Chemical News
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Prices fall across US OTC coal markets Mar 14,2013
Prices fell at the front of the curve in all over-the-counter US coal contracts assessed by Platts on Tuesday, with the Central Appalachian barge and rail (CSX) markets both having an ample volume of contracts cleared. In the CAPP rail (CSX) market, April physical traded once at $60.50/st for one train and was assessed at that price, down 50 cen...>>>
Consol halts production on Blacksville No. 2 because of smoke at portal Mar 14,2013
Eastern US coal producer Consol Energy has halted production at its Blacksville No. 2 underground mine on the border between Pennsylvania and West Virginia border until it determines the source of smoke detected near a shaft on the Pennsylvania side of the mine. Consol said Wednesday that it canceled the Tuesday midnight and Wednesday day shift...>>>
China unlikely to change its approach to Russian gas: former top exec Mar 14,2013
China's incoming president, Xi Jinping, will likely follow the course set by his predecessor in dealing with Russia, according to a former senior vice president at China National Offshore Oil Corporation, Victor Gao. Xi is expected to be installed as president this week for a 10-year term that will see radical growth in China's demand for cleane...>>>
ANALYSIS: US Midcontinent NGL frac spread turns positive on falling output Mar 14,2013
Falling natural gas liquids production in the US Midwest and Rockies has resulted in a return of the regional frac spread to positive territory and a drop-off in ethane rejection since mid-January, a Platts analysis shows. Platts historical prices show the frac spread -- the difference between the price of ethane-propane mix at the benchmark Co...>>>
Japan's Mar 3-9 oil product exports fall 3.7% on week to 2.95 mil barrels Mar 14,2013
Japan's export of oil products slid 3.7% to 2.95 million barrels over March 3-9, from 3.06 million barrels in the previous week, data released Wednesday by the Petroleum Association of Japan showed. Middle distillates at 1.88 million barrels accounted for 63.6% of the total oil product exports in the week ended March 9. Jet fuel exports slid ...>>>
China 100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 13/03/2013 Mar 14,2013
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,20 commodities increased in prices, 43 fell and 37 remained unchanged on 13/03/2013.The largest rises were Bromine (6.07%),Adipic acid (2.43%),Acrylic acid (1.06%),while the largest fa...>>>
NWE Urals crude demand cuts discount to Forties to smallest so far in 2013 Mar 14,2013
Northwest European Urals is at its narrowest discount to North Sea Forties crude so far in 2013 as emerging buying interest in the Russian medium, sour grade sent its values soaring, market sources said Wednesday. This comes just eight days after the Forties-Urals spread was at its widest in 10 months, according to Platts data. Platts assesse...>>>
Chevron poised to benefit from Mideast, US steamcracking assets Mar 13,2013
With 100% of its ethylene cracking capacity located in the Middle East and North America, US oil and petrochemical major Chevron is poised to benefit financially and competitively from its access to cheap feedstock, the company said Tuesday. "Our ethylene cracking portfolio is entirely positioned in these two attractive regions (where ethane gas...>>>
European thermal coal swaps volumes hit three-month high: LEBA Mar 13,2013
Traded volumes of OTC and exchange-cleared European-delivered thermal coal derivatives jumped to a three-month high of 132.47 million mt in February, according to London Energy Brokers' Association data Tuesday. API2 (CIF ARA) traded volumes during the month were up 13% on January but down 19% year-on-year. Monthly API2 volumes averaged 135.78 m...>>>
China should produce less domestic coal, import more: researcher Mar 13,2013
China should take advantage of relatively low coal prices and import more to satisfy electricity demand in its most populous provinces, instead of relying on domestic coal, which is expensive to transport, according to a Chinese government report unveiled in the US on Tuesday. China currently produces much of its coal from its northwest province...>>>
Germany could meet domestic demand with unconventional gas: Wintershall Mar 13,2013
Germany, which currently produces 13% of its gas demand from domestic reservoirs, could meet this proportion of its energy consumption from unconventional resources for 100 years, German oil and gas producer Wintershall said Tuesday. "Estimates forecast that Germany could secure the proportion of energy it provides for itself today for another 1...>>>
NYMEX April gas settles 0.4 cent lower at $3.645/MMBtu Mar 13,2013
The NYMEX April natural gas futures contract settled 0.4 cent lower at $3.645/MMBtu Tuesday, after a day of rangebound trading in which cooler weather in the forecasts prevented prices from falling off more dramatically. Kilduff Report analyst Mike Fitzpatrick also noted that Thursday's anticipated storage withdrawal could be supportive, as it i...>>>
Singapore 180 CST HSFO cash differential at 6-month high on demand spike Mar 13,2013
The FOB Singapore cash differential to the Mean of Platts Singapore assessment for 180 CST high sulfur fuel oil widened to a near six-month high Monday, on increased demand for 180 CST as a cutter stock amid heavy refinery maintenances in the Middle East. After flipping day-on-day from a discount of $2.16/mt to a premium of 13 cents/mt March 7, ...>>>
OPEC cuts 2013 estimate of call on its own crude to 29.71 mil b/d Mar 13,2013
OPEC Tuesday cut its estimate of demand for its crude in 2013 to 29.71 million b/d, down 70,000 b/d from its previous projection. In its latest monthly oil market report, OPEC said it estimated the call on OPEC crude in the first quarter of this year at 29.25 million b/d, down from a previous estimate of 29.39 million b/d. This compares with ...>>>
Chevron working out 'final elements' toward restart of Brazil's Frade field: CEO Mar 13,2013
Chevron is "in discussions" with Venezuela about adding opportunities to invest in that country following the recent death of its controversial populist President Hugo Chavez, Chevron CEO John Watson said Tuesday. But Watson told reporters following the company's annual security analyst meeting that the issues have been "commercial terms and con...>>>
Plunge in Asian solvent-MX price narrows spread with naphtha to 6-month low Mar 12,2013
The spread between Asian solvent-grade mixed xylenes and feedstock naphtha was assessed by Platts at a six-month low of $184.875/mt on Friday, down $55.625/mt from a week ago. Solvent-MX market came under pressure from weak demand and ample supply which pushed down domestic China prices. The last time the spread had narrowed to this level was on...>>>
NWE benzene at 5-month low on turnarounds, closed arbitrage to the US Mar 12,2013
Reignited concerns over the domestic benzene demand as well as a stubbornly closed arbitrage to the US saw European benzene prices plunge below $1,300/mt for the first time since mid-October, Platts data show. Benzene barges were assessed at $1,266.50/mt CIF ARA at Fridays' close, wiping out $83.50/mt week-on-week. The last time benzene was...>>>
US March polypropylene CPs fall 6 cents/lb on lower feedstock costs Mar 12,2013
US polypropylene contract prices for March fell 6 cents/lb ($132/mt) to 82-83 cents/lb ($1,808-$1,830/mt) for homopolymer injection grade on a delivered-via-railcar basis, sources said Monday. The decline was the result of a similar drop in contract polymer-grade propylene prices, which settled at 73 cents/lb delivered, and effectively offset a ...>>>
Pakistan's first 15-year LNG import tender awaits federal cabinet decision Mar 12,2013
Pakistan's highest decision making body -- the Economic Coordination Committee -- has failed to take a decision on the award of a multi-billion dollar contract to import 400,000 Mcf/day of LNG over 15 years and has left the matter to the federal cabinet, an official from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said Monday. The federal ca...>>>
US FERC approves pair of Dominion natural gas pipeline projects Mar 12,2013
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has authorized Dominion Transmission to build a pair of pipeline projects that would transport natural gas produced in Pennsylvania. The two projects show that "rather than building things from scratch, we can make modifications on our existing system and help get Marcellus [Shale] gas to market," Dan ...>>>