Mogilevkhimvolokno cut export prices for July

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Last week Mogilevkhimvolokno, Belarusian producer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) announced reduction of export prices for Ukraine by EUR75/tonne, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Mogilevkhimvolokno had to decrease its export prices for the Ukrainian market on the back of falling feedstock prices, as well as the general down trend of European PET prices in June.

Ukranian traders said that the decline in the prices of Belarusian PET makes the material more competitive relative to the Lithuanian grade Neo Group.

One of the traders said that spot price of the Belarusian PET for the Ukrainian market last week was at UAH16,800-17,000/tonne CPT Kiev, including VAT.

At the same time, the price of the Belarusian PET for shipments to Russia remained stable as buying activity in the Russian market is strong because of the shortage of the material in the spot market.

More detailed information on PET prices and market trends you can find in ICIS-MRC Price Report.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Negotiations on European polypropylene (PP) prices for July have begun for CIS markets this week. Some European producers announced price increases, others are planning to keep the June prices for July, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

The contract price of propylene in Europe for July deliveries was agreed at the level of June. Though the price of propylene were left at the roll over from June, some European producers aimed to increase PP prices by EUR20/tonne, citing limited export quotas.

Other the European producers keep their PP prices for July at the level of June. At the same time, export PP prices were increased only by those producers who offer PP in June in the lower price range.

In general, the deals for the supply of European PP this week were discussed at the range of EUR1,170-1,210/tonne FCA, for homopolymer PP.

Deals for copolymers of propylene were voiced in the range of EUR1,220-1,300/tonne FCA. In June, the European PP prices for CIS markets were in the range of EUR1,150-1,210/tonne FCA, for homopolymer PP.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Some of European largest economies face a growing risk of fuel-supply disruptions, as commercial problems that have already driven a swath of the region's oil refineries out of business look set to intensify, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The vulnerability of the sector has drawn the attention of policy makers across the continent, with fuel security becoming a rising topic in the policy agendas of many governments and regulators. They are concerned that the need to import more fuel will mean higher prices at the pump for consumers who are already contending with a weak economy.

Europe's aging refineries have struggled to adjust to the lower demand and weaker profit margins that accompanied the economic slowdown. They have also been hit by increased competition from newer refineries in the Middle East and Asia, which benefit from lower operating costs.

Fifteen European refineries have shut down since 2008, idling 8% of the region's fuel-processing capacity, while many others are running at reduced capacity. The result is that, even as Europe's total oil consumption has fallen, the proportion of its refined oil products that are imported has risen to 28% in the first quarter of this year from 20% in 2007, according to data from the IEA.

Now, the IEA is warning that a flood of fuel production from new plants in Asia and the Middle East could push global crude-oil processing to an all-time high of 77 million bpd in the third quarter, squeezing profit margins tighter and potentially leading to more closures.

The problem has taken on particular urgency in the UK since the sudden closure last year of the 220,000-bpd Coryton refinery near London, following the bankruptcy of its owner, Petroplus.

The UK has seen its tally of refineries fall to seven from 18 in the late 1970s. In the wake of the Coryton shutdown, the country's Department of Energy and Climate Change is reviewing the role of the refining industry in energy security and the way the country's emergency oil stocks are held.

Other countries have had similar experiences. According to data provided by BP, the biggest loss in refining capacity between 2008 and 2012 was suffered by France, which lost 25%. Germany's has declined 12% in the same period, compared with 11% in the UK and 8% in Italy.

This has happened in many cases despite the best efforts of European governments. The Petit-Couronne refinery in France languished on the market for 15 months as the government struggled to broker a deal to save the business. Plans for a sale eventually fell through after the final two potential buyers were deemed by a French court to have insufficient funding.

The UK government was keen for a buyer for Coryton to be found, but ultimately was unwilling to provide the financial aid required to keep the plant running.

Higher imports could also cause prices to rise at the pump due to increased transport and storage costs, the IEA said.

But government intervention to save Europe's refining industry is a tough sell in a region suffering both a stagnant economy and sharp public spending cuts. An additional investment of USD21 billion on improvements and upgrades is needed by 2020 just to keep refiners in business, according to a report published by the European Commission in May.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL)an ONGC group company and a mini ratna cat-1 CPSE, won the "Refinery of the Year" Award at the Annual Petrofed Oil & Gas Industry Awards 2012 that recognize excellence in performance in various categories, said 4-traders.

The award was received by Shri PP Upadhya, Managing Director, MRPL from Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dr. M. VeerappaMoily at a glittering function at New Delhi.

MRPL had bagged this honour for fiscal 2009 earlier. ONGC, the parent company of MRPL, won Awards for Exploration and Production, Company of the Year, Project Management (above '2000 crore) for laying 44 submarine pipelines of 234 kms in its Mumbai offshore field. The ONGC team of their Institute of Oil and Gas Production Technology shared the Innovator of the Year (Team) Award with the Reliance Technology Group team of Reliance Industries Limited.

As MRC wrote before, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) said it is no longer interested in buying out the West Bengal government's share in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL). P P Upadhyay, managing director of MRPL, told Business Standard it made no sense to buy the shares of a loss-making company at this stage.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), is an oil refinery at Mangalore and is a subsidiary of ONGC, set up in 1993. The refinery is located at Katipalla, north from centre of Mangalore city. The refinery was established after displacing five villages of Bala, Kalavar, Kuthetoor, Katipalla, and Adyapadi.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sadara Chemical Company has announced financial close for the funding of main financing of approximately USD10.5 billion project, said Arabnews.

This marks the completion of project financing for Sadara, which is a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) and the Dow Chemical Company.

The main financing supplements the USD2 billion raised through a sukuk issuance in April, bringing the total Sadara project financing raised to approximately USD12.5 billion, the "largest project financing ever in the Middle East."

The Sadara chemical complex now being built in the Jubail Industrial City II of Saudi Arabia is described as the world’s largest to be built in a single phase. Comprising 26 world scale manufacturing units, the complex will be the first in the Middle East to use refinery liquids, such as naphtha, as feedstock.

By using best-in-class technologies to crack refinery liquid feedstock, Sadara will enable many industries that either currently do not exist in Saudi Arabia or only exist through raw material imports.

Sadara will introduce new specialty chemical plants and businesses as well as new value chains to complement the Kingdom’s existing chemicals landscape. Sadara is on track to deliver its first products in the second half of 2015, with the complex in full operation by 2016.

Located next to the Sadara complex, PlasChem Park is a collaborative effort between Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. It will be an accelerator for the Kingdom’s drive to create more value in the downstream sector.

PlasChem Park will create unprecedented conversion industry investment and thousands of sustainable jobs, making a positive and enduring impact on the Saudi economy. As of now, Sadara has hired more than 1,500 people, a vast majority of them Saudi nationals.
MRC