LyondellBasell announces quarterly dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced that it has declared a dividend of USD1.05 per share, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is to be paid June 15, 2020 to shareholders of record June 8, 2020, with an ex-dividend date of June 5, 2020.

As MRC reported earlier, global petrochemical producer LyondellBasell has reduced rates across its system to accommodate lower demand wrought by shutdowns around the globe to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, said the company's CEO Bob Patel. LyondellBasell's overall global petrochemical and refining assets were expected to operate at 60% to 80% of nameplate capacity through the second quarter, Patel said during the company's first-quarter earnings call. European crackers were seen running at 80% to 85%, while US crackers were expected to run at about 75%, he said.

We also remind that to further aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, LyondellBasell (LBI) donated a key ingredient to Huntsman Corporation to produce hand sanitizer for US first responders.

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.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
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Sinopec expects to start Zhanjiang oil refinery at end of July

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Sinopec Corp is expected to start commercial operations at its oil refining and petrochemical complex in Zhanjiang at the end of July, reproted Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to a company spokesperson's statement.

The refinery is capable of processing 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and the petrochemical plant will produce 800,000 tonnes per year of ethylene. The project, with first phase investment of 40 billion yuan ($5.59 billion), is located in southern China’s Guangdong province.

The refinery received its first crude oil cargo of 128,900 tonnes from a very large crude carrier (VLCC) that arrived at the plant’s 300,000-tonne capacity berth in early May, Sinopec said on May 9.

The Zhanjiang refinery is Sinopec’s first capacity addition since the start up of the similar-sized Qingdao refinery on China’s east coast in 2009.

The Zhanjiang plant is located about 60 km (37 miles) from Sinopec’s 400,000-bpd Maoming refinery.

Sinopec also owns commercial crude oil storage tanks in Zhanjiang that serve as a delivery point for crude oil futures contracts traded on China’s International Energy Exchange (INE).

The Guangdong provincial government aims to set up an oil refining and petrochemical industry base to shore up its economy. German chemical giant BASF is also building a USD10-billion integrated petrochemical project in Zhanjiang.

An Sinopec executive at the Zhanjiang refinery proposed during China’s annual parliament conference, the National People’s Congress (NPC), to include the Maoming-Zhanjiang base into the list of national-level petrochemical bases, according to a report on the proceedings released by the NPC on Monday.

Companies involved in the national petrochemical bases would be expected to receive preferential policies from the government on taxes and land purchases.

China has seven national-level petrochemical bases at Dalian in Liaoning province, Caofeidian in Hebei province, Lianyungang in Jiangsu province, Shanghai, Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Gulei in Fujian province and Huizhou in Guangdong.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2019, Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), a 50-50 joint venture of Sinopec and SABIC, began construction on an ethylene expansion project in Tianjin Province, China. The project will boost the company's ethylene capacity to 1.3-million t/y from 1-million t/y currently. Cost and a schedule for the project were not given.

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.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 29.05.2020

1. Oil prices fall as focus turns to OPEC+ consensus

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude futures fell Wednesday as the focus turned to a lack of consensus among OPEC+ members ahead of the group's next meeting on June 8-10, reported S&P Global. NYMEX July crude settled at USD32.81/b, down USD1.54, while ICE July Brent settled at USD34.74/b, down USD1.43. "Oil's rally stalled out after Russia signaled they want to unwind productions in July, a sign that the battle for market share will resume as crude demand improves," said OANDA analyst Edward Moya. "Russia's comments on easing cuts in July served as a reminder that higher prices and improved crude demand will likely see OPEC+ compliance go out the window." While news that Russia's oil ministry said global oil markets would balance in June or July pulled prices lower, subsequent news Wednesday that Russia's President Vladimir Putin agreed with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the need for "close coordination" put a floor in futures."Both sides noted the importance of joint efforts in achieving OPEC+ agreements in April to limit oil production," said a statement from the Kremlin. "They agreed that further close coordination on this issue should take place between energy ministers." The OPEC+ alliance agreed in April to reduce output by 9.7 million b/d in May and June in response to plummeting demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Arabia has since said it will cut a further 1 million b/d in June.



MRC

Irving Oil to buy Come-by-Chance refinery owner

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada-based oil refinery operator Irving Oil said it had agreed to buy North Atlantic Refining Corp, the owner of the Come-by-Chance refinery in Newfoundland, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Come-by-Chance refinery, which has an output of 135,000 barrels per day, was the first to close in North America as refiners worldwide began to scale back to adjust to a sudden demand slump due to the coronavirus outbreak.

As MRC informed earlier, North Atlantic Refining Ltd’s Come-by-Chance refinery in Canada will be the first to close in North America due to the coronavirus pandemic as refineries worldwide cut back operations. The company confirmed on Monday that it told stakeholders it was pausing production because of concerns about worker safety as the virus spreads.

As MRC informed earlier, US-based Phillips 66 is delaying three sizeable scheduled shutdowns at its refineries this year, the company said last week, because of concerns that coronavirus could spread among the refineries' workers if the maintenance goes ahead.

We also reminad that Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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

ELIX Polymers joins the fight against COVID-19 with biocompatible ABS grades for medical devices

MOSCOW (MRC) - Leading ABS producer ELIX Polymers is collaborating with a large group of companies within ClusterMAV, the Advanced Materials Cluster of Catalonia, Spain, in the fight against COVID-19, said the company.

The partners are working in collaboration with the National Federation of Innovative Business Groups and Clusters (FENAEIC), which focuses on promoting collaboration between federations, clusters and their partners, within the European Cluster collaboration platform.

ELIX Polymers is donating a medical-grade material, ELIX ABS 3D-FC, in response to high demand from hospitals for medical masks, valves for ventilators and other medical devices. This product, developed for transformation into filaments for FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) 3D printing, is now being used by Ford Motor Company (which has switched some of its production in automobiles to medical equipment), research organization AIMPLAS, and two Spanish plastics processors, PESL and SIIM.

Materials developed by ELIX Polymers for the healthcare sector are compliant with the ISO 10993 and USP class VI biocompatibility standards. They have been included in Drug Master Files (DMF) for use in medical and food contact applications in both Europe and the USA.

Ford is using 15 3D printers at its facility in Valencia to produce protective face shields at a rate of 300 units a day. Filaments, produced on extruders operated by volunteer employees, are used to print head supports for protective face shields. Assembled shields are shipped to an ozone disinfection centre coordinated by the Ministry of Health in Valencia and then distributed to hospitals and care homes.

Logistic support of the 3Dcovid19.tech initiative, in coordination with leading plastics distributor Nexeo Plastics in Barcelona, is enabling distribution of ELIX ABS 3D-FC filaments to several 3D printing companies in the network. They are producing various parts that are in high demand, including ventilator adaptors and manifolds. One such company is Noumena, a tech company that specialises in the manufacture of additives and uses ELIX ABS 3D-FC in its WASP 3D printing machines to produce different types of protective masks with interchangeable filters for the subsequent supply thereof to hospitals. In some cases, injection moulding is also being used; for this, ELIX Polymers is providing another medical grade, ELIX ABS M203-FC.

ELIX ABS 3D-FC is being processed on several brands of 3D printers, including open-chamber types like Prusa and Ultimaker, and closed-chamber printers like WASP. Temperature fluctuation is reduced in a closed chamber, but open-chamber 3D printers have also given excellent results.

The downloadable printing profile for ELIX ABS 3D-FC, which is compatible with Cura software widely used in FFF 3D printing, has helped in identifying the most suitable settings for the material; standard Prusa settings for ABS have also been useful.

The performance characteristics of ABS, together with the fact that it can be adapted and customised to meet each
specific need in its final use, as well as the safety and reliability of the different types of ABS manufactured by ELIX, have made it an essential material for many medical equipment manufacturers.

As MRC reported before, in June 2018, ELIX Polymers, a thermoplastics manufacturer located in Tarragona's Poligono Sur industrial complex, announced a new investment amounting to EUR4 million, whose objective is to optimize its ABS powder production facilities. The company began executing this new project in 2018, which it will continue to develop and consolidate throughout the year of 2019.

As oer MRC's ScanPlast, overall imports of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) to the Russian market increased in the first four months of 2020 by 5% year on year to 10,900 tonnes. This figure was at 10,400 tonnes in January-April 2019. Last month"s imports of material to the Russian Federation rose by 5% to 3,300 tonnes from 3,100 tonnes a year earlier. March ABS imports into the country were 2,800 tonnes.

ELIX Polymers is one of the most important manufacturers of ABS resins and derivatives in Europe, with 40 years of experience in engineering plastics and an installed capacity of 180,000/year from their plant in Tarragona (Spain) to the world. The operation starts in 1975, when the Tarragona ABS and SAN production plant was inaugurated.
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