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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US Gulf Coast refiners
and petrochemical producers are battening down the hatches in preparation for
Hurricane Laura, which is forecast to make landfall near the Texas-Louisiana
border Wednesday night or Thursday, according to Chemweek.
The National Hurricane Center
has declared a hurricane watch for the stretch of coast extending from San Luis
Pass, Texas, just south of Houston, to Intracoastal City, Louisiana, east of
Lake Charles, a region that includes almost 70% of US olefins production
capacity.
Several chemical producers are shutting down in advance of the
hurricane, according to air emission event reports submitted to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). CPChem intends to shut down its
Pasadena plastics complex, where the company has about 1 million metric
tons/year (MMt/y) of polyethylene capacity. Motiva Chemicals is shutting down
its steam cracker at Port Arthur, which has 0.7 MMt/y of ethylene capacity and
0.2 MMt/y of polymer-grade propylene (PGP) capacity. INEOS is shutting down its
Olefins 1 steam cracker at Chocolate Bayou, which has 0.9 MMt/y of ethylene
capacity and 0.3 MMt/y of PGP capacity.
In Lake Charles, there are
approximately 850,000 b/d of refining capacity. On Tuesday, Phillips 66 said it
is shutting down its Lake Charles complex, which includes a 273,000 b/d
refinery. CITGO confirmed that it is shutting down its 440,000-b/d refinery in
Lake Charles.
Port Arthur-Beaumont, Texas, has more than 1.6 million b/d
of refining capacity. OPIS reported on Monday that Motiva has filed a shutdown
report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its 607,000-b/d
refinery as well as its chemical plant. Total's 225,000-b/d Port Arthur facility
was reportedly reducing runs to minimum levels.
ExxonMobil said it was
preparing for severe weather at its 384,400-b/d Beaumont refinery, but as of
late Monday afternoon the company said operations were normal. Market sources
say Valero's 415,000-b/d Port Arthur refinery is also shutting down, but the
company has not yet offered confirmation. Calcasieu has idled its 137,000-b/d
refinery.
Tuesday the Port of Houston said it expects to be fully closed
Wednesday and possibly Thursday, depending on the storm track.
As MRC reported earlier,
Motiva Enterprises may shut the largest crude oil refinery in the United States
for the passage of Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura later this week. The
company’s 607,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in the coastal city of Port
Arthur, Texas, could be drenched by both storms between Tuesday and the end of
the week based on current forecasts.
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. |
