OQ Chemicals puts US oxo intermediates on sales control

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OQ Chemicals (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) has announced sales control, effective immediately, for its US oxo intermediate products, according to Chemweek.

The measure is due to “recent increased demand and current shortages of supply for US oxo intermediate products produced at the Bay City, Texas, site,” it says.

The company will allocate global supply for all unfilled and future purchase orders “among our contract customers for whom we have received forecasted demand and our internal demand until the third quarter of 2021,” it says.

OQ Chemicals announced a price rise earlier this month for its oxo intermediate products in the Americas, effective 1 February 2021, due to rising demand and raw material costs. In December it also imposed a price increase for the same products, effective 1 January 2021.

As MRC wrote before, 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 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.

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) -- Saudi Aramco's shareholders may consider selling more shares of the company if market conditions are right, reported Reuters with reference to the statement of the head of the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund (PIF), Yasir al-Rumayyan, in a televised news briefing.

The Saudi government sold over 1.7% stake in Aramco in an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 that raised a record USD29.4 billion.

The listing has triggered more IPOs in the kingdom, which is also seeking to deepen its capital markets under reforms aimed at reducing its reliance on oil.

As MRC informed earlier, in October 2019, McDermott International announced that it had been awarded a contract by Saudi Aramco and Total Raffinage Chimie (Total) for their joint venture (JV) Amiral steam cracker project at Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Amiral is a JV in which Aramco holds 62.5% and Total the rest. The plant, designed to produce 1.5 million metric tons/year (MMt/y) of ethylene, will be one of the world's largest mixed-feed crackers.

Aramco and Total launched their USD5-billion Amiral JV project in October 2018. The steam cracker will be fed with a mixture of 50% ethane and refinery off-gases. It will supply ethylene to a downstream 1 MMt/y polyethylene manufacturing complex and other petrochemical products. The project aims to fully exploit operational synergies with the adjacent refinery, owned by Satorp, another JV between Aramco and Total. Third-party investors, including Daelim and Ineos, will locate plants at the value park adjacent to Amiral with a combined investment of USD4 billion. A final investment decision is expected in 2021.

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.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plans by Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to cut jobs at its six refineries through attrition this year could undermine safety at the plants, an internal company document shows, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Pemex plans to leave 9,374 vacancies at its refineries unfilled this year, 50% greater than its unfilled refinery positions last year, the document by refining unit Pemex TRI shows. Most unionized jobs at the politically sensitive company cannot be easily eliminated nor filled by workers who are not members of Mexico’s powerful oil workers union.

While the union is allowed to insist the jobs be filled with its members, Pemex ultimately decides whether they will be filled at all. “This situation leaves the refineries vulnerable because it puts the operational continuity and maintenance of facilities at risk,” according to the document, written by one Pemex executive to a superior warning about the unfilled jobs.

There were 22,472 unionized and 1,297 non-unionized workers at Pemex’s refineries, according to a document dated November 2020, seen by Reuters. “It could cause incidents and/or accidents impacting personnel, facilities the environment, and the delineation of corresponding responsibilities due to the lack of coverage of the blocked places in question,” the executive wrote.

If plans to cut jobs through attrition are put in place, the Salamanca refinery in the heart of the country will be hit hardest with 1,966 unfilled union jobs. Elsewhere, the Madero refinery in the north will be left with 1,792 vacancies and the Minatitlan refinery near the Gulf of Mexico would be left with 1,738.

Pemex did not respond to a request for comment on the document nor on the number of refinery workers. The oil workers union did not respond to a request for comment. The document does not state the reason for leaving the union jobs unfilled. Debt-laden Pemex has repeatedly said it is seeking to cut costs.

Pemex said in its 2019 annual report released last year that it has eliminated 153 office jobs as well as 222 in its subsidiaries. A source at the company, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there have been no layoffs at the plants but declined to comment on the non-public document and the safety allegations raised in the document.

Even though the refineries have a combined processing capacity of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), they process less than half of that, Pemex’s third-quarter financial report showed. Under Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Pemex has started allocating more resourcing to modernizing its ailing refineries - and building a seventh one in his home state Tabasco - to help boost domestic gasoline production.

Since taking office in 2018, Lopez Obrador has vowed to reduce Mexico’s dependence on imported fuels by around 50% in an attempt to revive Pemex, one of the world’s most indebted national oil companies.

As per MRC, Pemex halted production at its linear polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in Veracruz, Mexico for unscheduled repairs. Repair activities at this enterprise with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes of LLDPE and 100,000 tonnes of HDPE per year were started on 14 January and should be completed next week.

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.

Pemex, Mexican Petroleum, is a Mexican state-owned petroleum company. Pemex has a total asset worth of USD415.75 billion, and is the world's second largest non-publicly listed company by total market value, and Latin America's second largest enterprise by annual revenue as of 2009. Company produces such polymers, as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion and fire ripped through the Russian Ufaorgsintez oil refinery, controlled by Rosneft, on Monday, reported Interfax.

Two containers with a methane-hydrogen fraction caught fire, which was preceded by an explosion. The fire was ranked the fourth level. As a result of the fire, one person was killed, another victim was taken to hospital.

The fire was contained and there was no danger of the blaze spreading further.

"On January 25, at 19.20, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in the Republic of Bashkortostan received a message about the burning of two tanks in an open area on the territory of the PJSC Ufaorgsintez plant. At 2:22, there was an elimination of open burning, a complete elimination of the fire occurred at 6:33. 127 people and 44 pieces of equipment were involved in the elimination of the consequences of the accident, including 90 personnel and 29 pieces of equipment from the Russian Emergencies Ministry." - reported the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Bashkiria..

As MRC informed previously, Ufaorgsintez (UOS, Bashneft’s petrochemical asset) has resumed its polypropylene (PP) production after a shutdown for maintenance. The plant's customers said Ufaorgsintez had resumed its PP output since 13 October, 2020, after the shutdown for a scheduled turnaround. The outage was quite long and started on 12 September, 2020. Ufaorgsintez's overall PP production capacities are 120,000 tonnes/year.

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.

PJSC Ufaorgsintez produces phenol, acetone, synthetic ethylene-propylene rubber, high and low density polyethylene, polypropylene, more than 30 types of petrochemical products and over 25 consumer products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem; The Woodlands, Texas) says its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas, where the company produces its Marlex Anew circular polyethylene (PE), has received certification through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC Plus) process, said Chemweek.

CPChem has also signed a long-term supply agreement with Nexus Fuels as its first supplier of pyrolysis oil, an ethylene feedstock derived from plastic waste.

CPChem announced commercial-scale production of circular PE based on pyrolysis oil in October 2020. The company says it will seek ISCC Plus for additional sites as it expands its advanced recycling program, which aims to produce 1 billion lbs (450,000 metric tons) of Marlex Anew PE annually by 2030.

Nexus Fuels’ facility in Atlanta, Georgia, is ISCC Plus certified for the production of pyrolysis oil from mixed plastic waste. In November 2020, Nexus announced a four-year agreement to supply 60,000 metric tons/year of pyrolysis oil to Shell’s Norco, Louisiana, chemical production facility.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical, part of Chevron Corp, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year. This unit is one of the largest and most energy efficient crackers in the world. In September 2017, the company announced the successful commissioning and start-up of two new Marlex polyethylene (PE) units in Old Ocean, Texas, based on the company’s proprietary MarTech technologies. Together, these assets form the bulk of the company’s US Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project (USGCPP), which was first announced in 2011.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC