Chemical News
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Platts US Morning Market Analysis: Benzene rises overnight on crude Jul 15,2011
Asian benzene prices rose $2.50/mt day-on-day Thursday to $1,136/mt FOB Korea as a slight uptick in crude futures in Asia trade overshadowed overnight falls in US benzene markets. The US benzene price on Wednesday was assessed at $1,196/mt FOB USG, down about $12. However, August ICE Brent crude futures were up 5 cents day-on-day in Asia trade ...>>>
No decision yet on future of CP Chem, DCP JVs: ConocoPhillips CEO Jul 15,2011
As US-based ConocoPhillips plans to spin off the downstream oil refining and marketing business into a stand-alone company, the company has yet to decide the fate of its stake in ChevronPhillips Chemical, its petrochemical joint venture, CEO Jim Mulva said Thursday. "With respect to our chemicals joint venture that we have with Chevron and the m...>>>
US economic recovery likely to continue-American Chemistry Council Jul 15,2011
NEW YORK-US economic activity is likely to recover from the current "soft patch" in the second half of 2011, driving healthy chemical demand, the chief economist of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) said on Thursday. "We see a recovery in most end-use sectors, with particular strength is capital goods, which is driving basic chemicals," said ...>>>
EURO GAS: Continental markets edging back up after low open Jul 15,2011
Continental European gas markets were edging back up at 1200 London time Thursday after opening well below Wednesday's close. Traders said this was because rising oil had brought down the curve and economic jitters had depressed the prompt, but the market had gradually regained some confidence over the morning. In Continental Europe, the nati...>>>
Indonesia awards Kalimantan CBM blocks to India's Monnet Ispat, local firm Jul 15,2011
The Indonesian government has awarded local company Ephindo Energy and a consortium comprising India's Monnet Ispat & Energy exploration and development rights for two coalbed methane blocks in Kalimantan, a senior government official said Thursday. The companies have committed to a signature bonus totaling $3.26 million and spending a combined ...>>>
CNOOC resumes operations at Suizhong oil field after spill clean-up Jul 15,2011
China's CNOOC Ltd. said that it has been gradually resuming production at its Suizhong 36-1 oil field in Bohai Bay after completing the clean-up work of the minor oil leak that occurred on Tuesday. "At 1445 [0645 GMT] on 13th [July] ... the oil field has started to gradually resume production," said CNOOC, the listed-arm of state-owned China Nat...>>>
ConocoPhillips upstream/downstream split does not halt refinery sales Jul 15,2011
The split of ConocoPhillips into an upstream and downstream company does not affect refinery sales plans, CEO Jim Mulva said during a conference call Thursday. "We're not going to delay" selling some less-sophisticated refineries as the company works to create two standalone companies by the first half of 2012, Mulva said. He said the company...>>>
Shandong independent refineries' run rate falls 1.1 percentage points to 43.9% Thu: on week Jul 15,2011
Operating rates of independent refineries in Shandong Province averaged 43.9% Thursday, down 1.1 percentage points from one week ago, down 2.1 percentage points compared with a year earlier, C1’s research showed. As of Jul 14, a total of 25 independent refineries were in operation, feedstock throughput of which added up to around 74,400mt per da...>>>
Major Chinese refineries' operation rate rebounds moderately to 79.36% in mid-Jul Jul 15,2011
Major Chinese refineries' average operating rate rebounded to 79.36% on Jul 14, moderately up by 1.39 percentage points from two weeks ago, C1's research showed. Dalian Petrochemical restarted a 10-mil-mt/yr crude distillate unit and some secondary units after maintenance and boosted its run rate by 43 percentage points in the two weeks. The...>>>
Bunker blending margins drop moderately on lower bunker fuel oil prices Jul 15,2011
The theoretical bunker blending margins declined moderately in both East China and South China this week, because of drops in bunker fuel oil prices, C1 found. In East China, the blending margins were at Yuan 123/mt on Jul 14, down Yuan 35/mt from Jul 7, C1's assessment showed. The prices of 180CST bunker fuel oil edged down Yuan 35/mt to Yuan 5...>>>
Saudi Aramco sells 132,000mt of spot LPG for Jul loading, highest in 2011 Jul 15,2011
Up till this week, Saudi Aramco has sold about 132,000mt of spot LPG for July loading, the largest spot monthly supply this year, according to an international trading company's Singapore-based branch. These resources comprised three 44,000-mt cargoes with high ratio for propane, with the latest one being a propane cargo for loading in Yanbu in ...>>>
Japan's Polyplastics to expand Malaysia polyoxymethylene capacity Jul 14,2011
Japan's Polyplastics will expand its production capacity of polyoxymethylene in Malaysia to 123,000 mt/year, from 33,000 mt/year currently, the company said Tuesday. The company's wholly-owned polyoxymethylene plant is located in Kuantan. The company is hoping to complete the expansion in October 2013, with commercial production from the expande...>>>
Ending US ethanol subsidies could be bullish for European prices Jul 14,2011
A plan by US senators to end ethanol subsidies on July 31 could prove bullish for the European market, trading sources said Wednesday. "It should be pretty supportive, the EU needs the [US ethanol] supply," one source said. The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) and the corresponding tariff are due to end on December 31. But a bi...>>>
UK July PET contract expectation diverges from continent: sources Jul 14,2011
Expectations for the July polyethylene terephthalate contract are diverging between the UK and the continent, sources said Wednesday. Northwest European PET sources said they expect their freely negotiated July contracts to settle with a decrease in line with the fall in raw material prices but converters in the UK were expecting a rollover in J...>>>
German naphtha demand in 2011 above five-year moving average: IEA Jul 14,2011
German demand for naphtha in 2011 has been consistently above the moving average for the past five years, an International Energy Agency report said Wednesday. The five year moving averages for January to May 2011 were within a 365,000-440,000 b/d range, whereas monthly demand for naphtha into Germany between January and May this year has not fa...>>>
West Virginia governor implements emergency gas-drilling rules Jul 14,2011
West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin issued Tuesday an executive order implementing several major changes in the state's natural gas drilling rules, including a new rule on water withdrawal. Gas producers who withdraw more than 210,000 gallons of water a month from West Virginia waters now must file a water-management plan with the state's De...>>>
Iranian gasoil heading to Singapore on long range tanker: sources Jul 14,2011
Iran, which until recently imported middle distillates from Singapore, is reported to be moving a gasoil cargo to the Southeast Asian city state, shipping sources and shipping fixtures showed Wednesday. Sources said the Horizon Diana, a Long Range clean product tanker, is moving a 60,000 mt gasoil cargo, loading July 16, either from Assaluyeh or...>>>
Obama creates interagency group to coordinate Alaskan energy permitting Jul 14,2011
President Barack Obama formally established an interagency group Tuesday that will coordinate regulatory efforts on energy development in Alaska. The group will be chaired by Deputy Interior Department Secretary David Hayes, who said its goal will be to simplify decision making on permits by sharing information among the large number of federal,...>>>
Sinopec rewards outsourced gasoline with Yuan 100/mt in Jul, none for gasoil Jul 14,2011
Sinopec rewards its subsidiary companies for outsourced gasoline with Yuan 100/mt in July, but it offers no reward for outsourced gasoil, C1 learned from market sources. This is because the company's gasoline is in relatively tightly supply in some areas amid peak consumption season, while gasoil supply is abundant amid weak demand. "Gasoline s...>>>
China to practice national IV standard for vehicle-use gasoline by end 2013 Jul 14,2011
The interim period of national IV standard for vehicle-use gasoline published on May 12 will expire on Dec 31, 2013, market sources said. National IV gasoline may become dominant grade in domestic gasoline market by 2014, the sources expected. "National IV gasoline can be spread nationwide as planned if refineries completed units upgrading in...>>>