Trinseo reports smaller Q3 net loss

S-based styrenics and engineered materials producer Trinseo lowered on Friday its guidance for the year as it reported a Q3 net loss that was smaller than the same time in 2022, said the company.

The company's shares rose slightly in afterhours trading. The following table shows the company's latest guidance for 2023 and compares with the previous one. Figures are in millions of dollars.

Trinseo expects demand will remain constrained through the rest of the year, and the company will continue to take steps to improve its cost position and cash generation, it said.

On the one hand, Trinseo said economics for its European styrene economics should improve in the fourth quarter. The outlook takes into account the effects of the shutdown of its styrene plant in Terneuzen.

Those improvements should be partially offset by lower styrene margins at its AmSty joint venture.

On the other hand, Q4 profitability for its Plastics Solutions segment should fall from the third quarter because of higher costs for raw materials and because of the strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW).

We remind, Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, today announced its decision to discontinue operations at its ethylbenzene styrene monomer (EBSM) manufacturing facility in Terneuzen, the Netherlands, said the company.
This decision was made following the completion of joint negotiations with the Works Council in Terneuzen. The plant is scheduled to officially cease operations in November 2023. With the closure of the EBSM facility, the company will purchase of all of its styrene needs from third party suppliers to support its downstream businesses.

mrchub.com

Seaborne diesel and gasoil exports from Russian ports fell 11% in October from a month earlier to about 2.55 MMt due to major maintenance work at refineries and a fuel export ban, data from traders and LSEG showed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Idle primary oil refining capacity for October stood at 4.915 million tons, down by around 1.9% from September, according to Reuters calculations.

Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel from Sept. 21 to cope with a domestic shortage but lifted restrictions on bunker fuel and high sulfur gasoil.

The embargo was partially lifted on Oct. 9 with Russia resuming ULSD exports via Transneft pipelines provided that the manufacturer supplies at least 50% of the produced diesel fuel to the domestic market.

Total October diesel loadings from Russia's port of Primorsk, the main outlet for ULSD exports and completely dependent on pipeline shipments, rose by 10% month on month and by 40% from an initial plan to 977,000 tons, according to LSEG data and traders.

We remind, Last month about 680,000 tons of diesel and gasoil from Russian ports were heading to African countries including Libya, Togo, Morocco, Senegal and Ivory Coast, LSEG data showed. Another 270,000 tons of diesel from Russia in October was destined for ship-to-ship transfers near the Greek port of Kalamata with final destinations for these cargoes not yet known. All the shipping data above are based on the date of cargo departure.

mrchub.com

Shell reported a 24% year-on-year drop on adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the third quarter as both prices and volumes decreased year on year, the company announced.

Its Q3 chemical sales volume surged to 2.998m tonnes, compared to 2.828m tonnes in Q2 2023 and 2.879m tonnes in Q3 2022. The nine-month chemical sales volume decreased 7% to 8.656m tonnes. Chemicals had negative adjusted earnings of $329m in Q3.

Chemicals manufacturing plant utilisation was 70% in Q3, in line with the second quarter 2023. Refinery utilisation was 84% in Q3, compared with 85% in the second quarter 2023.

Q3 results improved from Q2, with 23% up in adjusted earnings and a 13% rise in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting higher refining margins, higher realised oil prices, higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading and optimisation results, and higher upstream production.

Shell is commencing a $3.5bn buyback programme for the next three months, bringing the buybacks for the second half of 2023 to $6.5bn, well in excess of the $5bn announced at Capital Markets Day in June.

We remind, Shell plc subsidiary Shell Gas BV and partners in the Oman LNG LLC venture signed an amended shareholders’ agreement for Oman LNG LLC extending the business beyond 2024.Oman LNG in turn signed various agreements to secure its gas supply until 2034, Shell said in a release Oct. 23.

mrchub.com

Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, and its affiliate companies in Europe, announced today a price decrease for all polystyrene (PS) grades. Effective November 1, 2023, or depending on existing contract terms, said the company.

The prices for the products listed below will decrease as follows:

STYRON™ and STYRON™ X-TECH general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) by -125 Euro per metric ton
STYRON™ and STYRON A-TECH™, STYRON C-TECH™ and STYRON X- TECH™ high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) by -125 Euro per metric ton.

We remind, Trinseo, a specialty material solutions provider, today announced its decision to discontinue operations at its ethylbenzene styrene monomer (EBSM) manufacturing facility in Terneuzen, the Netherlands. This decision was made following the completion of joint negotiations with the Works Council in Terneuzen. The plant is scheduled to officially cease operations in November 2023. With the closure of the EBSM facility, the company will purchase of all of its styrene needs from third party suppliers to support its downstream businesses.

mrchub.com

Borealis is collaborating with the University of Helsinki, Finland, as well as several other academic and industry partners, on a co-research project focusing on direct carbon dioxide (CO2) capture from the air, said the company.

This project is part of the Business Finland-funded SPIRIT Program (Sustainable Plastics Industry Transformation). Co-founded by Borealis, the program seeks to bring about a circular and net-zero transformation of the plastics value chain.

The two-year project, titled “Direct and reversible CO2 capture from air using superbases” stands at the convergence of societal and scientific interests. As global efforts to avert the worst consequences of climate change intensify, there is a pressing need to reduce levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, including through direct capture from the air.

For the plastics industry, CO2 capture is crucial to efforts to become carbon-neutral or even carbon negative. While there are existing commercial technologies, they fall short in terms of energy efficiency and are also primarily designed to capture CO2 from concentrated sources such as industrial plants, rather than from the air. The project team aims to address these gaps, exploring how CO2 can be reacted with strong organic bases to establish more effective techniques for direct and reversible capture from the air and, ultimately, assessing the potential for scaling the technology.

If successful, the project could provide a further benefit, beyond reducing atmospheric carbon: the chemicals industry requires carbon for the synthesis of many chemicals; atmospheric carbon could help the industry to move away from fossil-based sources. This perfectly aligns with approach which sets out an integrated approach to decoupling the making of plastic from fossil-fuels through protecting and retaining precious carbon in the system.

Asset Transformation Manager Mikko Ronka from Borealis says: “Securing competitive and sustainable feedstock is vital for the future of chemicals production. Novel CO2 capture opens endless possibilities for our industry and is fully in line with our overall ambition of reinventing essentials for sustainable living.”

We remind, Borealis announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire Rialti S.p.A., a polypropylene (PP) compounder of recyclates based in the Varese area of Italy, subject to regulatory approvals. Today, the parties announce the successful closing of the transaction.

mrchub.com