US PVC Jan-Oct 2020 exports fall 9.5% on year: ITC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US exports of construction staple polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were 9.5% lower from January through October 2020 compared with the same period a year ago, reported S&P Global with reference to the latest US International Trade Commission data, released Dec. 8.

The US shipped out 2.13 million mt of PVC from January through October, down from 2.53 million mt in the same time frame of 2019.

The US exported nearly 2.99 million mt in all of 2019, or 37% of about 8 million mt/year of US PVC capacity.

The decline illustrates limited export volume availability amid tight supply because of months of reduced upstream chlor-alkali rates exacerbated by two force majeure events Formosa Plastics USA and Westlake Chemical declared in August that remained in effect Dec. 8. Formosa's force majeure stemmed from operational issues, while Westlake's was declared after Hurricane Laura's Aug. 27 assault on its operations in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

In addition, strong domestic demand amid a housing construction boom has further limited export volume availability, market sources said.

The tightness is global. Market sources said supply was limited in Asia and Europe, amid turnarounds and three ongoing PVC force majeure events in Europe as well. "It is on all sides," a source said.

Another source said the squeeze was expected to last into early 2021. "Typically if we get a shortage, it will last for six weeks, maybe two months. I've never seen a globally traded product be this tight for this long a period of time," the second source said.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 891,200 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 0.3% year on year. However, two producers managed to increase their PVC output.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, has left a force majeure on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) supplies from its Texas and Louisiana plants in force as of 8 December, reported S&P Global.

The force majeure circumstanced were announced in mid-August, 2020, due to difficulties to produce the product amid upstream steam cracker problems.

"Formosa Plastics Corporation, USA, on behalf of Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas, and Formosa Plastics Corporation, Louisiana, has experienced unexpected difficulties in its upstream facility at Point Comfort, Texas, impacting the PVC production at both manufacturing sites," the company said in the letter as of Aug. 14.

As MRC informed before, in March, 2020, Formosa Plastics was emerging from a turnaround at its 798,000 mt/year PVC plant and upstream 753,000 mt/year vinyl chloride monomer unit at its Point Comfort, Texas, complex.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 891,200 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 0.3% year on year. However, two producers managed to increase their PVC output.

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) -- As of 8 December, Westlake Polymers has left in force the declared on Aug. 31 force majeure on its North American polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and upstream vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plants, after Hurricane Laura adversely impacted its Lake Charles, Louisiana, complex, reported S&P Global.

Westlake's shutdown of its Lake Charles complex idled 38% of its US VCM production, resulting in two VCM plants with a combined capacity of 952,318 mt/year going offline. The complex also has three upstream chlor-alkali plants with a combined capacity of 1.27 million mt/year of chlorine and 1.36 million mt/year of caustic soda - 46% of the company's overall North American chlor-alkali capacity.

Westlake Chemical was in the process of a restart following the loss of electricity from Hurricane Laura on 27 August when the arrival of Hurricane Delta on 9 October interrupted the process.

Hurricane Delta appears to have wreaked minimal damage to chemical facilities in Lake Charles, Louisiana, just six weeks after Hurricane Laura blew through the region, severely damaging major electricity transmission lines that left facilities offline for weeks.

Westlake Chemical said in a statement on Oct. 12 that initial assessments after Delta's Oct. 9 landfall showed "very limited physical damage" to its Lake Charles complex, and facilities were "in the process of restarting."

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PVC production reached 891,200 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 0.3% year on year. However, two producers managed to increase their PVC output.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) is raising its prices globally for carboxylic acids, starting 1 January 2021 or as contracts allow, reported Chemweek.

The company says that due to supply and demand the price of 2-ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA) will rise in Europe by EUR85/metric ton (USD103/metric ton), in the US by USD0.05/lb, and in the rest of the world by USD110/metric ton. The prices of n-butyric acid and isobutyric acid will each increase in the US by USD0.05/lb and USD110/metric ton in the rest of the world but will not rise in Europe.

As MRC wrote earlier, in September 2020, OQ Chemicals entered into an agreement to license its advanced proprietary technology for the production of ethylene and propylene derivatives to Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company (DRPIC) in Oman. DRPIC, a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait International Oil Company, is a planned grassroots petrochemical complex at Duqm, Oman. In all, DRPIC awarded twelve license packages to international licensors.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.

OQ Chemicals, formerly Oxea, is a global manufacturer of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives, such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters, and amines. These products are used for the production of high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, flavours and fragrances, printing inks and plastics. OQ Chemicals is part of OQ, an integrated energy company that delivers sustainability and business excellence. OQ operates in 16 countries and covers the entire value chain from exploration and production to the marketing and distribution of its products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. refiner HollyFrontier Corp has outlined plans to nearly double its capital expenditure in 2021, boosting its renewables investment and counting on an expected recovery in fuel demand after the coronavirus pandemic tanked consumption, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refiner said it plans to spend between USD1.05 billion and USD1.15 billion next year, up from the USD475 million to USD550 million slated for 2020. This year the coronavirus pandemic slashed driving and sent the global economy into a tailspin, leading refiners to decrease output and figure out how to stay profitable in a year of little demand.

U.S. refiners’ utilization rate is still down more than 10 percentage points from the same time last year, Energy Information Administration data showed. Including its unit Holly Energy Partners LP, the company expects to spend between USD1.09 billion and USD1.21 billion in 2021.

The Dallas, Texas-based refiner said it would spend around $500 million to USD530 million on its renewables business next year, compared with USD130 million to USD145 million in 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic has decreased demand for traditional fuels like gasoline and diesel and in some instances has accelerated refiners’ plans to increase investments in renewable fuels. HollyFrontier was one of a handful of refiners earlier this year to announce a move toward renewable diesel, made from feedstock such as used cooking oil from fast-food restaurants.

With renewable diesel, refiners can take advantage of incentive programs, in particular California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, in which refiners can generate tradable credits with production of lower carbon-intensive fuels. Refiners can sell the credits to other fuel producers for profit.

Meanwhile, Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to move the United States to a zero-carbon emissions scheme by 2050, and legislation supporting demand for products like renewable diesel could garner bipartisan support.

Earlier this year, HollyFrontier converted a 52,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Cheyenne into a renewable diesel plant and said it plans to spend about USD650 million to USD750 million over the next 18 months to expand its renewables portfolio.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,760,950 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, up by 3% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 978,870 tonnes in January-October 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports minus producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively of PP random copolymer increased.
MRC