Alexey Anischenko appointed CEO of SIBUR-PETF

MOSCOW (MRC) - Alexey Anischenko has been appointed General Director of SIBUR-PETF (Tver, part of SIBUR Holding) since 9 August, according to a press release from the enterprise.

Alexey Anischenko has been in charge of the HSE at SIBUR-Khimprom since 2017, and since 2018 he has been appointed Director for Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Environment of the enterprise. He successfully implemented the NOM project at the enterprise, stood at the origins of its implementation in the part of the OH&S vertical: from building processes and piloting to implementing ready-made solutions.

One of the key projects is the Zodiac Remote Control System (SDK), which is being implemented jointly with the Rostekhnadzor Analytics Center.

It is noted that in 2020, Alexey Vladimirovich received a Commendation from the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation for his great personal contribution to ensuring the sustainability and continuity of production processes during the period of restrictive measures related to the spread of COVID-19.

Alexey Anischenko graduated from Togliatti State University with a degree in Machinery and Apparatus for Chemical Production. Received additional professional education in the field of labor protection and industrial safety.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR-PETF in 2020 continued to work stably, despite the fact that the pandemic made its own adjustments to production processes. Thanks to well-coordinated actions, it was possible to maintain the stable operation of the plant last year. There is an increase in demand from manufacturers of medical devices. Global demand for personal protective equipment and other essential medical products has fueled a simultaneous rise in demand for medical polymers.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated PET consumption amounted to 411,200 tonnes in the first half of this year , which is 12% more than the same indicator of the previous year. In June, Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material against 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

JSC SIBUR-PETF is an enterprise for the production of polyethylene terephthalate granules. The construction of the plant began in 1992 on the premises of the former viscose fiber production facility No. 2 of the Tver production association "Khimvolokno" according to the technology and engineering supplied by Zimmer AG (Germany). The production capacity of the enterprise is 75.25 thousand tons of polyethylene terephthalate per year, and the design capacity is 70 thousand tons per year or 200 tons per day.
MRC

1. US crude stockpiles down last week to lowest levels since January 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil stockpiles dropped last week to their lowest levels since January 2020, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration's statement. Inventories have been declining for several months as US fuel demand has rebounded with Americans getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Infections, however, are surging again and analysts are watching to see if fuel demand slackens, particularly across southern states where the number of people infected has surged. Crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 13 to 435.5 million barrels, exceeding estimates for a 1.1 million-barrel drop. Crude exports rose in the most recent week to 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd).


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 20 amid bargain hunting by investors after a sixth straight session of decline in US trade overnight, although the upside was expected to be limited as delta variant outbreaks in key oil-consuming economies and US Federal Reserve signals weighed on the demand outlook, reported S&P Global.

At 11:57 am Singapore time (0357 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 32 cents/b (0.47%) from the previous close at $66.77/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 34 cents/b (0.53%) higher at $64.03/b.

"Crude oil prices rebounded slightly on Friday morning as the US Dollar retreated from an eight-month high. Yet the overall trend for oil remains bearish-biased," Daily FX Strategist Margaret Yang told S&P Global Platts Aug. 20.

"WTI has declined six days in a row, falling 8.3%. This may encourage some short-term bargain hunting," she added.

However, market watchers doubted the price rebound could be sustained.

"The delta variant is casting the biggest cloud over the oil market. The recent outbreaks have raised concerns about the sustainability of the economic recovery," ANZ Research analysts in a note Aug. 20.

"Although oil demand is expected to slow, it won't cut off the path to normalization... Demand in Europe and the US remains robust, as mobility continues to improve. Overall, this should see the market remain tight, with rising vaccination rates to lead to an improvement in sentiment in the latter part of the year."

Several analysts noted that crude futures last fell for six consecutive sessions in February 2020, in the lead-up to pandemic lockdowns across the globe.

"WTI crude's six-day losing streak seems a bit overdone but for it to stop, it might need a sign from OPEC+ that they might hold off on plans to ramp up output," OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said in a note.

In addition, the US Federal Reserve has signaled it could start tapering bond purchases as early as September, which could spur a rise interest rates and add to downward pressure on energy demand in coming months.

As MRC informed earlier, crude oil stockpiles fell modestly last week, while gasoline inventories dipped to their lowest level since November, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories fell by 447,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 6 to 438.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop. Overall crude inventories have been on the decline for several weeks due to increased demand.

We remind that US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PetroChina Liaoyang Petrochemical Co Ltd , part of the Chinese petrochemical major - PetroChina, has successfully started up its new polypropylene (PP) plant this week, according to CommoPlast with reference to market sources.

Based in Liaoning City, Liaoyang Province, China, the new PP plant has a production capacity of 300,000 tons/year.

A source closed to the company informed that they has achieved prime grade production since 5 pm, 18 August, 2021, hence the commercial run was officially started up.

As MRC reported previously, the construction of a new PP plant in Liaoning began in September, 2019, and was completed in early June, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- On Wednesday, the first export trades for Turkmenbashi refinery's polypropylene (PP) were held at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Stock Exchange of Turkmenistan after after a four-month break. Demand for PP was strong, all quantities of PP put up for auction were sold out during one trading day, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Market participants said 2,500 tonnes of Turkmenbashi refinery's PP raffia grade to be sold for export were put up for auction at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Stock Exchange of Turkmenistan back a week earlier, but there was no demand due to a high starting price (USD1,650/tonne FOB/FCA).

This Wednesday, 18 August, already 3,500 tonnes of PP raffia grade were put up for export sales. The starting price was set at USD1,300/tonne FOB/FCA. Demand for PP was good during the trades, all deals were agreed at USD1,400/tonne, FOB/FCA.

Deals were done with shipment within three months.

The previous export trades for Turkmenbashi refinery's PP were held back on 13 April 2021, and only 500 tonnes of PP raffia grade were sold then at USD1,775/tonne FOB/FCA.
MRC