NKNKh plans to place exchange-traded bonds for Rb17 bn

NKNKh plans to place exchange-traded bonds for Rb17 bn

MOSCOW (MRC) - Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh, part of TAIF Group) plans to place exchange-traded bonds totaling Rb17.2 bn, follows from the company's message.

The placement of Rb17.2 mln bonds with a par value of Rb1,000 is scheduled to begin on 22 September. The company collected offers from potential buyers on Thursday. The maturity of the securities is 7 years.

The loan is planned to be attracted under the program of exchange-traded bonds with a total volume of Rb40 bn rubles, which Nizhnekamskneftekhim approved back in 2018. The first coupon rate of the bonds is set at 8.2% per annum.

Currently, there is one issue of NKNK's exchange-traded bonds in the amount of Rb15 bn due in 2028. The funds of the second issue of exchange-traded bonds, as well as of the first issue, will be used to finance the investment program.

Earlier it was reported that Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh, part of TAIF Group) predicts an increase in sales of rubbers and a decrease in sales of plastics in physical terms compared to last year.

As per ICIS-MRC Price report, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNKh, part of TAIF Group) shut its polyethylene (PE) production capacities for a scheduled turnaround on 17 September. According to the producer"s clients, producer started the scheduled shutdown of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) on 17 September. The shutdown will be short and will last for about 10 days. As it was reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shut its ethylene production for scheduled turnaround from 14 September to 16 September.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim is one of the largest petrochemical companies in Eastern Europe, occupying a leading position among domestic producers of synthetic rubbers, plastics and ethylene. Part of the TAIF group of companies, Tatarstan. The nomenclature of manufactured products includes more than 120 items. The products of the joint-stock company are exported to 50 countries in Europe, America and Southeast Asia. The share of exports in the total volume of production is about 50%.
MRC

PVC imports to Russia up by 20% in January-August, exports down by 13%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia totalled 42,700 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 20% year on year. At the same time, exports decrease by 13%, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports to Russia exceeded 14,000 tonnes from 8,700 tonnes in July. Good seasonal demand and a shortage of polymer from Russian producers led to a jump in imports in July-August.
Overall imports totalled 42,700 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, compared to 35,700 tonnes a year earlier, with PVC from China accounting for the main increase in imports.

After a spike in May export sales, driven by high prices in foreign markets, exports of Russian SPVC decreased permanently in the following months.

6,100 tonnes of PVC were exported in August versus 11,800 tonnes a month earlier. Overall exports totalled 127,300 tonnes in January-August 2021, compared to 145,500 tonnes a year earlier.
MRC

Lower diesel exports from China proving a boost to Asia refiners

Lower diesel exports from China proving a boost to Asia refiners

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Slumping diesel exports from China are proving a boon to other refiners in Asia, with the profit from producing the fuel rising to the highest in 18 months, reported Reuters.

China has been Asia's second-highest exporter of gasoil, the building block for middle distillate fuels that include diesel, heating oil and jet kerosene, but its shipments have slumped in recent months amid lower refinery processing and a lack of export permits.

China's diesel exports dropped in August to the lowest since May 2015, slumping to 540,000 tonnes, equivalent to about 135,000 barrels per day (bpd), from 1.39 million tonnes in July, according to official customs data released on Sept. 18.

Diesel exports have been on a downward trend since March this year, when they were 2.81 million tonnes, or about 680,000 bpd. The total for the first eight months of the year is now 3.5% below the same period in 2020.

A recovery in China's diesel exports isn't on the cards for September, with commodity consultants Kpler estimating shipments of around 134,600 bpd, roughly in line with August's depressed level.

The absence of Chinese cargoes is boosting profits for other export-focused refiners in Asia, with the crack, or profit margin, for producing a barrel of gasoil from Dubai crude at a Singapore refinery rising to an 18-month high of USD7.96 a barrel on Sept. 17.

The crack did slip back a tad to USD7.92 on Monday, but it is still more than double the 2021 low of USD3.44 a barrel recorded on Aug. 24. That's a rally of 130% in the past four weeks.

The move has helped drive overall profits for a typical Singapore refinery using Dubai crude to more than double the average for the past year. The overall margin for refining a barrel of Dubai was USD5.54 on Monday, up from an average of USD3.19 for August and USD2.04 for the past 365 days.

While the profit for producing diesel is recovering, the same cannot be said for gasoline, with the crack for making the motor fuel from Brent crude at a Singapore refinery dropping to USD6.87 a barrel on Monday, down from a 2021 peak of USD9.92 on Aug. 5.

China's exports of gasoline have also been declining, dropping to 570,000 tonnes, or about 156,000 bpd, in August, from 740,000 tonnes in July and the lowest since February 2019. Gasoline exports have been in a downward trend since January, when they were 1.89 million tonnes, equivalent to about 518,000 bpd.

It's not just China that is exporting less gasoline, with shipments from India expected by Refinitiv Oil Research to drop for a fourth straight month in September, while Singapore is also forecast to export less in September than in August.

Asia's overall fuel demand has been lagging the recovery seen in Europe and North America, given several major countries remain in some form of lockdown.

We remind, as MRC informed earlier, that China's domestic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) market hit a record-high Sept. 22 following the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, due to concerns over supply after the government ordered some provinces to cut power consumption. Several provinces including Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Shaanxi, where major carbide-based PVC producers are based, were asked to shut, or reduce industrial operations due to higher-than-planned energy consumption in the first half of 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall production of unmixed PVC totalled 580,500 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 4% year on year. At the same time, one producer reduced its output.
MRC

Industrial production growth in Russia rose to 4.7% in August

Industrial production growth in Russia rose to 4.7% in August

MOSCOW (MRC) - In August 2021, industrial production in the Russian Federation increased by 4.7% compared to August 2020, the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said in a statement.

In July 2021, according to revised data, growth was 7.2%. An increase of 6.8% was previously reported. Compared to July this year, industrial production increased by 1.2%. In January-August, industrial production grew by 4.5%.

In May 2020, there was the peak of the fall in the industry - it fell by 7.8% versus May 2019 after falling by 4.4% in April 2020. In June 2020, the decline in industry slowed down to 6.7%, in July - to 5.7%, and in August - to 4.0%. Therefore, economists expected a slowdown in the annual growth rate of industrial production in August to 5.5% from 6.8% in July, 10.2% in June and 11.9% in May.

The consensus forecast for the dynamics of industrial production for 2021 has not changed compared to the survey a month ago and is 4.6%. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade in September significantly raised the forecast for the growth of industrial production in 2021 - up to 4.2% from 2.0% (including due to a faster rebound in the extractive industry). The forecast for industrial growth for 2022 has been reduced from 3.6% to 3.3%, for 2023 - from 2.9% to 2.4%, for 2024 - from 2.7% to 2.2%.

Industrial production increased by 0.5% to the "dock" July 2019 after increasing by 1.1% in July, according to Rosstat. In January-August 2021, the industry grew by 1.9% compared to January-August 2019.

The growth of industrial production in August 2021 compared to the period before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic was 0.5% (August 2021 to August 2019). At the same time, manufacturing industries increased production volumes compared to the same period in 2019 by 3.9%, the energy sector - by 3.2%, industries related to water supply and sewerage, waste disposal and pollution elimination - by 12.7%.

Among the manufacturing industries, the largest growth in the index versus August 2019 was shown by: the production of medicines and materials used for medical purposes - (+ 64.9%), the production of beverages - (+ 25.7%) and furniture - (+ 24.2 %).

Earlier it was reported that in July 2021, industrial production increased by 6.8% compared to the same period last year.
MRC

Eni and Atlantia unit to jointly develop aviation biofuel

Eni and Atlantia unit to jointly develop aviation biofuel

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Italian energy group Eni and Atlantia's airport unit Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) have signed an agreement to develop biofuel for aviation to fight climate change, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the two Italian groups' statements.

Airports operators and airlines are under pressure to contribute to the EU's goal to cut economy-wide net carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels.

In July, the European Commission proposed to force suppliers to blend a minimum of 2% of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into their kerosene from 2025, rising to 5% in 2030 and 63% in 2050. read more

Eni and ADR said they would work together on decarbonisation and digitalisation projects for the airports managed by ADR, including Rome's Fiumicino and Ciampino.

Under the agreement, ADR plans to introduce sustainable fuels for aviation and ground handling at Rome airports in the coming months.

Eni has been converting its refineries in Italy to produce biofuels as part of its drive to become net carbon neutral by 2050.

It produces Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil biofuel in its Venice and Gela bio-refineries using its own in-house technology and can also produce sustainable aviation fuel with the same technology from waste and plant-based raw materials.

As MRC reported earlier, Eni is evaluating conversion of its Livorno refinery in northwest Italy into a biorefinery, as part of the Italian company's wider strategy to make its activities more environmentally sustainable. Eni has already converted two of its Italian refineries and is looking to almost double its biorefining capacity to around 2 million mt/year by 2024, and expand this to at least five times by 2050, as part of its pledge to achieve complete carbon neutrality 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 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.

Eni, abbreviation of Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, in full Eni SpA, Italian energy company operating primarily in petroleum, natural gas, and petrochemicals. Established in 1953, it is one of Europe's largest oil companies in terms of sales.
MRC