Tronox income up on higher TiO2, zircon volumes

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tronox (Stamford, Connecticut) reports fourth-quarter adjusted net income of USD28 million, up 47% year-over-year (YOY) from USD19 million, driven by higher titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zircon volumes, according to Chemweek.

Adjusted earnings per share came to USD0.19, missing the consensus estimate of USD0.26 as compiled by Zacks Investment Research.

Net income from continuing operations totaled USD57 million, up from USD1 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales totaled USD783 million, up 13% YOY from USD693 million.

TiO2 revenues totaled USD587 million, up 8% YOY on an 8% increase in volume. “TiO2 sales volumes increased globally year-over-year (YOY), led by South and Central America, followed by North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa,” says the company. Zircon revenues totaled USD94 million, up 32% YOY as a 48% increase in volume, mainly on demand recovery in China, offset a 10% decline in price. Revenues from feedstock and other products totaled USD94 million, up 31% YOY.

“Tronox delivered exceptional results in the fourth quarter, with the highest adjusted EBITDA results since closing the Cristal acquisition,” says John D. Romano, co-chief executive officer on an interim basis. “Driving these results is a significant recovery across all products, end markets, and geographies across our portfolio. As we have entered 2021, market demand for TiO2 and zircon remains strong. Due to the favorable market trajectory, we anticipate TiO2 sales volumes to increase 11-15% sequentially in Q1 2021."

As MRC reported earlier, Exxaro Resources (Pretoria, South Africa), a diversified resources firm, will sell off the bulk of its stake in Tronox in a public offering. The 17-million share secondary public offering will reduce Exxaro’s stake in Tronox to about 1.6% from about 14.6%. Exxaro began selling down its stake in Tronox, which had previously exceeded 40%, in 2017. The company took a stake in Tronox in 2012, in compensation for Tronox’s acquisition of Exxaro’s mineral sands operations. A 2019 deal also saw Tronox acquire Exxaro’s interest in its South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials. Tronox is also issuing to Exxaro about 7.2 million ordinary shares in the entire company in exchange for Exxaro’s 26% interest in Tronox’s South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials. Those shares are being included as part of the public offering.

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 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 benzene grew to 120,000 tonnes from 106,000 tonnes a month earlier due to higher capacity utilisation of several producers. Overall output of this product reached 1,236,600 tonnes over the stated period, down by 2.2% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Inc is adjusting its carbon footprint and product slate to adapt to climate change and tap evolving consumption trends tied to the global energy transition, a senior executive said this week, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Dow has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050 by boosting the use of renewable energy, such as wind power in the southern United States, and by improving energy efficiency at its petrochemical plants, Dow's Asia Pacific President Jon Penrice told Reuters on Wednesday.

It is also developing products that help customers cut their own emissions such as sealants that improve heating efficiencies in buildings, materials to lighten electric vehicles and make batteries more efficient, he said. "We actually see climate change as something that's very likely to happen, high probability and high impact," Penrice said. "It's going to be a big opportunity I think for many, many players in the petrochemical industry."

Dow launched its MobilityScience platform last year aimed at tapping the "lightweighting" push among car manufacturers seeking to increase the range and lower the power needs of electric vehicles (EV). "We have global sales today of 3 million (EVs), which is only 4% of the global market, but that's growing extremely fast in Asia Pacific, mainly in China, but also around the rest of the world now," Penrice said.

"You have to redesign everything from lighter weight materials, longer-range performance, battery materials, comfort and safety in the car, and overall a lower carbon footprint." Dow is collaborating with traditional original equipment manufacturers and EV startups in China, Penrice said.

Dow has also targeted the wind energy sector with materials that toughen wind turbine blades which are now four- to five-times longer than before, and using coatings to make them resistant to icing during winter, he added. The company is also designing products geared towards a circular economy, such as single-layer food packaging that can be more easily recycled.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp will invest 329.46 billion rupees (USD4.46 billion) to raise the capacity of its Panipat refinery by two-thirds to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) by September 2024, the country’s top refiner said, said Chemweek.

India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, aims to expand its 5 million bpd refining capacity by 60% to meet rising local demand as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to boost the manufacturing sector. Along with expanding capacity, IOC will install catalytic dewaxing and polypropylene units at its Panipat refinery in northern Punjab state, it said in a statement.

In 2018 IOC announced capacity expansion of the 300,000 bpd Panipat refinery costing 231 billion rupees. At that time it did not announce plans to set up the two other units. IOC said expansion of the refinery would raise production of petrochemicals and value-added specialty products to improve its margins and help “de-risk the conventional fuel business of the company".

To meet India’s growing energy demand, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan is seeking 175 acres of land in eastern West Bengal state for expansion of IOC’s 160,000-bpd Haldia refinery, IOC said. IOC along with its subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd, has a total installed refining capacity of 1.6 million bpd.

As MRC informed earlier, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) has approved the addition of a petrochemical and lube integration component to its previously announced and long-planned project that will expand crude oil processing capacity of its 13.7 million-tonne/year Koyali refinery at Vadodara in India’s western state of Gujarat.

As MRC informed earlier, IOC is expanding its petrochemical capacity by more than 70 per cent from its current 3.2 million tonnes a year. It is also on new technologies that reduces the cost of producing petrochemicals.

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.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysia's Petronas delayed the launch of its Pengerang Integrated Complex until the second half of the year from the first, but dismissed rumours partner Saudi Aramco was looking to exit the USD27 billion project, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The state oil firm Petronas said it faced another challenging year after booking a 1.1 billion ringgit (USD272 million) loss for the final quarter of 2020, its third quarterly loss in a row though higher prices and demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) helped.

The world's fourth-biggest LNG exporter had earned a profit of 4.1 billion for the October-December quarter a year earlier. "The outlook remains challenging with modest recovery in demand and oil prices, as the COVID-19 impact still continues with the emergence of new surges in cases," Petronas CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said.

"Despite the prolonged volatile and challenging outlook, Petronas remains optimistic on our recovery pathway," he said. Revenue fell 31.3% to 44 billion ringgit. For 2020, it recorded a profit after tax of 10.5 billion ringgit, it said. Excluding impairment charges, its cash flow from operations was 40.7 billion ringgit.

The firm, formally known as Petroliam Nasional Berhad, said 2021 will remain difficult due to the pandemic. Petronas has allocated its annual capital expenditure at between 40 billion ringgit ($9.88 billion) to 45 billion ringgit for the next five years, with 55% of the allocation set for domestic operations, said Liza Mustapha, senior vice president and group CFO.

It boosted its capex allocation for new energy to 9% from 5% as it aims to expand its renewable energy portfolio. It said the restart of the Pengerang complex in the southern state of Johor previously expected in March would be delayed until the second half of the year due to the pandemic. It dismissed rumors' that partner Saudi Aramco was looking to exit the joint venture.

"Petronas and Saudi Aramco remain committed to the partnership.. It remains a commitment and I have engaged with the management of Saudi Aramco regularly," Tengku Muhammad said. Last March a deadly fire at Pengerang forced the closure of the facility which had been set to start full commercial operations last year. Its Myanmar operations were not affected by the military coup there, Tengku Muhammad added.

As per MRC, Petronas, said it aims to become a net zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050 and also plans to increase its investments in renewable energy. Burning of oil and gas accounts for the vast majority of the world’s carbon emissions, and many investors have pushed global oil majors to do more to combat climate change. Petronas, the world’s fourth-largest exporter of LNG, said it will intensify its efforts toward reducing the so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, referring to direct emissions from operations and the electricity used by the company.

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.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's crude oil imports are set to slow in the second quarter after Brent prices hit a 13-month high, cooling demand and capping refiners' margins as they prepare to shut for planned maintenance, industry sources and analysts said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Expectations of a recovery in global fuel demand and tighter oil supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United States pushed front-month Brent futures to their highest since January 2020 this week, up around 30% from January. Chinese independent refiners, who account for a fifth of the country's import demand, have become reluctant to buy cargoes as they enter a low-demand season, while domestic margins have yet to catch up with strong gains in international prices, the sources said.

Easing purchases from China, the world's largest crude importer, led to a drop in spot prices for Middle East and Russian grades this week, while prices of crude from other regions such as Africa and South America have also weakened. "Demand is very slow now and there are many available cargoes to choose from," said a source at a Chinese refinery, adding that high oil prices have cooled buying interest. "The lack of substantial demand, plus strong backwardation, put a lot of pressure on traders," said a source with an Asian refiner, noting an increasing number of unsold cargoes due to arrive in Asia in March and April.

The sources declined to be named due to company policies. Iraq's Basra Light crude and Upper Zakum from the United Arab Emirates have dropped to discounts against their official selling prices (OSPs) in spot purchases by Chinese refiner Hengli Petrochemical, traders said. Companies typically do not comment on their trades. More than 10 Chinese independent refiners, including one operated by Zhenghe Petrochemical, a subsidiary of ChemChina, and Shandong Qicheng Petroleum Chemical's plant, will shut for maintenance between March and June, according to Chinese consultancy JLC. Capacity at both plants are at 5 million tonnes per year (tpy).

The run rate at independent refineries is expected to fall below 70% in April, from around 74% presently, JLC analyst Zhou Guoxia said.

As MRC informed before, earlier this week, ExxonMobil Corp said it will close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia, the country’s smallest, and convert it to a fuel import terminal as refiners struggle with low demand.

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.
MRC