Third of oil and gas workers faced pay cut in 2020 due to pandemic

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Almost one in three workers in the oil and gas industry faced pay cuts in 2020, a worldwide survey showed on Tuesday, as the coronavirus crisis drove down fuel demand and prices, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oil and gas workers are still among the highest paid in the world, but a majority of those questioned said they felt less secure about their jobs than a year ago, as the shift to low-carbon energy sources pushed down investment in their industry. Salaries in the sector are closely tied to oil prices, which plummeted last year as lockdowns slashed demand for fuel.

About 30% of professionals saw a fall in pay last year and one in four said their salaries and day rates fell by more than 5%, according to a report by staffing firm Airswift’s Global Energy Talent Index (GETI). Almost 20% of oil and gas workers expected a further pay reduction in 2021, according to the report which surveyed 16,000 energy professionals across 166 countries. Only 37% of workers reported a pay rise in 2020, compared to 50% last year, it said.

Permanent workers in North America were the highest paid, with an annual income of around $100,000 on average, the survey showed, while workers in Latin America were the lowest paid with an average annual salary of close to USD50,000.

Job security was low across all energy sectors, with 78% of oil and gas workers feeling less secure than a year ago about their jobs. That figure fell to 66% for those working in renewables and 59% of those working in nuclear power.

Oil and gas firms have cut jobs to survive what is expected to be a long stretch of weak demand. Rystad Energy consultancy said in October more than 400,000 industry jobs had been cut up to that point of 2020, half of them in the United States, where there is a heavy focus on costly shale oil output. “Based on our knowledge and insight into the shale market in the United States, this was one of the hardest hit areas in the world for the pandemic,” Airswift Chief Executive Janette Marx told Reuters.

Nearly nine out of 10 those questioned in the survey expected the pandemic to lead to long-term change in the industry, with the impact ranging from staff headcounts to the way employees operated in the workplace.

As MRC informed previously, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP"s latest long-term energy outlook issued in September 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

Earlier last year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40% in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

And in September 2019, six world"s major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has created a new Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading Directorate, effective January 17, 2021, that integrates the company’s existing Downstream & Industry Directorate and Marketing, Supply & Trading Directorate. Mr. Khaled Salmeen, who previously held the role of Executive Director Marketing, Supply and Trading, will lead the new Directorate, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This strategic organizational change, the latest in ADNOC’s transformation journey, will enable greater value chain optimization across ADNOC’s Downstream and Trading operations, improving performance, profitability and efficiency. The new Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading Directorate introduces a more integrated operating model that will help ADNOC provide a better service to its customers, while expanding it’s downstream operations, cataylizing the UAE’s industrial and post-covid economic growth, and further advancing its focus on In-Country Value.

As a central and integrated unit, the new Directorate will deliver a more aligned and coordinated effort between customer and market demand and product supply. It will enable a more agile response to market dynamics and customer needs, while supporting ADNOC’s goal to drive synergies and maximize value from every barrel and molecule that the company produces, refines, ships and sells.

As ADNOC delivers on its 2030 smart growth strategy and its ambitious Downstream expansion plans, the new Directorate will be a critical enabler of the company’s goal to responsibly deliver the energy and energy products that the world needs, particularly in its core Asian market, where demand for refined and petrochemical products are set to grow over the next ten years. The Directorate will also drive ADNOC’s activities to catalyze the UAE’s industrial development and economic diversification, overseeing the development of TA’ZIZ and the Ruwais Derivatives Park. This will strengthen the UAE’s position as a globally competitive chemicals hub and destination for foreign direct investment.

The Directorate will also lead ADNOC activities to capitalize on the emerging global market for hydrogen, building on the company’s existing position as a major producer with existing infrastructure, partnerships and customer relationships.

The new Directorate will govern ADNOC’s interests across its refining, gas processing, petrochemicals, product sales, shipping and integrated logistics and trading portfolio.

As MRC reported previously, in early May, 2020, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) began a gradual restart of its Ruwais oil refinery complex after a scheduled maintenance shutdown. The Ruwais complex, which has capacity of 835,000 barrels per day, was shut down early this year, the ADNOC spokesman said.

And in late July 2019, ADNOC said its Ruwais refinery west cracker was offline for maintenance.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BCI Minerals Limited (BCI, Perth, Australia) has announced that the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) Board has made an investment decision to approve a loan facility the Mardie Salt & Potash Project, subject to certain conditions, said Chemweek.

The NAIF loan facility is for a total of 450 million AUD to be used for construction and ramp-up of the Mardie Project and associated financing fees and costs and would account for a significant proportion of the full Mardie development funding requirement.

BCI’s Managing Director Alwyn Vorster said the loan “recognizes the potential long-term benefits which Mardie will bring to the region, including new port infrastructure available to third party users. Importantly, the loan will also provide significant momentum for BCI to secure the remaining debt and equity funding components required for Mardie’s development fees and costs."

The NAIF loan approval is subject conditions, including BCI demonstrating meaningful progress with the Mardie Project by 31 March 2021 (or such later date agreed with NAIF), facility documents being entered into between the parties and satisfaction of conditions to funding.

The Mardie Project, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, involves construction of large ponds and crystallizers over a 100-square kilometer area, two process plants and a new port facility for export of salt, sulfate of potash (SOP) and other products. Mardie aims to export 4.4 million metric tons/year of high-purity salt and 120,000 mt/year of SOP via solar evaporation.

As MRC informed previously, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP"s latest long-term energy outlook issued in September 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

Earlier last year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40% in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

And in September 2019, six world"s major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Umicore (Brussels, Belgium) says that Denis Goffaux will be the company’s new executive vice president/recycling from 1 April 2021, following the decision of Stephan Csoma, the company’s current executive vice president/recycling, to retire on 31 March, reported Chemweek.

Goffaux, currently Umicore’s executive vice president/energy and surface technologies, will be succeeded by Ralph Kiessling, currently the company’s executive vice president/catalysis, effective 1 March, and Bart Sap will succeed Kiessling on the same date, the company says.

The company’s other management board functions remain unchanged, Umicore says.

As MRC informed earlier, Umicore's net profits for the first half of 2020 fell by 38%, to EUR91 million (USD107 million) from EUR148 million in the same period of the previous year. Sales declined by approximately 4% year on year (YOY), to EUR1.57 billion, beating analysts' consensus estimate by 8.1%. Adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA increased slightly compared with the first half of 2019, to EUR243 million - beating analysts' estimates by 8.5% - and EUR376 million, respectively, the company said. The company's performance was hurt by the impact of COVID-19, especially on the automotive industry, which affected mostly its catalysis, and energy and surface technologies businesses. The strong performance posted by Umicore’s recycling business was not able to offset the overall impact of COVID-19.

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the main feedstocks for the production of automotive interior parts.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Coatings company Hempel (Lyngby, Denmark) has announced a new strategy that targets a doubling of the company’s sales by 2025. Hempel says it intends to achieve the target through refocused geographical priorities, focused segment leadership positions, and M&A, as well as an acceleration of sustainability, innovation, and digitalization activities, said Chemweek.

Hempel generated revenue of EUR1.5 billion (USD1.8 billion) in 2019, an increase of 14%. "When the world closed down in 2020 and global operations including ours were challenged, we sped up our strategy process,” says Hempel president and CEO Lars Petersson. “Now we have laid the foundation for not only doubling our revenue but also for significantly increasing our positive impact for our customers, partners, and employees. We will build leadership positions and invest in our core segments and put sustainability at the heart of how we do business."

Hempel expects 50% of the intended revenue growth to come from M&A but says the strategy also has a clear-cut emphasis on organic growth through building market leadership positions in specific areas of its four segments: decorative, marine, infrastructure, and energy. Hempel says that 2.5 percentage points of its 14% revenue growth in 2019 was organic.

"By 2025, we expect more than 50% of our revenue to come from sub-segments and geographies where we have a leading position, compared to less than 10% today," the company says.

Hempel needs to refocus geographically, because "we have been spread too thin and too shallow and therefore we focus our business by exiting some geographies by own operation and strengthening others," according to Petersson. “Alongside that we know that our customers need suppliers with end-to-end solutions and a deep knowledge and impact on the market,” he says. The company has started a transformation of how it sells and develops by building stronger partnerships with a number of customers "to truly understand their needs, future challenges, and to co-create differentiated solutions," Petersson says.

The new strategy’s sustainability goals include being carbon neutral in Hempel’s own operations by 2025 and also reducing the carbon footprint of its customers. The company has committed to science-based targets and will launch a sustainability framework in February 2021.

"Putting sustainability at the heart of how we do business will drive change both within Hempel and across our value chain through our products and services. We see sustainability as a key enabler for growth, by helping our customers reach their sustainability targets. Our target to double in size in the next five years makes our commitment to sustainability even more important, and we are ready to make some bold decisions as we accelerate," says Petersson.

As MRC informed previously, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP"s latest long-term energy outlook issued in September 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

Earlier last year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40% in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

And in September 2019, six world's major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

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