Celanese raises August VAM prices in Europe, Middle East and Africa

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials company, has increased August list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Europe, Middle East and Africa, as per the company's press release.

The price increase below is effective for orders shipped on or after August 14, 2020, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, VAM prices rose by EUR100/mt for Europe, the Middle East & Africa.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese last raised its VAM prices for the stated above regions on July 1, 2020, by the same amount of EUR100/mt.

According to MRC's DataScope report, June EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,5% year on year to 2,940 tonnes from 3,800 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation dropped in January-June 2020 by 8,16% year on year to 17,440 tonnes (18,980 tonnes a year earlier).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 17.08.2020

1. Ineos Styrolution Canada donates to Ontario mental health service organizations

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As demand increases for COVID-19 related mental health programs, material supplier Ineos Styrolution Canada been working with Ontario organizations St. Clair Child & Youth Services and Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton Kent to fund virtual, mental health programs for their community, said Canplastics. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of their Outreach Program, a cornerstone summer activity for “at-risk” children within the community, Ineos Styrolution Canada, delivered a USD10,000 grant through the Ineos Community Fund to St. Clair Child & Youth Services. This grant will used for the creation of virtual summer camps, ensuring that staff will have the ability to stay connected with families during challenging times.



MRC

July refinery output hits new monthly peak as top plants return from overhauls

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s refinery output jumped 12% in July from the same month a year earlier, hitting the highest on record for any single month, as several major state plants resumed operations after maintenance overhauls, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

China processed 59.56 million tonnes of crude oil last month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday, equivalent to about 14.03 million barrels per day (bpd). Throughput for the first seven months totalled 378.65 million tonnes, or about 12.98 million bpd, up 2.3% from the same period a year ago.

Two of Sinopec Corp’s top plants - Zhenhai and Tianjin - and PetroChina’s Dalian plant resumed production after being off-line for months. But the elevated production came amid slowing demand for diesel and gasoline as severe floods hit provinces along the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River for much of July, leading to brimming inventories and signalling potential cutbacks in fuel processing down the line.

Run rates at independent refineries across China have already fallen to around 70% this week from near 80% last month, according to China-based Longzhong consultancy. “Stocks were very high, near the highest levels seen in February when the country was worst hit by the coronavirus, as floods stalled road traffic and slowed down construction,” said Wang Zhao, senior analyst with Sublime Information Group, ahead of the data release.

The NBS data also showed China’s domestic crude oil output rose 0.6% last month compared with the same month a year ago to 16.46 million tonnes, or 3.88 million bpd. Output for the January-July period reached 113.5 million tonnes, up 1.4% over the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, natural gas output grew 4.8% last month from a year earlier to 14.2 billion cubic metres (bcm), and production for the first seven months of the year climbed 9.5% to 108.3 bcm.

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

Sinopec merges two Guangdong-based refineries, lifts more U.S. oil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s Sinopec Corp has merged two subsidiary refineries in Guangdong, two company sources said, as the state refining giant looks to improve operations in the face of rising competition in South China, said Reuters.

The company in July combined the newly launched Zhongke refinery complex and a neighbouring old plant Dongxing Petrochemical, both based in the coastal city of Zhanjiang, and named the merged entity Zhongke Refining and Chemical Co.

Guangdong province is China’s top oil-consuming region. Sinopec alone operates nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity in the province and rival PetroChina is building a new 400,000 bpd refinery. “It’s part of Sinopec’s strategy to form regional refining hubs so to be more integrated into feedstock supply and crude oil purchases,” said one Sinopec official.

Both sources declined to be named due to company policy. Sinopec did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The new entity has a crude refining capacity of 300,000 bpd and is due to start a new 800,000 tonne per year ethylene complex in September at the Zhongke plant.

The older Dongxing plant, which operates a 100,000-bpd crude unit, has since 2017 become China’s leading processor of U.S. crude oil, mostly of low sulfur quality that fits the plant’s configuration, said a second official. Between 2017 and 2019, Dongxing processed about 15 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate crude, replacing some of its previous regular imports from West Africa.

After a lull in U.S. oil imports in 2019 due to souring relations with Washington, China since earlier this year has resumed U.S. oil purchases following the Phase 1 trade deal agreed in January. Dongxing is slated to receive 1 million barrels of WTI crude each month between June and October, the second source said. WTI crude typically gives a high yield of naphtha, a feedstock needed for the start-up of the Zhongke ethylene plant.

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

Chinese Rongsheng sees energy, chemical demand back to normal in H2

MOSCOW (MRC) - Rongsheng Petrochemical , the listed arm of a major shareholder in one of China's biggest private oil refineries, expects demand for energy and chemical products to return to normal in the country in the second half of this year, said Reuters.

The Zhejiang-based Chinese private refiner saw profit more than triple in the first half of 2020, bolstered by the launch of its 400,000 barrel-per-day Zhejiang Petrochemical Co (ZPC), according to a stock exchange filing earlier this week. ZPC is designed to mainly process crude oil from Saudi Arabia.

Rongsheng expects to start trial operations of the second phase of the refining project, adding another 400,000 bpd of refining capacity and 1.4 million tonnes of ethylene production capacity in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"We expect the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on energy and chemicals to have basically faded in spite of the possibility of new waves of outbreak," said Quan Weiying, board secretary of Rongsheng, in response to Reuters questions in an online briefing. "With demand recovery from downstream sectors, production and sales of chemical products in China are expected to return to normal."

Rongsheng also told investors its oil refining operation rates were currently around 120% and ethylene run rates around 100%. Last month, China granted ZPC a licence to export refined oil products, making it the first private oil refiner to obtain such permission.

But Li Shuirong, president of Rongsheng, told the briefing that it was still in the process of applying for an export quota and would adjust production based on market demand.

As mRC informed earlier, Zhejiang Petrochemical plans to launch a second cracker with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of ethylene per annum in Zhoushan in eastern China at the end of September. This cracking unit is part of the second phase of the Zhoushan complex and includes a 400 bpd refinery and an aromatics facility with a capacity of 5.2 million tonnes per year. The company at the new Zhoushan petrochemical complex at the end of last year has already started test production at a refinery with a capacity of 400 barrels per day. In addition, the site also houses a cracking unit with a capacity of 1.4 million tonnes of ethylene per year.

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.

Zhejiang Petrochemical, 51 percent owned by textile giant Rongsheng Holding Group, was in August awarded a quota to import 5 million tonnes of crude oil this year and the company plans to start up its 400,000-barrels-per-day refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China in late 2018.

MRC