MOSCOW (MRC) -- Independent U.S. refiner Valero Energy Corp said it was withdrawing its annual forecast and would defer or delay certain refining and ethanol related spending it had earlier planned for the year, said Reuters.
The company said in a filing its refining segment has suffered a drop in demand as the coronavirus outbreak and the resulting lockdowns "dramatically" reduced flights and usage of motor vehicles - important customers for Valero's refined products.
The refiner also said it estimates first-quarter revenue to be between USD20.1 billion and USD22.2 billion.
As MRC informed earlier, one worker was injured in a fire at Valero Energy Corp’s 125,000 barrel-per-day Meraux, Louisiana, refinery early Friday morning. Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas said the injured worker was taken to a local hospital. The extent of the person’s injuries was unknown. All other workers at the refinery were accounted for.
We also remind that Valero Energy Corp restarted the small CDU at its Port Arthur refinery after repairing a valve on 25 September 2019. And in late October 2019, Valero Energy Corp shut the small crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Port Arthur refinery. The 75,000-bpd AVU 147 CDU was shut to repair a heat exchanger.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC