BASF raises bioplastic product prices in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has hiked its prices in Europe for its range of biodegradable bioplastics with immediate effect or as contracts allow, according to Chemweek.

No reason for the increase has been given.

Prices for several grades of the company’s bioplastic compound ecovio have been increased by EUR350/metric ton (USD422/metric ton), it says.

The bioplastic products are used mainly in bag applications for organic waste, fruit and vegetables, cling films, and agricultural mulch films, as well as for packaging solutions for paper coating, shrink films, and thermoformed and injection-molded applications.

As MRC wrote before, late last week, BASF said it was restarting one of its steam crackers at its Ludwigshafen complex in Germany after operations were halted last Wednesday due to a technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces ethylene and propylene, and is one of two crackers on the site. One has a production capacity of 420,000 metric tons/year, with the other’s capacity at 240,000 metric tons/year, according to IHS Markit data.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Africa's Environmental Ministry said on Wednesday it would investigate whether petrochemical company Sasol's Secunda operations could be the source of a sulfur smell experienced in parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces since the weekend, reported Reuters.

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries said the smell was likely a combination of elevated levels of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

Sasol said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that its Secunda operations did not have any operational incidents that could have resulted in an increase in sulfur emissions.

The company said it had also started an investigation to assist in identifying the area of origin of the sulfur odor experienced in the region. Sasol said it could not immediately comment further.

The ministry said it would decide on any further course of action once the investigations were completed.

As MRC wrote previously, Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol's new cracker, the heart of Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to the company's six new derivative units at its Lake Charles multi-asset site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide has sold its entities in Greece to Italian gases group SOL for an undisclosed sum, said Chemengonline.

As part of the divestiture, the existing assets of Air Liquide in Greece have been transferred to SOL. Air Liquide’s 104 employees in the country are now SOL employees.

The divestment illustrates Air Liquide’s strategy to review its asset portfolio regularly and focus its expansion in key industrial regions in order to increase its geographic density and therefore enhance performance.

The sales includes Air Liquide Hellas and Vitalaire Hellas. “The divestment illustrates Air Liquide’s strategy to review its asset portfolio regularly and focus its expansion in key industrial regions in order to increase its geographic density and therefore enhance performance,” the company said in a brief statement.

In a separate statement, SOL said that the acquired Air Liquide assets include, among others, an air separation unit (ASU), a liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) production plant, several on-site facilities, along with more than 1,000 customers.

As MRC wrote earlier, in September 2020, Air Liquide finalised an agreement with Sasol to acquire the biggest oxygen production site in the world with a plan to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30%. After the announcement on July 29, the international major industry gas company has now entered into a business purchase agreement with Sasol to acquire the oxygen production site in Secunda, South Africa.

We remind that Sasol's world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol's new cracker, the heart of LCCP, is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities that came online and will provide feedstock to the company's six new derivative units at Sasol's Lake Charles multi-asset site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).

Established in 1909, Air Liquide Hellas, and its controlled subsidiary Vitalaire HealthcareHellas, is a leading player in the merchant technical gases and home care markets in Greece. SOL Group is already present in the Greek market through its subsidiaries: SOL Hellas and VIVISOL Hellas which operate since many years respectively in the technical gases market and in the home care market. ALH can leverage on a solid asset base, which includes 1 ASU (Air Separation Unit), 1 liquid CO2 production plant, several on-site facilities, 2 filling centers and a complete supply chain of equipment covering the whole country, along with a diversified customer base with more than 1,000 customers served through on-site plants, bulk or cylinder contracts, a longstanding relationship with customers driven by an high level of services and customer satisfaction with more than EUR20 Million revenues in 2019 and a full experienced team of 104 employees with strong knowledge of the business and local market.
MRC

1. Sluggish demand hurts PTTGC full-year earnings

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical's (PTTGC) fourth-quarter net profit surged to Thai baht (Bt) 6.41bn from the same period last year on the back of higher product prices, with sales up 3% year on year, said Chemweek. Its full-year 2020 results, however, reflected a general weakness in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with a 20% decline in sales nearly wiping out its profit. The company's EBITDA margin rose to 12% in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 5% in the same period of 2019, supported by strong margins at the olefins and derivatives business. Its olefins and derivatives business for the period posted an adjusted EBITDA margin of 23%, more than double 10% registered in the same period a year earlier. PTTGC's average polyethylene (PE) prices in the last three months of 2020 were up 22% year on year at USD1,074/tonne.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were slightly higher during mid-morning trade in Asia Feb. 16, extending overnight gains, as the ongoing Arctic blast across North America caused supply disruptions, propelling demand for heating fuel higher, reported S&P Global.

At 11.48 am Singapore time (0348 GMT), the ICE Brent April contract was up by 34 cents/b (0.54%) from the Feb. 15 settle to USD63.64/b, while the March NYMEX light sweet crude contract was up 79 cents/b (1.33%) to USD60.26/b.

The cold weather had hit Texas hard, with temperatures falling to their lowest in 30 years, resulting in power outages and disruptions in production as well as refining activities in the Permian Basin.

"Concerns over oil supply disruptions from Texas continue to prop up the market. Cold weather, power outages, and logistical issues have all led to disruptions," analysts from ING said in a Feb. 16 note, adding that as much as 1 million b/d of crude oil production may be disrupted due to the bad weather.

However, analysts noted the supply disruptions are likely to be short-lived, with weather forecasts expecting temperatures to rise after Feb. 18.

Analysts at ANZ said in a Feb. 16 note that the cold temperatures have also increased demand for heating fuel, similar to conditions in North Asia last month.

The winter storm has also affected refineries in the region, with many having to reduce operating rates or shut down completely, resulting in a bullish movement in gasoline futures and product cracks.

At 11.48 am Singapore time (0348 GMT), the March NYMEX RBOB gasoline futures contract was up by 5.80% from the Feb. 15 settle to USD1.7907/b.

"These refinery shutdowns have provided a boost to some of the product cracks as well, with both RBOB and heating oil cracks spiking higher on the back of the news," analysts at ING said.

While the weather conditions in the US exacerbate the prevailing supply tightness for crude oil and prop up prices temporarily, analysts believe there is ample evidence of support in the form of expectations of a speedy economic recovery following vaccine rollouts and an upcoming US stimulus package, as well as supply curtailments by OPEC+ countries, that may result in oil continuing to trade at strong levels.

Analysts at ANZ also noted that while demand is about 8%-9% below pre-pandemic levels, supply constraints are playing their part in balancing the oil markets.

As MRC informed previously, oil producers face an unprecedented challenge to balance supply and demand as factors including the pace and response to COVID-19 vaccines cloud the outlook, according to an official with International Energy Agency's (IEA) statement.

We remind that the COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented decline in demand affecting all sections of the Russian economy, which has impacted the demand for petrochemicals in the short-term. However, the pandemic triggered an increase in the demand for polymers in food packaging, and cleaning and hygiene products, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. With Russian petrochemical companies having the advantage of access to low-cost feedstock, and proximity to demand-rich Asian (primarily China) and European markets for the supply of petrochemical products, these companies appear to be well-positioned to derive full benefits from an improving market environment and global economy post-COVID-19, says GlobalData.

We also remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex”.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC