China diesel exports slump to 5-year low in 2021

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's diesel exports in December sank to their lowest monthly level since March 2015, bringing the 2021 total to the lowest since 2016 at 17.21 MM tons, reported Reuters with reference to released data on Tuesday.

December exports of diesel slumped to 330,000 tons, down 78% from a year earlier, amid diminishing export quotas and as refiners curbed runs in response to a slowdown in domestic demand, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Total refined fuel, including diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel and low-sulfur fuel oil, fell 45% from a year earlier to 3.23 MM tons last month, the lowest monthly level since July 2020.

A diesel crunch triggered by power rationing in the third quarter proved short-lived and the domestic market flipped back into a surplus, analysts said, as reflected in national refinery output, which fell last month by nearly 5% from November and 2% from a year earlier.

Gasoline exports were 940,000 tons, rising from November's 810,000 tons but down 35% from the same period last year. Annual exports fell 9% to 14.54 MM tons, a three-year low. December jet fuel exports were 590,000 tons, down from November's 940,000 tons.

Rigid border controls and expanding lockdowns in parts of the country to contain a resurgence of coronavirus infections and fend off the highly contagious Omicron variant dampened demand for gasoline and jet fuel.

China's annual refined fuel exports dropped 2.4% over 2020 to 60.31 MM tons, as the government tightened export quotas to discourage excessive domestic refinery production.

Tuesday's data showed imports of LNG at 7.63 MM tons in December, versus 6.9 MM tons in November but up just 1.6% versus the year-earlier level as stubbornly high Asian spot prices hurt import appetite.

An all-time monthly record high was set in Jan 2021 at 8.49 MM tons. Imports for the whole year totaled a record 78.93 MM tons, up 18.3% from 2020, making the country the world's largest buyer of the super-chilled fuel.

Piped gas imports last month also set a record at 4.02 MM tons, up nearly 11% over a year earlier, data showed, as Russian supplies ramped up.

As MRC wrote previously, China's refinery output hit a fresh high in 2021, up 4.3% from a year earlier on robust fuel demand especially in the first half of the year, and as refiners ramped up processing to fill a supply gap after a hefty new tax closed loopholes in blending fuel imports. Total refinery throughput last year reached 703.55 MM tons, or 14.07 MMbpd, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, roughly 620,000 bpd above the 2020 level.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC plans to build a petrochemicals plant in the city of Jubail on the gulf coast in the Eastern Province, after a similar plant in South Korea starts production by year-end, reported Reuters with reference to CEO Yousef Abdullah al-Benyan's statement on Asharq TV on Tuesday.

Al-Benyan added that the company views the Korean market as an opportunity to expand in Asia.

As MRC informed before, earlier this month, SABIC started up its new polypropylene (PP) compounding line in Genk, Belgium. The new line is an addition to the company’s existing production capacity for SABIC PP compounds at the Genk site, and will use raw materials from SABIC’s PP plants at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and Geleen, The Netherlands.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

SABIC is a diversified company manufacturing chemicals, industrial polymers, fertilizers and metals. It is the largest state-owned company in Saudi Arabia. Sabic is currently the world's second largest ethylene glycol producer, the third largest polyethylene producer, and the fourth largest polypropylene producer. Sabic cut its 2015 net profit by 7% to SR23.43 billion (Saudi reais), equivalent to USD6.24 billion, amid lower average selling prices and increased sales.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced its ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for operated assets by 2050, backed by a comprehensive approach to develop detailed emission-reduction roadmaps for major facilities and assets, said the company.

Scope 1 refers to emissions produced during production, Scope 2 to emissions from the consumption of energy. The 2050 net zero ambition, which is contained in the company’s Advancing Climate Solutions - 2022 Progress Report, builds on its ongoing emission reduction plans.

Those plans include net-zero emission for Permian basin operations and ongoing investments in lower-emission solutions in which ExxonMobil has extensive experience, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and biofuels.

ExxonMobil’s emissions reduction actions already underway prioritise energy efficiency measures, methane mitigation, equipment upgrades and the elimination of venting and routine flaring. Further high-impact reduction opportunities include power and steam co-generation and electrification of operations, using renewable or lower-emission power.

The company expects to finalise detailed roadmaps that address about 90% of operations-related greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this year, and the remainder will be completed in 2023, it said. The cost of the initial actions to achieve net zero by 2050 are included in the company’s plans to invest more than USD15bn by 2027 on lower-emission initiatives.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Petroleum Company Limited, SGN and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the use of hydrogen and carbon capture for a hydrogen hub project in the Southampton industrial cluster.

As MRC informed previously, ExxonMobil and SABIC have announced that their joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures located near Corpus Christi, Texas, has reached mechanical completion of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and two polyethylene (PE) units. Project startup is expected to begin ahead of schedule, likely in the fourth quarter of 2021.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s petrochemical major Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest Indian rupees (Rs) 5.95tr (USD80bn) in green energy and other projects in western Gujarat state as it aims to achieve its net zero carbon emissions target by 2035, said Indiatimes.

This investment would involve the setting up of a 100-gigawatt (GW) renewable energy power plant over the next 10-15 years at a cost of Rs5tr, RIL said in a statement on 13 January. “RIL has started the process of scouting land for the power project in Kutch, Banaskantha and Dholera. The company has requested for land in Kutch,” it said.

The company will also set up plants to manufacture solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, energy-storage batteries and fuel cells at a cost of around Rs600bn. RIL will invest a further Rs250bn in existing projects and new ventures over the next five years, it said.

In June 2021, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani had announced that the company would aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

As per MRC, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the Indian energy and petrochemicals giant, plans to close its No. 2 Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) line in Kuantan, Malaysia, in early March for repairs. The line with a capacity of 610,000 tonnes of PTA per year will be closed for three weeks for scheduled maintenance.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices on Tuesday climbed to their highest since 2014 as investors worried about global political tensions involving major producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia that could exacerbate the already tight supply outlook, reported Reuters.

The risk added a premium to prices during the session. Brent crude futures rose USD1.03, or 1.2%, to settle at USD87.51 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended USD1.61, or 1.9%, higher at USD85.43 a barrel.

Both benchmarks touched their highest since October 2014, and some OPEC sources say USD100-per-barrel oil is not out of reach.

Supply concerns mounted this week after Yemen's Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates, escalating hostilities between the Iran-aligned group and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition.

After launching drone and missile strikes that set off explosions in fuel trucks and killed three people, the Houthi movement warned it could target more facilities, while the UAE said it reserved the right to "respond to these terrorist attacks."

The strike on a leading Gulf Arab ally of the United States takes the war between the Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to rescue a nuclear deal.

"The damage to the UAE oil facilities in Abu Dhabi is not significant in itself, but it raises the question of even more supply disruptions in the region in 2022," said Rystad Energy's senior oil markets analyst Louise Dickson.

"The attack raises the geopolitical risk in the region and may signal the Iran-US nuclear deal is off the table for the foreseeable future, meaning Iranian oil barrels are off the market, boosting demand for similar grade crude originating elsewhere," Dickson added.

UAE oil company ADNOC said it had activated business continuity plans to ensure uninterrupted supply of products to its local and international customers after an incident at its Mussafah fuel depot.

Separately, a senior US State Department official said Russian troops deployed to Belarus for what Moscow and Minsk say will be joint military exercises is raising concerns that they "potentially" could be used to attack neighboring Ukraine.

Russia has built up a large troop presence near Ukraine's border, stoking fears of invasion. US and German officials have discussed ways to deter Russia, which could include halting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to central Europe.

At the same time, producers within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are struggling to pump at their allowed capacities under the OPEC+ agreement with Russia and allies to add 400,000 barrels per day each month.

OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecast for robust growth in world oil demand in 2022 despite the Omicron coronavirus variant and expected interest rate hikes.

As MRC informed before, in November 2021, ADNOC signed of a strategic partnership with Borealis AG that confirms a USD6.2 B (AED22 B) investment agreement between the companies to build the fourth Borouge facility - Borouge 4 - at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will produce 1.4 MM tons of polyethylene (PE) per year. Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5 MM tons ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar PE plants and a cross-linked PE plant. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC