Re-Refinery facility to be based at Oiltanking Galveston County terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oiltanking North America, LLC (“Oiltanking”) has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with ReGen III Corp. (ReGen III) to develop and operate logistics for ReGen’s used motor oil re-refinery production facility (the “Re-Refinery”), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Re-Refinery facility will be based at the Oiltanking Galveston County Terminal (“OTGAL”) in Texas City, Texas. Contributing to a sustainable future and establishing a circular economy is a key pillar for Oiltanking and ReGen III. The LOI is an important milestone for both companies as ReGen’s Re-Refinery facility will provide much needed domestic supplies of base oils while recycling and reusing used motor oil in a sustainable way.

Oiltanking is well equipped to support ReGen III with tailor-made infrastructure solutions. As one of the largest independent tank storage providers for gases, chemicals and petroleum products worldwide, the company is successfully active in the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of tank terminals. At OTGAL, Oiltanking handles specialty chemicals and petrochemicals with more than 87,000 cbm of storage capacity on over 200 acres providing ample room for expansion opportunities.

Jerry Hardman, Vice President, Business Development at Oiltanking North America stated, “The partnership with ReGen III is proof of Oiltanking’s ambition to actively shape the energy transition towards a circular and sustainable economy. With our high-quality engineering capabilities and our flexible, agile way of working, we are well equipped to support ReGen III by building and operating the storage and logistics assets associated with the Re-Refinery facility at the US Gulf Coast. We look forward to working with ReGen III to further develop the project and supporting their Re-Refinery ambitions leading to a more sustainable future."

Greg Clarkes, Chief Executive Officer of ReGen III stated, “The signing of the LOI with Oiltanking, allows the Company to advance its primary re-refinery project in the US Gulf Coast. We are excited to be working with a company of Oiltanking’s scale and reputation. When one considers Oiltanking operates 45 terminals in 20 countries and our offtake relationship with bp, we look forward to identifying additional re-refining facility siting opportunities globally and enhancing our industry presence." The LOI is subject to customary conditions, including completion of due diligence and related corporate approvals from each of Oiltanking and ReGen III.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2020, total consumption of fossil fuels in the United States, including petroleum, natural gas, and coal, fell to 72.9 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), down 9% from 2019 and the lowest level since 1991, according to US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Energy Review.

We remind that 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 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

U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell

U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. crude and gasoline stocks fell and gasoline demand reached its highest since 2019, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, signaling increasing strength in the U.S. economy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Crude inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels in the week to July 2 to 445.5 million barrels, the lowest since February 2020, and more than the expected 4 million-barrel drop estimated in a Reuters poll. Crude stocks have declined steadily for several weeks as refiners process more oil into gasoline, diesel and other products. Overall product supplied - a proxy for demand from end-users of fuels - rose to 20.9 million barrels per day (bpd), in line with the same trend two years ago prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, gasoline demand surged to a one-week record, but the four-week average of gasoline supplied was at 9.5 million bpd, the highest since October 2019. That helped lower gasoline stocks by 6.1 million barrels, exceeding expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel drop. “The report is bullish, there’s no doubt,” said Tony Headrick, energy market analyst at CHS Hedging. “For all of the estimates out there suggesting gasoline demand was strong that showed true, leading to a sharp drawdown in inventories."

Oil prices rose on the news, shaking off earlier losses. U.S. crude futures were up 4 cents to USD72.24 a barrel while Brent gained 10 cents to USD73.54 as of 11:14 a.m. EDT (1514 GMT). Crude stocks dropped even as refiners cut back activity in the most recent week, with crude runs down by 184,000 bpd, and refinery utilization rates off by 0.7 percentage points to 92.2% of capacity.

Production rose to 11.3 million bpd, still short of the 2019 record of nearly 13 million bpd. Weekly production figures can tend to be volatile, however, and most analysts regard monthly data as more reliable. “Even though we saw a little bit of a rise to 11.3 million, we’ve still got a long way to go there to make it back to where we were,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.6 million barrels in the week.

As per MRC, imports of petroleum products-gasoline, distillate, and other products into the East Coast region of the United States increased in March 2021. Rising imports resulted from lower domestic supply, higher demand, and higher domestic petroleum product prices compared with prices in Europe. In March, East Coast petroleum product imports averaged 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d). In addition, East Coast gasoline imports averaged 737,000 b/d, the highest March level since 2009, and East Coast distillate imports averaged 421,000 b/d, the highest March level since 2003.

We remind that 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 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

BASF Catalysts to expand mobile emissions catalysts production plant in India

BASF Catalysts to expand mobile emissions catalysts production plant in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF Catalysts India will expand its mobile emissions catalysts production plant in Chennai, India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This double-digit million Euro investment will nearly double the company’s catalysts production capacity for the heavy-duty on- and off-road segment. The completion of the expansion is planned in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“This expansion positions BASF to further meet OEMs’ increasing demand for high-performance and cost-effective emissions control solutions in India,” said Stephan Hermes, Vice President, Mobile Emissions Catalysts, Asia Pacific. “It also demonstrates our strong commitment and contribution to the Indian Government’s endeavors for cleaner air in the region.”

BASF’s Chennai catalysts site produces a full range of automotive emissions catalyst solutions for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, off-road vehicles and motorcycles.

This investment will further boost BASF’s capabilities to support increasingly stringent requirements with the implementation of stricter emission regulations.

As MRC reported earlier, in June, 2021, Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, and BASF, the world's petrochemical major, announced the intention to expand their businesses with the production of styrene monomer (SM) based on circular feedstock. Trinseo has procured first supplies of SM based on circular feedstock from BASF for use in its Solution-Styrene Butadiene Rubber (S-SBR) and polystyrene (PS) products. Trinseo supplies S-SBR to major tyre manufacturers while its PS products are used in applications such as food packaging and appliances. The first few customers have already processed the material, said the company.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 236,110 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, up by 27% year on year (172,360 tonnes). May estimated consumption was 48,880 tonnes, up by 66% year on year.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

Shell to sell its German refinery stake as part of its energy transition strategy

Shell to sell its German refinery stake as part of its energy transition strategy

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal Dutch Shell agreed to sell its stake in eastern German refinery PCK Schwedt, the latest in a string of refinery disposals as part of the Anglo-Dutch company's energy transition strategy, reported Reuters.

Shell said in a statement that it will sell its 37.5% share in the refinery for an undisclosed sum to Vienna-based Alcmene GmbH, part of the Liwathon Group, an integrated logistics and investment business headquartered in Estonia.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2021, pending approval by cartel authorities and its partners, Russia's Rosneft and Italy's Eni.

The disposal is part of Shell's strategy to reduce its global refinery portfolio to those core locations that could be integrated into future centres of Shell's operations, as it aims to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 at the latest.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2021, Shell announced the sales of its Anacortes, Washington, US refinery as well as the controlling interest in the joint venture Deer Park, Texas, refinery. The company also sold its chemical refinery in Mobile, Alabama.

It also plans to halve the capacity at its Pulau Bukom oil refinery in Singapore. The transaction, to be executed by Shell Deutschland GmbH, would not have any impact on other interests of Shell in Germany, the statement said.

Raw materials inventories will be valued at closing, based on actual volumes and prevailing market prices, said Shell, estimating a sum of between USD150-250 million.

Rosneft holds 54.17% and Eni 8.33% in PCK (Petrolchemisches Kombinat) Schwedt, which lies some 120 kilometres (km) northeast of Berlin. It currently processes 220,000 barrels of oil a day, Shell said.

We remind that Royal Dutch Shell plans to reduce its refining and chemicals portfolio by more than half, it said in July 2020 without giving a precise timeframe. The move is part of the Anglo-Dutch company's plan to shrink its oil and gas business and expand its renewables and power division to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050.

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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

INEOS and Petroineos sign MOU with the Acorn CCS Project to jointly develop Scotland first carbon capture and storage system

INEOS and Petroineos sign MOU with the Acorn CCS Project to jointly develop Scotland first carbon capture and storage system

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth, INEOS FPS and Petroineos, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Acorn CCS Project to work together to develop Scotland’s first carbon capture and storage system linking Scotland’s industrial heartland to the Acorn CO2 transport and storage system in North East Scotland by 2027, as per INEOS' press release.

This announcement presents a pathway for Scotland to help meet its ambitious climate targets through effective carbon capture and storage. Investment at the Grangemouth site will enable the capture and storage of approximately one million tonnes a year of CO2 by 2027, with the scope to capture further significant volumes beyond this date.

INEOS and Petroineos own and operate one of Scotland’s largest manufacturing sites at Grangemouth. Since taking ownership of the facility in 2005, it has already reduced CO2 emissions at the site by 37%. Once operational the proposed carbon capture and storage system will further increase emission reduction at the site to more than 50% compared with 2005.

INEOS’ businesses at Grangemouth have put in place roadmaps to lead the transition to a net zero economy by no later than 2045, whilst remaining profitable, and staying ahead of evolving regulations and legislation. Based on these roadmaps, we are setting ambitious but achievable targets for 2030 which are in line with our 2045 commitment in Scotland, which we expect to publish shortly.

As MRC informed before, in January 2019, INEOS announced Antwerp as the location for its new petrochemical investment. The EUR3 billion investment will be the biggest ever made by INEOS and is first cracker to be built in Europe in 20 years. The investment is a game changer for the chemical sectors and will bring huge benefits to the Belgium and wider European economies.

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.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC