Yansab plans February turnarounds for EG, olefins plants in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yansab plans February turnarounds for EG, olefins plants in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, said Chemweek.

700,000-metric tons/year EG plant to shut down 1 February for 21 days; olefins plant to shut on 5 February for 10 days. The firm, which is majority-owned by SABIC, intends to bring its ethylene glycol and olefis production plant down for 21 and 10 days on the 1 February and 5 February, respectively, the company said in a filing on Saudi exchange Tadawul.

The company has production capacity of 1.38m tonnes/year of ethylene and 400,000 tonnes/year of propylene at the site and 770,000 tonnes/year of ethylene glycols.

As MRC reported earlier, Yansab shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) units for maintenance in early February, 2018. The planned outage was to remain in force for around 6-7 weeks. Located in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia the HDPE and LLDPE units have a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year each.

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.

Yansab is the most recent SABIC, (Saudi Basic Industries Corp), affiliate in Saudi Arabia, and will be the largest Sabic petrochemical complex. It will have an annual capacity exceeding 4 million metric tons (MT) of petrochemical products including: 1.3 million MT (metric-tons) of ethylene; 400,000 MT of propylene; 900,000 MT of polyethylene; 400,000 MT of polypropylene; 700,000 MT of ethylene glycol; 250,000 MT of benzene, xylene and toluene, and 100,000 MT of butene-1 and butene-2.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's crude throughput will likely remain at relatively high levels over January-February despite the slowdown in domestic fuel consumption for the Lunar New Year due to the resurgence in COVID-19 spread, as refiners aim to clear their hefty feedstock stockpiles and make full use of the country's sufficient refined product storage space, reported S&P Global.

"Sufficient oil product storage space and hefty crude imports in January/February allow and force Chinese refineries to boost throughput prior to maintenance season in March-May," a Beijing-based analyst said.

S&P Global Platts' data showed that average run rate at 39 refineries under the four big state-owned oil barrels - Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem - is at 80.3% in January, up from 78.2% in December.

The privately-held integrated complex Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) and Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical kept their utilization unchanged from December at 107% and 70%, respectively.

Meanwhile, 45 small-sized private sector refineries in Shandong province slightly lifted their operation rate to 73.8% so far till Jan. 21, compared with an average of 73% in December, according to local information provider JLC.

These suggest that China's crude oil throughput is likely to rise from the December level, which was 14.19 million b/d, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

Platts historical data over January 2012-January 2021 also showed that January run rates were usually one to two percentage points higher than December due to less maintenance and better oil product stocking demand from trading houses for Spring Festival travel rush.

Sinopec's refiners in eastern and southern China said they have cleared most of their oil product stocks in December when sales were good, so that they don't have an inventory pressure.

NBS data showed that the country's throughput in December retreated 0.5% to 14.19 million b/d from the record high of 14.26 million b/d in November. The bureau will release throughput data for January-February in March.

This allows the Sinopec refineries which resumed from maintenance to compensate the throughput reduction in those affected by COVID-19 resurgence in north China, and push the group's average utilization to hit 85% in January, rising about three percentage points from December.

Moreover, the coming 2021 maintenance season will also encourage refineries to grow oil product stocks, which will be kicked off on Feb. 20 by Sinopec's Jiujiang Petrochemical and followed by CNOOC's Huizhou Petrochemical on March 4. More importantly, "state-owned refineries have rooms to export oil products to offset inventory pressure too," the Beijing-based analyst quoted above said.

In the independent refining sector, the small-scale refineries have to maintain throughput to offset crude inventory pressure amid hefty arrivals in January despite the fact that slow demand and high crude prices have narrowed their refining margin, refinery sources said.

These refineries are set to bring in more crude barrels in January when they gain new crude import quotas for year 2021, following their inflows falling to an eight-month low in December.

Data from intelligence firm Kpler showed that crude arrivals in Shandong province, home of small-scale independent refineries, amounted at 4.42 million b/d in January, rebounding sharply by 53.6% from December.

As a result, crude inventory in the province is expected to rise to 219.29 million barrels in January from the four-month low of 212.70 million barrels in December.

Despite governments taking measures to avoid COVID-19 spread by cooling down Spring Festival Travel rush, the negative impact on transportation fuel demand - mainly gasoline and jet fuel - is limited compared to the same period during 2020.

"It is very unlikely to repeat the demand damages in last year. There is not much room for downward adjustment of the demand forecast for January and February this year," a London-based analyst said.

S&P Global Platts Analytics projected China's gasoline demand at about 3.4 million b/d in January-February, up 20% year on year but 5.5% below the level in the same period of 2019.

Jet fuel demand projection, however, remained 20% below the level in 2019 at about 745,000 b/d in the first two months of 2021, slightly down even from the 760,000 b/d in the same months in 2020.

Number of the country's new COVID-19 cases fell to below 100 since Jan. 25, followed by 13 days in January that registered over 100 new cases.

To prevent the spread, several cities and towns in the northern part of China have been locked down in January. Even in the low-risk regions in the south, the government has called for citizens to stay locally during the coming Lunar New Year holidays, when transportation fuel demand generally picks up.

As MRC reported before, in January, 2021, Wood secured a contract valued at over USD120 million with Sinopec Hainan Refining and Chemical Limited Company (Sinopec) to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to expand its refinery development in the Hainan Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in South China. Once completed, the ethylene renovation and expansion project will produce up to one million tonnes of ethylene derivatives and refined oil on an annual basis and is expected to boost economic growth in China’s downstream sector by more than 100 billion yuan (USD14.1 billion). Output from the Hainan FTZ will serve ethylene demand across China and globally.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- During the week ended 23 January, chemical railcar in North America totaled 45,944 carloads, up 4.5% year-over-year (YOY) and down 3.6% from the previous week, according to Chemweek with reference to data released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

On a four-week basis, volume increased 5.2% from 2020 and 3.2% from 2019 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America is up 6.2% from 2020 and 4.8% from 2019.

Chemical railcar traffic in the United States contributed 32,140 carloads to the total, up 2.7% YOY and down 5.3% from the previous week. For the year to date, US chemical railcar traffic was up 4.9%.

Canadian chemical rail traffic totaled 12,852 carloads, up 9.0% YOY and up 1.5% from the previous week. For the year to date, Canadian chemical railcar traffic was up 10.4%.

Chemical railcar traffic in Mexico totaled 952 carloads, a YOY increase of 7.8% and a sequential decrease of 9.8%. For the year to date, Mexican chemical railcar traffic was up 1.5%.

As MRC informed previously, during the week ended 16 January, chemical railcar traffic in North America increased 8.8% year-over-year (YOY) on gains throughout the region. Volume totaled 47,660 carloads, down 1.9% from the previous week, according to data released on 20 January by AAR. On a four-week basis, volume increased 3.9% from 2020 and 1.6% from 2019 (chart). For the year to date, chemical railcar traffic in North America is up 7.0%.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% 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-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sibur says a test laboratory at its PolyLab polymer research center in Moscow has been certified by Russia’s federal accreditation body as having the expertise necessary for its research results to be recognized as meeting international accreditation standards for accuracy and reliability, said Chemweek.

RusAccreditation is a signatory of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation’s mutual recognition agreement (ILAC MRA), meaning research results from PolyLab can now be recognized internationally, Sibur says. The process of obtaining PolyLab’s accreditation in Russia took one year, which is significantly faster than the usual accreditation period for new R&D centers, it says. PolyLab was officially launched in May 2019.

The test laboratory has access to multiple research methods for various polymer uses, including piping, fibers, flexible and rigid packaging, and compounds, according to the company. The scope of accreditation covers primarily research conducted to assess polymer pipe quality, while accreditation for film research methods means the laboratory can certify the barrier properties of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film used in food packaging, it says.

The research accreditation will help Sibur’s clients and partners develop new products “with reduced time to market,” says PolyLab’s CEO Konstantin Vernigorov. “Given the rapidly evolving consumer preferences and manufacturer priorities, we plan to expand the range of certified research going forward,” he says.

As per MRC, Sibur, Russia’s leading petrochemicals company and one of the most rapidly growing petrochemicals businesses globally, says it has agreed a deal for the supply of recycled plastic as feedstock for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) granules at its Polief plant in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan, Russia. The company has signed a contract to receive up to 4,000 metric tons/year of PET flakes made from recycled food packaging from Autopark No.1 Spetstrans, the largest operator for the collection, removal, and disposal of solid municipal waste in St. Petersburg. Deliveries will begin in 2022, it says.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's PET consumption reached 61,110 tonnes in November 2020, up by 1% year on year. Overall PET consumption in Russia reached 648,110 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020 , down by 18% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPChem) announced two significant developments in its advanced recycling program which converts waste plastics into circular polyethylene, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Since introducing Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene in October, the company has received certification through the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC PLUS) process and signed a long-term supply agreement with Nexus Fuels LLC (Nexus) as its first supplier of pyrolysis oil.

The internationally recognized ISCC PLUS certification verifies Chevron Phillips Chemical meets the high standards required to hold the certificate, providing customers of Marlex® Anew™ Circular Polyethylene with added confidence in the certified circular product. This certification reflects the company’s committed and growing efforts to create sustainable streams for waste plastics. Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas, produces Marlex Anew™ Circular Polyethylene. It is the company’s first location to receive the ISCC PLUS certification, a status Chevron Phillips Chemical expects to seek as additional sites are added to the expanding advanced recycling program.

Nexus, a proven leader in converting difficult-to-recycle waste plastics into pyrolysis oil, has already begun supplying its high-quality, certified feedstock needed to produce Marlex® Anew™ Circular Polyethylene. Nexus has successfully obtained ISCC PLUS certification, which combined with Chevron Phillips Chemical’s ISCC PLUS certification, establishes Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene as an end-to-end certified circular product. Jeff Gold, Nexus founder and chief executive officer, said “Consumers and brands want action, not promises, that address plastic waste.” Eric Hartz, president and co-founder, added, “Nexus and CPChem are delivering a real-world solution that is actively diverting plastic waste from landfills and the environment while generating high quality products."

The Nexus supply agreement and ISCC PLUS certification of both companies make Chevron Phillips Chemical well-positioned to further scale production of its circular polymer and deliver sustainable products for years to come. Chevron Phillips Chemical is targeting an annual production volume of 1 billion lbs. of Marlex Anew Circular Polyethylene by 2030.

“The early success and certification of our advanced recycling program reinforces CPChem’s drive to cultivate a circular economy for plastics,” said Jay Bickett, vice president of polymers and sustainability at Chevron Phillips Chemical. “CPChem continues to develop approaches that generate value from plastic waste and I am confident we will maintain a leadership role in delivering sustainable solutions long after we achieve our 2030 goal."

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