Shell to write down assets again, taking cuts to more than USD22 billion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell on Monday said it will write down the value of oil and gas assets by USD3.5 billion to USD4.5 billion following a string of impairments this year as it adjusts to a weaker outlook, said Reuters.

In an update ahead of its fourth quarter results on February 4, Shell said the post-tax charge was due in part to impairments on its Appomattox field in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the closure of refineries and liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts.

It said some charges involved in its restructuring would be recognised in 2021. Shell shares were down by around 4% in early trading in London. In October, Shell, the world's biggest LNG trader, wrote down the value of its LNG portfolio by just under USD1 billion, focusing on its flagship Prelude project in Australia.

That followed a USD16.8 billion writedown in the second quarter which also included Prelude and a sharp cut in its price outlook. CEO Ben van Beurden on Feb. 11 will unveil Shell's long-term strategy to sharply reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and expand its low-carbon energy and power businesses.

In its update, the Anglo-Dutch company also said it expects oil and gas production in its upstream division to be around 2.275 to 2.350 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, slightly higher than in the third quarter. Production was impacted by the closure of platforms in the Gulf of Mexico due to hurricanes as well as mild weather in Northern Europe. LNG liquefaction volumes are expected to be between 8 and 8.6 million tonnes.

Oil refinery utilisation is expected to be between 72% and 76% of capacity in the quarter, reflecting continued weak demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shell, the world's largest retailer, said its fuel sales were expected to be in a range of 4 to 5 million barrels per day, roughly similar to the third quarter.

Record profits from its marketing business, which includes over 45,000 petrol stations, strongly boosted Shell's third-quarter results. The company said, however, that its fourth-quarter marketing results were expected to be "significantly lower" than the previous quarter. Oil and gas trading profits were also set to decline sharply in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, it said.

As MRC informed previously, Royal Dutch Shell plc. said in November that its petrochemical complex of several billion dollars in Western Pennsylvania is about 70% complete and in the process to enter service in the early 2020s. The plant's costs are estimated to be USD6-USD10 billion, where ethane will be transformed into plastic feedstock. The facility is equipped to produce 1.5 million metric tons per year (mmty) of ethylene and 1.6 mmty of polyethylene (PE), two important constituents of plastics.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Within the frame of a new investment project, R&P POLYPLASTIC – a Russian plastics producer – and KraussMaffei have recently concluded a contract for the delivery of two ZE 80 x 42D BluePower twin-screw extruders to extend the company's production capacity, said the company.

Due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, both parties conducted the entire contract negotiations online remotely and signed the contract at the end of October. This contract further strengthens the long-standing, constructive and solution-oriented cooperation between R&P POLYPLASTIC and KraussMaffei. High-tech lines will be installed at the company’s production plant in Engels. Investments in only the equipment will amount to 3.3 million Euros.

"In the growing Russian market for engineering plastics, R&P POLYPLASTIC focuses primarily on equipment reliability and technical innovation,” says Andrey Menschov, managing partner of R&P POLYPLASTIC. “Faced with a continuously increasing demand, we have to ensure energy-efficient and resource-conserving production while meeting the ever more exacting quality standards requested by our customers. The use of the innovative ZE BluePower twin-screw extruder technology will enable us to maintain the supreme quality of our products in the highly competitive market environment."

Thanks to the installation of the new compounding extruders, the Russian plastics processor will be able to substantially reduce the energy consumption involved in its production. The ZE BluePower twin-screw extruder series is suitable for all compounding tasks – in particular when equipment reliability, reproducibility and flexibility are key factors. The large free volume, the 1.65 OD/ID diameter ratio and the torque density of 16 Nm/cm are especially attractive for plant owners striving to increase productivity. In addition, the extruders are equipped with two side feeders and three degassing zones.

"R&P POLYPLASTIC will use the new twin-screw extruders for the production of engineering plastics designed for the building industry. With this new project, R&P POLYPLASTIC and KraussMaffei continue their long-standing and extremely successful cooperation,” declares Siegfried Oldenburger, Expert Sales Extrusion Compounding at KraussMaffei.

New lines are scheduled for set-up and launch in fall 2021. This year will be a milestone for R&P POLYPLASTIC – the leading Russian compounder will celebrate its 30th Birthday.

As MRC informed earlier, November volume of production of polymer products in the Russian Federation against the same month a year earlier increased by 9.8%. Nevertheless, on an accrual basis for eleven months of the year, this index showed an increase of only 2.2%.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chemical production in the US increased 0.4% on a sequential three-month-moving-average (3MMA) basis in November, according to Chemweek with reference to the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC).

This follows a 1.1% gain in October, and 0.6% gain in September.

Improvement was evident in most chemical end sub-sectors, including fertilizers, synthetic dyes and pigments, chlor-alkali, and inorganic chemicals, although gains eased in coatings, adhesives, crop protection chemicals, and some other sectors. Chemical production also increased in all regions of the country.

Overall factory output rose 0.7% on a sequential 3MMA basis in November, signaling a solid trend for chemicals demand, according to ACC. “The trend in production rose in nearly all key chemistry end-use industries, with the strongest gains seen in iron and steel, aerospace, rubber products, paper, structural panels, and printing,” ACC says.

On a year-on-year (YOY) basis, US chemical production was down 4.2%, the eighteenth consecutive month of YOY decline, according to ACC. However, YOY declines have moderated in recent months.

As MRC reported earlier, chemical production is rebuilding momentum after shocks linked to the global COVID-19 pandemic, according to ACC Year-End 2020 Chemical Industry Situation and Outlook. US chemical production volume excluding pharmaceuticals is expected to fall by 3.6% in 2020 followed by growth of 3.9% in 2021. The US decline is the sharpest since 2008 and 2009, during the financial crisis. Global chemical volumes are expected to fall 2.6% in 2020, the largest drop in at least 40 years, followed by a 3.9% rebound next year. ACC estimates a 7.8% drop in activity from peak-to-trough in headline global production, from December 2019 lasting until roughly June 2020.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% year on year, 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-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) says it will invest a “double-digit million euro amount” up to 2023 at its site in Oberhausen, Germany, as part of an efficiency program to enhance the site’s competitiveness, reported Chemweek.

The efficiency program process has been underway since 2019 and will secure the competitiveness of the site in the long term through efficiency and structural measures, with the investment will increase delivery capability, digitalization, organizational efficiency, and automation, it says. Around 90 jobs in the production and services sectors at the site will be cut gradually, it adds.

“International competition is becoming increasingly fierce,” says OQ Chemicals managing director Oliver Borgmeier. The efficiency program “includes significant investments to increase productivity at the Oberhausen site. With these changes, we are taking necessary and important steps to position this site economically in the long term,” he says.

OQ Chemicals, formerly Oxea, manufactures oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives. In October the company announced it had increased its global production capacity for isononanoic acid by 30% after completing an expansion of its manufacturing facility in Oberhausen. Work is currently underway on a sixth carboxylic acid plant at the site, with the facility due online by the end of 2021.

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) -- Asia's cash differentials for 10 ppm gasoil firmed to their highest level in four-and-a-half months on Monday, while refining margins for the industrial fuel slipped despite weaker prices of raw material crude, reported Reuters.

Cash discounts for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content narrowed by a cent to 4 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes, the smallest discount since differentials plunged into a negative territory on Aug. 11.

The gasoil market has firmed in recent weeks, thanks to reviving demand from India and China, but analysts have warned that increased refinery runs and reimposed lockdowns in several other key markets would pressurise refining margins and prices in the near term.

Refining margins, also known as cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil were at USD6.25 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, down from a more than four-month high of USD6.54 per barrel on Friday. Cracks for the benchmark gasoil grade in Singapore have more than doubled in the last two months, but they are still currently about 57% lower than their historical average for this time of the year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

As MRC informed before, slumping fuel consumption during the pandemic is accelerating the long-term shift of refining capacity from North America and Europe to Asia, and from older, smaller refineries to modern, higher-capacity mega-refineries. The result is a wave of closures, often centering on refineries that only narrowly survived the previous closure wave in the years after the recession in 2008/09.

We remind that PetroChina has nearly doubled the amount of Russian crude being processed at its refinery in Dalian, the company's biggest, since January 2018, as a new supply agreement had come into effect. The Dalian Petrochemical Corp, located in the northeast port city of Dalian, was expected to process 13 million tonnes, or 260,000 bpd of Russian pipeline crude in 2018, up by about 85 to 90 percent from the previous year's level. Dalian has the capacity to process about 410,000 bpd of crude. The increase follows an agreement worked out between the Russian and Chinese governments under which Russia's top oil producer Rosneft was to supply 30 million tonnes of ESPO Blend crude to PetroChina in 2018, or about 600,000 bpd. That would have represented an increase of 50 percent over 2017 volumes.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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