Chemical News
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US coal loadings drop across all major basins, NAPP up 18.1% Apr 23,2018
US coal train loadings dropped 1.2% on week due to decrease in shipments across major basins except Northern Appalachia. Data filed with the federal Surface Transportation Board by the four major US railroads -- CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF and Norfolk Southern -- for the week shows US coal loadings averaged 93.6 trains/d, down from 94.7 trains/d th...>>>
FERC commissioners troubled by reliability vulnerabilities tied to fuel security in parts of US Apr 23,2018
Although natural gas and power prices were relatively low across the US last year, fuel-security issues plaguing New England and Southern California led to some close calls for grid operators tasked with keeping the lights on, commissioners reflecting on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 2017 state of the markets report said Thursday. T...>>>
German government confirms plan to add LNG infrastructure Apr 23,2018
Germany's new government plans to add LNG infrastructure with the planned import terminal at Brunsbuttel the most likely project as the cleaner fuel will become key to reducing shipping emissions, the economy and energy ministry said in a statement. Germany's new maritime policy coordinator Norbert Brackmann and the state minister for Schleswig-...>>>
Crude oil futures edge down in Monday morning trade Apr 23,2018
Crude oil futures were marginally lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Monday following a rise in US oil rig count and profit-taking. At 10:30 am Singapore time (0230 GMT), June ICE Brent crude futures were down 10 cents/b (0.14%) from Friday's settle at $73.96/b, while the new front-month June NYMEX light sweet crude contract was 18 cents/b (...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 20/04/2018 Apr 23,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,38 commodities increased in prices, 16 fell and 46 remained unchanged on 20/04/2018.The largest rises were Iron ore (2.94%),Dried cocoons (2.49%),Paper (1.96%),while the largest falls ...>>>
Asia petrochemicals outlook, w/c Apr 23 Apr 24,2018
The petrochemical market in Asia got a boost last week from firmer upstream crude oil futures, with ICE June Brent crude futures gaining more than $1/b Friday compared to a week earlier. Eyes are still on the crude market this week, along with feedstock naphtha prices amid the steam cracker turnaround season. AROMATICS Asian paraxylene pric...>>>
Japan's special steel orders fall 10% on year in Feb to 1.52 mil mt: JISF Apr 24,2018
Special steel orders booked in Japan during February dropped 9.8% year on year to 1.52 million mt, latest data from the Japan Iron & Steel Federation showed. The February total was also down 2.5% from January. JISF officials in charge of the order data were not available for comment Monday, but a Tokyo-based trader said orders booked had dropped...>>>
US Treasury extends wind-down period for aluminum producer Rusal Apr 24,2018
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control has extended its "wind-down" period with sanctions-hit Russian aluminum producer Rusal until October 23, 2018, the Treasury said Monday. "Rusal has approached us to petition for delisting. Given the impact on our partners and allies, we are issuing a general license extending the main...>>>
Iran's Apr LPG exports jump to about 500,000 mt, second highest post-sanctions Apr 24,2018
LPG shipments scheduled to be lifted from Iran in April rose further to around 500,000 mt, almost matching January shipments of 520,000 mt which was the highest volume since Western sanctions against the Middle Eastern producer were removed in January 2016, shipping sources said. The April shipments were almost up 14% from March and will bring t...>>>
EMEA petrochemicals outlook, w/c Apr 23 Apr 24,2018
The European ethylene market looks stable as the recent length has cleared following a spate of exports to Asia. OLEFINS For propylene, early expectations for the May contract price are mixed, with some market participants expecting a rollover but others predicting an increase on the back of stronger feedstock prices. The European butadi...>>>
Americas petrochemicals outlook, w/c Apr 23 Apr 24,2018
US AROMATICS: US aromatics prices rose on the week amid talk of an unplanned production issue at Shell's Deer Park, Texas, facility. Details and confirmation surrounding the outage were not available at time of publication. Prompt spot toluene prices rose roughly 6 cents week on week, closing Friday at 278 cents/gal FOB USG. The gains, coupled with...>>>
Mexican election spells uncertainty for pace of energy reform implementation Apr 24,2018
Mexico's 2018 elections could have far-reaching implications for the country's energy reform, but any shift in policy would likely come from a slowdown in implementation rather than an outright reversal. That conclusion was the collective wisdom of panelists speaking at the Mexican Energy Series conference hosted by Energy Dialogues last week in...>>>
NYMEX May gas little changed at $2.736/MMBtu as stocks offset weather Apr 24,2018
NYMEX May natural gas futures were little changed in overnight US trading as the bullish influence of depleted inventories offset the prospect of a fall on weather-related demand. At 6:40 am EDT (1040 GMT) the contract was 0.3 cents lower at $2.736/MMBtu. Natural gas inventories fell in the week ended April 13, for which the US Energy Informa...>>>
Natural gas prices in Mexico fall 14% in March to new low of $3.88/MMBtu Apr 24,2018
Natural gas prices across Mexico decreased by 14.4% in March from February levels to $3.88/MMBtu (Peso 68.85/GJ), the lowest level for the index since the country's Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) began tracking prices in July 2017. The country's gas prices peaked at $4.55/MMbtu (Peso 80.45 MMbtu) in February. The index is composed of monthly...>>>
Offshore gas project near Hainan starts operations Nov 27,2020
CNOOC: Dongfang 13-2 to meet energy demands of 1m people for 15 years The Dongfang 13-2 gas fields project, China's largest offshore high-temperature and high-pressure gas fields project, has been put into operation, its operator China National Offshore Oil Corp said on Wednesday. With an annual gas output of more than ...>>>
'Air Silk Road' boosts trade cooperation Nov 27,2020
New aviation routes bring more products to and from Europe, helping rejuvenate commerce amid the COVID-19 pandemic BRUSSELS-China's Singles Day, which falls on Nov 11 each year, is the world's biggest 24-hour online shopping event. On that day, visitors to Belgian e-commerce website facealacrise.be were invited to explore a myriad ...>>>
China's Fujian Gulei to startup 600,000 mt/year ethylbenzene-based styrene monomer plant in 2020 Apr 25,2018
China's Fujian Gulei Petrochemical plans to startup a new 600,000 mt/year ethylbenzene-based styrene monomer plant at Zhangzhou city in 2020, US-based technology provider Badger Licensing said late Monday. The SM plant will be part of the Gulei Refining Integrated Project, an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex, Badger said in a state...>>>
Sweden to add 2.5 GW onshore wind in 2018-19 as project costs drop: industry lobby SWEA Apr 25,2018
Swedish wind developers are forecast to add 2.5 GW of new onshore wind capacity this year and next bringing total installed capacity above 9 GW, according to the Swedish wind lobby group SWEA's quarterly report. The group forecasts 815 MW for 2018, rising to 1.7 GW next year. Some 2.6 GW of projects are currently under construction with anoth...>>>
UK power generation runs without coal for record 72 hours and counting Apr 25,2018
UK power generation has set a new record by running without coal generation for a 72-hour period and counting, National Grid said Tuesday. "Britain has clocked up over 72 consecutive hours without the need for coal-powered generation," a National Grid spokesman said. "The record comes just days after the first ever two-day period where power gen...>>>
First-quarter Powder River Basin coal production down 6.2%: MSHA Apr 25,2018
Powder River Basin coal production totaled 78.2 million st in the first quarter, down 6.2% from fourth quarter of 2017 and 6.8% from the year-ago quarter, US Mine Safety and Health Administration data shows. Quarterly production has been sliding due to availability of cheap natural gas fueling a considerable amount of coal-to-gas switching and i...>>>