MRC launched a new website

MRC launched a new website


MRC has launched a new website www.mrchub.com

Here readers will be able to see the latest and most complete news on the market of petrochemicals, mineral fertilizers in the CIS countries and in the world.

MRC is a pricing agency that has been issuing price reports covering the petrochemical market in the CIS region and the global geographic market for 20 years.

MRC works with ICIS, the world leader in pricing for the petrochemical market, and with Profercy pricing agency, the market leader in mineral fertilizers.

Our data-driven solutions, price quotes and data analysis combined with market insights help market participants make informed decisions in commodity markets.
MRC

We must stop the war together


We try to stop the war together. We address all our partners and colleagues, as the current situation simply leaves no choice.

We ask you to express the principled ground of your companies and put out a call to stop the war, which can lead to catastrophic consequences for the whole world.

In 1994, Ukraine voluntarily gave up the third largest global nuclear arsenal to strengthen the peace on our planet. Today Ukraine is attacked, with Russia violating all security guarantees.

The Russian nuclear forces are on high combat alert today, affecting global stability. We must stop this together!

MRC team


MRC

Venezuela February oil exports up on heavy crude, fuel oil sales

Venezuela February oil exports up on heavy crude, fuel oil sales

Venezuela's exports of oil and refined products last month recovered to mid-2021 levels, boosted by sales of its flagship crude grade and fuel oil bound for Asia, according to tracking data and documents from state-run oil company PDVSA, reported Reuters.

Higher exports come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and resulting shipping bans and financial sanctions could spur demand for Venezuela's crude and residual products, traders said. Oil importers this week have rejected Russian vessels, sending buyers searching for new crude and fuel supplies.

Venezuela's state-run PDVSA and its JVs shipped a total of 22 cargoes in February, carrying some 730,930 bpd, the highest since July 2021 and a 76%-increase over January, according to the data and company documents.

Most cargoes departed bound to China through trans-shipping hubs like Malaysia.

As MRC informed earlier, in November 2021, 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. 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.

We remind that from January to October, 2021, 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. 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.
MRC

Chevron invests in Carbon Clean CO2 capture technology

Chevron invests in Carbon Clean CO2 capture technology

Chevron announced it has made a new investment in Carbon Clean. Carbon Clean’s technology is designed to reduce the costs and physical footprint required for carbon capture compared with many existing approaches, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Carbon Clean’s technology and fully modular construction also aims to reduce site disruption and facilitate faster permitting.

“We look forward to partnering with Carbon Clean to help advance Chevron’s pursuit of lower carbon solutions,” said Chris Powers, Vice President of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) for Chevron New Energies (CNE). “Chevron has a long history of supporting innovation. We strive to apply our internal capabilities and longstanding partnership approach toward developing and commercializing breakthrough technologies, including those that enable lower carbon solutions in the marketplace.”

Chevron Technology Ventures made an initial investment in Carbon Clean in 2020. In 2021, Chevron launched CNE to accelerate lower carbon business opportunities in CCUS, hydrogen and offsets and emerging energies, as well as support Chevron’s ongoing growth in biofuels.

As part of the new investment, Chevron and Carbon Clean are seeking to develop a carbon capture pilot for Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC technology on a gas turbine in San Joaquin Valley, California. Chevron is targeting 25 MMtpy of CO? in equity storage by the end of this decade, with a focus on developing regional hubs that leverage its existing and emerging partnerships with customers, governments and industry.

As MRC reported earlier, Chevron is buying biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group Inc for USD3.15 B, in its biggest bet so far on alternative fuels. The second-biggest US oil and gas producer said on Monday it would pay USD61.5 in cash for each share of Renewable Energy, a premium of over 40% to the company's Friday close. Renewable Energy shares rose more than 37% in premarket trading.

We remind that in September 2021, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and Bunge North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of a proposed 50/50 joint venture to help meet the demand for renewable fuels and to develop lower carbon intensity feedstocks.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC

ExxonMobil to exit Russia operations due to Ukraine invasion

ExxonMobil to exit Russia operations due to Ukraine invasion

MRC) -- ExxonMobil said on Tuesday it will exit a major oil and gas project and cease investing in Russia, making it the latest western oil company to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine, reported Financial Times.

The Texas-based energy supermajor said it was “discontinuing operations” at the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far east, one of the largest foreign-operated oil and gasfields in the country. Exxon follows BP, Shell and Norway’s Equinor, which have said they will dump stakes in projects and sell out of Russian state-backed energy groups after Moscow was hit with a barrage of western sanctions.

“ExxonMobil supports the people of Ukraine as they seek to defend their freedom and determine their own future as a nation. We deplore Russia’s military action,” the company said in a statement.

The move will add to pressure on a Russian oil and gas sector that has relied on outside investment and expertise. Exxon said it has more than 1,000 employees in the country where it has been operating for 25 years.

Exxon has operated Sakhalin-1, which produces around 220,000 barrels a day of oil, in partnership with state-backed Russian producer Rosneft and companies from India and Japan.

It had also been pursuing a potential USD9bn liquefied natural gas export facility in the east of Russia that would have been linked to the field, but said it was halting new investment in the country.

“In response to recent events, we are beginning the process to discontinue operations and developing steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 venture,” the company said.

Exxon did not say what the financial hit to the company would be. In recent regulatory filings it disclosed “long-lived assets” valued at around USD4bn in Russia at the end of 2021.

The US supermajor was forced to abandon a joint venture with Rosneft in 2018 after the US expanded sanctions initially imposed by former president Barack Obama in response to Moscow’s 2014 seizure of the Crimean peninsula.

As MRC informed earlier, Exxon Mobil Corporation, the world's petrochemical major, has reported Q4 FY 2021 earnings that were mixed. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at USD2.05, above what analysts had forecast for the quarter and climbing to the highest levels in at least four years. However, Exxon's revenue gains, while substantial, came up short compared to predictions. Analysts had expected the company's revenue to roughly double to USD90.8 billion amid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Exxon's revenue instead climbed by 82.6% year over year to USD85.0 billion. Additionally, the company posted its highest cash flow from operating activities since 2012, indicating a robust recovery process.

We remind that in February, 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC successful started up Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

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