Epsilyte raises May EPS prices on higher feedstock costs

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Epsilyte (The Woodlands, Texas), a leading North American producer of Expandable Polystyrene (EPS), has announced a rise in its prices for all EPS grades for May shipments, said the company.

The price of the company's EPS grades increased by 8 cents/pound (cts/lb) or USD176/tonne, effective 1 May, 2021 or as contracts permit.

The present adjustment is necessary to keep pace with escalating feedstock costs.

As MRC reported earlier, Epsilyte raised its April EPS prices in the region by 10 cts/lb or USD220/tonne.

EPS is a rigid form of polystyrene (PS) used in insulation foams for the construction industry as well as for packaging.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, at the end of last week, Plastik, Uzlovaya announced a roll-over of its EPS prices at Rb158,000-160,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. The producer said customers did not accept high prices of material, therefore, the current prices of material might be reduced after the holidays.

At the same time, prices for SIBUR-Khimprom's material were in the range of Rb157,000-165,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, at the beginning of the month.

Epsilyte is owned by private equity firm Balmoral Funds (Los Angeles, California).
MRC

Technip Energies provides proprietary technology for Hengli ethylene cracker China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Technip Energies provided the proprietary technology and process design for Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Chemical Co. Ltd.’s (Hengli) mega 1,500 kta(1) liquid ethylene plant in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant successfully started up at the beginning of 2020 to reach its capacity shortly after the start-up, and despite COVID-19 context, passed all performance guarantees and the final acceptance test in the fourth quarter.

Known as the largest liquids ethylene cracker in China, the plant was completed and started up in 13 months since commencement of the construction, as part of a 20,000 kta refinery complex which broke ground in 2017.

In addition to the ethylene cracker technology, Technip Energies provided key proprietary technology components including a Heat Integrated Rectifier System, Ripple Trays and Wet Air Oxidation process. Technip Energies’ Ultra Selective Conversion (USC) U-coil and W-coil ethylene technology combines high energy efficiency and high yields, resulting in CO2 emissions reduction. It ranks in the 1st quartile of comparable crackers for lowest CO2 production per relative amount of high value chemical production.

As MRC reported earlier, Technip Energies has been recently awarded a significant Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for its BR9 Expansion Project in Barauni, Bihar, in the Eastern part of India. This EPCC contract covers the installation of a new Once-through Hydrocracker Unit (OHCU) of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity, a Fuel Gas Treatment Unit (FGTU) and the associated facilities.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Hengli Group is an international company that owns a diversity of business: petrochemical, advanced polyester materials, textiles, trading, finance and thermal power. In 2019, Hengli’s total revenue was 556.7 billion RMB, ranking No. 181 in the Fortune Global 500 list. Hengli operates the largest PTA site in the world combined with the biggest performance fibre textile production base.
MRC

May prices of European PVC rise by three-digit amount for CIS markets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations on prices of European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for May shipments to the CIS markets began this week. An acute shortage continued to weigh heavily on export prices of European producers. As a month earlier, European producers announced a price increase of EUR100/tonne and higher, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

May contract price of ethylene was agreed up by EUR5/tonne from the previous month, which theoretically allowed to talk about the same net cost of PVC production, compared to April. But since last year, a shortage of resin both in the domestic market and in a number of export directions has been the main factor in the pricing of producers in Europe. And the acute shortage of polymer in the market allowed to achieve a three-digit increase in domestic and export PVC prices. European producers announced an increase in their export prices for the CIS countries by EUR100/tonne and higher in May.

Seasonal factors predetermined a gradual increase in demand for PVC, whereas the availability of resin was only decreasing from several European producers because of scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns of production capacities. Since the beginning of the year, export quotas of European producers have been decreasing from month to month for the CIS markets. And in May, some producers plan to start export shipments only in the third decade of the month.

Resin with K=58/70 accounted for the acutest shortage. Many buyers could not fully meet their needs in this PVC from European producers during several months.

Overall, deals for May shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) to the CIS markets were negotiated in the range of EUR1,290-1,350/tonne FCA, whereas the previous month's deals were discussed in the range of EUR1,190-1,140/tonne FCA.
MRC

Marathon is at an impasse in negotiations with Teamsters union at its refinery in Minnesota

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum is at an impasse in negotiations with the local Teamsters union at its 104,000 barrel-per-day St. Paul Park, Minnesota, refinery, according to a letter to the union reviewed by Reuters.

Marathon said in a letter dated April 29 the two parties are at an impasse with respect to "non-starter" proposals made by the union and other proposals made in the refiner's last, best and final offer the union in March.

Marathon has not responded to a request for comment.

The two parties are also at fundamental disagreement over whether the union is on strike or being locked out.

The Teamsters contend that their access cards had been shut off in January when the union members attempted to return to work following a strike announcement, effectively locking them out.

Marathon has repeatedly said that there is no lockout in effect and the Teamsters are on strike.

The union also accused Marathon in April of "document dumping" 20,000 pages of unsearchable documents in response to the Teamsters' request for more information related to negotiations.

As MRC reported earlier, most units were shut on Sunday night and Monday morning (15-16 February) at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as temperatures plunged due to a Arctic cold front reaching the Gulf Coast. They resumed operations in the first half of March.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

Gunvor Group posted a record gross profit for 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Commodities trader Gunvor Group posted a record USD1.66 billion gross profit for 2020 even though revenue fell by a third as its trading desks profited from the unprecedented volatility in the oil market triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

While revenue fell to USD50 billion from USD75 billion in 2019 the oil demand crash in the second quarter of 2020 created profitable trading opportunities and desks continued to generate healthy margins in the second half, Gunvor said on Wednesday.

"It's been a good year for the group and we continue to be on a good path in the first quarter focusing on the energy transition," Chief Financial Officer Muriel Schwab said in a phone interview. "Thanks to strong earnings and cash flows, we have been able to strengthen our balance sheet in two ways. The first was taking a very conservative valuation of our refining assets ... and second, building up our equity levels," Schwab told Reuters.

However, Gunvor's net profit fell to USD320 million from a revised USD435 million in 2019 after it booked charges worth USD340 million related to the mothballing of its Antwerp refinery and the closure of two crude distillation units in Rotterdam.

The 2019 profit was revised up from USD381 million after it was published last year, Gunvor's spokesman said. With the refinery closure, Gunvor's oil refining capacity has shrunk to about 100,000 barrels per day at its plant in Ingolstadt, Germany. The company said refining margins were negative throughout 2020. Schwab said Gunvor's tank farm at the Antwerp site would continue working as a terminal.

She said Gunvor's trading strength was broad-based with its core profit drivers, such as natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), generating earnings independently of the market structure. This year, renewables and investments relating to the energy transition will be the focus for Gunvor, including its new renewables venture Nyera.

Total traded volumes were slightly lower than 2019 at 191 million tonnes, or about 2.7 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, the company said. The share of transitional fuels, which include natural gas, LNG and biofuels, has risen to just under 50% of total volumes from 28% in 2018.

Schwab also said the company had not made provisions for any potential fines in relation to its operations in Ecuador. Gunvor's dealings in the country are being scrutinised by local authorities and as part of a bribery investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). A former Gunvor employee pleaded guilty to bribing Ecuadorian officials in relation to oil deals last month as part of a wider conspiracy the DOJ said included other Gunvor employees.

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 the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC