Crude oil prices rangebound after Libya's NOC lifts force majeure

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil futures were caught in a range during the mid-morning trade in Asia Sept. 21, even as Libya's state-owned National Oil Corp. lifted the force majeure on oil fields and ports on Sept.19, raising concerns of oversupply in a market plagued by demand uncertainty, reported S&P Global.

At 11.15 am Singapore time (0315 GMT), ICE Brent November crude futures were trading at $43.19/b, up 0.04 cents/b (0.09%) from the Sept. 18 settle, while the NYMEX October light sweet crude contract was at $41.14/b, up 3 cents/b (0.07%).

Libya's NOC lifted the force majeure on oil fields and ports, excluding facilities where militants are still present, after the Libyan National Army's leader Khalifa Haftar said on Sept.18 in a public broadcast that a blockade on oil exports, effective since Jan. 18, would be lifted immediately.

The lifting of NOC's force majeure could result in the return of up to 1.1 million b/d of crude oil that Libya had been pumping to the market before the blockade was imposed, marking a significant increase over the 100,000 b/d pumped during the blockade.

The return of Libyan crude could add to the woes of the OPEC+ coalition, which has been struggling with non-compliance issues from members as it tapers its oil output cuts to 7.7 million b/d from August onwards, from the 9.7 million b/d cut mandated from May through July.

While the OPEC+ meeting held on Sept. 17, during which Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman secured commitments from compliance laggards to compensate for their excess production, boosted market sentiment, traders are now concerned over the prospect of additional oil from Libya amid weak demand.

"The market can ill afford more crude hitting the market," ANZ analysts said in a Sept. 21 note. They reasoned that "The resurgence in COVID-19 infections around the world has seen many governments halt the easing of restrictions".

Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp , echoed a similar sentiment in a Sept. 21 note where he expressed concern over the possibility that wider-sweeping lockdowns will weigh down oil demand, with the coronavirus pandemic entering the unchartered territory of the winter months. "Winter months could prove to be one of the bitterest obstacles of them all," Innes said in the note.

As MRC informed earlier, global oil refiners reeling from months of lackluster demand and an abundance of inventories are cutting fuel production into the autumn because the recovery in demand from the impact of coronavirus has stalled, according to executives, refinery workers, and industry analysts. Refiners cut output by as much as 35% in spring as coronavirus lockdowns destroyed the need for travel. As lockdowns eased, refiners increased output slowly through late August. But in top fuel consumers the United States and elsewhere, refiners have been decreasing rates for the last several weeks in response to increased inventories, a sustained lack of demand, and in response to natural disasters.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arlanxeo will cease production operations at its 140,000 tonne/year neodymium butadiene rubber (Nd-BR) plant at Jurong Island in Singapore by the end of 2020, said the company in a statement sent to customers.

The move is part of the company's response to "changes in the rubber industry" and will help optimise resources and capabilities in its global Nd-BR production network. The company's Buna Nd-BR products will continue to be part of ARLANXEO's product offerings to markets globally, the company said.

As MRC informed earlier, Arlanxeo Holding B.V. closed its Keltan EPDM plant in Orange in the second quarter of 2020. Arlanxeo said it was closing the Orange facility as part of a realignment of its Keltan production network to improve competitiveness and harmonize technology platforms across the Keltan portfolio.

As per MRC, Russia's output of chemical products rose in August 2020 by 5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.3% in the first eight 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 January-July output. August production of benzene fell to 102,000 tonnes from 95,300 tonnes a month earlier due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at several producers. Overall output of this product reached 918,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 0.9% year on year.

Nd-BR is used in high-performance tire walls and threads as well as in the production of golf balls, running shoes and conveyor belts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polyplastics (Tokyo, Japan) says it plans to build a 20,000-metric tons/year cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) production facility in Leuna, Germany, with the plant scheduled to be operational by mid-2023, reported Chemweek.

No investment figure has been given.

The plant will be operated by its fully owned subsidiary Topas Advanced Polymers and will more than double the company’s current COC output. Polyplastics already has an existing COC production plant in Oberhausen, Germany, but says the new facility will help meeting growing demand worldwide for COC polymers.

Since the plant at Oberhausen began operations in 2000, a range of applications for the company’s COC polymer resins have been developed, including for medical, healthcare, optics, packaging, and electronics applications, it says. Monomaterial structures based on polyethylene (PE), enhanced with COC, are easier to recycle than other multimaterial solutions, it adds.

As MRC wrote before, Polyplastics Co., Ltd. announced on January 21 its decision to expand its engineering plastics compound plant in Malaysia operated by Polyplastics Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. (PAP), a wholly owned local subsidiary headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

The Polyplastics Group, as a top supplier of engineering plastics whose Fuji Plant in Japan; Dafa Plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Nantong Plant in mainlandChina have a combined yearly compound production capacity of 150,000 tons, will continue to make every effort to provide customers with a stable supply of products in the aim of further increasing customer satisfaction.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Canada's Inter Pipeline Ltd said that it will sell a major portion of its European bulk liquid storage business to Spain-based CLH Group for 420 million pounds (USD537.73 million), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to cut debt, improve the balance sheet and help with Inter's spending plans, including on its Heartland Petrochemical Complex in Alberta, the company said.

The pipeline operator had halted the sale in March, stating potential buyers of the business had been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that it was not the right time to pursue a major pan-European transaction.

The sale includes all of Inter's bulk liquid storage and handling assets in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany, totaling 15 storage terminals and about 18 million barrels of storage capacity.

After the close of the deal, expected in fourth quarter, Inter will retain its 8 terminals in Sweden and Denmark comprising about 19 million barrels of aggregate storage capacity.

As MRC informed erlier, Inter Pipeline Ltd. has announced that its board of directors has authorized the construction of a world-scale integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) plant. The facilities, collectively referred to as the Heartland Petrochemical Complex, are estimated to cost USD3.5 B in aggregate and will be located in Strathcona County, Alberta near Inter Pipeline’s Redwater Olefinic Fractionator.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Messer Group (Bad Soden, Germany), the largest family-owned industrial gases producer, has announced plans to invest more than EUR35 million (USD41 million) to build a new air separation plant in Tarragona, Spain, reported Chemweek.

Commissioning is scheduled for December 2021.

The facility will be located at Vilaseca in the south of the industrial chemical complex at Tarragona and have the capacity to produce 2,400 metric tons/day of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon, it says. The plant will also be certified for the production of medical gases. It will be connected to Messer’s existing pipeline network to meet growing demand for oxygen and nitrogen by chemical companies in Tarragona, it says. Manufacturing companies in the region will also be supplied with gases transported by tankers and cylinders, it adds.

Around 200 people will be employed on the project during the planning and construction phase, with more than 20 permanent employees on site after completion, according to Messer.

The investment will ensure “a reliable and flexible supply” to the company's customers and optimize its own processes by using the most advanced technology, says Stefan Messer, Messer’s owner and CEO.

As MRC informed before, Spanish oil and gas company Repsol plans to invest EUR80 million (USD90 million) to build two new plants in the Bilbao area as part of efforts reduce its carbon emissions. Repsol will build what it said would be one of the world’s biggest net-zero emissions fuel facilities, based on green hydrogen generated with renewable energy and carbon dioxide captured at the Petronor refinery in northern Spain, in which it owns a majority stake.

We remind that Repsol's refinery at Puertollano in central Spain will carry out an upgrade of its olefins unit. The modernization will be a part of planned maintenance of the cracker and chemical derivative plants at the end of 2020.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC