MEGlobal raises ACP for April 2021 by USD140 per tonne

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MEGlobal has announced its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) to be shipped in April 2021, according to the company's press release.

Thus, on 10 March, the company said ACP for MEG would be at USD930/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival in April 2021, up by USD140/MT from the previous month.

The April 2021 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

As MRC reported earlier, MEGlobal announced its March ACP for MEG at USD790/MT CFR Asian main ports, up by USD50/tonne from February 2021.

MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, March formular prices of Russian producers were in the range of Rb90,000-105,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

MEGlobal is a fully integrated supplier of monoethylene glycol (MEG) and diethylene glycol (DEG), collectively known as ethylene glycol (EG).
MRC

Alfa Laval to test new fuels for more sustainable shipping

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Alfa Laval will soon start testing two new types of marine fuels; biofuels (made from waste) and methanol, in its Test & Training Centre in Denmark, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

To make these non-carbon fuels commercially viable can have a big impact on the marine industry in its strive towards zero carbon shipping. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) targets a 50 percent reduction of vessel-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve the long-term target of decarbonization, the industry must shift to new fuel types and technologies.

The Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre in Aalborg, Denmark is taking a key role in testing new types of fuels to adapt and develop equipment for the vessels’ engine rooms and support the industry’s journey towards decarbonization. The 2800 m2 testing space – already equipped for today’s oil and gas fuels – has been readied for testing biofuels and methanol. The tests will begin during the spring.

"A number of fuel pathways are on the table in the transition towards zero carbon shipping but the knowledge about their impact on marine equipment solutions is limited. We want to extend that knowledge through testing,” says Sameer Kalra, President of the Marine Division. “It is our ambition to develop viable technology solutions in cooperation with other marine players, so that our customers can achieve their climate goals irrespective of the selected fuel pathway."

Since ships have a lifetime of 20 years or more, zero-emission vessels must begin entering the global fleet by 2030 for a 50 percent reduction to be achieved by 2050. It is predicted that in 2023 the world’s first carbon neutral liner vessel will be launched and that methanol-fuelled vessel will be ready for delivery in two years’ time.

As MRC wrote before, in 2017, Alfa Laval won an order to supply compact heat exchangers to a refinery in China. The order has a value of approximately USD10.6 MM. It was booked late June in the Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers unit of the Energy Division, with deliveries scheduled for 2018.

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

Solvay completes high-purity hydrogen peroxide plant in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay says it has completed a production facility for high-purity hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at the company’s Bernburg, Germany, site, according to Chemweek.

Product will be supplied to the electronics industry in Europe for the manufacture of semiconductor chips.

"Developments in society and technology in recent years have reinforced our belief that demand for our product can only grow," says Maik Diederich, business manager/EMEA at Solvay. "What is now obvious to everyone - especially after the recent impact of COVID-19 on our lives - is that our world is heading towards extensive digitalization in all areas: homeschooling, home office, Internet of Things, 5G, cloud computing, smart home, industry 4.0, and electromobility. The European semiconductor industry plays a crucial role in these developments."

The new production line incorporates innovations and benefits from the additional know-how acquired with the several H2O2 purification units that Solvay completed in Asia and Europe in recent years, the company says. Product from the new line has been qualified with Solvay’s main customers, it says.

As MRC informed earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

We remind that in mid-February, 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). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of EUR10.2 billion in 2019. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (SOLB) and Paris and in the United States, where its shares (SOLVY) are traded through a Level I ADR program.
MRC

Global diesel margins leave refiners under pressure

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global refiners are making more money for producing middle distillates such as gas oil and diesel now excess inventories accumulated during the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic have largely been absorbed, reported Reuters.

Despite the improvement, however, margins remain low in comparison with the last two decades, pressured by the continuing downturn in demand for jet fuel, which comes from a similar part of the refining process.

And margins are likely to remain depressed for several more months to keep capacity offline and restrict combined output of distillates and jet fuel, until travel restrictions are eased and international passenger aviation resumes.

Futures prices for US diesel made from WTI and delivered between June and December this year indicate gross margins of USD16-19 per barrel, up from USD9-11 before the successful vaccine trials were announced.

Equivalent margins for gas oil made from Brent and delivered in Northwest Europe have improved to USD7-9 per barrel, up from just USD4-5 before the first vaccine announcements.

But the gross gas oil margin is still only in the ninth percentile for all trading days since the start of 2004, leaving refineries under considerable pressure.

While global diesel and to a lesser extent gasoline consumption have bounced back since the second quarter of last year, jet use is still down by several million barrels per day.

The result is several million barrels per day of surplus refining capacity around the world, concentrated in refineries with the largest yield of middle distillates, most of them in Europe and Asia.

In the medium term, jet consumption is likely to recover to pre-epidemic levels, re-absorbing much of the excess refinery capacity.

Larger, more modern and more efficient refineries will therefore ride out the slump and wait for the next cyclical upturn once passenger aviation resumes.

But some smaller, older and less efficient refineries, many of which were only marginally profitable through the cycle before the epidemic, may not be able to sustain losses in the meantime.

The pandemic is testing their resilience, winnowing out the weaker assets, and resulting in permanent closures, conversions to import terminals, or sales to operators willing to accept lower margins long term.

As MRC informed before, in early November 2020, Royal Dutch Shell announced it was closing its refinery in Convent, Louisiana, the largest such US facility and first on the US Gulf Coast to shut down since the coronavirus pandemic devastated worldwide demand.

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

Exxon Baytown, Texas, refinery restarting hydrocracker after CDU restart

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxon Mobil Corp has begun restarting the hydrocracker at its 560,500 barrel-per-day (bpd) Baytown, Texas, refinery, shortly after restarting a crude distillation unit (CDU), said sources familiar with plant operations, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 135,000-bpd Pipestill 7 CDU was the first to restart since the Baytown refinery was shut on Feb. 15 by the effects of severe cold weather. The 25,000-bpd hydrocracker produces diesel and other motor fuels. “Exxon Mobil continues to make progress restarting its Baytown operations,” said company spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry.

Pipestill 7 is the second largest of the refinery’s three CDUs, which break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstocks for all other production units. Hydrocrackers use a catalyst in the presence of hydrogen under high heat and pressure to convert gas oil into diesel and other motor fuels.

As MRC wrote before, ExxonMobil's recent operational shutdowns include polyethylene (PE) facilities amid power outages prompted by the deep freeze that has enveloped the US Gulf Coast. "This event has caused widespread power outages across Texas and Louisiana" Feb. 15," the letter, dated Feb. 16, said. "As a consequence, several ExxonMobil Chemical operations have experienced loss of power and other key utilities, impacting our ability to resume full operations." ExxonMobil operates three PE units in Mont Belvieu, Texas, with combined capacity of 880,000 mt/year, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Exxon is among many petrochemical producers that shut Feb. 14 and subsequent days because of sustained extreme sub-freezing temperatures in the region. ExxonMobil previously confirmed Feb. 16 that the company had shut all refining and chemical operations at its Baytown and Beaumont, Texas, complexes. Ethylene produced at Baytown feeds the Mont Belvieu PE operations.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC