USA will sell 32 mln barrels of crude

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United States will sell 32 MM bbl of crude from four Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) sites to be delivered between late-December and April 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) said as it auctions oil to try to lower global prices, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

International oil prices have held above USD80 a bbl even after U.S. President Joe Biden's administration announced on Tuesday it will release millions of bbl of oil from strategic reserves in coordination with Britain, China, India, South Korea and Japan.

However, traders said they expected the sale of SPR oil, which is mainly blended sour, or high-sulphur, crude, will depress the value of U.S. sour crude grades, such as Mars and Southern Green Canyon, and benefit buyers in Asia, which processes mainly high-sulphur oil.

In the first auction of the coordinated release, about 10 MM bbl will be made available from Big Hill and Bryan Mound in Texas, about 7 MM bbl from West Hackberry in Louisiana and another 5 MM bbl from Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana, the DOE said on its website. Deliveries will take place January through April 2022, with early deliveries accepted in late December, it added.

Buyers will have to return the oil at later dates between 2022 and 2024, the DOE said. Companies are required to submit bids on Dec. 6 and contracts will be awarded no later than Dec. 14. One trader speaking on condition of anonymity said, spread over four months, the release equated to a steady 270,000 bpd stream of medium sour grades providing direct competition to Mars.

The DOE will also announce the sale for up to 18 MM bbl of SPR crude no sooner than Dec. 17. The winners of a regular, legally required U.S. SPR sale in September of 20 MM bbl of crude were: Atlantic Trading & Marketing Inc, an arm of French company TotalEnergies , Chevron USA, ExxonMobil Oil Corp, Marathon Petroleum Supply and Trading, Motiva Enterprises, Phillips 66 Co, Unipec America Inc and Valero Marketing and Supply Co.

As per MRC, crude oil futures plunged in mid-morning trade in Asia Nov. 26 as investors were spooked by reports of a new COVID-19 variant from South Africa that appeared to evade immune responses, sparking a sharp sell-off in the broader financial markets. At 10:05 am Singapore time (0205 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down USD1.13/b (1.37%) from the previous close at USD81.09/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract was USD1.52/b (1.94%) lower at USD76.87/b.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hexion Holdings Corporation has announced that as a result of its ongoing strategic review it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its epoxy-based Coatings and Composite businesses, which includes the epoxy speciality resins and base epoxy resins and intermediates product lines (together, the “Epoxy Business”) for approximately US1.2bn to Westlake Chemical Corporation, according to APCJ.

The Epoxy Business generated total sales of approximately USUSD1.5bn for the last 12 months ended September 30, 2021, and was reported within the Coatings and Composites reportable segment of the company.

The transaction includes approximately 1300 associates and eight manufacturing facilities globally where epoxy-based Coatings and Composite products are produced for highly diversified growing end-markets, such as wind energy, non-residential construction, industrial, electrical, automotive and aerospace.

The company expects to use the sale proceeds to further pay down debt and to invest in its business.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions as well as prior Works Councils consultation.

As MRC reported before, earlier this year, Hexion Inc., a major American manufacturer of phenol and bisphenol A (BPA), has recently announced that in order to help address climate change, it has committed to reduce absolute carbon emissions by 20% by 2030.

Hexion Inc., formerly Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc., is a chemical company based in Columbus, Ohio. It manufactures thermosetting resins and related technologies and specialty products. Hexion has two divisions: the epoxy, phenolic and coating resins division and the forest products division.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) has upped its average Brent crude oil price assumption for 2022 to USD79.40 a bbl, but predicted a rally may ease off as prices that hit a three-year high last month push up global production, reported Reuters.

The Paris-based IEA said on Tuesday that much of the uptick in supply is due to come from the United States.

A hurricane battered the main US production and export hub in the Gulf coast in late August, but US output made up for half the increase in global oil production last month.

But the IEA said in its monthly report that US production, despite climbing, would not return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of next year. It is due to account for 60% of non-OPEC+ supply gains in 2022.

"The world oil market remains tight by all measures, but a reprieve from the price rally could be on the horizon ... due to rising oil supplies," the IEA said.

"Current prices provide a strong incentive to boost (US) activity even as operators stick to capital discipline pledges."

The IEA's price assumption reflects forward prices for Brent crude. The agency does not always include a reference to price assumptions in its report, but does so when it considers the assumption important to understanding its oil supply and demand forecasts, the agency said.

The IEA price assumption of USD79.40 a bbl for Brent in 2022 is USD2.60 higher than in the agency's last monthly report. The agency's assumption for 2021 is USD71.50 a bbl.

"Global oil demand is strengthening due to robust gasoline consumption and increasing international travel as more countries re-open their borders," the IEA said.

But it said an uptick in coronavirus cases in Europe, weaker industrial activity and higher oil prices could dent demand.

The IEA kept its outlook for oil demand growth largely steady at 5.5 MMbpd for 2021 and 3.4 MMbpd next year.

As MRC wrote previously, Japan's largest refiner ENEOS currently sees a 150% year-on-year increase in fuel oil demand from the power sector for winter, but can only meet up to a 100% surge, said ENEOS Holdings Chairman Tsutomu Sugimor Nov. 25.

We remind that in the first week of June, 2021, Eneos Corp restarted the 168,000-bpd No.1 CDU at its Kashima refinery, east of Tokyo, after it was shut on May 11 due to system trouble. The refiner, which is a unit of Eneos Holdings Inc, restarted the 105,000-bpd No.3 CDU at its Mizushima-B refinery, western Japan, in early June, 2021. The CDU was shut on Feb. 25 for turnaround.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The EU has drafted legislation to reduce methane emissions by forcing oil and gas companies to report their output and find and fix leaks of the gas that is the second-biggest cause of climate change, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

Oil and gas operators in the European Union would have to submit estimates for the methane emissions of their installations within 12 months after the regulation comes into force, the draft legislative proposal said. The European Commission is due to present the draft in December and it is still subject to change.

Once proposed by the Commission, the regulation needs to be negotiated by the European Parliament and member states, a process that can take up to two years. Two years after the regulation takes effect, operators would be required to report actual measurements of the emissions. They would also have to carry out regular surveys for the detection of methane leaks and their repair.

Brussels has faced pressure from campaigners and some investors to clamp down on methane emissions associated with imported gas, by forcing companies abroad to fix methane leaks to sell their gas into Europe - a requirement that was not included in the draft proposal. Methane is emitted from sources including leaky fossil fuel infrastructure, livestock farming and landfill sites. It has a higher heat-trapping potential than CO2 but it breaks down in the atmosphere faster, meaning deep cuts in methane emissions by 2030 could have a rapid impact on slowing global warming.

As per MRC, ConocoPhillips has long been committed to reducing emissions from its facilities, including the development of new technologies designed to better detect where the sources of these emissions are and allowing them to prioritize their resources to address larger leaks faster. “To battle fugitive methane emissions from our facilities more effectively, we knew we had to employ the latest technologies and use the best tools available to us” said Khalid Soofi, Geoscience Fellow at ConocoPhillips.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Venezuelan petrochemicals produced by joint ventures between state-run chemical firm Pequiven and foreign partners have arrived in the United States, despite Washington's efforts to limit trade with the OPEC oil and gas producer, reported Reuters.

At least two cargoes of methanol, a widely used industrial product whose prices have soared this year, have discharged at Houston area ports since October amid a rapid expansion of the South American country's global sales of petrochemicals and oil byproducts, according to tanker tracking and US customs data.

The shipments represent a new and unreported effort by Venezuela to boost revenues despite US sanctions on its oil industry that cut vital crude exports to the lowest in 77 years.

US sanctions were designed to oust President Nicolas Maduro, whose last election Washington views as a sham. Maduro insists the 2018 vote was free and fair.

Mitsubishi Corp resumed exports of methanol to the United States in 2021 from its Venezuelan joint venture Metor after a suspension of a couple years, a Mitsubishi spokesperson told Reuters. Metor's shareholders include Petroquimica de Venezuela, or Pequiven.

Venezuela's main oil port of Jose was listed as the point of origin on US customs records of one of the two methanol shipments, but both sailed directly from Venezuela, Refinitiv Eikon tracking data showed.

Methanol, produced in Venezuela from natural gas, can be found in everyday products including gasoline, paints, carpeting and plastics. US imports have outweighed exports in recent years, according to IHSMarkit.

On Oct. 7-11, tanker PVT Aurora discharged about 16,900 metric t of Venezuelan methanol in Texas. A portion of the cargo was handled by Intercontinental Terminals Company's (ITC) Deer Park chemicals terminal, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

A second 20,000-ton cargo of Venezuelan methanol followed a similar route in November on tanker Sakura Advance, which discharged some of its cargo in Houston on Nov. 11-13 and another parcel at South Louisiana Port days later, according to the Eikon data.

Italy's Eni also produces methanol in Venezuela via Supermetanol, its 50:50 venture with Pequiven.

"Eni's affiliate holds a stake in a methanol plant located in Venezuela and deals with the marketing of its equity production in respect of all applicable laws and regulations related to economic and financial sanctions, trade embargoes and similar laws," an Eni spokesperson said.

Pequiven and PDVSA have ramped up exports of petrochemicals and oil byproducts that are not as valuable as crude and until recently had not been a priority, an analysis of internal data from the two companies showed.

US sanctions and warnings to traditional buyers of Venezuelan crudes sharply cut PDVSA's exports in recent years. But shipments of petrochemicals and oil byproducts have climbed, including exports of methanol, sulfur pastilles, urea, natural gasoline, light virgin naphtha and petroleum coke, according to the data. This was confirmed by three people familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Low prices offered to buyers for the petrochemicals from Venezuela have boosted exports, generating income that has partially been used by some of Pequiven's joint ventures to reopen and revamp production units, the people said.

A more reliable supply of natural gas by PDVSA to Pequiven's complexes also helped boost petrochemical output.

"The plants are in recovery process as proceeds from sales have allowed," one of the people said. "Even the United States is opening its doors to Venezuelan methanol."

From January to October, PDVSA and Pequiven exported about 1.75 MM tons of petrochemicals and byproducts, putting the trade on track this year to double the 1.03 MM tons exported for the whole of 2020, according to the internal data.

Shipments of methanol this year ranged between 20,000 and 60,000 metric t per month, mostly bound for the Netherlands, Spain, Japan and China, according to the data and the three people.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, Origin Materials, Inc., the world’s leading carbon negative materials company, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Inc., a global leader in basic and fine chemicals and advanced materials, announced a partnership to industrialize and manufacture advanced chemicals and materials built on the Origin Materials technology platform.

We also remind that Japan's Mitsubishi Corp will invest 2 trillion yen (USD17.54 B) by 2030 in alternative energies such as renewables and hydrogen to drive its decarbonization efforts and cut emissions.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC