PVC imports into Russia fell by 134% in Q1 2021, exports rose by 14%

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) in Russia reached about 7,500 tonnes in the first three months of the year, up 134% year on year. At the same time, exports decreased by 16%, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports to Russia increased to 4,300 tonnes from 2,700 tonnes in March. High PVC prices in the domestic market and lower export prices for acetylene PVC in China have led to an increase in imports.Thus, overall imports were 7,500 tonnes in January-March 2021, compared to 3,200 tonnes a year earlier, with PVC from China accounting for the main increase in imports. At the same time, despite rather high prices for PVC in foreign markets, Russian producers have increased export sales in favour of the domestic market.

The total export indicator for the first three months of the year amounted to about 55,400 tonnes against 48,700 tonnes a year earlier.
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1. Global crude oil demand to peak several years earlier than expected - in 2026

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The rapid adoption of electric vehicles (EV) around the world is likely to cause global oil demand to peak two years earlier than previously expected, reported Reuters with reference to Norway"s biggest independent energy consultancy Rystad. World demand is now seen peaking at 101.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2026, down from a forecast made in November of a peak in 2028 at 102.2 million bpd, Rystad Energy said. "The adoption of electrification in transport and other oil-dependent sectors is accelerating and is set to chip away at oil sooner and faster than in our previous forecast," Rystad wrote. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Rystad had anticipated that peak oil demand would be reached in 2030 at 106 million bpd.



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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures fell during mid-morning Asian trade April 22 following the latest release of the US Energy Information Administration's weekly statistics, which was a mixed bag, and as sentiment slumped on pandemic-induced demand concerns after India reported record high COVID-19 infections, reported S&P Global.

At 11:03 am Singapore time (00303 GMT), the ICE Brent June contract was down 28 cents/b (0.42%) from the April 21 settle at $65.04/b, while the June NYMEX light sweet crude contract was 30 cents/b (0.49%) lower at $61.05/b.

EIA data released late April 21 showed that commercial crude stocks had climbed 600,000 barrels to 493.02 million barrels in the week ended April 16. The build came as a surprise to analysts, who had expected inventories to fall by 4.4 million barrels instead, according to an S&P Global Platts survey.

The EIA data was mixed for downstream product inventories, with gasoline stocks edging up 90,000 barrels and distillate stocks falling 1.07 million barrels last week.

Of particular concern to the market was the total product supplied figure, EIA's proxy for demand, which fell almost 8% from the week prior at 18.76 million b/d in the week ended April 16. The market, however, received solace from rising gasoline demand, which averaged 9.1 million b/d last week, up 1.8% from the week prior and the highest since August.

Over in Asia, the rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan and India portends curtailed energy demand in the region. India reported a record 295,158 cases on April 20, latest data from John Hopkins University showed, even as large parts of country remained under lockdown. Meanwhile, Japan is also considering putting Tokyo and Osaka under a state of emergency, media reports showed.

As MRC informed earlier, COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented decline in demand affecting all sections of the Russian economy, which has impacted the demand for petrochemicals in the short-term. However, the pandemic triggered an increase in the demand for polymers in food packaging, and cleaning and hygiene products, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. With Russian petrochemical companies having the advantage of access to low-cost feedstock, and proximity to demand-rich Asian (primarily China) and European markets for the supply of petrochemical products, these companies appear to be well-positioned to derive full benefits from an improving market environment and global economy post-COVID-19, says GlobalData.

We remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex”.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP) has restarted its polypropylene (PP) in central Vietnam on 13 April 2021 after a two-week turnaround due to a technical issue, according to CommoPlast.

The plant with an annual capacity of 370,000 tons/year of PP was shut on 30 March, 2021, and was initially estimated to remain off-line for three weeks.

As MRC wrote oreviously, in the third week of September 2020, NSRP restarted its PP unit in Vietnam following a 10 days unscheduled shutdown starting 7 September 2020 due to a persistent technical issue.

We also remind that Vietnam’s Nghi Son oil refinery officially began commercial production from 14 November 2018, following months of tests. The USD9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1 percent by PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont) has announced successful performance tests for the STRATCO alkylation units at the Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company (ZRCC) refinery in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China and the Yangzi Company (YPC) refinery in Nianjing, Jiangsu, China, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These performance tests certify the STRATCO alkylation units are meeting performance guarantees. The ZRCC and YPC STRATCO alkylation units both process MTBE raffinate feeds and are designed to produce 7,700 bpsd (300 kmta) and 7,500 bpsd (300 kmta) of alkylate, respectively.

The STRATCO alkylation units will enable Sinopec to generate low-sulfur, high-octane, low-Rvp alkylate with zero olefins that meets the criteria of the China VI standard. The STRATCO alkylation technology is a sulfuric acid-catalyzed process that converts low-value, straight-chain olefins (propylene, butylene and amylene) into high-value, branched components called alkylate. Alkylate is known for its superior blending properties and is a key component for clean gasoline.

The STRATCO alkylation technology helps refiners safely produce cleaner-burning gasoline with high octane, low Reid vapor pressure, low sulfur, zero aromatics and zero olefins.

As MRC wrote previously, Sinopec Engineering (Group) and ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical (EMHCC) have just entered into a BEPC (basic design, engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the proposed Huizhou Chemical Complex Project (Phase I). The main units of the project include a 1.6 million tonnes/year ethylene flexible feed steam cracker, downstream polymer and derivative units and utilities. The main product units include two performance polyethylene (PE) lines and two differentiated performance polypropylene (PP) lines.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group"s key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
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