown by 4% YOY for the first three months of 2020.

Imposed international restrictions and lockdowns in response to the pandemic were reflected by falling total freight volumes handled at the port in April, although the total for the first four months of the year was still up 0.4% compared with the prior-year period, it says. Container volumes in April fell compared with the same month last year but TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) grew 6.1% YOY over the first four months of 2020, it notes. "The consequences of canceled sailings will make themselves felt in the remainder of the second quarter. On the other hand, there was a strong increase in empty boxes bound for China, which is a sign of recovery in production there," the APA says.

The breakbulk sector, with steel as the most important product, was hit particularly hard by the worldwide disruptions in trade and the shutdown of industries around the world, it says. The sector fell by 15.7% YOY in April, and by almost 30% for the first four months of the year. Roll-on/roll-off volumes fell by over 16% YOY for the first four months due to the lack of production in the automotive industry, with imports and exports of cars "at a standstill," it adds. "The impact of lackluster demand due to the corona crisis will make itself felt more strongly in the coming months,” says the APA.

As MRC wrote before, in mid-April 2020, dozens of tankers holding jet fuel and gasoline were at anchor in sea lanes around Europe’s main storage hubs, unable to discharge their cargoes as onshore tanks were full to capacity following the collapse in demand linked to the coronavirus crisis. Nearly 1 million tonnes of refined products were parked on around 30 tankers off Europe’s coast, Reuters calculations found.

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.
MRC