Lubricant blending plant of Indian Oil inaugurated in Kolkata

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 19 December inaugurated a lube blending plant of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in the city, according to Energyworld.

With an investment of Rs 142 crore, the project generated nearly 72,000 man-days, a statement issued by the oil marketing PSU said.

The plant was inaugurated in the presence of IOC chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, it said. IOC said the new plant will make the country self- reliant in the field of lubricants.

Pradhan was quoted as saying that the unit is strategically located near the port area and will have an annual throughput of one lakh kilolitre.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2020, Indian Oil sai it will build an integrated paraxylene (PX) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) facility at Paradip in Odisha State, India, at an estimated investment of 138 billion Indian rupees (USD1.84 billion). The project will be completed by early 2024, with the complex planned to produce 800,000 metric tons/year of PX and 1.2 million metric tons/year of PTA, it says.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption reached 59,310 tonnes in October 2020, down by 8% year on year. Overall consumption of PET in Russiareached 589,580 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, down by 20% year on year.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

South Korea restarts three naphtha crackers, lifting Asian demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Three naphtha crackers in South Korea, one of Asia's largest petrochemical centers, are to resume operations in December and January after months of maintenance and outages, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to company officials' statement on Tuesday.

As the companies prepare to ramp up production, they have purchased large volumes of spot naphtha, lifting prices in the region to their highest in months, trade sources said.

"There is more demand (for naphtha). All these crackers are recovering and returning to the market," one of the sources said.

Petrochemicals producers across Asia are increasing output on the back of strong margins, the sources said.

Lotte Chemical began test runs at its 1.1 million tonnes per year (tpy) cracker in early December and plans to resume commercial production later this month, a company official said. The plant has been shut since March after a fire.

LG Chem plans to restart its cracker in Yeosu between the middle and end of January, a company official said. The cracker, which can produce 1.2 million tonnes of ethylene per year, was shut in November after a fire.

A third petrochemical producer, YNCC, aims to restart one of its crackers in Yeosu on Jan. 14, a company official said, after the completion of maintenance and the planned expansion of the facility.

A second company official said the expansion is expected to be completed in January, raising the facility's capacity by 335,000 tpy to 915,000 tpy.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

Oil gains 2% after draws in U.S. product inventories

MOSCOW (MRC) - Oil prices rose 2% on Wednesday, boosted by draws in U.S. inventories of crude, gasoline and distillates that lifted investors' hopes for some return in fuel demand, said Reuters.

Brent crude futures gained 96 cents, or 1.9%, to USD51.04 a barrel by 11:02 a.m. EST (1602 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 93 cents, or 2%, to USD47.95 a barrel.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 562,000 barrels in the week to Dec. 18 to 499.5 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Gasoline stocks fell by a surprise 1.1 million barrels in the week to 237.8 million barrels, the EIA said, while distillate stockpiles fell by 2.3 million barrels in the week to 148.9 million barrels, more than expected.

"Overall, what this report reflects is that we're starting to see continued improvement in demand," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. "It reflects that we're seeing a market that's getting more in balance." A falling U.S. dollar also supported prices. A weak greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities such as crude oil cheaper to holders of other currencies.

Investors also kept an eye on Nigeria, where supply disruptions helped lift prices. Exxon Mobil Corp issued a force majeure on the Qua Iboe crude oil export terminal last week after a fire hit the facility and injured two workers. A source told Reuters production is expected to resume in early January.

The stream was expected to load about 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December and 150,000 bpd in January. Still, oil markets remain jittery about the future recovery of oil demand as a new, highly infectious variant of the novel coronavirus has hit Britain, prompting a slew of countries to shut their borders to the country.

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

BASF opens new Technical Development Center in Thailand housing state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On 17 December, BASF opened its ASEAN Technical Development Center adjacent to its existing polyurethane (PU) System House at Bangpoo site in Thailand, as per the company's press release.

The new facility houses a state-of-the-art pre-polymer reactor technology to produce a hardener (component B) - a key component to boost product development efficiency, thereby enabling faster time-to-market of PU materials and solutions.

The advanced reactor technology is further designed to deliver on a much larger capacity, meeting most demanding customer requirements across all grades. The new pre-polymer reactor technology is additionally capable of developing customized PU System products, which helps improve the commercialization of these specialized solutions.

The ASEAN Technical Development Center also boasts several new service upgrades, such as more advanced testing and software capabilities. With the new pre-polymer reactor technology, the ASEAN Technical Center strengthens and complements BASF’s technical support network in China, Korea, and Germany.

“Through the ASEAN Technical Development Center, we are better positioned to support our customers and help them capitalize on growth opportunities in ASEAN across key industries and applications,” said Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Asia Pacific, BASF. “Together with the expanded polyurethane system house, we are demonstrating our commitment to ASEAN, with even more reliable supply, as well as technical expertise and innovation capabilities.”

BASF previously increased the production capacity of its polyurethane system house in Bangpoo as part of a move to better meet the growing demand across automotive, consumer, construction, and industrial markets in ASEAN. With a total production area of 2,700 m2, the redesigned system house includes additional mixing vessels, reactors, and storage tanks.

The ASEAN car market by production volume continues to grow with differentiated products and emerging applications. Thailand and Indonesia are among the largest automotive industries in Southeast Asia, while Vietnam is already one of the world’s largest footwear exporters, and its industry is expected to grow as more manufacturers are relocating their manufacturing base there.

As MRC reported before, German chemicals maker BASF said in early November it had put a project to build a petrochemicals complex in India worth up to USD4 billion on hold due to the economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. BASF signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Adani Group and Borealis AG in October 2019 to evaluate a collaboration to build the chemical site in Mundra, in India’s Gujarat state.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

Enterprise loads industry first LPG-powerd very large gas carrier

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products Partners LP (Houston) announced Dec. 17 that the first vessel powered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has been loaded at the Enterprise Hydrocarbon Terminal on the Houston Ship Channelm according to BPN.

The Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) BW Gemini, which had been retrofitted for dual fuel capabilities, was loaded with a record 590,000 bbl of LPG, including cargo and fuel.

“Enterprise is proud to be part of this milestone achievement which benefits both the supply and demand sides of the LPG value chain, provides environmental benefits, and improves the lives of people around the world,” said A.J. (Jim) Teague, co-chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “LPG-powered vessels provide another source for growing U.S. shale production and offer enhanced efficiencies and economics for ship owners and their customers by allowing VLGCs to refuel at the loading dock instead of making an additional stop at a bunkering facility. Enterprise is already the largest exporter of propane in the world, and is helping to raise the standard of living and improve the health and quality of life for developing nations around the globe.”

By providing the option for vessels to refuel with LPG, Enterprise is also helping shipping companies reduce their emissions in accordance with the new International Maritime Organization standards (IMO 2020).

As MRC wrote before, Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPP), through one of its affiliates, has entered a long-term agreement with Marubeni Corp. of Japan, under which Marubeni will offtake polymer-grade propylene (PGP) produced from a second (PDH 2) plant currently under construction at EPP’s operations in Mont Belvieu, Tex., for supply to global customers. Concluded on June 16, the PGP offtake agreement is part of a long-term collaboration between EPP and Marubeni that also includes the export of liquefied ethylene, the first 25-million lb vessel of which loaded and sailed from EPP and Navigator Holdings Ltd.’s 50-50 joint venture marine terminal at Morgan’s Point, Tex., in early January, EPP and Marubeni said on June 30.

We remind that in July, 2020, Enterprise Products conducted maintenance at its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas. This PDH unit has the capacity of 750,000 mt/y of propylene.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC