Chemical News
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Crude oil futures dip on US stock build, US-China concerns Oct 09,2019
Crude oil futures moved lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Wednesday on a build in weekly US crude stocks data and uncertainty ahead of the recommencement of US-China trade talks. At 10:30 am in Singapore (0230 GMT), ICE Brent December futures were down 23 cents/b (0.4%) from Tuesday's settle at $58.01/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet...>>>
US coal production forecast to decline 17% in Q4: EIA Oct 09,2019
The US Energy Information Administration is forecasting a 17% decline in fourth-quarter coal production from the year-ago period, according to the agency's monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook. The report, issued Tuesday, forecasts total US coal production to sink to 159 million st in the final three months of the year, a decline of 34 million st f...>>>
Center-South Brazil H2 September sugarcane crush seen up 30% on year: survey Oct 09,2019
The sugarcane crush in the key Center-South Brazil region is expected to total 36.44 million mt in the second half of September, an increase of 30.9% year on year, an S&P Global Platts survey of analysts showed Tuesday. Of the 10 analysts surveyed, a large producer group estimated the total cane crush would be at 35.5 million mt, while a researc...>>>
Adapt to 'slowing' oil demand by investing more in gas, power: Total CEO Oct 09,2019
Integrated energy companies such as Total need not become "dinosaurs" in the transition from fossil fuels and will adapt to slowing oil demand, investing in natural gas, LNG, electricity and renewables alongside low-cost oil, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Tuesday. The specter of climate change loomed large as Pouyanne spoke at the Oil & Money confer...>>>
Gold ETFs rise 75.2 mt in September as interest rates fall: WGC Oct 09,2019
Gold exchange-traded funds added a net 75.2 mt of gold worth $3.91 billion to their physical holdings in September, bringing total holdings to a record 2,808 mt as central banks lowered interest rates, according to data the World Gold Council released Tuesday. The inflows helped COMEX gold futures reach year-to-date highs. North American funds ...>>>
Americas IMO 2020 clean tanker boom off to a delayed start Oct 09,2019
Clean tanker market participants expect to see rates in the Americas begin a long-awaited rally in the second half of October, rather than at the onset of the fourth quarter, they said. Such expectations are based upon the projected return of US Gulf Coast refining capacity around October 15 and exports of ULSD and marine gasoil increasing ton-m...>>>
After Saudi attack, spare capacity concerns linger: EIA Oct 09,2019
Oil prices and output in Saudi Arabia may have recovered from the impacts of the September 14 attack on Saudi Aramco's Abqaiq facility relatively quickly, but it opened up new concerns about the fragility of global spare production capacity, the US Energy Information Administration said Tuesday. "The long-term effects from the disruption remain ...>>>
US EIA cuts Q2 2020 oil prices by $5/b on demand growth uncertainty Oct 09,2019
The US Energy Information Administration on Tuesday sharply lowered its oil price outlook for early next year, as it sees increasing uncertainty about economic and oil demand growth more than offsetting the higher risks of supply disruptions after the Saudi oil facility attack. EIA cut its Brent outlook by $5.31/b for the second quarter of 2020 ...>>>
Cornish Lithium aims to secure sustainable UK supply chain Oct 09,2019
The UK and Europe both need battery supply chains, from mine to manufacturing, in order to make the electric vehicle revolution a carbon-neutral success, Cornish Lithium CEO told S&P Global Platts Tuesday. The battery business is leaving a hefty carbon footprint, with ore being dug up in South America and Australia and then shipped thousands of ...>>>
Operating costs increasingly key parameter for LNG developments: industry Oct 09,2019
Cutting the operating cost of an LNG export facility is increasingly a key parameter for driving competitiveness in an ever more globalized sector, top LNG industry officials said Tuesday. Speaking at the Oil & Money conference in London, officials agreed that while the cost of developing a project had come down, reducing operational costs were ...>>>
100 Spot Commodities Price Chart - 08/10/2019 Oct 09,2019
It was assessed by SunSirs that in the tracked 100 spot commodities,20 commodities increased in prices, 38 fell and 42 remained unchanged on 08/10/2019.The largest rises were Sulfur (8.05%),LPG (4.17%),Sulfuric acid (4.11%),while the largest falls were...>>>
Property rights tensions stir debate amid continued gas pipeline buildout Oct 10,2019
Pipeline and property rights advocates offered competing visions Wednesday of changes needed to ease tensions over landowner interests, as a major US natural gas pipeline buildout continues linking production to domestic and international demand. During a forum on pipelines and property rights held by the R Street Institute in Washington, there ...>>>
Chile could resume Indonesian coal imports after mine closure Oct 10,2019
Chile could soon resume imports of subbituminous coal from Indonesia, the world's largest exporter of the fuel, following the signing of a new trade deal between the two countries and the closure of Chile's largest domestic coal mine, market sources tell Platts. The move comes despite a government commitment to phase out coal-fired generation by...>>>
Unfavorable weather likely to lower US corn production, delay harvest Oct 10,2019
The weather troubles for corn growers in the US are likely to resume with forecast of wetter and colder days in upper parts of the Midwest, which could further disrupt harvesting and impact quality of the late planted crop. Wet weather conditions have already delayed harvest in the Midwest, the biggest US corn producing region, besides weighing ...>>>
US upstream companies continue on conservative path in Q3 Oct 10,2019
E&P companies are expected to outline a conservative approach to future capital spending and activity levels when they release third-quarter earnings in the coming weeks. Companies have already said, at conferences and via press releases, that they are focusing on controlling costs and returning cash to shareholders. "As Q3 reports approach and...>>>
Iran eyeing more attacks on oil supply as part of sanctions relief push: analysts Oct 10,2019
Without sanctions relief, Iran will likely attempt to attack Middle East oil targets as a way to push the US to back down from its maximum pressure campaign, analysts said. "Additional aggressive actions in the region are likely in the months ahead," Paul Sheldon, chief geopolitical advisor with S&P Global Platts Analytics, said in a recent note...>>>
US steelmakers, aluminum companies sue railroads over alleged price fixing Oct 10,2019
Several US steelmakers and aluminum companies have filed a pair of lawsuits alleging the country's four largest railroad companies conspired to fix prices over a period of at least five years, according to court filings seen Wednesday by S&P Global Platts. AK Steel and North Star Bluescope filed a lawsuit with several other plaintiffs October 2 ...>>>
Campaigns to exclude gas a 'huge and unnecessary risk': BP CEO Oct 10,2019
BP CEO Bob Dudley on Wednesday condemned moves to outlaw natural gas as a heating source for new buildings as well as in power generation, saying that excluding gas from efforts to decarbonize the economy was a "huge and unnecessary risk." Speaking at the Oil & Money conference, Dudley took aim at a campaign by former New York mayor Michael Bloo...>>>
Feature: Christmas comes early for tanker owners as freight rates skyrocket Oct 10,2019
Decade-high freight rates have been a boon for tanker owners but it is starting to squeeze trading houses, charterers and refiners, with analysts and market sources questioning how long the trend will persist. The spike in bunker fuel prices has been boosted by the nearing of the International Maritime Organization's 0.5% sulfur cap, along with ...>>>
Lithium-ion battery developers win Nobel Prize for chemistry Oct 10,2019
The Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded this year to three scientists for the development of lithium-ion batteries. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Wednesday awarded the prize to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for their collective work in developing the lightweight, rechargeable and powerful batteries that...>>>