U.S. crude stockpiles fell more than expected

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell more than expected last week, while gasoline inventories jumped sharply as refining rates to the highest in over a year, the Energy Information Administration said, as per Reuters.

Crude inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels in the week to April 2 to 501.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel drop. Stocks in the Midwest fell to their lowest since March 2020.

U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 4 million barrels in the week to 230.5 million barrels, compared with forecasts for a 221,000-barrel drop.? With summer driving season approaching, the expectation is that gasoline inventories will soon start to recede, but that has not happened yet.

"The gasoline number was so large that it’s not allowing crude oil to rally despite the draw in crude oil," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities.

Oil priced edged lower after the report. U.S. crude futures slipped by 50 cents to USD58.83 a barrel, while Brent dropped 46 cents to USD62.27 a barrel as of 10:44 a.m. EDT.

Refinery crude runs rose by 103,000 barrels per day and utilization rates edged up 0.1 percentage point, and are now running at 84% of capacity, their highest since March 2020. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.5 million barrels to 144.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 486,000-barrel rise.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 141,000 bpd, while crude production fell 200,000 bpd to 10.9 million bpd.

As per MRC, Global chemical output rose by 1.4% in February, at a slightly slower pace than January. 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.

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

Clariant appoints Gunter von Au as new chairman

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland), a focused, sustainable and innovative specialty chemical company, says that Gunter von Au has been elected the company’s new chairman during its annual shareholders' meeting held on 7 April, as per the company's press release.

Clariant’s board had unanimously proposed to shareholders that Gunter von Au be elected chairman following an announcement in February by Harolf Kottmann, the company’s chairman since 2018, that he would no longer be a candidate for the office of chairman and board member.

Gunter von Au, Chairman of Clariant’s Board of Directors, said “It is a great honor for me to be elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors, especially because of the close relationship that I have with this company for almost a decade now. Together with all my fellow board members as well as CEO Conrad Keijzer, I look forward to continuing Clariant’s successful path towards becoming one of the world’s leading companies for specialty chemicals and create value for all stakeholders, including shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Clariant’s shareholders approved at the meeting all agenda items and resolutions proposed by the board, including the distribution of an ordinary dividend of 0.70 Swiss francs (USD0.75) per share for the company’s performance over past two financial years; the integrated report and group consolidated financial statements for 2020; and the compensation report for 2020 on an advisory basis, the company says.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2020, Clariant said that its board had appointed Conrad Keijzer as the company’s new CEO, effective 1 January 2021.

We remind that in October 2020, Clariant announced the construction of a new state-of-the-art catalyst production site in China. This project represents a significant investment which further strengthens Clariant’s position in China and enhances its ability to support its customers in the country’s thriving petrochemicals industry.

The new facility will be primarily responsible for producing the Catofin catalyst for propane dehydrogenation, which is used in the production of olefins such as propylene. Thanks to its excellent reliability and productivity, Catofin delivers superior annual production output compared to alternative technologies, resulting in increased overall profitability for propylene producers, says the company. Construction at the Dushan Port Economic Development Zone in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province was scheduled to commence in Q3 2020, and Clariant expects to be at full production capacity by 2022.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, 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.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Oxy and Cemvita to build bio-ethylene pilot plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental, and bio-engineering startup Cemvita Factory announced a plan to construct and operate a one metric ton per month bio-ethylene pilot plant, applying a jointly developed technology using human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of hydrocarbon-sourced feedstocks, said the company.

The pilot project will scale up the process that was successful in laboratory tests, which showed the OLCV-Cemvita technology is competitive with hydrocarbon-sourced ethylene processes. Ethylene is widely used in the chemical industry, primarily as a precursor to polymers for use in items like durable, long-life products. Start-up of the pilot plant is expected in 2022.

"This technology could provide an opportunity to offer a new, non-hydrocarbon-sourced ethylene product to the market, reducing carbon emissions, and in the future benefit our affiliate, OxyChem, which is a large producer and consumer of ethylene in its chlorovinyls business," said Dr. Robert Zeller, Vice President of Technology for OLCV.

"Today bio-ethylene is made from bio-ethanol, which is made from sugarcane, which in turn was created by photosynthesizing CO2. Our bio-synthetic process simply requires CO2, water and light to produce bio-ethylene, and that's why it saves a lot of cost and carbon emissions," stated Moji Karimi, co-founder and CEO of Cemvita Factory. "This project is a great example of how Cemvita is applying industrial-strength synthetic biology to help our clients lower their carbon footprint while creating new revenue streams."

In 2019, OLCV made an investment in Cemvita Factory to jointly explore how the advances in synthetic biology can be utilized to provide sustainable pathways for the bio-manufacturing of OxyChem's products. This strategic partnership is yielding new innovations that hold promise to decarbonize and transform the chemical industry to create a sustainable future.

As per MRC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a division of Occidental announced the delivery of two million barrels of carbon-neutral oil1 to Reliance Industries in India. This transaction, which was arranged in conjunction with Macquarie Group’s Commodities and Global Markets group (Macquarie), is the energy industry’s first major petroleum shipment for which greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the entire crude lifecycle, well head through combustion of end products, have been offset.

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.

Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, LLC (OLCV) is a subsidiary of Occidental, an international energy company with assets in the United States, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. OLCV is focused on advancing cutting-edge, low-carbon technologies and business solutions that enhance Occidental's business while reducing emissions. OLCV also invests in the development of low-carbon fuels and products, as well as sequestration services to support carbon capture projects globally.
MRC

Nova Chemicals presents first grades of post-consumer recycled PE

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) has introduced the first three grades in its new portfolio of post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene (PE) resin, as per the company's press release.

The company says each of the grades, which target flexible film applications, comes from a dedicated source.

One grade is a natural linear-low/low density PCR polyethylene (rLLDPE/LDPE) collected from distribution centers and suited for collation shrink, stretch wrap and e-commerce applications, says Nova.

Another natural rLLDPE/LDPE grade is a recycled agricultural film suited for re-use in agricultural films, heavy-duty shipping sacks, collation shrink, and for e-commerce applications.

The third grade, a white rLLDPE manufactured from closed-loop agricultural and irrigation film recyclate, is suited for use in agricultural film, heavy-duty shipping sacks, collation shrink, trash bags and liners and e-commerce applications.

Nova recently announced PCR resin supply agreements with two recyclers. Merlin Plastics will supply Nova with FDA-LNO (letter of non-objection) PCR high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) for use in consumer packaging, including food. Revolution is supplying Nova with rLLDPE/LDPE for use in a range of packaging applications.

Many of the world’s leading consumer brands have pledged to increase the amount of PCR content in plastic packaging to an average of 25% by 2025. Anna Rajkovic, circular economy market manager, NOVA Chemicals, said the introduction of these products will help brands meet their goals. “We’ve made remarkable progress in just the past few months,” she explained. “We’re continuing to expand our PCR business and collaborate throughout the value chain to help the industry meet its sustainability commitments and advance the plastics circular economy.”

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2020, NOVA Chemicals resumed construction activities in a phased approach at its Corunna site. The company said on April 16 it will gradually increase the number of workers involved in construction of the new PE plant and the cracker expansion project. NOVA announced in late March that it was sending home the majority of the construction workers at the Corunna site to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

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.

NOVA Chemicals Corporation is a plastics and chemical company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is wholly-owned ultimately by Mubadala Investment Company of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
MRC

Tecnimont S.p.A. was awarded a contract for works at the Port Harcourt Refinery Complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that its subsidiary Tecnimont S.p.A. has been awarded a contract by the Federal Executive Council to carry out Rehabilitation works for the Port Harcourt Refinery Company Limited, located in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in Nigeria, which is a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The overall contract’s value is about USD1.5 billion. The project entails engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities for a full rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery complex, aimed at restoring the complex to a minimum of 90% of its nameplate capacity. The complex is composed of two refineries totaling an overall capacity of approximately 210,000 bpd (barrels per day). The project will be delivered in phases from 24 and 32 months and the final stage will be completed in 44 months from the award date.

Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Group Chief Executive Officer, commented: "With this great result we confirm the soundness of our business strategy on geography diversification, as one of its key elements is to grow and assist our clients in their revamping initiatives, leveraging on our technological know-how to ensure more efficient and environmentally better performing processes and products. It represents a testament of our technological DNA, as we are strongly increasing our focus on initiatives for the modernization of the refining sector, such as these strategic rehabilitation works. Moreover, we enhance our footprint in Nigeria and in Sub-Saharan Africa, a market with excellent downstream prospects given its demographics and the necessity to unlock greater added value from the transformation of natural resources. We are eager to keep on supporting a leading player in the area such as NNPC to develop Africa’s downstream sector."

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