Lyondell Houston refinery to run at 95pc in 2Q
LyondellBasell plans to run its 264,000 b/d Houston, Texas, refinery at average utilization rates of 95pc in the second quarter and may convert its hydrotreaters to petrochemical production when the plant shuts down in early 2025.
The company's sole crude refinery ran at an average 79pc utilization rate in the first quarter due to planned maintenance on a coking unit, the company said in earnings released today.
"We are evaluating options for the potential reuse of the hydrotreaters at our Houston refinery to purify recycled and renewable cracker feedstocks," chief executive Peter Vanacker said on a conference call today discussing earnings.
Lyondell said last year a conversion would feed the company's two 930,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr steam crackers at its Channelview petrochemicals complex. The company today said it plans to make a final investment decision on the conversion in 2025.
Hydrotreater conversions — such as one Chevron completed last year at its 269,000 b/d El Segundo, California, refinery — allow the unit to produce renewable diesel, which creates renewable naphtha as a byproduct.
Renewable naphtha can be used as a gasoline blending component, steam cracker feed or feed for hydrogen producing units, according to engineering firm Topsoe.
Lyondell last year said the Houston refinery will continue to run until early 2025, delaying a previously announced plan to stop crude processing by the end of 2023.
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Logistics, water access key for Braskem hub restart
Logistics, water access key for Braskem hub restart
Orlando, 9 May (Argus) — Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem's plants at the Triunfo petrochemical hub have come to a standstill because of logistical and water access issues and the uncertainty surrounding when water levels will subside. Braskem had to shut down all of its operations in Rio Grande do Sul state after extreme flooding in recent days, but said its polymer inventories are safe and protected from the damage caused by heavy rainfall at its operations in southern Brazil during the past two weeks. At least 428 cities and 1.5mn people have been hit by the floods. So far, there are 107 confirmed deaths and 136 people missing, according to the state's last emergency service report. There has been no permanent damage to the industrial facilities, Braskem said today in an earnings call. But critical water intake and effluent treatment systems are submerged, rendering them inoperable. Additionally, the Santa Clara River terminal, which was preemptively closed by the local port authority, has also been flooded. "We can only assess the situation and evaluate losses once the water recedes," Braskem's chief financial officer Pedro Freitas said during the company's first quarter earnings call. Freitas said that part of the production of basic resins, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), will be offset by increased production in other Brazilian states or in Mexico. Braskem has been operating under its nameplate capacity. The situation is different at Braskem's 260,000 t/yr bio-based PE plant. There is stock available abroad, as the majority of this product is earmarked for export, Freitas said. 1Q production and sales Braskem's domestic resin sales fell by 5pc in the first quarter from a year prior, with volumes also falling in the US and Europe but growing in Mexico. Domestic sales declined on the company's decision to prioritize sales with higher added value in the period, Braskem said in its preliminary first-quarter production and sales report. Domestic resin sales fell to 839,000 metric tonnes (t) in the first quarter, from 884,000t a year earlier. On the other hand, the company's Brazil resin sales rose by 7pc from the prior quarter on higher demand for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) because of inventories rebuilding in the supply chain. In Mexico, polyethylene (PE) sales through the Braskem Idesa joint venture rose by 6pc to 209,000t in the period, primarily because of the higher availability of products for sale in the period. Sales rose by 17pc from the fourth quarter of 2023 mainly thanks to seasonality and replenishment of PE stocks in the fourth quarter of 2023. First quarter polypropylene (PP) sales hit 508,000t, according to consolidated numbers for the US and Europe. That is a 2pc drop from a year earlier and down by 1pc from the previous quarter. The declines are mainly because of better handling of inventory, which partially offset the lower availability of products for sale in the US thanks to an unscheduled shutdown in the region. Braskem reported a $270mn loss in the first quarter, swinging from a profit of $46.9mn in the same period last year, largely because of additional provisions related to the Alagoas state geological event . By Frederico Fernandes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Brazil's 3tentos cuts soy crop outlook amid floods
Brazil's 3tentos cuts soy crop outlook amid floods
Sao Paulo, 9 May (Argus) — Brazilian agribusiness company 3tentos cut its soybean crop outlook for this season because of the floods ravaging southern Rio Grande do Sul state. An important part of 3tentos' operations is headquartered in Rio Grande do Sul, the second-largest soybean producer in the country, which has been facing heavy rainfall since 29 April that has killed 107 people, according to the state's civil defense. As a result, Rio Grande do Su's soybean crop may drop to 20mn-21mn metric tonnes (t) from 23mn-24mn t previously predicted, according to 3tentos' chief executive Luis Osorio Dumoncel. At least 80pc of soybeans harvested this year are stored in warehouses or ports. "We have been working tirelessly to maintain all operations in the supply of inputs, grains, feed and biofuels," he said during a quarterly earnings call. The company sees a "tiny risk" to its supply chains of pesticides, seeds and fertilizers because of the floods. On the logistics side, alternative export routes have also been used to ship products such as soybean meal, chief operating officer Joao Marcelo Dumoncel said. 1Q results 3tentos' first quarter sales reached R2.68bn ($520mn), a 48.5pc hike from the same period a year earlier, driven by the industry, biodiesel and soybean meal segments. The industry segment, the firm's largest, accounted for R1.52bn in sales, rising by 69pc year-over-year. Soybean meal and other products' revenues totaled R927.6mn, 72pc higher than in the first quarter in 2023. Biodiesel sales increased by 64pc to R591mn, thanks to the increase in biofuel blending mandate to 14pc from 12pc since March. "We are confident that the biodiesel operation will help the company's margin this year," Dumoncel said. The firm's soybean crushing margins rose by 3.3pc in the quarter, settling at R442/t, driven by biodiesel production. 3tentos' grain sales grew by almost 27pc to R560mn. Revenues in the agriculture feedstocks segment — such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds — reached R601mn in the first quarter, up by 35pc from a year prior. The company's first quarter income totaled R156.44mn, a 51pc increase from the same period last year. 3tentos also started to build its first corn crushing unit to produce ethanol and dried distillers' grain (DDG). The company completed the issuance of debt securities worth R560.73mn this week. By Alexandre Melo Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US delays return of SPR crude until 2026
US delays return of SPR crude until 2026
Washington, 9 May (Argus) — President Joe Biden's administration has delayed by up to two years a requirement for oil companies and traders to return about 15.3mn bl of crude that have been loaned out from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Oil companies and traders were initially scheduled to return up to 19mn bl of crude to the SPR from June-September and to return up to 8mn bl of additional crude over the following year. The US Department of Energy (DOE) loaned out most of that crude in 2022 because of supply shortages related to the war in Ukraine and a temporary shutdown of the Keystone pipeline. DOE had loaned the crude using a mechanism called an "exchange," under which companies agree to return the crude to the SPR at a later date, along with an in-kind payment in exchange for the loan. But over the last two months, DOE has modified at least nine contracts with ExxonMobil, Shell and other companies that had borrowed the crude, delaying the return of about 15.3mn bl of the borrowed crude to the SPR until 2026, according to contract modifications Argus Media obtained after filing a request under the Freedom of Information Act. DOE said it delayed the return of the exchange crude in support of a separate SPR program, where it has directly purchased more than 27mn bl of crude that will be added the SPR's Big Hill storage site in Texas. That purchase program will inject about 3mn bl/month to the SPR through the first nine months of this year, and DOE last week restarted efforts to buy more crude for the SPR for delivery starting in October. "These actions strategically moved back exchange returns to take advantage of stable crude oil market windows to directly purchase oil at a good price for taxpayers, while having consistently available capacity to drawdown in the event of an emergency," DOE said. The nine contract modifications were signed between 26 March and 16 April, at a time when Nymex WTI spot prices briefly surged past $80/bl, to the highest price in more than five months. Delaying the return of the exchanges will effectively free up crude that would otherwise have been injected into the SPR in June-September, during the peak of the summer driving season. Nearly all of the revised contracts will delay the return of "all remaining exchange oil" until July-October 2026. Republicans have repeatedly attacked the administration's management of the SPR, which they argue is dangerously low after Biden ordered the emergency sale of 180mn bl of crude from the reserve in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine. Republicans have pushed the administration to prioritize refilling the SPR, which is at about half of its design capacity with 367.2mn bl of crude, given the value the reserve could have in mitigating supply shortages. US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm, in congressional testimony in March, said the administration was carrying out a plan to refill the SPR to "essentially where we would have been" if the emergency sales had never happened. DOE has already been able to cancel 140mn bl of congressionally mandated SPR sales and lined up the purchases of more than 30mn bl of crude. DOE also has said it "accelerated" the return of 4mn bl of crude exchanges. By Chris Knight SPR crude injections from exchanges mn bl Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Vertex to pause Mobile renewable fuels refining
Vertex to pause Mobile renewable fuels refining
Houston, 9 May (Argus) — US specialty refiner Vertex plans to pause renewable fuels production at its 88,000 b/d Mobile, Alabama, refinery by the end of the year, returning a converted hydrocracker to produce what it says are wider-margin fossil fuel products. Vertex completed the conversion of the Mobile refinery and produced its first barrels of renewable diesel (RD) in May last year , having bought the refinery from Shell in 2022 . The company plans to use a third quarter turnaround to convert its renewable hydrocracker back to petroleum fuels production and to be up and running by the end of the year, after facing significant macro headwinds for renewable fuels, the company said on an earnings call today. The decision to return to full fossil fuels production is ultimately a near-term financial decision for the company which has an outstanding $196mn term loan, management said on an earnings call Thursday. The time line for a return to petroleum product production is contingent on permitting approvals and a successful completion of the turnaround and catalyst change in the unit. Vertex plans to sell its renewable feedstock inventories prior to the conversion. Vertex said it will retain the flexibility to return to renewable fuels processing should market conditions improve for the fuels, but does not believe headwinds to renewable markets will abate in at least the next year and a half. Conventional crude and other feedstock throughputs at the Mobile refinery were 64,000 b/d in the first quarter, down from 71,000 b/d in the same three months of 2023. Renewable throughputs were 4,000 b/d in the most recent quarter. The company expects 68,000-72,000 b/d of conventional crude and other feedstock throughputs in the second quarter and 2,000-4,000 b/d of renewable throughputs. Vertex reported a first quarter loss of $18mn compared to profits of $54mn in the first quarter of 2023. By Nathan Risser Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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