Crude oil futures up in Asia as JCPOA talks drag and on concerns that stronger demand outpaces increases in supply

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were higher during midmorning trade in Asia June 2 as negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action continued to dawdle, and as a rebound in oil demand in China, the US and Europe threatened to outpace impending increases in supply, reported S&P Global.

At 10:50 am Singapore time (0250 GMT), the ICE August Brent contract was up 38 cents/b (0.54%) from the previous settle at USD70.63/b, while the NYMEX July light sweet crude contract was up 35 cents/b (0.52%) at USD68.07/b.

Any resolution on the JCPOA remained far from certain as the fifth and final round of negotiations proceeded in Vienna, putting into question the prospect of increased Iranian oil hitting the market.

Crude oil prices were also supported by a strong demand outlook for regions undergoing economic rebounds, including China, the US and Europe.

The market was particularly exuberant about the demand outlook in the US, where the Memorial Day weekend kick-started the country's summer driving season. Gasoline demand in the US was already on an uptrend even prior to the Memorial Day holiday, with Apple mobility data showing US driving activity averaging 152% of the baseline in the week ended May 28 - marking a second straight week the index has hit a fresh all-time high in records dating back to January 2020.

With rising oil demand in China and the West expected to compensate for curtailed demand in parts of Asia still grappling with elevated COVID-19 infection numbers, and with the prospect of additional Iranian crude still in flux, the OPEC+ coalition decided during its June 1 meeting to proceed with initial plans to relax its output quota by 840,000 b/d in July.

OPEC will convene June 24 and then hold an expanded meeting July 1, with Russia and nine other partners in the OPEC+ supply accord to decide on production quotas for August and beyond.

Despite more OPEC+ crude coming into the market, concerns have emerged that the market is on the cusp of overheating.

"Over the next six months, I see very clearly that there is a strong recovery of oil demand in the US, China, Europe and elsewhere and if OPEC+ sticks to its current policies, we may see a wider gap between supply and demand," International Energy Agency's director Faith Birol told Bloomberg Television in an interview June 1.

In its latest oil market report released in May, the IEA had cautioned that current production plans by OPEC+ meant supply "won't rise fast enough to keep pace with the expected demand recovery, even if a nuclear deal with Iran sees more volumes coming from the OPEC member later this year."

As MRC wrote earlier, Indian refiners, anticipating a lifting of US sanctions, plan to make space for the resumption of Iranian imports by reducing spot crude oil purchases in the second half of the year. The world"s third-largest oil consumer and importer halted imports from Tehran in 2019 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 accord and re-imposed sanctions on the OPEC producer over its disputed nuclear programme.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Michael Heinz takes over as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, said the company.

Heinz will lead all activities of the North American affiliate of Germany-based BASF SE, one of the leading chemical companies worldwide.

"I am eager to take over responsibility for one of BASF’s major markets and to further develop our strong presence in the North American region,” said Heinz. “Given my experience with BASF in the United States, I am honored by this appointment as it allows me to lead an outstanding team and, at the same time, return to a country that feels like a second home to me."

Heinz has been with BASF for almost four decades and during that time, has spent more than 10 years in various leadership positions in the United States. Earlier in his career, he oversaw BASF’s activities in Ecuador and Mexico, led the global Crop Protection division and was responsible for the integration of two major company acquisitions, Ciba AG and Cognis GmbH. Heinz has been a Member of BASF SE’s Board of Executive Directors since 2011 and will continue serving in this role in addition to leading the company’s North American activities. As part of his Board duties, Heinz is also responsible for BASF’s global Chemicals and Materials business segments as well as the South America region.

Heinz succeeds Wayne T. Smith, who led BASF Corporation for six years. Smith has shaped the company’s business success in the North America region with a strong focus on customers, Diversity & Inclusion and asset reliability.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels. The project envisions an additional offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) to provide the Ludwigshafen chemical site with green electricity and enable CO2-free production of hydrogen.

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.

BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 17,000 employees in North America and had sales of USD18.7 billion in 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian state refiners’ daily gasoline and gasoil sales declined by about a fifth in May from a month earlier as lockdowns to curb the second deadly wave of COVID-19 hit industrial activities and consumption, reported Reuters with reference to preliminary data.

Daily gasoline sales in May fell by about 19% from April while diesel consumption, which is linked to industrial activity and accounts for over two-fifths of India’s fuel demand, fell by 19.9%, data compiled by state refiners showed.

India’s factory activity growth slowed significantly in May as a rise in coronavirus cases whacked new orders and output, the Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by IHS Markit showed.

Rising retail prices of gasoline and gasoil along with lockdowns hit fuel demand in May, said an official at one of the refiners. He hoped fuel consumption would soon start improving as the number of infections is declining and states are gradually easing restrictions.

Indian fuel demand had recovered to near pre-pandemic levels in March but has been sliding since April owing to a resurgence in infections, prompting Indian refiners to cut crude processing and imports.

State companies - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd - own about 90% of India’s retail fuel outlets.

Domestic fuel sales by state retailers, however, were higher versus a year earlier when there was a nationwide lockdown.

As MRC wrote before, the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in India has led to various travel restrictions, which reduced the consumption of transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel. As a result, EIA revised down its forecast for petroleum consumption in India in the May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). EIA estimates that petroleum consumption in India declined by 0.4 million barrels per day (b/d) (8%) to 4.7 million b/d between March and April.

We remind that Indian Oil Corp, India's top refiner, cut crude processing to average at 84% of overall capacity from 96% in April as a devastating second wave of COVID-19 dented fuel demand, reported. Domestic sales of gasoil and gasoline by Indian state refiners plunged by a fifth in the first half of May from a month earlier, preliminary data showed, as lockdowns to curb COVID-19 cases hit industrial activities and consumption.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The plant of new polymers Senege (part of the OP "Europlast") has launched the FTR (Flakes-to-Resine) technology, which has no analogues in Russia, which allows adding up to 35% of secondary raw materials to the primary to create food granules, said Europlast.

It is noted that upon reaching the design capacity, the plant will produce 130,000 tonnes of granules per year, involving about 35,000 tonnes of recycled PET bottles in the production cycle.

"After the launch of FTR, Senege became the second (after the Plarusa plastics processing plant, part of the Europlast holding) Russian plant producing food granules from recovered raw materials," the statement says.

General Director of the plant Maxim Tyurin noted that thanks to the FTR recycling technology, the company will significantly increase the production of granules containing recovered raw materials. “FTR will help meet the growing market demand for packaging using recycled materials. Packaging manufacturers will have an additional opportunity to meet environmental trends," he said.

As per ICIS-MRC Price Report, Senege will not have free spot volumes of material in the first half of next month, according to a representative of the producer. The contract prices of Russian plants for most buyers this month were in the range of Rb103,000-117,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Earlier it was said, this month, market participants still reported a shortage of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) volumes in Russia. Buyers purchased small volumes in the spot market. Producers had low level of stocks inventories as well. Large preform producers partially cover their raw material needs through imports of Chinese imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted by 297 votes in the second reading the bill No. 2051-1 on restricting the use of plastic bags on the territory of Ukraine, according to a document published on the parliamentary portal.

Under the new rules, retail chains, food service establishments and service companies are banned from distributing ultra-thin plastic bags, thin plastic bags and oxo-folding plastic bags. For violation of this provision, a fine of UAH 1,700-3,400 is provided. For a repeated violation - UAH 3,400-8,500.

The bill provides that non-compliant packages that remain by January 1, 2023 must be disposed of at the expense of the economic entity that purchased them. "The law is aimed at reducing the use of plastic bags in Ukraine, limiting their distribution in order to improve the state of the environment and landscaping," the explanatory note says.

The law comes into force the next day after publication, and comes into effect six months after the date of entry into force.

Earlier it was reported that in November 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading bill No. 2051-1, which is proposed to introduce a ban on the distribution of plastic bags in retail with a thickness of up to 50 microns from January 1, 2022.

Also, in March 2019, a ban on disposable plastic products was approved by the European Parliament. The EU expects to get rid of this type of plastic within two years.

According to MRC's DataScope, last month external supplies of PE to Ukraine amounted to 19,500 tonnes against 28,700 tonnes in March, local companies reduced the volume of purchases of all types of polyethylene except for ethylene copolymers due to record high prices for foreign markets. Thus, in January - April 2021, the total volume of external supplies of PE reached 83,500 tonnes against 90,900 tonnes a year earlier. External supplies of HDPE mainly decreased, while imports of other types of polyethylene increased.
MRC