Siemens launches local power trading platform with German utility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German technology group Siemens and utility Allgaeuer Ueberlandwerk (AUEW) have launched a trading platform that allows small rooftop solar energy producers to trade power locally with other households and businesses, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The platform in the Bavarian village of Wildpoldsried, called Pebbles, is aimed at keeping locally produced energy in the community, by helping for instance households with solar panels to sell power to neighbouring businesses like bakeries. Using blockchain technology to link participants via an app, it allows producers to earn money from marketing their excess production, the firms said, while distributing power locally represents a more efficient use of the grid.

Germany's power industry is moving towards integrating more renewable plants to decarbonise its energy systems. As most generate only intermittently according to weather conditions, their volatility can put stress on transport grids. "If we want to achieve the energy transition, we have to get small protagonists on board and integrate them," said the project leader for Siemens, Michael Metzger, in a webcast.

Pebbles will initially run up to November 2021. Siemens delivered the technology, while AUEW operates the platform and will develop a longer-term business model. Network company AllgaeuNetz is also studying grid-stabilising services that participants can offer to earn money, such as installing batteries in their homes to store captured solar power.

In addition to the technical challenges of the green energy roll-out, thousands of wind and solar producers will no longer receive guaranteed fixed payments for their output from next year as 20-year price guarantees expire, and must look for alternative income.

As MRC informed earlier, Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 GmbH signed a contract to build one of the largest hydrogen production plants in Germany. It will be built in Wunsiedel in the north of Bavaria. With a power intake of six megawatts in the initial development phase, the plant will run solely on renewable energy and will be CO2-free. The electrolysis plant from Siemens Energy will have the capacity to produce over 900 tons of hydrogen per year in this first phase. When fully expanded, it will be able to supply up to 2,000 tons. Groundbreaking is scheduled for the end of this year and commissioning at the end of 2021.

We remind that 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 Rosstat's data. 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.

At the same time, August production of primary polymers rose to 888,000 tonnes against 838,000 tonnes in July due to increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim, Stavrolen and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 6,630,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 15.2% year on year.
MRC

ABB and MOL Group embark on a collaborative project across four key chemical and refinery sites in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group and ABB embark on a three-year collaborative project to transform Asset Integrity Management (AIM) across four key chemical and refinery sites in Europe, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ABB has been awarded the contract to improve asset integrity across MOL’s downstream assets, through changing mindset, standardizing processes and software and ensuring integrity management is focused on the right equipment. The project spanning MOL DS Production plants in Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia, will implement standardized asset integrity procedures in a move to drive production efficiency, improve safety and reduce risk.

Leveraging technology and process data, ABB together with Metegrity Visions, will integrate a common digital platform at the Danube, Slovnaft, MOL Petrochemicals plants and INA chemical unit. The new solution, with the adoption of improved integrity management processes being rolled out by ABB will provide advanced risk analysis of assets with a key aim of reducing unplanned outages and lowering maintenance costs.

It is estimated that by controlling all its static equipment through the Asset Integrity Management (AIM) procedures, processes and systems, MOL will increase availability and reduce turnaround duration (TAR) leading to savings and production improvements of approximately 10 million euros a year across MOL’s downstream assets.

The new project builds on a longstanding collaboration between MOL Group and ABB. The ABB team has worked closely with the MOL team over the past two years to develop a business case and ensure it could deliver the right solution. The company will provide a bespoke team to deliver the project across three distinct phases with a key objective of transferring knowledge, upskilling MOL’s employees to use the software with a view to self-sufficiency by 2023.

As MRC informed earlier, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, plans to close the maleic anhydride plant in Szazhalombatta (Hungary) in October in order to carry out repair work to eliminate technical problems. prevented the company from increasing the capacity utilization at this production in September. It is expected that repair work at this 22,000 tonnes of maleic anhydride per year facility will continue for several days, but the exact timing of maintenance has not been told.

Plasticizers are substances introduced into a polymer material to make it elastic and plastic during processing and operation. In particular, plasticizers are used for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The share of plasticizers used for the production of PVC products is about 80%.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production totalled 718,500 tonnes in January-September 2020, down by 0.3% year on year. At the same time, only two producers managed to increase their PVC output.

MOL is the largest Hungarian oil, gas and petrochemical group, engaged in exploration and production, transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the operation of a network of trunk gas pipelines. TVK is a 100% subsidiary of MOL. TVK manufactures HDPE, LDPE, and PP.
MRC

US crude stockpiles dip, gasoline builds amid weak fuel demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil and distillate inventories fell last week, while gasoline stocks rose in another weak showing for fuel demand, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration.

Refinery runs and crude production both fell sharply, however, which analysts attributed to ongoing disruptions from Hurricane Delta.

Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 1 MM barrels in the week to Oct. 16 to 488.1 MM barrels, in line with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll.

Production of crude fell sharply last week to 9.9 MMbpd from 10.5 MMbpd, which was in part due to offshore facilities shutting for part of the week due to the hurricane.

“Overall the report seems to suggest that we’re still seeing the impact from the hurricane. It’s hard to gauge any broader supply or demand issues,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.

Prices were lower on the day, with US crude CLc1 down 4%, or USD1.30, to USD40.40 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 dropped 2.8% to USD41.95 a barrel as of 10:54 a.m. ET (1454 GMT).

Overall product supplied, a proxy for demand, was lower as well, and remained down 13% on the year and over the past four weeks when compared with the year-ago period.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI fell by 551,000 bpd in the last week, the EIA said, and refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 2.2 percentage points to 72.9% of capacity.

US gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI rose by 1.9 million barrels in the week, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 1.8 million-barrel drop.

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.8 MM barrels to 160.7 MM barrels, more than double the forecast for a 1.7 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

As MRC wrote before, US crude stocks moved lower in the first week of October as Hurricane Delta shut in Gulf of Mexico output and exports hit a 14-month low, according to US Energy Information Administration data showed Oct. 15. US commercial crude stocks declined 3.82 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 9 to 489.11 million barrels, EIA data showed. The draw left inventories just 10% above the five-year average, the weakest supply overhang since mid-May.

We remind that in August, 2020, US refiner Phillips 66 said it plans to reconfigure its refinery in Rodeo, California to produce renewable fuels from used cooking oil, fats, greases and soybean oils.

We also remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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

Shin-Etsu taps Taiwan in 20% boost to chipmaking material capacity

Shin-Etsu taps Taiwan in 20% boost to chipmaking material capacity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical will spend an estimated 30 billion yen (USD285 million) to raise capacity for a crucial semiconductor plant material by 20%, expanding its supply for cutting-edge chip production, according to NikkeiAsia.

New facilities for photoresist, used to form circuit patterns on silicon wafers, will be built in Japan and Taiwan.

The capacity increase by one of Japan's leading photoresist makers comes as competition in the field heats up, with chip demand rising for 5G devices, data centers and other applications.

The Taiwanese addition will come first, at a Yunlin County plant, by around February 2021. Shin-Etsu will begin Taiwanese production of photoresist compatible with cutting-edge extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology -- a material it previously made only in Japan -- to meet rising demand from such customers as Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

In Japan, the new facilities at the Naoetsu plant in Niigata Prefecture are slated to begin operating in February 2022. Production capacity will go up 50% in Taiwan and 20% at Naoetsu, with their staffs expanding as well.

The capacity increase will raise output for customers in South Korea, mainland China and other markets as well.

Japanese rivals JSR and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo also produce EUV photoresist both in Japan and overseas, and Sumitomo Chemical and Fujifilm are preparing to enter this field.

Shin-Etsu photoresist is known for high sensitivity and efficient circuit formation. The company also makes other semiconductor materials, such as wafers, helping it pinpoint the source of any production troubles at customers.

Japanese companies together hold about 80% of the global photoresist market, with Shin-Etsu alone controlling 20% to 30%.

The photoresist market will grow 60% between 2019 and 2024 to about 250 billion yen, research firm Fuji Keizai projects.

As MRC informed earlier, Shin-Etsu declared force majeure on deliveries of all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grades from its plant in Pernis, the Netherlands on October 13, 2020. The plants production capacity is 450,000 tons/year.It is not yet known when the force majeure will be lifted.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production totalled 718,500 tonnes in January-September 2020, down by 0.3% year on year. At the same time, only two producers managed to increase their PVC output.
MRC

Big Oil's selling spree might prove tricky

Big Oil's selling spree might prove tricky

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The world’s leading energy companies are hoping to sell dozens of oil and gas fields and refineries worth over USD110 billion to reduce ballooning debt and their carbon footprint, said Reuters.

But with the outlook for oil and gas prices shrouded in uncertainty because of the coronavirus epidemic and the looming energy transition, finding buyers and agreeing on asset prices might prove tricky.

"This is not a very good time to sell assets," Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said while presenting the French giant’s strategy to switch to renewables energy.

Eight of the world's top oil companies - Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total, Equinor, Eni and ConocoPhillips - are expected to sell in the coming years assets with resources of around 68 billion barrels of oil and natural gas equivalent, around two years of today's global demand, according to Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy.

Those assets carry an estimated value of USD111 billion, Rystad said in a note.

As it was written earlier, petrochemical companies are suspending production expansion projects in the US amid declining margins due to slowing demand growth. According to the American Chemistry Council, chemical companies have invested USD96 billion since 2010 to complete more than 200 shale oil projects in the United States, and another USD99 billion has been invested in projects underway. planning or building.

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