Royal Dutch Shell plc changes its name to Shell plc

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell announced the Board’s decision to change its name to Shell plc on December 20, 2021. This change has now taken effect, said the company.

Euronext Amsterdam, the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange have been informed of this name change and it is anticipated that Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange will reflect the change of name on Tuesday January 25, 2022, while the New York Stock Exchange will follow on Monday January 31, 2022.

Shareholders should note that their shareholdings will be unaffected by the change of name and existing share certificates should be retained as they will remain valid for all purposes and no new share certificates will be issued.

We remind that Royal Dutch Shell plc. said in November, 2021, that its petrochemical complex of several billion dollars in Western Pennsylvania is about 70% complete and in the process to enter service in the early 2020s. The plant's costs are estimated to be USD6-USD10 billion, where ethane will be transformed into plastic feedstock. The facility is equipped to produce 1.5 million metric tons per year (mmty) of ethylene and 1.6 mmty of polyethylene (PE), two important constituents of plastics.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MR''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.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its subsidiary, Tecnimont S.p.A. has been awarded an EPC contract by Covestro for a new aniline plant in Antwerp, Belgium, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Covestro is one of the world’s leading polymer companies, focusing on the manufacturing of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative, sustainable solutions for products used in many areas of daily life.

The project will realize a substantial additional aniline production capacity to the existing Covestro site in Antwerp. The project comprises all the necessary prerequisites to produce the final products, including raw materials, infrastructure, and product logistics.

The contract will be executed on a lump sum basis and has a value of approximately EUR250 MM. The project’s mechanical completion is expected by 2024. The new unit will be based on state-of-the-art technologies aimed at ensuring the highest standards in terms of process safety and energy efficiency.

The Antwerp site is Covestro’s European hub for aniline, and benefits from attractive infrastructure and logistics with direct access to the necessary raw materials. Aniline is an important starting material for numerous chemical products including methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, which is used to produce rigid foam for thermal insulation in buildings and in the refrigeration chain, among other uses.

As MRC informed before, in April 2021, DSM completed the sale of the resins & functional materials businesses to Covestro for EUR1.6 billion (USD1.9 billion), including EUR1.4 billion in cash.

We remind that Covestro closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) decreased in the first eleven months of 2021 by 11% year on year due to a major fall of imports and higher exports. Thus, overall estimated consumption in Russia totalled 74,300 tonnes in January-November 2021 versus 83,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion, Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
MRC

1. Crude oil market headed for surplus as Omicron coronovirus variant impact muted

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil supply will soon overtake demand as some producers are set to pump at or above all-time highs, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, while demand holds up despite the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to The Economic Times. "This time around, the surge is having a more muted impact on oil use," the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil report. "While the steady rise in supply could see a significant surplus materialise in 1Q22 and going forward, available data suggest that 2022 is starting off with global oil inventories well below pre-pandemic levels," it said. The United States, Canada and Brazil are set to pump at all-time highs for the year while Saudi Arabia and Russia could also break their output records.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil supply will soon overtake demand as some producers are set to pump at or above all-time highs, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, while demand holds up despite the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to The Economic Times.

"This time around, the surge is having a more muted impact on oil use," the Paris-based IEA said in its monthly oil report.

"While the steady rise in supply could see a significant surplus materialise in 1Q22 and going forward, available data suggest that 2022 is starting off with global oil inventories well below pre-pandemic levels," it said.

The United States, Canada and Brazil are set to pump at all-time highs for the year while Saudi Arabia and Russia could also break their output records.

"World oil supply in 2022 has the potential for a massive Saudi-driven gain of 6.2 million bpd (barrels per day), provided the OPEC+ alliance continues to unwind the remainder of its record 2020 supply cut."

OPEC and other producers including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, is unwinding record output cuts put in place last year to counter a fall in demand caused by the pandemic.

Its plan calls for adding back 400,000 bpd of production per month to fully unwind the cuts by the end of September, although some countries are struggling to raise output, with OPEC+ in December falling 790,000 bpd short of its target.

Eased lockdown measures mean mobility remains robust, the IEA added, leading the energy watchdog to increase its oil demand estimate for last year and 2022 by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"Supply disruptions and underperformance by OPEC+ are tempering growth expectations for 2022," it said.

But the IEA warned that with commercial oil and fuel stocks in OECD countries at their lowest levels in seven years, any dents in supply could render the oil market in 2022 volatile.

As MRC informed before, earlier this month, Saudi Aramco signed 10 agreements with South Korean firms to advance its downstream strategy and support the development of low-carbon energy solutions, while creating new financing options for the company.

We remind that in June 2020, Aramco finalized its USD69 billion acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Middle East's biggest petrochemical maker. SABIC reported more than a fivefold year-on-year increase in its Q3 net profit to USD1.49 billion thanks to higher average sales prices.

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) -- Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has recently entered a joint venture with Abu Dhabi Chemical to build the first petrochemical plant to produce Chlor-alkali products in the UAE, according to CommoPlast.

The new plant will be located in Ruwais, UAE and will produce Ethylene Dichloride (EDC) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC).

The USD2 billion project is named TA’ZIZ EDC & PVC. Its output will meet the growing demand in the local market, as well and in Southeast Asia and Africa.

The project is preliminarily designed to produce 580,000 tons/year of EDC, which would need to use 790,000 tons of chorine per annum. The downstream PVC plant is expected to have an annual output of 360,000 tons/year.

Market sources said that the excess EDC supply would be exported to India, where the demand expands at a healthy pace.

As MRC informed before, in November 2021, Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco decided to re-evaluate their agreement for the Middle Eastern producer to buy a stake in the refining and petrochemical business of India"s biggest private refiner, and both companies would look at broader areas of cooperation due to the changing energy scenario.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of unmixed PVC was 911,400 tonnes in January-November 2021, up by 7% year on year. The emulsion and suspension PVC market showed an increase in demand. November estimated consumption of SPVC in Russia totalled 79,340 tonnes versus 76,720 tonnes in October. Russian producers reduced their exports, and their output also increased after the completion of scheduled maintenance works.

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