Britain enters into phased tax agreement Essar Oil UK

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Britain threw refiner Essar Oil UK a lifeline with a phased tax payment deal, allowing it to keep producing just as the country struggles with motorists draining petrol stations in a panic-driven buying frenzy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Essar Oil (EOUK), which runs the 200,000 barrel-per-day Stanlow refinery, had been in talks with HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) over extending a January deadline to repay hundreds of millions of pounds in deferred taxes. "With this time to pay arrangement, we now have significant runway to stabilise our balance sheet which has been adversely impacted by the pandemic," EOUK's Chief Financial Officer Satish Vasooja said in a statement.

Britain, which is preparing to hold the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November, has seen drivers snarled in queues to fill their tanks and dozens of forecourts closed, with fuel prices reaching record levels. "The improved environment around margins gives us the confidence to continue to serve as one of the UK key fuel suppliers with a 16% market share," Vasooja added.

A post-Brexit shortage of truck drivers, exacerbated by a halt to truck-driving-licence testing during COVID lockdowns and people leaving the haulage industry, has sown chaos through supply chains, raising the spectre of shortages and price rises.

Essar Oil has said it still needed to pay 223 million pounds ($305 million) to HMRC by January. It said the new deal with HMRC was designed to fit with its revenues.

"Road fuel sales volumes from EOUK’s Stanlow, Northampton and Kingsbury terminals over the last weekend (25—26 September) were up 22% against a "normal" weekend (pre-Covid)," Essar said as many petrol stations saw long queues.

As per MRC, Essar Oil (UK) Ltd resumed a cracking unit at its Stanlow facility, which had previously been shut down due to a power outage. This cracking unit with a capacity of 45,000 tonnes of ethylene and 165,000 tonnes of propylene was shut down on 11 September, 2019 due to a power failure.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has allocated full-term crude volumes to most Asia-Pacific refiners, with some buyers seeking incremental volumes to take advantage of the recent sharp cuts in official selling prices, sources at refineries in China, Japan, Malaysia and India told S&P Global Oct. 11.

Refiners in the region are expecting to receive full-term nominations following a cut in official selling prices as well as producers adding more crude supplies to the market, the sources said.

"Demand increase versus incremental, if Saudi and AG producers give enough to cover demand increase, market wont get support (and) vice versa," a crude oil trader in Singapore said.

Earlier this month, OPEC and its allies stuck to their original plan to increase crude oil production in November by just 400,000 b/d at the Oct. 4 meeting.

Oil prices have been on the rise amid stronger winter season demand, further boosted by spiralling gas and coal prices.

Though full allocations could sap spot appetite, stronger demand from key economies such as China, Japan and India may sustain momentum when trade commences this month, trade sources said.

"Saudi allocation will keep the spot market in a reasonable range, but the risk is demand, such as RongSheng tender, demand maybe very good this month," another crude oil trader in Singapore said.

As MRC reported earlier, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), said in June 2021 he expects the company's deal with Saudi Aramco to materialise this year. Meanwhile, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi Aramco and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, joined the board of Reliance as an independent director.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR Holding continues construction of a solar power plant at the Polief plant (Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan) for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the company said.

The installation of all supporting structures for the photovoltaic modules of the power plant with a total weight of 329,500 tonnes was completed on 5 October. As a result, the construction readiness of the facility reached 60%.

A total of 5460 piles were installed on an area of 8 hectares. In the near future, the installation of 10,080 photovoltaic modules that generate electricity will begin. The design capacity of the power plant will be about 4.9 MW, which is 7.1% of the capacity of all operating solar power plants in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

It is noted that the project will significantly increase the share of "green" electricity in the energy balance of the enterprise and reduce the carbon footprint of production. Investments in the project will amount to more than a quarter of a billion rubles. It is planned to complete the construction of the solar power plant and integrate it into the energy supply chain of the enterprise in January 2022.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR at the Polief plant in Blagoveshchensk is starting a project to produce "green" PET granules. It is planned to use about 34 thousand tons of secondary raw materials in its production annually. PET-flakes - flakes made from used food packaging - will be involved in the production cycle of the primary polymer synthesis.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 411,200 tonnes in the first six month of 2021, up by 12% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June, compared to 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

Polyef is the largest producer of terephthalic acid (TPA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia (raw material for polymer food packaging). Capacities for the production of TPA are 350,000 tonnes per year, PET - 219,000 tonnes. SIBUR owns 100% of the company's shares.

PJSC SIBUR Holding is the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe with full coverage of the industry cycle from gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to plastics processing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Finnish oil refiner and biofuels maker Neste said it estimates demand for the aviation fuel to exceed 12 MMtpy by 2030, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company expects to be able to produce 1.5 MMtpy of biofuels for the aviation industry by the end of 2023 vs. about 100,000 tpy currently.

Renewables now account for 90% of Neste's operating profit and the company says it aims to have three strong renewables businesses by 2030 in sustainable aviation fuel, biodiesel and polymers and chemicals.

In its strategy update it added it sees road transportation biodiesel demand possibly rising to as high as 30 MMt. It also reduced its capital expenditure for 2021 to 1.1 B euros ($1.29 B) from 1.2 B, excluding acquisitions.

The company added it has made no changes to financial targets or dividend policy.

As MRC reported before, Neste, the world’s leading sustainable aviation fuel producer, and TripActions and Reed & Mackay, the fastest-growing travel and spend management group, have announced a groundbreaking global partnership to offer Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel to all TripActions Group customers.

We remind that in July, 2021, Finnish Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Concern Jokey Group (Germany) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) intend in the future to jointly promote a working economy with a closed cycle of using plastic packaging in Germany, the company said.

The companies announced a collaboration, one of the goals of which is to create closed cycles for the use of plastics, allowing the reuse and production of high-quality recycled granules.

WWF will accompany the Jokey Group in integrating sustainability across the company in line with Jokey's vision and mission. In addition, the facility, in collaboration with WWF, aims to limit the average temperature rise to 1.5 ° C in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and thus embarks on a scientifically based path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. gases in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Along with this, a consistent course towards maximum energy and resource efficiency is being promoted in all divisions of the company. Supply chains and value-added processes will be examined even more closely to achieve the greatest possible transparency regarding constituents, social and environmental impacts.

The Jokey Group is developing its comprehensive "Eco-Concept" as a sustainable development strategy and has campaigned for many years to increase the presence of recycled granulates on the market.

In order to achieve a greater degree of isolation in plastics production, the company intends to develop and implement flagship projects with WWF, for example, in the area of ??closed-loop production of high-quality food-grade recycled materials or innovative reusable models. The partnership with WWF will initially last until 2025.

The Jokey Group is a global expert in plastic injection molding and a manufacturer of plastic packaging. The head office of the Jokey Group is located in the German city of Wipperfurth. The shareholders of the holding are members of the Kemmerich family, who run the company in the second and third generations.

Earlier it was reported that Jokey Plastik will double its packaging capacity in Spain. The new building will be located in a newly developed industrial area and will have improved infrastructure. Construction work on the new 30,000 m2 site began at the end of February and continues as planned, despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. The Jokey Group is investing around EUR12 million in the construction of a new plant.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 411,200 tonnes in the first six month of 2021, up by 12% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June, compared to 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

The production of the companies covers 15 factories in 12 countries, including Russia (Ulyanovsk) and Belarus (Mogilev), where a total of about 2 thousand employees work. In 2017, the company's turnover amounted to EUR 455 mln.

MRC