Chemical News
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Coal vessel activity at Colombian ports up on week: cFlow May 23,2018
A total of 13 vessels departed key Colombian coal terminals in the week to Tuesday, up from seven a week earlier, with South America remaining the key destination for Colombian coal, according to cFlow, Platts trade flow software. Two ships left for southern Europe, unchanged from the previous week, with one ship each to Spain and Turkey. No shi...>>>
Battery energy storage on verge of competing with natural gas, but questions remain May 23,2018
The degree to which energy storage can compete economically with natural gas peaking plants is still being determined, but better price signals are needed to incentivize the most cost-effective reliability solutions regardless of technology, experts and analysts said Monday. As lithium-ion battery prices come down and battery energy storage syst...>>>
Cheniere makes positive final investment decision to build third LNG train at Texas facility May 23,2018
Cheniere Energy said Tuesday it would build a third train at its LNG export terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas, the first positive final investment decision on liquefaction capacity in the US since 2015. The board's move, while expected, is a welcome sign for a US market that has struggled to advance construction of further production units beyon...>>>
Atlantic Coast Pipeline sees ruling sidelining only 10 miles of 2018 construction May 23,2018
Atlantic Coast Pipeline on Tuesday estimated that just 10 miles of its 2018 construction areas for the 600-mile natural gas pipeline project will need to be on hold because of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking ACP's permit allowing incidental take of protected species. In total, it plans to avoid 21 miles in West Virginia and 79...>>>
Oil major BP slashes more jobs to reinforce efficiency gains May 23,2018
BP will cut 3% of jobs in its upstream unit this year, amounting to more than 500 positions, it said Tuesday as it pursues further efficiency gains following job losses across the industry. In a statement the UK major said the cuts would occur across its global upstream business, which employs around 18,000 people, and mainly through "natural at...>>>
Panelists call for strengthening, not scrapping, NAFTA May 23,2018
The North American Free Trade Agreement should be modernized and strengthened, rather than scrapped, speakers representing the three countries said in a panel discussion in Houston on Tuesday. The 24-year-old treaty has been a hot-potato issue for the Trump administration, as President Trump has frequently threatened to walk out on the agreement...>>>
China's Sinopec, PetroChina raise domestic orthoxylene prices by Yuan 200/mt May 24,2018
China's two major orthoxylene producers, Sinopec and PetroChina, raised their domestic ex-tank prices by Yuan 200/mt on Monday, an end-user said Wednesday. Sinopec's new price is Yuan 6,700/mt, or about $887.60/mt on an import parity basis, while PetroChina's new price is Yuan 6,400/mt, or about $847.80/mt on an import parity basis. The last ...>>>
US willing to talk about Iran sanctions, unwilling to waive them: officials May 24,2018
Following its exit from the Iran nuclear deal, the US is willing to negotiate with European allies on a new agreement, but unwilling to waive sanctions set for re-imposition later this year, key Trump administration officials told Congress this week. "We will certainly continue to work with our European" partners, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ...>>>
UK makes 'transformational' North Sea oil, natural gas license awards May 24,2018
The UK's Oil and Gas Authority is awarding 123 licenses over 229 offshore blocks in a licensing round it said could help "transform" lackluster levels of oil and gas exploration drilling. The 30th offshore round, mainly focused on previously explored or "mature" areas of the North Sea, has resulted in awards to a broad mix of 61 major companies ...>>>
NYMEX June gas settles up 0.6 cent at $2.914/MMBtu on storage tightness concerns May 24,2018
The NYMEX June natural gas futures contract traded marginally higher Wednesday on expectations of power sector demand and concerns about gas storage levels ahead of the summer cooling season. The front-month contract traded 0.6 cents higher, settling at $2.914/MMBtu after moving between $2.898/MMBtu and $2.939/MMBtu Wednesday. Tuesday "the ma...>>>
South African coal prices kept high on unclear outlook May 24,2018
Uncertainty continued to cloud the South African coal market Tuesday as reports of national utility Eskom needing to purchase material typically dedicated to the export market, coupled with supply tightness and a strongly bid index, had sources uneasy on the sustainability of current high price levels. Platts FOB Richards Bay 5,500 kcal/kg NAR 7...>>>
US thermal coal arbitrage into Europe open, flows unlikely to increase: market sources May 24,2018
US thermal coal is currently pricing into the CIF ARA market, but low spot demand, port issues and US coal sellers well sold on term contracts, mean flows are unlikely to increase, traders in Europe said Wednesday, despite an open arbitrage, putting no added price pressure on US coal. "Central Appalachian (CAPP) coal is already fairly well booke...>>>
Biodiesel RINs fall to multiyear low on soft demand May 24,2018
The price for current-year biodiesel Renewable Identification Numbers fell to a 2 1/2-year low Tuesday on soft demand from obligated parties, market sources said. D4 biodiesel RINs for 2018 were assessed 45.50 cents/RIN, down 3.25 cents day on day and 45.25 cents since February 16, when they reached their highest point so far this year. Tuesd...>>>
June European styrene contract price expected to settle at rollover or small rise May 24,2018
Early expectations for the June styrene contract price in Europe have been heard at a rollover or a small increase, according to sources this week. The May contract price was fully settled at Eur1,285/mt ($1,507/mt), which means the June contract is expected to settle in a range of around Eur1,285-1,305/mt. The styrene spot price dipped mid-m...>>>
Oxy raises North American caustic soda prices May 24,2018
OxyChem, the chemicals division of Occidental Petroleum, this week announced a second 2018 price increase for caustic soda in North America, according to a letter to customers obtained by S&P Global Platts. The letter said Oxy would increase off-schedule prices of both diaphragm-grade and membrane-grade caustic soda by $40/dst in the US and $45/...>>>
Mediterranean diesel at 32-month high amid lack of smaller vessels May 24,2018
Diesel in the Mediterranean hit a 32-month high at a $13.50/mt premium to ICE low sulfur gasoil futures Tuesday, as cargoes on Handysize vessels were in short supply, sources said. Vessels able to call at many of the Mediterranean ports have been lacking as a result of a closed arbitrage from the US Gulf Coast, regional refinery maintenance, and...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 23/05/2018 May 24,2018
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,23 commodities increased in prices, 25 fell and 52 remained unchanged on 23/05/2018.The largest rises were Coke (2.98%),Acrylic acid (1.47%),Cotton yarn (1.21%),while the largest falls...>>>
Indonesian fishermen end Samarinda coal port protests May 25,2018
Local fishermen have agreed to refrain from blocking the loading and unloading of coal at the Indonesian port of Muara Berau at Samarinda in East Kalimantan. This is according to minutes seen by S&P Global Platts of a meeting earlier this week with coal shippers to end protests over water quality in the port area, which was said to be affecting fis...>>>
Russian energy minister Novak says Iran risk adds up to $7/b to oil price: report May 25,2018
Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Thursday geopolitical tensions, including potential re-imposition of Iranian sanctions, has added $5-$7 a barrel to the oil price. Oil prices have reached their highest since November 2014, with Brent crude piercing the $80 a barrel level at various points in the past week as supply risks related to V...>>>
US RBOB gasoline at four-year high over CBOB on tight supply, refinery issues May 25,2018
Physical RBOB gasoline prices in most US markets have climbed rapidly over CBOB prices in recent weeks amid tightness for product and supply disruption in the Midwest, according to S&P Global Platts data. Gulf Coast RBOB gasoline ("F-grade") has hovered near its highest premium to CBOB since March 2014. S&P Global Platts assessed RBOB with 7.8 R...>>>