Shell investigating a possible spill near Sarnia, Ontario site

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell is investigating a sheen near its Sarnia, Ontario facility, which houses a 75,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery, according to The Observer, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Earlier in the day, the company reported a possible spill of an unknown product to Talfourd Creek in Sarnia.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2020, CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd (CNOOC), Shell Nanhai B.V (Shell) and the Huizhou Government have announced a strategic cooperation agreement to further expand the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) 50:50 joint venture in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.

The expansion is planned to serve the growing number of intermediate and performance chemicals customers in the key market of China, supplying products including SMPO, polyols, ethylene glycol, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). These chemicals are used in a wide range of end products, in healthcare, construction, fabrics, packaging, transport and electronics. For the first time in Asia, Shell would apply its advanced technology for linear alpha olefins. The project is intended to include construction of a new 1.5 million-tonnes-per-year ethylene cracker, with the mega-site bringing economies of scale and enhanced competitiveness.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 721,290 tonnes in the first four month of 2020, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments grew partially because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 347,440 tonnes in January-April 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Supply exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lanxess announced that it is reorganizing its water treatment portfolio to focus on ion exchange resins, particularly on high-end market applications. As part of this realignment, Lanxess is selling its reverse osmosis membranes business to Suez, a leader in sustainable resource management, said Chemweek.

The companies signed the deal on Wednesday and expect the transaction to be completed by the end of 2020. Financial details were not disclosed. “The membrane business no longer fits in with our strategic focus on specialty chemicals,” said Matthias Zachert, chairman of the board of Lanxess. “We are convinced that under the Suez umbrella, the business has the necessary conditions to develop its full growth potential in the future."

Lanxess produces reverse osmosis membranes, which play an important role in the treatment of brackish and seawater, at its site at Bitterfeld, Germany. Suez will take over this plant and the research facilities with all the employees. In 2019, the business generated sales in the low double-digit million euro range, Lanxess says.

At the same time, Lanxess plans to beef up its ion exchange resins business. The company plans to invest between €80 million and €120 million to build a new production facility in the next few years. “We will invest in additional capacities for ion exchange resins in order to be able to meet the growing global demand. At the same time, we want to grow especially in promising market segments," Zachert said.

The new ion exchange resin plant will have a production capacity of between 20,000 and 30,000 cubic meters and is scheduled for completion within the next five years. Lanxess says it will decide on the exact location shortly. The company currently manufactures ion exchange resins at its sites at Leverkusen and Bitterfeld, Germany; and Jhagadia, India.

"With our applications for water filter cartridges, we are already one of the leading manufacturers. We are now additionally focusing on highly specialized applications that are characterized by high demand and strong growth. For example, in the field of biotechnology, in the semiconductor industry or in the selective removal of metals, such as for the battery industry,” said Bettina Blottko, head of the liquid purification technologies business at Lanxess.

Ion exchange resins are used in cleaning processes in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In the semiconductor industry, they play a key role in the production of ultra-pure water, which is needed in microchip production. There is also a high demand for ion exchange resins in the battery industry due to the trend towards e-mobility. They are also used to extract lithium, nickel and cobalt metals, which are important for battery cell production. Ion exchange resins are also used in power generation, the chemical industry, microelectronics and drinking water treatment.

As MRC informed earlier, Lanxess has announced that it expects its core income to decline in 2020 as the global coronavirus epidemic is expected to damage its supply chains. The company forecasts that profit before exceptional items will slash EUR 50-100 million (USD56.4-112.8 million) as a result of coronavirus, with EUR20 million (USD22.6 million) impact projected for the first quarter. However, the company anticipates its operating business will remain stable for the year.

Russia's output of chemical products rose by 4.4% year on year in May 2020 . Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.4% in the first five months of 2020. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the output in January-May.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to idle a sulfur recovery unit (SRU) at the joint-venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery in 2021, reported Reuters with reference to Shell spokesman Curtis Smith's statement.

Currently, the refinery is operating at about 75% of its 318,000 barrel-per-day capacity because of reduced demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said sources familiar with plant operations.

Smith said the decision to idle the SRU, one of six at the refinery, came after a review of operations at the refinery.

“We continually assess all aspects of our business to ensure we remain competitive in an ever-tightening market,” Smith said. “As part of that process, we have made the decision to shut down one of Deer Park’s sulfur recovery units next year.”

SRU extracts sulfur from hydrogen sulfide removed during the production of motor fuels.

The Deer Park refinery is a 50-50 joint-venture between Shell and Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico’s national oil company. Shell is the managing partner.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2020, CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Co. Ltd (CNOOC), Shell Nanhai B.V (Shell) and the Huizhou Government have announced a strategic cooperation agreement to further expand the CNOOC and Shell Petrochemical Company (CSPC) 50:50 joint venture in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.

The expansion is planned to serve the growing number of intermediate and performance chemicals customers in the key market of China, supplying products including SMPO, polyols, ethylene glycol, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). These chemicals are used in a wide range of end products, in healthcare, construction, fabrics, packaging, transport and electronics. For the first time in Asia, Shell would apply its advanced technology for linear alpha olefins. The project is intended to include construction of a new 1.5 million-tonnes-per-year ethylene cracker, with the mega-site bringing economies of scale and enhanced competitiveness.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shipments of Russian diesel from Baltic to Mediterranean region opened in July as refinery run cuts in Europe and low freight rates offered opportunities for arbitrage trade, according to traders and Refinitiv Eikon data, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The arbitrage trade takes advantage of cheaper diesel in the Baltic and supplies the fuel to the Mediterranean where prices are higher. The tanker Ardmore Dauntless that loaded at Primorsk port will supply 30,000 tonnes of diesel to Turkey’s Maramara port for the first time since at least 2015, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The tanker Huey that loaded at Primorsk on July 8 will ship 30,000 tonnes of diesel to Morocco, data also showed. “The Mediterranean diesel market is very volatile these days, so we often see an arbitrage opportunity,” a trader in European oil product market said.

Traders expected more shipments of Russian diesel loading in July from Baltic ports and heading to the Mediterranean where refineries have cut output. Several Mediterranean refiners including Turkey’s Tupras cut runs due to weak margins.

Russia with its allies in the OPEC+ group agreed on record output curbs since May 1, which led to a sharp decline in diesel-rich Urals oil and a jump in prices of the Russian grade. Urals refining margins in the Mediterranean were negative, at minus USD3.68 per barrel on average for the last two weeks, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

Low-sulphur diesel cargoes traded in the Mediterranean at a premium of USD6 to USD12 per tonne to cargoes in northwest Europe ULSD10-C-NWE, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Cheaper freight also supported arbitrage shipments of diesel from the Baltic region to the Mediterranean.

Freight rates for vessels carrying 30,000 tonnes in northwest Europe were down to 90 Worldscale points, or WS90, the lowest level since 2009, according to Riverlake data carried by Refinitiv Eikon. In January, the rates were WS300. The WS system is an industry tool used to calculate freight rates.

As MRC informed before, global oil consumption cut by up to a third in Q1 2020. 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 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brent crude prices could rise towards USD50/b by the start of 2021, if the COVID-19 pandemic is contained, though the path may be choppy, said Monica Malik, reported S&P Global with reference to chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

"At the moment it is trading in a relatively tight band of between USD40 and USD45/b, and in the near-term, that's the range we expect it to see it remaining in," said Malik, on a July 16 webcast for the International Monetary Fund's MENA Economic Outlook. "In a case of global environment where you see COVID-19 controlled and global demand continuing to pick up, we expect oil by the end of this year and into next year moving towards the USD50/b range."
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, had implemented record oil production cuts of 9.7 million b/d in May, as the market was wallopped by the pandemic, but with many countries easing lockdown measures and economic activity picking up, the alliance is set to ease the cuts to 7.7 million b/d in August.

"We do expect the supply-demand mismatch to reverse in July, where demand outstrips supply, thanks to the (OPEC+) supply cuts," Malik said.

However, she noted that the sharp increase in inventories that were built in the first five months of the 2020 would take time to work down, even with the production cuts and pick-up in demand.

OECD oil stocks in May rose relative to the five-year average that OPEC+ has said it is targeting for the fifth straight month, coming in at 3.17 billion barrels -- 209.5 million above the benchmark, according to the latest OPEC monthly oil market report.

Another potentially bearish factor is the re-adjustment in the US shale production. If oil prices rise too fast, US producers may not stay down for as long as the OPEC+ coalition is looking for, Malik said.

But an additional assurance of stabilization comes from the key Gulf producers -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait -- voluntarily implementing deeper cuts when the market requires.

In June, Saudi Arabia cut an additional 1 million b/d of its crude oil production below its quota under the OPEC+ agreement, while the UAE and Kuwait followed suit with announcements they will cut an additional 100,000 b/d and 80,000 b/d, respectively.

Those cuts were discontinued in July but contributed to a substantial tightening of the market.

"If we see demand side pressure emerging again the core (Gulf) producers will adjust production to support the oil price," Malik said.

Current oil prices are still well below the budget breakeven prices for Gulf countries, but at a comfortable level for the economies from a fiscal stance, Malik said.

For 2020, Saudi Arabia's fiscal breakeven price stands at USD76.1/b, the United Arab Emirates is USD69.1/b, Oman is $86.8/b, and Kuwait's is USD61.1/b, according to the IMF.

The IMF on July 13 said Middle East oil exporters, which form the core of OPEC, are in for extreme pain in 2020, revising downward its estimate of economic growth to -7.3%. It said its forecast reflects the "'double whammy' from oil price fluctuations (and supply cuts) and the pandemic-linked lockdowns."

As MRC informed before, global oil consumption cut by up to a third in Q1 2020. 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 595,170 tonnes in the first five month of 2020, up by 10% year on year. Deliveries of all ethylene polymers, except for linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), rose partially because of an increase in capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 457,930 tonnes in January-May 2020 (calculated by the formula production minus export plus import). Deliveris of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC