Crude oil futures retreat after overnight rally, steady US dollar

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 4 as traders took profit after the overnight rally amid better-than-expected global economic data, reported S&P Global.

At 11:07 am Singapore time (0307 GMT), the ICE Brent October crude futures was down 30 cents/b (0.68%) from the August 3 settle at USD43.85/b, while NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was down by 27 cents/b (0.66%) at USD40.74/b.

In the US, IHS Markit July manufacturing PMI released on Aug. 3 stood at 50.9, an improvement from June's 49.8, while the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2% in July, up from 52.6% in June, exceeding market expectations.

"However, when it comes to manufacturing output, it continues to suggest it's easier for the central bank and government stimulus to fire up the industrial heartlands," Stephen Innes, chief global markets analyst at AxiCorp, said in an Aug. 4 note.

"Still, it remains a challenge to get people working again or even in some US states to leave their apartment," he added.

Meanwhile, even as the number of new COVID-19 cases in the US has continued to move lower for a fifth consecutive day, from a high of 70,800 cases on July 29 to 47,500 cases on Aug. 2, according to latest data from John Hopkins University, deaths from COVID-19 rose for the fourth week in a row, according to media reports.

On the supply front, with OPEC+ easing into a 7.7 million b/d production cut in August and returning production limited to 1.1 million-1.5 million b/d because of compensation cuts, this increase in global oil supply comes at a time when uncertainty around global demand recovery remains elevated.

"In the larger scheme of things, crude prices have become locked in a tight range and that may remain the case as fundamentally, not much is expected to change on the supply or the demand front," Vandana Hari, founder and CEO of oil consultancy firm, Vanda Insights, said Aug. 4.

"On an intraday basis, bargain-hunting buying or profit-taking shaves off the shallow troughs and peaks. The US dollar, which has been a major influence on crude prices, has also gone into a holding pattern this week. We may see sideway movements in crude unless the US weekly stocks data jolts them out of the current range," she added.

At 11:05 am (0305 GMT), the US dollar index stood at 93.463, down 0.05% from 93.507 at the close.

Market participants will look to fresh cues from the inventory reports by the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration on Aug. 4 and 5, respectively.

As MRC informed before, China's crude stockpiles reached a record high level in July as refiners struggle to digest mass crude oil cargoes purchased during the second quarter, while domestic fuel consumption slowed amid widespread flooding across 23 provinces during the month. In total, at least 20 state-owned refineries across the country, which have no maintenance plan, have cut run rates in July by 1-17 percentage points from June. These comprise seven refineries under PetroChina, 12 from Sinopec, and Sinochem's only refinery Quanzhou Petrochemical.

We remind that Sinopec SABIC Tianjin Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), a 50-50 joint venture of Sinopec and SABIC, completed the debottlenecking of its ethylene cracker on 11 July 2020, adding another 30,000 tons/year output to its current capacity. Followed the expansion, the Tianjin based plant become the country's largest compressor unit, producing 1.3 million tons of ethylene annually.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corporation Company (FPCC) is running their residual fluid catalytic crackers (RFCC) at 80-90% in August, following a fire at its number 2 residue desulfurization (RDS) unit in the morning of July 15, reported S&P Global.

There are two RFCC units, each with a propylene capacity of 330,000 mt/year, located near the RDS, which supplies feedstock to the RFCCs.

As MRC wrote before, FPCC has to shut its No. 2 naphtha cracker in Mailiao, Taiwan until further notice. Thus, this cracker was taken off-stream on 15 July after a fire broke out at RDS unit belong to FPCC at the same site earlier that day. The No. 2 RDS unit is designed to process 80,000 barrels per day, which is a part of 540,000 barrel per day oil refinery complex. The No. 2 cracker has an annual capacity of 1.03 million tons/year of ethylene, 515,000 tons/year of propylene, and 162,000 tons/year of butadiene.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ELIX Polymer is in plans to take off-stream its acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plant for maintenance, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Europe informed that the company has schedule to start turnaround at the plant by end-August, 2020. The plant is likely to remain off-line for around 15 days.

Located in Tarragona, Spain, the plant has a production capacity of 180,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported previously, 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. 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.

We remind that 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 continued to develop and consolidate throughout the year of 2019.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the estimated consumption decreased in January-June 2020 by 18% year on year in the Russian ABS sector, totalling 19,360 tonnes. 2,680 tonnes of ABS plastics were processed in Russia in June 2020.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eneos Corporation (formerly known as JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy) is on track to restart its fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) unit in Japan on 10 August, 2020, according to Apic-online.

The company halted operations at this unit on July 28, 2020.

Located at Sendai, Japan, the FCC unit has a propylene capacity of 100,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy brought on-stream its FCC in Sendai on 2 August, 2019. The unit was shut for maintenance, on June 10, 2019.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Japan's largest refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy was renamed ENEOS Corporation on 25 June, 2020, as part of a wider re-organization of the parent company JXTG Holdings. The move, which also involved renaming the parent company to ENEOS Holdings upon approval at its annual shareholders meeting in June 2020, comes as it strives to be a more comprehensive energy and materials company under its 2040 vision announced in May, 2019. JXTG Holdings was formed as a result of a merger between JX Holdings and TonenGeneral in April 2017. This followed the establishment of JX Holdings as a result of the merger between Nippon Oil and Nippon Mining Holdings in April 2010.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- GranBio, a 100% Brazilian industrial biotechnology company, and NextChem, Maire Tecnimont's subsidiary for energy transition announced a strategic partnership to achieve global leadership in the licensing of patented GranBio 2G Ethanol technology to produce cellulosic ethanol, said the company.

GranBio's 2G Ethanol technology converts lignocellulosic, non-food biomass to renewable, low carbon intensity biofuels. NextChem is partnering with GranBio to license this technology worldwide. The alliance combines GranBio's technology and knowledge in second generation biomass and biofuels with NextChem's engineering intelligence, EPC capabilities and Group global presence, to offer integrated services, feasibility studies, integration projects, engineering and construction of manufacturing plants around the world.

The technology developed by GranBio to produce 2G ethanol has already been implemented in its factory located in Sao Miguel dos Campos, in Alagoas, the first in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated to cellulosic ethanol.

"We will be pioneers in this business model, leading the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry globally. Some countries already recognize the renewable carbon premium; our flexible method allows the use all types of agricultural waste and energy crops as feedstocks, such as cane straw, miscanthus, and corn stover and even leftover wood such as pine and eucalyptus. With the Alliance with NextChem, we have the ambition to conquer a significant share of the available market: we have the security and reliability that our technology is very promising," says Paulo Nigro, CEO of GranBio.

"This partnership with GranBio improves our technological portfolio in biofuels with a flexible and profitable solution to produce ethanol, a globally used chemical with many established industrial applications and enormous potential," says Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO of NextChem and Maire Tecnimont. "GranBio's reference plant is the only one of this kind, on an industrial scale, in operation at a worldwide level. We are confident in a winning solution that we shall be able to industrialize everywhere, thanks to our worldwide presence and engineering capabilities."

As MRC informed earlier, Eni and NextChem, the Maire Tecnimont Group’s subsidiary for green chemistry, strengthen their partnership one year after their first agreement.

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.

GranBio, a 100% Brazilian industrial biotechnology company, controlled by GranInvestimentos S.A., creates solutions to transform biomass into renewable products.

Maire Tecnimont S.p.A., is the head company of an industrial group leader in the natural resources processing industry. Its subsidiary, NextChem operates in the field of technologies for the energy transition.
MRC