Crude oil futures up in Asia on higher US stocks amid caution ahead of OPEC+ meeting

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were higher during mid-morning trade in Asia July 1 after the Energy Information Administration reported a large draw in US crude inventories, but the upside was capped by lackluster US products data and caution ahead of the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for later in the day, reporte S&P Global.

At 10:21 am Singapore time (0221 GMT), the ICE September Brent futures contract was up 30 cents/b (0.40%) from the previous settle at USD74.92/b, while the NYMEX August light sweet crude contract was 28 cents/b (0.38%) higher at USD73.75/b.

EIA data released late June 30 showed a headline US crude draw of 6.72 million barrels to 452.34 million barrels in the week ended June 25, almost 7% below the five-year average for this time of year and marking the sixth consecutive week of decline amid rising US refinery demand. Total US net crude inputs rose 190,000 b/d to average 16.3 million b/d in the week, while refinery utilization climbed 0.7 percentage points to 92.9% of total capacity, the highest since the week ended Jan. 3, 2020.

However the boost to global prices was limited, as the market had been expecting the large fall in crude inventories after the American Petroleum Institute a day earlier reported a 8.15 million-barrel draw for the same week, and the products data was lackluster. US gasoline inventories rose 1.52 million barrels to 241.57 million barrels in the week, while total product supplied for gasoline, the EIA's proxy for demand, slipped around 3% to a three-week low of 9.17 million b/d.

Distillate inventories slipped 870,000 barrels to 137.10 million barrels, even as implied demand rose 5.6% to 4.17 million b/d.

The relative stability in the market comes as investors await the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for later in the day, which was expected to provide guidance on the producer group's production quotas for August.

Analysts have said that given the demand-side risk posed by the resurgent spread of the Delta coronavirus variant, and with additional Iranian barrels potentially entering the market following a possible deal on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the coalition is likely to agree on a tempered increase of 500,000 b/d of oil production in August.

"Saudi Arabia remains cautious on demand and Iran nuclear talks, while Russia is more focused on regaining market share as demand rebounds," Platts Analytics said in a recent note. "However, with Brent already in the mid-USD70s, both will likely be committed to not overheating the market."

We remind that as MRC informed 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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, has made its first purchase of Guyana's Liza light sweet crude as it seeks to diversify its crude purchases, reported Reuters with reference to a source familiar with matter.

The 1 million-barrel cargo will set sail around July 4 on Greece-flagged tanker Militos for India's Paradip port, where it is set to arrive around August 8, according to Refinitiv data.

This would be a 'trial cargo', the source said, without giving details of pricing. The source said that India is in talks with Guyana's government for a term oil supply contract for state refiners.

IOC is the first Indian state refiner to buy Liza oil. Private refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture between state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL.NS) and steel tycoon L.N. Mittal, bought a million barrels of Liza grade in March.

IOC declined to immediately comment.

India, the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer, ships in more than 80% of its oil needs from overseas and relies heavily on the Middle East.

Earlier this year India asked state refiners to expedite the diversification of crude sources after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, also known as OPEC+ failed to ease supply curbs, leading to a spike in global oil prices. The state refiners - IOC, HPCL, Bharat Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd - together control about three-fifths of India's 5 million barrel per day refining capacity.

As MRC informed 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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
mrcpalst.com

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) in Russia reached about 14,600 tonnes in the first five months of the year, up 48% year on year. At the same time, exports decreased by 10%, according to MRC's DataScope report.

May SPVC imports to Russia increased to 4,900 tonnes from 2,100 tonnes in April. The lack of PVC from Russian producers and the upcoming shutdown for repairs led to another increase in imports. Overall imports totalled 14,600 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, compared to 9,900 tonnes a year earlier, with resin from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

In the past two months, prices on the domestic market have
exceeded export prices in a number of areas, as a result, Russian producers have reduced export sales.

May exports of suspension PVC from Russia were about 19,000 tonnes against 18,700 tonnes in April. Overall exports were 88,800 tonnes in January-May 2021 versus 98,800 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- OPEC's forecasts point to an oil supply deficit in August and in the rest of 2021 as economies recover from the pandemic, suggesting the group and its allies have room to raise output at a meeting this week, reported Reuters.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, is returning 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), about 2% of world output, to the market from May through July as part of a plan to ease last year's record output curbs.

OPEC+ meets on Thursday to discuss supply for later months. With oil at its highest since 2018, sources say a further boost in August will be discussed, but some producers are wary about new demand setbacks and higher Iranian supply.

OPEC's latest forecast of the demand for its crude suggests, if output levels stay the same, OPEC supply will fall short of expected demand by 1.5 million bpd in August. The shortfall widens to 2.2 million bpd in the fourth quarter.

Iran and world powers have been talking since April on reviving Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal, which would allow Iran to boost output, so far without agreement.

Tehran pumped 2.5 million bpd in May and was producing 3.8 million bpd in 2018 before the U.S. tightened sanctions, OPEC figures show. So an extra 1.3 million bpd from Iran in the next few months would give OPEC+ less room to add supply without tipping the market into surplus.

OPEC+ cut output by a record 9.7 million bpd last year as demand collapsed when the pandemic first struck. As of July, the curbs in place will stand at 5.8 million bpd.

As MRC informed 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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Yakov Ginzburg, who served as Deputy General Director for Economics and Finance of the company, has been appointed General Director of the Irkutsk Oil Company (INK), the company said.

The corresponding decision was made at the meeting of the INC members. Marina Sedykh, who has headed the company since 2000, will continue to work on the board of directors of INK LLC and as CEO of the holding company of the INK-Capital JSC Group, which she has been managing since its inception in 2008, and will focus on implementing a sustainable development strategy INK Group of Companies, including issues of industrial safety and labor protection, ecology and social policy.

"I would like to thank my partner Marina Sedykh for her selfless work as the CEO of the company. We have traveled together a difficult path for more than 20 years, from the founding of the company to its transformation into one of the largest independent producers of hydrocarbons in Russia and the largest taxpayer in the Irkutsk region. more than once helped the company to overcome obstacles. Marina's decency and love for her native land have become INK's corporate values. We will jointly continue to work on sustainable development projects, which are now the company's development priorities, " said Nikolay Buinov, founder and chairman of the board of directors of INK.

Yakov Ginzburg was born on June 20, 1980 in Irkutsk. In 2002, he graduated with honors from the Baikal State University of Economics and Law (BSUEP) with a degree in World Economy. In 2002-2005, he completed postgraduate studies and taught at the Department of World Economy at BSUEP. In 2005 he defended his thesis for the degree of candidate of economic sciences on the topic "Patterns and strategy of small business development in the region."

In April 2019, the Irkutsk Oil Company signed an agreement with Univation Technologies (USA) to use the UNIPOL polyethylene production technology. INK is implementing a gas utilization project with Honeywell UOP, within the framework of which gas is separated into fractions for further monetization through the construction of a plant for the production of HDPE and LLDPE with a capacity of 650,000 tonnes/year.

In June, the Irkutsk Polymer Plant (IZP, part of the Irkutsk Oil Company) began assembling large-sized equipment. The first of 45 units of large-sized heavy-weight equipment was assembled - a hardening water column of a complex pyrolysis unit with a height of 54.6 meters and a weight of 271.5 tons. The construction of a polymer plant is being carried out by the Irkutsk Oil Company in Ust-Kut as part of the creation of a gas chemical cluster, including facilities for the production, treatment, transportation and processing of gas.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

Irkutsk Oil Company is one of the largest independent producers of hydrocarbons in Russia. The company was founded in 2000. The main beneficiaries are Nikolay Buinov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of INK, and Marina Sedykh, a member of the Board of Directors. The group of companies conducts geological exploration, exploration and development of 51 subsoil plots in the Irkutsk Region, Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). INK's largest investment project is a gas chemical cluster, which includes facilities for the extraction, treatment, transportation and processing of gas, a helium plant and the Irkutsk polymer plant. The Group of Companies employs 10 thousand people.

MRC