Sinopec Maoming delays turnaround at No. 2 PP unit

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical, part of Sinopec Corporation, has delayed the planned shutdown at its No.2 polypropylene (PP) unit in Guangdong until 25 March, according to CommoPlast.

Initially the company was to shut this PP unit for a scheduled turnaround on March 5, 2021. Sinopec Maoming plans to conduct maintenance works at this unit to 5 May, 2021.

Located in Guangdong, China, the No. 2 PP unit has a capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical has brought on-stream its No.1 PP unit in Guangdong. The company resumed operations at the unit following turnaround on July 27, 2020. The PP unit was shut on July 15, 2020. Located in Guangdong, China, the No. 1 PP unit has a capacity of 170,000 mt/year.

The company also operates No. 3 PP unit has a capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) to develop green chemistry in India, said the Italian company.

Through its subsidiaries NextChem, Stamicarbon and MET Development (MET DEV), Maire Tecnimont will focus on producing chemicals, ammonia and hydrogen using renewable feedstock.

The initiative will use NextChem and Stamicarbon technologies with MET DEV’s project development and the Adani Group’s infrastructure to jointly develop uses of renewable feedstock in the chemicals value chain. AEL has 14 GW of renewable assets under operation, construction and contracts.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiary Tecnimont SpA, through its Indian entity Tecnimont Private Limited, has been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of new Acrylic Acid and Butyl Acrylate Units, for the production of relevant high added value products for the chemical market.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and KT - Kinetics Technology S.p.A. have signed with SOCAR’s subsidiary Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery two Engineering, Procurement and Construction contracts, as part of the Modernization and Reconstruction of Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery in Baku, Azerbaijan. SOCAR is the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. The overall contracts’ value equals to approximately USD 160 million.

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, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - SIBUR's main shareholder Leonid Mikhelson has reduced the shareholding in companies to 42.23% from 48.5%, the company said in a statement.

Thus, since March 16, SOGAZ acquired a 6.25% stake in Trust 3. Trust 3 is 100% owned by businessman Leonid Mikhelson. Thus, the effective share of SIBUR owned by Leonid Mikhelson dropped to 42.23%.

L. Mikhelson remains the main shareholder of the company and will continue to head its board of directors, "the message says.

As for the rest, the structure of SIBUR shareholders has not changed. Gennady Timchenko owns 17%, Kirill Shamalov - 3.9% of the company's shares. 10% each are at the disposal of Sinopec and the Silk Road Fund, 10.6% of the shares are controlled by the current and former management of the company.

The share of Mikhelson in the authorized capital of SIBUR also decreased - to 27.83% from 34.08%, follows from the materials of the company. The share of Sogaz in the authorized capital of the petrochemical company is now 6.25%.

Earlier it was reported that the revenue of PJSC "SIBUR Holding" decreased by 1.6% last year and amounted to 523 billion rubles. At the same time, SIBUR increased EBITDA to 179 billion rubles, which is 5.4% more than in 2019.

Earlier it was noted that in December last year SIBUR Holding chose Spheripol LyondellBasell polyolefin technology for its Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGHK) under construction. The technological process will be used at a polypropylene plant with a capacity of 400 thousand tons per year, which will be built in the town of Svobodny, Amur Region.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the total PP production in Russia increased by 31% in 2020 compared to the same indicator in 2019 and amounted to about 1,883 thousand tonnes. The main increase in production volumes was provided by ZapSibNeftekhim.

SIBUR is the largest vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemical company in Russia, uniting a number of production sites in various regions of the Russian Federation. The company sells products to consumers in the fuel and energy complex, automotive, construction, consumer goods, chemical and other industries in more than 80 countries around the world.
MRC

1. Demand for crude oil will rise, despite emphasis on renewables

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil demand is expected to increase over the next decade and the fossil fuel will remain to be a crucial part of the energy mix, even as renewables draw increasing attention, reported Reuters with reference to Hess Corp Chief Executive John Hess' statement at CERAWeek. At the biggest gathering of top energy leaders, investors and politicians from around the globe, climate change and renewable fuels are taking center stage this year with oil companies trying to reorient their portfolios as the fossil fuel industry reels from the coronavirus pandemic, which destroyed fuel demand and caused the loss of thousands of jobs.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As the winter storms hit the US Gulf Coast, Wood Mackenzie estimated that 45% of US paraxylene (PX) capacity had been affected, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

However, it has since come to light that 73% of US capacity was impacted by the severe weather, with INEOS Texas City declaring force majeure the week of the storms. All PX assets affected by the storms are either fully integrated into refining systems or embedded within refinery complexes, many of which were shut down or reduced due to weather impacts.

As of mid-March, all US refineries associated with PX production have started to ramp up operations across major processing units, according to Genscape. Despite this, reports circulate of paraxylene asset restarts running into delays even after other units within the refinery have moved towards normal output levels.

With major PX supply outages in the region, PX prices are expected to rise again in April. April’s forecast increase follows last month’s settlement, which was the largest increase for the US PX contract price in a single month since September 2018.

On the PTA front, the only producer that declared force majeure was INEOS Cooper River. However, this situation was not a direct consequence of the winter storms, but rather an indirect effect of being unable to source PX supply from their Texas City subsidiary. We continue to monitor the overall effect that the PX supply shortage in the Gulf Coast will have on PTA producers in other parts of the US and Mexico.

As per MRC, in line with US olefins capacity, over 80% of US polyolefins capacity was downed by the recent winter storm. There remains a considerable amount of capacity offline or in the early stages of restarting a full month later. This is partly due to the limited feedstock availability for olefins monomer, comonomer, and additives in the region.

As per MRC, more than 80% of US olefins capacity was immediately offline following the peak of extreme weather conditions in mid-February. During that time, Wood Mackenzie noted it could take weeks to recover given that disruptions across the value chain would lead to a staggered and complex restart, setting the stage for volatility in supply and prices amid stronger demand. As of mid-March, the US olefins industry has yet to regain its footing with only 60% of capacity back in operation, according to data from Genscape, a Wood Mackenzie company. Several facilities in both the Houston and Corpus Christi metropolitan areas remain shut. Those further west appear to be experiencing longer outages, likely due to encountering relatively colder temperatures during the winter storm.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 241,030 tonnes in January 2021 versus 217,890 tonnes a year earlier. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 141,870 tonnes in January 2021 versus 123,520 tonnes a year earlier. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC