Portugal: approved ban on some single-use plastic from November

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Portugal’s government has approved legislation banning from 1 November the sale of certain single-use plastic products, such as cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws and sticks for balloons, said Macaubusiness.

In a news released, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action said that the law, which was approved at Thursday’s weekly cabinet meeting, represents “the partial transposition” of a European Union directive approved on 5 June 2019 on “reducing the impact of single-use plastic products [and] products made of oxodegradable plastic."

According to the notice, as of 1 November “the placing on the market of certain single-use plastic products such as cotton swabs, cutlery, plates, straws, balloon sticks, as well as cups and food containers made of expanded polystyrene is prohibited."

In line with the EU directive, the government legislation sets two targets for the reduction of consumption of cups for drinks and packages for ready-to-eat food: an 80% decrease in consumption from the 2022 level by the end of 2026, and a 90% decrease by 2030.

According to the ministry, in order to ensure these goals measures are planned to be implemented from 2024, such as ensuring the availability of reusable containers for consumption of food and beverages, for which a deposit is to be charged.

It adds that, under a phased schedule, requirements will be established for the design of beverage containers, targets for the incorporation of recycled plastic in bottles for drinks and for the selective collection of bottles with a capacity of less than three litres, and the launch of consumer information and awareness campaigns by the producers of certain single-use plastic products.

As per MRC, the European Parliament voted to ban single-use plastics across the board in an attempt to stop the unending stream of plastic pollution making its way into the oceans. Such plastic products include things like straws, plates, cups and cotton buds, and can take several centuries to degrade in the oceans where they are increasingly observed to be consumed by marine life. According to the European Commission, such plastics make up 70 percent of all marine litter.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Austrian oil and gas group OMV plans to speed up restructuring and announce a new, sustainability-focused strategy early next year, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to new Chief Executive Alfred Stern's statement to journalists.

"There is no way around optimising towards sustainability," Stern said, adding that the group was committed to the Paris climate goals.

The chief executive, who took the helmet from Rainer Seele on Sept. 1, kept it open whether OMV would withdraw from its profitable business with fossil energies and whether it would invest in renewables.

"We will make our strategy based on where we can differentiate ourselves, where we believe we can beat the competition."

As MRC reported earlier, OMV reported utilization of 83% at its European refineries in H1, 2021, down by 3% on the year yet "relatively resilient in light of the COVID-19 impact." It expects the utilization rates at its European refineries to remain at the 2020 level this year. Last year its refineries reported 86% utilization. The company's refineries in Europe ran at 85% utilization in Q2, up from 81% in the year-ago quarter.

We remind that OMV is investing EUR40 million (USD48 million) to expand and modernize a steam cracker and associated units at its refining and petrochemicals complex at Burghausen, Germany. The upgrade will increase the site’s ethylene and propylene production capacity by 50,000 metric tons/year. Following a planned turnaround of the refinery, the revamped cracker and petchem units are expected to start operations in the third quarter of 2022. Initial groundwork is already underway ahead of the upgrade.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, 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.

OMV produces and markets oil and gas, innovative energy and high-end petrochemical solutions – in a responsible way. With Group sales of EUR 23 bn and a workforce of around 20,000 employees in 2019, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is one of Austria’s largest listed industrial companies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex, and rubber, has announced that effective October, 1, 2021, the company is increasing the prices of all Styrene Butadiene latex products sold into the carpet market in North America, as per the company's press release.

The increase will be USD0.08/dry lb (USD0.18/kg or USD180/tonne) or as contracts allow.

According to the statement, the present increase is necessary to offset rising raw material and transportation costs and to remain a strong and reliable supplier.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe have announced a price reduction for all polystyrene (PS) grades in Europe. Effective September 1, 2021, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below went down, as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) -- by EUR65 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR55 per metric ton;

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, in Russia, Nizhnekamskneftekhim raised its September selling HIPS an GPPS prices for most buyers by Rb700-750/tonne amid an increase in delivery costs. However, some market participants reported a price roll-over.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD3.0 billion in net sales in 2020, with 17 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,600 employees.
MRC

1. Russian producers maintain September PVC prices at record high level

MOSCOW (MRC) -- September did not bring the long-awaited reduction in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) prices to Russian converters. A shortage still remained in the market, no producers reduced their prices for September shipments with one exception, according to ICIS-MRC Price report. The last year"s situation is repeated in the Russian PVC market. Converters expected prices to drop in September under the pressure of the end of shutdowns for maintenance and the approach of the "winter season". But as in the previous year, strong demand and insignificant imports allowed Russian producers to maintain record high prices in the domestic market. This month, two producers further raised their PVC prices, and only one producer reduced its prices. Higher imports in August and stable operations of domestic producers did not lead to a surplus of resin in the market. Moreover, there were still restrictions on PVC supplies from several large producers. And these restrictions played a decisive role in pricing for September.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were seen mixed in midmorning trade in Asia Sept. 7 as weaker economic data put demand concerns back in focus and on spillover effects of Saudi Aramco's price cuts for Asian buyers, reported S&P Global.

At 10:55 am Singapore time (0255 GMT), ICE November Brent futures were 27 cents/b (0.37%) higher at USD72.49/b while the NYMEX October WTI contract was down 19 cents/b (0.27%) at USD69.10/b.

The Labor Day holiday Sept. 6 meant most US markets were closed.

"Oil prices have largely been trading in consolidation as investors digest a series of push and pull factors. On one end, the lackluster US jobs report last week and the price cuts from Saudi Arabia seems to bring some questions for oil demand outlook, while on the other end, supplies are capped by the ongoing impact from Hurricane Ida, which underpins oil prices near-term," IG Market Strategist Yeap Jun Rong told S&P Global Sept. 7.

Several analysts have said oil prices would be impacted by Saudi Arabia cutting prices for Asian buyers. The cuts suggest an uncertain demand outlook as COVID-19 cases are still on the rise in many countries, analysts from Phillip Futures said in a note.

Participants were reacting to physical crude market trends, as Aramco in its much-awaited monthly official selling price release Sept. 5 slashed prices for Asia.

For Asia-bound crude, Aramco cut October differentials versus an Oman/Dubai basis for Super Light and Light grades by USD1.30/b, Extra Light by USD1.20/b, and Medium and Heavy grades by USD1/b from September levels. The cuts were much deeper than the month-on-month drop of 13 cents/b in the Dubai futures cash/paper spread in August, which is said to be a key element in OSP calculations.

Elsewhere in China, the Caixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 46.7 in August from 54.9 in July, its sharpest contraction in 16 months, while Eurozone retail sales in July also dipped 2.3% month on month.

Despite the slow demand growth in China, analysts said expectations of increased domestic air travel were picking up and a growing number of COVID-19 vaccinations could support the oil market.

Meanwhile, the damage on oil production facilities in the US Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida continued to keep output largely halted, limiting price declines.

On Sept. 5, the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said 88.3%, or about 1.61 million b/d, of US Gulf crude output remained offline.

As informed earlier, Shell said it observed damage from Hurricane Ida to its transfer station West Delta-143 offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. West Delta-143 serves as the transfer station for all production from its assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude terminals. Shell said it is not yet safe to send personnel offshore to learn the full extent of the damage and estimate the effect on production.

We remind that in late August, 2021, US crude stocks dropped sharply while petroleum products supplied by refiners hit an all-time record despite the rise in coronavirus cases nationwide, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 27 to 425.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 3.1 million-barrel drop. Product supplied by refineries, a measure of demand, rose to 22.8 million barrels per day in the most recent week. That's a one-week record, and signals strength in consumption for diesel, gasoline and other fuels by consumers and exporters.

We also 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