Octane blending
Overview
Demand for high octane components vary throughout the year depending on seasonality, premium gasoline market share, and refinery performance. Stricter gasoline standards also contribute to demand for high octane components.
Among the list of high-octane components are reformate, alkylate, MTBE, ETBE, toluene, xylenes, ethyl benzene, and others. Some of these components primarily see demand from the chemical market but could be diverted to the gasoline pool if there are returns in that segment.
Each blendstock has specific octane rating and rvp content that determines its value in the gasoline pool. Gasoline blenders will look at market prices for each of the octanes and see how it relates to the value in the gasoline pool. In the summer of 2023, high volumes of ethylbenzene were diverted to the gasoline instead of the production of styrene, as styrene prices fell below ethylbenzene blend value.
MTBE is a high-octane component for gasoline blending, but only used in some countries. MTBE demand has been led by growth in Asia, Middle East, and Latin Markets. Other regions have focused on increased biofuel usage which includes ethanol and ETBE.
Argus’ experts will help you determine what trends to track and how to stay competitive in today’s ever-changing global markets.
Latest octane blending news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global octane blending industry.
Canadian rail labor talks continue as deadline nears
Canadian rail labor talks continue as deadline nears
Cheyenne, 21 August (Argus) — Canadian railroads and a major labor union are still in discussions in the final hours before workers could go on strike. Contract negotiations between Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Canadian National (CN) and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) continued today, CPKC said. If there is no agreement tonight, the union at 12:01am ET Thursday could begin a strike against CPKC and each railroad could begin a lockout of workers. The Teamsters did not issue a required strike notice to CN, but a lockout would still shut its network down. Railroad customers and Canadian authorities are increasingly frustrated by the lack of agreement on new labor contracts. Teamsters members have been working under the terms of contracts that expired in December 2023. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau today urged the railroads and union to resolve the situation and avert a strike. "It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution," Trudeau said. "Millions of Canadians, of workers, of farmers, of businesses, right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution." Canadian minister of labour Steven MacKinnon yesterday said he met with Ontario's labour minister and would be meeting with each railroad and Teamsters officials in Montreal and Calgary "to deliver our shared message: Get a deal at the table. Workers, farmers, businesses and all Canadians are counting on it." Union members have voted twice to authorize a strike, and each railroad has indicated it will lock out union members at the same time. The latest indication is the strike could happen as early as Thursday 22 August. "CPKC remains focused on and committed to arriving at a negotiated outcome that is in the best interests of all our railroaders and their families," CPKC said today. "We are firmly committed to staying at the bargaining table to reach renewed agreements." The Teamsters and CN did not respond to requests for comment. Last week, the railroads initiated embargoes on shipments of toxic inhalation hazards (TIH) and poisonous inhalation hazards (PIH) materials. Those products include chlorine, ammonia, ethylene and phosgene, as well as rail security-sensitive materials such as explosives. Each carrier has now stopped loading trains in Canada and are focused on delivering existing shipments. Railroads also have stopped shipping trains across the US and Canada border, suspending the movement of multiple products. US rail regulators are actively monitoring the situation, concerned about how a rail labor strike in Canada would affect the US rail network and supply chain. The US Surface Transportation Board said Wednesday it is monitoring the implementation and effects of those embargoes on the network. A number of US railroads last week either implemented their own embargoes or said they will comply with the Canadian embargoes. Western US coal exports are not expected to have much of a disruption if there is a strike since US carrier BNSF has rail lines going directly to Westshore Terminals near Vancouver. But BNSF will not be able to interchange railcars with CN and CPKC in Canada. Crude markets are also not expected to see significant disruption from a strike in the short term because of pending maintenance at upstream oil sands facilities and spare pipeline capacity. Prices for Canadian propane and butane — which rely heavily on rail to move product from an oversupplied market to the US — fell Wednesday ahead of the strike . By Courtney Schlisserman and Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Shintech mulls new Louisiana ethane cracker
Shintech mulls new Louisiana ethane cracker
Houston, 20 August (Argus) — Shintech, a subsidiary of Japan's Shin-Etsu Chemical, has submitted an air permit for the construction of a new 500,000 metric tonne (t)/yr ethane cracker in Plaquemine, Louisiana. If the cracker receives approval and the company makes a final investment decision (FID), construction would begin in late 2024 and have a start-up target of fall-to-winter 2027. One of largest polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producers in the world, Shintech, already operates a 500,000 t/yr ethane-propane cracker in Plaquemine that feeds into its on-site PVC production. The company seeks to expand its PVC production and also submitted air permit applications for a new vinyl chlorine monomer (VCM) facility (Shintech Plaquemine Plant-4) that follow the same construction schedule as the new ethane cracker. The permits now await approval by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Shintech's new potential cracker, named the Plaquemine Ethylene Plant-2 (PEP-2), is the second new cracker announcement for the US Gulf coast since the Covid-19 pandemic put many projects on ice. ChevronPhillips Chemical and QatarEnergy announced in November 2022 their intention to go ahead with construction of a new 2.08mn t/yr ethane cracker and two 1mn t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) units in Orange, Texas. Those three units are expected to begin operations in 2026 under a JV agreement between the two companies named Golden Triangle Polymers. By Michael Camarda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vietnam’s Long Son starts up PE, PP plants
Vietnam’s Long Son starts up PE, PP plants
Singapore, 20 August (Argus) — Vietnam's Long Son is expected to start up its polyolefins plants from this week, after restarting its mixed-feed cracker , which can produce up to 950,000 t/yr of ethylene and 400,000 t/yr of propylene, last week. The producer has started up its new 500,000 t/yr high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant and new 400,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP) plant from early this week and both plants are likely to be producing on-specification products, according to sources close to the company. Its new 500,000 t/yr linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant is expected to start up within the week as well. The producer began offering prime-grade HDPE film and PP raffia supplies to domestic Vietnamese and export markets for September shipment on 20 August, according to market sources. The start-up of Long Son's PE and PP plants is expected to add supply length and exert pressure on regional prices. Argus assessed the southeast Asian duty-free HDPE film prices at $990-1,010/t cfr southeast Asia on 16 August, unchanged from the previous week. The southeast Asian duty-free PP raffia prices were at $970-990/t cfr southeast Asia on the same assessment week, down by $20/t from the previous week. Long Son shut its cracker and downstream derivative units to address equipment issues on 21 February. The producer was previously expected to restart its petrochemical complex in June , but later delayed its start-up to August. By Yee Ying Ang Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Orlen Unipetrol shuts PP plant amid refinery outage
Orlen Unipetrol shuts PP plant amid refinery outage
London, 16 August (Argus) — Czech Republic-based refiner and petrochemical producer Orlen Unipetrol shut its 300,000 t/yr polypropylene (PP) plant in Litvinov on 15 August after an unplanned outage at its 108,000 b/d refinery. The PP plant shutdown was a result of issues with the steam and nitrogen supply systems. A restart timeline remains unclear, but no force majeure declaration has been made so far. The company's 200,000 t/yr and 270,000 t/yr high density polyethylene (HDPE) plants at the Litvinov site remain operational, sources added. Orlen Unipetrol declared force majeure on PE and PP supplies on 29 July because of a cooling system malfunction at Litvinov. The company said an outage at a cooling water system supplying its ethylene cracker had resulted in an emergency shutdown of the unit. The company subsequently lifted the force majeure on 7 August as the cracker outage was short-lived. By Sam Hashmi Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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