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Polypropylene01-Oct-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Denmark’s AP Moller Holding,
the parent company of shipping company Maersk,
plans to invest €1.5 billion to build a
“fossil-free” plastics production plant in
Antwerp, Belgium, via a new venture called
Vioneo.
“The Antwerp plant will benefit from the
region’s expertise in the chemicals industry,
strong export facilities and access to
renewable energy,” AP Moller said in a
statement on 30 September.
The Vioneo plant is expected to use green
methanol as feedstock to produce polypropylene
(PP) and polyethylene (PE), with commercial
operations slated to begin in 2028, the
investment company said.
“Fully operational, the plant will be able to
produce … 300,000 tonnes of fossil-free
plastics annually, corresponding to a reduction
of 1.5 million tons of CO2 [carbon dioxide]
emissions,” it said.
The plant will be located within the Antwerp
energy park of Dutch logistics firm Vopak, with
support from Vopak Belgium and the Port of
Antwerp-Bruges.
Project plans will take place in phases, with
front-end engineering design (FEED) to begin in
Q4 2024, and with the final investment decision
(FID) expected in 2025.
In a separate statement, the Port of
Antwerp-Bruges said that the project is
expected to generate “significant job
opportunities” during the construction phase
and around 250 permanent positions when the
plant is fully operational.
($1 = €0.90)
Ammonia30-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Even with many states seeing
unfavorable weather recently, the pace of the
US harvesting continues to be steady with 21%
of corn acreage now completed with soybeans at
26% finished, according to the latest US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) weekly crop
progress report.
According to the weekly update, the current
rate of corn harvest is even with the 2023
level of 21% and slightly ahead of the
five-year average of 18%.
Texas continues to be the top state for
harvesting progress at 91% of its acreage
completed, followed again by North Carolina at
72%.
There is 96% of the corn acreage which is
dented, which is slightly behind the 97% from
2023 but is above the five-year average of 95%.
For corn maturity, there is 75% of the crop at
this level, which is below last year’s rate of
79% but is higher than the five-year average of
70%.
Looking at corn conditions, there continues to
be 4% rated very poor and 8% poor with there
being 24% as fair. The amount rated good is at
49% with 15% still listed as excellent.
Soybeans dropping leaves has climbed to 81%,
and while this is just behind the 82% achieved
last season it is above the five-year average
of 73%.
Harvesting of soybeans is now at 26%, which is
ahead of the 20% level from 2023 as well as the
five-year average of 18%.
Louisiana remains in the lead on harvesting
completion with 71% of the state’s acreage now
finished, followed by Mississippi at 66%.
For soybean conditions, there were no changes
once again in the update with it remaining as
3% seen as very poor, with 8% as poor, 25%
listed fair with 52% as good and 12% rated as
excellent.
In other harvesting updates, there is 20% of
the cotton crop completed with sorghum at 35%
finished.
Ammonia30-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–The US fertilizer industry
along with their agricultural counterparts were
trying to assess damages and determine how long
activities might be limited or even remain
halted as Hurricane Helene delivered a mighty
strike with intense winds and tremendous
rainfall leading to historic flooding.
Across several southeastern states the severity
of the impacts affected plant operations and
loadings with confirmed issues in Florida,
Georgia and North Carolina with some damage
reported at the port in Tampa, Florida, which
did reopen on 29 September.
There was also localized flooding within the
city and surrounding communities but the
fertilizer hub with its vital production,
storage and logistical assets missed the full
wrath of the hurricane, which had rapidly
intensified before making landfall.
Producer Mosaic had earlier informed that it
did experience some issues with its operations
in Florida as there was water intrusion at its
Riverview site, which was caused by storm surge
that has left the facility offline.
A site cleanup must be undertaken so the
operations are not anticipated to see a return
to full capacity for about 10 days, but Mosaic
did not respond for further comment on whether
it had experienced any other impacts to its
business activities.
Canadian fertilizer major Nutrien said it is
still evaluating the total impacts of the
hurricane landfall but while its Aurora
facility in North Carolina experienced heavy
rainfall, the facility did not close during the
event and is fully operational.
The producer said it did undertake
precautionary measures at other sites.
“Following Hurricane Helene’s landfall last
Friday, Nutrien’s Augusta, Georgia, and White
Springs, Florida, facilities were shut down
under safety protocols during storm-induced
power failures,” said a Nutrien spokesperson.
“All our colleagues are safe at these
locations, but many area roads remain closed
due to downed power lines and flooding. It
could be several more days before a post-storm
assessment is complete.”
For fertilizer interests overall there was
optimism that while the storm potentially wiped
out what crops had not been finished in some
locations, it should not have a lingering sway
on upcoming demand or supply availability once
flooding recedes and acreage dries as there is
still plenty of acreage left to complete.
As an industry source said, “I don’t think it
matters at all. We just need some more
harvesting so farmers can think about
application.”
Corn harvest is now 21% complete, while
soybeans have reached 26%.
While September has been treading a tad slower
than normal, with repeated tropical weather
threats a key factor, there was sentiment that
when looking ahead at October there will be
more traction forward for some products.
As a trader said, “I think prices will move up
on UAN [urea ammonium nitrate] because of the
supply disruptions but hard to say how much.
Phosphate is probably the most bullish out of
everything, urea doesn’t really have an
impact.”
The extent of crop damage will not be clear for
at least several days, maybe longer. The
concern is still that a reduction in yield
means a drop in income back to the grower who
then will have more pressure on how to manage
upcoming input expense.
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Ethylene30-Sep-2024
SAO PAULO (ICIS)–The port at Tampa in the US
state of Florida reopened over the weekend, the
port’s authorities said on Sunday, after
Hurricane Helene’s destructive path put the US
state of Florida against the ropes.
Recovery efforts were underway in Florida as
well as states to the north such as South
Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia and
Tennessee.
The hurricane’s death toll surpassed 100 over
the weekend, while some analysts have said
Helene’s economic impact could stand at up to
$160 billion.
Meanwhile, the US Bureau of Safety and
Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated on
Sunday that approximately 3.35% of oil
production and 0.91% of natural gas production
in the US Gulf Coast were shut-in when it
issued that update.
Some railway lines, meanwhile, remained shut in
and out of Florida, but companies managed to
bring back to operation the most important
routes over the weekend.
TAMPA RETURNSThe Port of
Tampa was the most affected by the hurricane,
which made
landfall on 27 September in the Big Bend
area of Florida where the port is situated;
more
than 4 million Floridians lost power right
after it made landfall.
Other ports affected were Panama City, St Joe,
St Petersburg, Manatee and Key West on
Florida’s west coast; Fernandina, Jacksonville
and Canaveral on Florida’s east coast. All of
them have now returned to normal.
“Port Tampa Bay has resumed vessel operations
and our port’s shipping channels are officially
re-opened, with vessel movements restricted to
daylight hours… Our hope is that the port’s
shipping channels will be functional at their
full depths shortly,” said the Port Tampa Bay
authority on Sunday.
“Port staff fully assessed the docks, wharfs
and terminals for safety. Commercial vessel
traffic is again being queued for a return to
full operations at the port, meaning we are
open for business. Some of the first vessels to
return will be fuel tankers, cruise ships and
vessels carrying perishable cargo.”
The hurricane was expected to disrupt the
movement of fertilizers and grain coming in and
out of Tampa, as well as some
companies’ operations in the area which are
expected to remain shut for a few days.
Some petrochemicals end markets
such as plastic bales, with collection
across much of the south and southeast of the
US expected to be delayed.
GULF COAST OIL, GASThe
US’s BSEE said no personnel had been evacuated
from any of the five non-dynamically positioned
(DP) rigs operating in the Gulf Coast; rigs can
include several types of offshore drilling
facilities including jackup rigs, platform
rigs, all submersibles and moored
semisubmersibles.
“A total of one DP rig moved off location out
of the storm’s path as a precaution. This
number represents 4.76% of the 21 DP rigs
currently operating in the Gulf. DP rigs
maintain their location while conducting well
operations by using thrusters and propellers,”
said the BSEE.
“These rigs are not moored to the seafloor, so
they can move out of harm’s way in a relatively
short time frame. Personnel remain on board and
return to the original location once the storm
has passed.”
BSEE said the 3.35% shut-in oil production
could correspond to around 59,000 barrels of
oil per day, while the 0.91% of shut-in gas
production would correspond to 17 million cubic
feet per day.
It added that facilities are to be inspected in
coming hours following the hurricane, adding
“production from undamaged facilities will be
brought back online immediately” although those
with damage may naturally take longer to bring
back online.
RAIL DISRUPTIONS
Railroad company CSX said all railways in
Florida had now reopened except for two: the
Clearwater and Brooksville Subdivisions.
“CSX continues to work around the clock… The
storm… left significant rain and wind damage
in its path, resulting in flooding, downed
trees and power outages. Over the weekend, we
have made substantial progress in clearing the
network and making necessary repairs,” said the
rail operator.
“However, potential delays remain. We are
rerouting traffic to meet your needs and
committed to fully restoring service as quickly
and safely as possible.”
Rail operator Norfolk Southern also said it had
made substantial progress over the weekend in
recovering railways affected by the storm, with
its major routes in Florida and those
connecting some key urban areas of the state
with Tennessee and Georgia were also
operational.
However, it said some routes were still out of
service as of Monday, including the line
Macon-Brunswick; routes east and west of
Asheville; Bluefield in West Virginia to Norton
in Virginia; Augusta to Millen, in Georgia; and
Augusta in Georgia to Columbia in South
Carolina.
“Customers with shipments moving through these
areas that are currently out of service could
see delays of 72 hours,” concluded Norfolk
Southern.
ONE OF THE MOST
DAMAGINGOn Monday, analysts at
AccuWeather said they were sharply increasing
their economic loss estimates from Helene to
between $145 billion and $160 billion, around
50% higher than their prior estimate at between
$95 billion and $110 billion.
The analysts said the increase reflected the
additional “grim damage reports” received over
the weekend, which would make Hurricane Helene
one of the costliest storms in US history
because of the devastating storm surge,
damaging winds and historic flooding.
“The majority of homes and businesses in some
communities are destroyed and some have been
washed away. Bridges, roadways and other
expensive and critical infrastructure have been
heavily damaged or destroyed,” said
AccuWeather.
“Pictures and video from the scene, as limited
as those reports have been due to ongoing major
communication infrastructure damage, suggest
one of the worst flooding disasters in US
history, with tragically striking similarities
in damage to other catastrophic floods such as
flooding associated with Hurricane Katrina, the
flooding from Hurricane Harvey and the
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Floods of 1889 and
1977.”
ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM
HURRICANESIn billion
dollars
Source:
AccuWeather
Front page picture: Aerial view of Tampa’s
port; archive image
Source: Tampa Port Bay authority
Ethylene30-Sep-2024
HOUSTON (ICIS)–Here are the top stories from
ICIS News from the week ended 27 September.
Meteorologists
expect hurricane to form, hit US Gulf Coast in
Florida
Meteorologists expect a hurricane will form
later in the week before making landfall in
northwestern Florida at the eastern end of the
Gulf of Mexico, they said on Monday.
INSIGHT: Weak
volumes, geopolitical uncertainty hold back
chemical M&A
The lack of a meaningful recovery in volumes
amid a weak macroeconomic backdrop along with
geopolitical uncertainty are key factors
hindering mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
activity, panelists said at a recent meeting of
the Societe de Chimie Industrielle in
New York.
UPDATE: BASF sets
new corporate strategy, mulls ag solutions IPO,
to exit Brazil coatings
BASF is planning an overhaul of its structure,
marking a clearer delineation between
businesses it considers core and “standalone”
units serving specific industries, and is
readying the separation of its agricultural
solutions operations.
A quarter of US
Gulf oil output remains shut on Hurricane
Helene
A quarter of US oil production in the Gulf of
Mexico remains shut in as Helene becomes close
to becoming a major hurricane.
More than 4
million in southeast US lose power after
Hurricane Helene
More than 4 million outages were reported in
the southeastern US on Friday after Hurricane
Helene made landfall as a powerful Category 4
storm in northwestern Florida.
SHIPPING: US
ports file unfair labor practice charge with
regulator, but ILA strike is
imminent
With the midnight Monday strike deadline
rapidly approaching, negotiations between US
Gulf and East Coast ports and the labor union
representing dockworkers remains at an impasse,
making a stoppage that could cost the US
economy $5 billion a day more likely.
Crude Oil30-Sep-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–The UK economy grew at a slower
rate than initially thought in the second
quarter, according to revised GDP figures from
the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on
Monday.
The official statistics agency revised down
quarterly GDP growth to 0.5% from 0.6% in its
first
estimate in August.
Compared to the same quarter in 2023, GDP
growth was up by 0.7%, revised down from an
initial estimate of 0.9%.
“The quarterly path of real GDP at an aggregate
level is largely unchanged,” the ONS said in a
statement.
Petrochemicals30-Sep-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–Click
here to see the latest blog post on
Chemicals & The Economy by Paul Hodges,
which suggests Saudi’s decision to focus on
market share may turn out to be the catalyst
for deflation.
Editor’s note: This blog post is an opinion
piece. The views expressed are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent those
of ICIS. Paul Hodges is the chairman of
consultants New
Normal Consulting.
Speciality Chemicals30-Sep-2024
LONDON (ICIS)–Here are some of the top stories
from ICIS Europe for the week ended 27
September.
Intensifying seller competition pushes Europe
plasticizer DOTP spot prices to nine-month
low
Intensifying competition between Turkish,
northeast Asian and local sellers pushed down
dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) prices in the
European plasticizers spot market.
BASF sets new corporate strategy, mulls ag
solutions IPO, to exit Brazil
coatings
BASF is planning an overhaul of its structure,
marking a clearer delineation between
businesses it considers core and “standalone”
units serving specific industries, and is
readying the separation of its agricultural
solutions operations.
Europe PX imports down more than a third in H1
amid softer demand, freight costs
Imports of paraxylene (PX) into the EU and the
UK fell by 35.6% in the first half of 2024 year
on year because of weaker downstream demand and
higher freight costs, according to new data
from the ICIS Supply and Demand database.
Europe PP September contract prices soften on
underwhelming demand
European polypropylene (PP) contract prices
have softened for September, despite initial
offers of increases.
September flash PMIs show eurozone economy
stagnating, UK still growing
Initial purchasing manager index (PMI) figures
for the eurozone reveal that the region’s
economy is contracting, with the previously
resilient services sector weakening and the
manufacturing recession deepening.
Crude Oil30-Sep-2024
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–In a bold move to revitalize
its economy and restore investor confidence,
China unveiled a comprehensive package of
monetary and fiscal measures less than a
week before the country goes on a week-long
holiday.
Concerns about fundamental weakness in the
world’s second-biggest economy, however, temper
optimism on the positive near-term impact of
the measures.
Government efforts to boost economy
positive but overdue – economists
Financial markets euphoria may be
short-lived
August data show further economic
deterioration
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on 24
September unveiled a package of stimulus
measures, featuring
cuts to a crucial interest rate and
reduced reserve requirements for banks.
Two days before October, the central bank said
that commercial banks will be asked to lower
their interest rates on existing mortgages to
ease burden on households, which could
translate to an overall boost in
consumption. (adding this bit as this
happened over the weekend)
China has plans to issue yuan (CNY) 2
trillion in sovereign bonds this year,
according to newswire agency
Reuters, citing unnamed sources.
The measures are a step in the right direction,
especially as multiple measures have been
announced together rather than spacing out
individual piecemeal measures to a more limited
effect, said Lynn Song, chief economist for
Greater China at Dutch banking and financial
information services provider ING.
“We continue to believe that there is still
room for further easing in the months ahead as
most global central banks are now on a rate-cut
trajectory. If we see a large fiscal policy
push as well, momentum could recover heading
into the fourth quarter.”
Following a series of gradual moves to boost
growth, economists had been expecting more
significant easing measures, which are now seen
as overdue.
“The sheer scope and urgency of introducing
measures across multiple domains simultaneously
underscores the government’s determination to
place growth on a firmer footing to meet this
year’s 5% growth target”, economists at
Singapore bank DBS said in a note.
On 26 September, the Politburo of
the Communist Party of China held an
unscheduled meeting to announce additional
fiscal and consumer-focused support measures.
According to a meeting memo, Beijing aims to
boost spending and cut interest rates, increase
income for low- and middle-income groups and
revitalize capital markets.
The Politburo also pledged to stabilize the
country’s property market, preventing further
decline, and for the first time, has vowed to
strictly limit new commodity residential
construction and optimize existing housing
inventory.
“We continue to believe that securing the
delivery of pre-sold but unfinished homes with
direct funding from the central government is
the only possible way to revive the country’s
declining property sector,” Japan’s Nomura
Global Markets Research said in a note.
To boost the capital market, China’s
political leaders pledged vigorously guide
medium- and long-term funds to enter the
market, and clear the bottlenecks of social
security funds, insurance, wealth management
and other funds entering the market.
FINANCIAL MARKETS CHEER ECON
MEASURES
The multifaceted plan has yielded immediate
results, with the China’s benchmark
CSI 300 benchmark surging by more
than 15% in the week ended 27 September,
its biggest weekly gain since 2008.
The index tracks the performance of the top 300
stocks traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange
and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
At the close of trade on 27 September, the
Shanghai Composite Index settled at
3,087.53, up by 2.88% from the previous
session, while the Shenzhen Composite jumped
6.05% to close at 1,737.56.
Shares of major chemical producers such as
Hengli Petrochemical, Satellite Chemical, and
Rongsheng Petrochemical have rallied with double-digit
gains over the past four sessions,
mirroring the broader market rally.
Analysts, however, cautioned that
the market euphoria may be
short-lived as longstanding investor worries
over China’s structural and balance sheet
challenges, including a heavy local debt
burden, an aging population, deflation, and
eroding confidence, will not be easily
reversed.
“After years of stimulus cries, this week
actually matters to equities – as evidenced by
the initial boost to Chinese stocks, which
should continue into Q4,” said Shehzad Qazi,
managing director of research firm China Beige
Book International.
“Beijing has strongly implied it’s establishing
a short-term put, though the mechanisms
mentioned this week (borrowing facilities for
stocks, market stabilization fund, etc) are not
yet operational, and some may never be.”
While the slew of new measures will boost
confidence to some extent, these monetary and
financial policies alone are enough to arrest
the worsening economic slowdown, according to
Nomura analysts.
“In our view, the size of incremental stimulus
might be less than 3% GDP per year, and markets
should place more emphasis on the specifics of
any stimulus package,” they said.
“If not designed well, a stimulus program, even
if seemingly large, could have a slow and
limited impact on growth.”
AUGUST
DATA DOWNBEAT
The latest set of stimulus measures are likely
in response to further deterioration in China’s
macroeconomic data in
August, but these may not be
sufficient to reverse the downturn in China’s
property market, according to Singapore’s
UOB Global Economics & Markets
Research.
Industrial growth in the country slowed in
August to 4.5% year on year compared
with a 5.1% pace set in
July, due to contraction in heavy
industries such as steel and cement.
Robust electronics production and a surge in
exports offer a short-term boost, although
protectionist measures from other
countries threaten future growth.
Industrial profits swung back to a sharp
contraction in August,
slumping by 17.8% year on year,
marking the first contraction since March.
In the services sector, which depends largely
on domestic demand, activity also lost
momentum, with growth slowing to 4.6%
year on year in August, bringing the
eight-month average expansion to 4.9%.
Household consumption and private investment
remain depressed.
The crisis in the property sector continues,
and the support measures implemented last
spring (around March-May 2023) have failed
to stimulate housing demand. Most property
developers are still facing major solvency or
liquidity problems.
” While market sentiment was lifted by the
stronger-than-expected measures, skepticism has
remained on any lasting impact on China’s
growth or the property market,” UOB
economist Ho Woei Chen said.
“PBoC’s re-lending programme has faced a slow
take-up due to the poor potential returns and
weak buying sentiment while developers continue
to face funding risks,” Ho said.
“It is thus important for authorities to
implement stronger measures to accelerate the
reduction of supply glut,” she added.
Deteriorating conditions on the labour market
are adding to the property crisis, which is
significantly impacting household morale and
spending, said Christine Peltier,
economist at French bank BNP Paribas.
Growth in retail sales slowed again in August
to just a 2.1% year-on-year increase.
“Deflationary pressures are also persisting due
to weak domestic demand and production
overcapacities, falling property prices, slower
wage growth and declining global commodity
prices,” Peltier said.
In August, China’s consumer price
index rose by 0.6% year on year, but
core inflation hit a low of 0.3%, and the
production price index fell for the 23rd
consecutive month.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing
managers’ index (PMI) remained in contraction mode for the
fifth month in September, although the
number inched up to 49.8 from 49.1 in August.
Insight article by Nurluqman
Suratman
Thumbnail photo shows a container terminal
in Taicang, Suzhou Port in China (Source:
Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
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