Global chemical output rises by 1.4% in February

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global chemical output rose by 1.4% in February, at a slightly slower pace than January, said American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The ACC’s Global Chemical Production Index (CPRI) measures the production volume of the chemical industry for 33 key nations, sub-regions, and regions, all aggregated to the world total. During February, output was weak in most regions, with chemical production increasing in the Commonwealth of Independent States and in the Asia-Pacific region.

Headline global production was up 14.4% year on year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. Global output stood at 132% of its average 2012 levels. Global capacity rose 0.2% and was up 1.9% year on year. With improving production capacity utilisation in the global chemical industry rose one point to 89.2%, above February levels.

The effects of the mid-February freeze influenced chemical production in North America. Production fell by 3.3% in the region, with activity improved in Mexico and soft in Canada. Regional activity was down by 3.9% year on year with year-earlier declines in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

As MRC informed earlier, there has been a shortage of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) in the world since the end of last year, prices are breaking new historical records. The Russian market also does not stand aside from the global trends, producers intend to achieve a further rise in April prices, and in some cases, a price increase of Rb10,000/tonne and higher is being discussed.

As per MRC, Russia's output of chemical products rose in February 2021 by 5.3% year on year. Thus, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 7.5% in the first two months of 2021. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, mineral fertilizers accounted for the greatest increase in the January-February output. Production of benzene dropped to 113,000 tonnes in February 2021, compared to 120,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 241,000 tonnes over the stated period, down by 7.5% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66 expects to report a first-quarter net loss of USD680m-865m because of the polar storm and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, said Reuters.

A February deep freeze in U.S. central and southern states led to power outages and gas-supply disruptions that knocked oil refineries and chemical plants out of commission for up to two weeks. Several companies have issued warnings due to the storm.

Phillip 66’s adjusted net loss will reach between USD550 million and USD700 million for the quarter ended March 31 due to lost production and higher costs from the outages, it said. IBES data on Refinitiv had estimated a USD210 million loss.

Phillips 66 will suffer a larger impact than rivals because of its recent reliance on chemicals for earnings, Blair said. Its chemical plants ran at about mid-70% of capacity, down from a projected 90%. Its refining and marketing and specialties segments also were hurt by lower global demand for refined petroleum products due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exxon Mobil last week said the winter weather would cut its first quarter profit by up to USD800 million, with the largest impact in its chemical and refining units.Phillips 66 had reported a USD2.5 billion first-quarter net loss in the year-ago quarter, on writedowns. It expects to recognize a first-quarter impairment reflecting Phillips 66 Partners’ decision to exit the Liberty Pipeline project.

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

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology announced that its Novolen business has been awarded a PP contract by Jin Guo Tou (Jinzhou) Petrochemical Co., Ltd. at its petrochemical facility in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We are grateful to Jin Guo Tou for selecting Novolen, which builds on the recent series of awards and strong track record of our PP technology," said Leon de Bruyn, Lummus Technology's President and Chief Executive Officer. "With Novolen, our clients can achieve optimized performance of their facilities and produce a flexible range of products for all PP applications while enjoying low capital and operating costs."

Lummus' scope includes the technology license for a 900 KTA polypropylene unit as well as basic design engineering, training and services, and catalyst supply. The unit consists of one line of 300 KTA and one line of 600 KTA, the largest single-line capacity that has been licensed in the market today.

Lummus Novolen Technology GmbH licenses polypropylene technology and provides related engineering and technical support/advisory services. Novolen also supplies NHP catalysts for the production of high-performance polypropylene grades and NOVOCENE metallocene catalyst for the production of special polypropylene grades.

As per MRC, Lummus Technology announced an award for its ethylbenzene technology from a customer in Jiangsu Province, China. Once complete, the unit will produce 508,000 tonnes/year of ethylbenzene via the EBOne technology.

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

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.

Lummus Technology is a master licensor of proprietary technologies in refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and coal gasification sectors, as well as a supplier of proprietary catalysts, equipment and related engineering services. It has about 130 licensed technologies and more than 3,400 patents and trademarks.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- -- Huntsman Corporation has announced that Sean Douglas, 56, has notified the company he intends to resign as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as per the company's press release.

The effective date of Mr. Douglas' resignation will be July 1, 2021.

Thus, Huntsman has initiated a search for a permanent CFO with the credibility, capability, and qualifications to continue effective execution of its financial and business strategies and is evaluating both internal and external candidates at this time.

As MRC informed earlier, in late December, 2020, SK Capital Partners completed the acquisition of a 39.75% stake, roughly 42.4 million shares, in titanium dioxide maker Venator from Huntsman for roughly USD100 million. The deal includes a 30-month option for the purchase of Huntsman’s remaining approximate 9.5 million shares by SK at US2.15/share. Huntsman spun off Venator in a 2017 initial public offering.

We remind that Nanjing Jinling Huntsman, a joint venture between Huntsman and Sinopec Jinling, shut its propylene oxide plant in Nanjing (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China) on November 1, 2020, for scheduled maintenance. This plant with a capacity of 240,000 tonnes/year of propylene oxide was closed until approximately 25 November.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

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.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2019 revenues of approximately USD7 billion. The company's chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. The company operates more than 70 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 9,000 associates within our four distinct business divisions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RusGazDobycha, a business partner of Russian gas giant Gazprom, plans to start building a chemical plant as part of a massive gas processing cluster on the shores of the Baltic Sea, later this month, RusGazDobycha said on Friday.

The cluster is designed to process annually 45 billion cubic metres of natural gas, produce 13 million tons of LNG, 3.6 million tons of ethane and up to 1.8 million tons of LPG.

A first stage of the cluster is set to come on stream in 2024, while the second is to be launched in 2025.

RusGazDobycha did not disclose financial details for the project that is in part financed by the Russian state, including by the VEB corporation.

Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L quit the project in 2019 after Gazprom integrated the Baltic LNG project and gas processing plants and added a partner with links to an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As MRC reported earlier, in late March 2021, Gazprom and the industrial gases major Linde have signed an agreement of intent for Ust-Liga gas processing complex cooperation. The document outlines the main terms and conditions of a prospective EPSS contract providing for engineering services, equipment supplies, and maintenance of gas processing and off-site facilities, Gazprom informed in its statement.

Gazprom and RusGazDobycha are implementing the project near the settlement of Ust-Luga, with the RusKhimAlyans as the project operator. It is the anchor project of the major gas processing and chemical cluster that is being established in the region.

We remind that in February 2020, Linde signed a contact for the provision of services for the design and construction of a part of the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGHK) of SIBUR. The services will be provided as part of a consortium with NIPIgaz, part of the SIBUR structure.

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

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