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Everchem Updates
VOLUME XXI
September 14, 2023
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January 21, 2021
Mideast chemical supply tight on container shortages, Asian plant shutdowns
Author: Felicia Loo
2021/01/21
SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Middle East’s petrochemical markets are facing tight supply, mainly due to shortage of containers, with shipment difficulties to last until March.
Plant shutdowns in Asia exacerbated the tight supply conditions, overshadowing demand from strong to stable in certain sectors in the Middle East.
Base oils supply are critically short because crude runs have been reduced.
Many producers are trying to keep up with a backlog of contract requirements, hence they are not allocating anything for spot market.
Iran is one of the biggest suppliers in the region and their shipping lines are under US sanctions.
In polyethylene, supply in the Middle East remains limited on strong demand for regional cargoes in major export markets, in the absence of export availability from US, leading to major regional producers selling out their allocations for key grades.
On polypropylene (PP), curtailed spot availability for the month has meant that most suppliers have sold out allocations and are poised to announce February prices later this month.
Market players in Jordan look forward to better demand emerging in February, as the government announces the lifting of pandemic restrictions in phases and the weekly Friday curfew was also ended.
The supply conditions were more critical in the case of Middle Eastern bases oil, with a sharp shortfall reverberating in the region.
Spot availability from any of the main producers either in the Middle East or Asia continued to face extreme shortages.
In fact, there was a higher incentive for Iranian refiners to export base oil cargoes to India instead of the UAE, compounding the thin supply situation.
Meanwhile, on crude oil outlook, demand may face some negative pressure once again in the near term as new highly-transmissible coronavirus strains spread rapidly across the globe.
Many countries, including the UK, Germany and Japan, have already re-introduced or extended restrictions, with many more countries likely to follow their lead if the number of cases continues to rise.
However, the market will see significant support from Saudi Arabia’s plan to cut production by 1m bbl/day in February and March.
In other chemicals, weak spot consumption for polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI) persists in the Middle East.
Demand from the construction sector in the GCC did not pick up and remained on the downtrend, overshadowing prospects of container shortfall in coming weeks.
But, on the other hand, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) in the Middle East was underpinned by improving downstream polyurethane (PU) foam demand.
Supply of 10-13.5% polyether polyol (POP) was tight in the Middle East, while demand remained stable.
Korean producers had mostly sold out their cargoes for January and February thus keeping conditions tight, with the ongoing container shortages worsening the situation.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) buyers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region have seen a delay of about one to two weeks in receiving their previously booked Asian cargoes that has become common given the recent tightness in container and shipping availability.
A slew of turnarounds in Asia meant less sales pressure from Asian suppliers to sell to the Middle East that sits in well with buyers preferring to buy regional cargo for better security in cargo delivery.
In China, Zhejiang Wankai New Materials shut its 400,000 tonne/year plant for maintenance in November last year, with the shutdown to last more than a few months and no restart date in sight.
China Resources Chemical shut its 400,000 tonne/year plant for a month-long maintenance that started in end-December.
A plant in Taiwan was planned to have maintenance around mid-January that may stretch longer than one month.
India’s IVL Dhunseri started maintenance for one PET line in early December last year and postponed the estimated restart date to end-January.
Additional reporting by Veena Pathare, Izham Ahmad, Prateek Pillai and Hazel Goh
Focus story by Felicia Loo
January 20, 2021
BASF Group releases preliminary figures for fourth quarter of 2020 and full year 2020
Q4 2020:
- Sales expected to be €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT before special items expected to be €1,113 million (Q4 2019: €842 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT expected to be €932 million (Q4 2019: €579 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
Full year 2020:
- Sales expected to be €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT before special items expected to be €3,560 million (2019: €4,643 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT expected to be –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), below the prior year and above analyst consensus
Ludwigshafen – January 20, 2021 – BASF has released preliminary figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the full year 2020. Sales increased by 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million). This was mainly driven by higher volumes and prices; negative currency effects had an offsetting effect. Full year 2020 sales declined by €167 million to €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million) and were thus above the €57 billion to €58 billion range forecast in October 2020.
The BASF Group’s operating business performed better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items amounted to an expected €1,113 million, an increase of 32 percent compared with the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €842 million) and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. Compared with the third quarter of 2020, EBIT before special items rose by an expected €532 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020: €581 million).
The Materials, Chemicals and Industrial Solutions segments considerably exceeded average analyst estimates for EBIT before special items in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items fell slightly short of average analyst estimates in the Surface Technologies and Nutrition & Care segments and was considerably below analyst consensus in the Agricultural Solutions segment, mainly due to negative currency effects. In Other, EBIT before special items was less negative than expected by analysts on average.
In the full year 2020, EBIT before special items of the BASF Group amounted to an expected €3,560 million and was thus above the €3.0 billion to €3.3 billion range forecast in October 2020 and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. This corresponds to a decline of 23 percent compared with EBIT before special items for the prior year (2019: €4,643 million). The year-on-year decrease in the BASF Group’s EBIT before special items was primarily due to the considerably lower earnings contributions from the Chemicals, Surface Technologies, Materials and Agricultural Solutions segments. The Nutrition & Care segment recorded slightly lower EBIT before special items compared with the prior-year figure; in the Industrial Solutions segment, it was on a level with the previous year. The EBIT before special items of Other was significantly more negative than in 2019.
The BASF Group’s EBIT amounted to an expected €932 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, above the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €579 million) and above analyst consensus. In the full year 2020, EBIT declined to –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), mainly due to the non-cash-effective impairments and provisions for restructuring in the third quarter of 2020, but was better than expected by analysts on average.
January 20, 2021
BASF Group releases preliminary figures for fourth quarter of 2020 and full year 2020
Q4 2020:
- Sales expected to be €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT before special items expected to be €1,113 million (Q4 2019: €842 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
- EBIT expected to be €932 million (Q4 2019: €579 million), above the prior-year quarter and above analyst consensus
Full year 2020:
- Sales expected to be €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT before special items expected to be €3,560 million (2019: €4,643 million), below the prior year, above analyst consensus and above BASF forecast
- EBIT expected to be –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), below the prior year and above analyst consensus
Ludwigshafen – January 20, 2021 – BASF has released preliminary figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 and the full year 2020. Sales increased by 8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 to €15,905 million (Q4 2019: €14,686 million). This was mainly driven by higher volumes and prices; negative currency effects had an offsetting effect. Full year 2020 sales declined by €167 million to €59,149 million (2019: €59,316 million) and were thus above the €57 billion to €58 billion range forecast in October 2020.
The BASF Group’s operating business performed better than expected in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items amounted to an expected €1,113 million, an increase of 32 percent compared with the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €842 million) and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. Compared with the third quarter of 2020, EBIT before special items rose by an expected €532 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q3 2020: €581 million).
The Materials, Chemicals and Industrial Solutions segments considerably exceeded average analyst estimates for EBIT before special items in the fourth quarter of 2020. EBIT before special items fell slightly short of average analyst estimates in the Surface Technologies and Nutrition & Care segments and was considerably below analyst consensus in the Agricultural Solutions segment, mainly due to negative currency effects. In Other, EBIT before special items was less negative than expected by analysts on average.
In the full year 2020, EBIT before special items of the BASF Group amounted to an expected €3,560 million and was thus above the €3.0 billion to €3.3 billion range forecast in October 2020 and slightly above the highest analyst estimate. This corresponds to a decline of 23 percent compared with EBIT before special items for the prior year (2019: €4,643 million). The year-on-year decrease in the BASF Group’s EBIT before special items was primarily due to the considerably lower earnings contributions from the Chemicals, Surface Technologies, Materials and Agricultural Solutions segments. The Nutrition & Care segment recorded slightly lower EBIT before special items compared with the prior-year figure; in the Industrial Solutions segment, it was on a level with the previous year. The EBIT before special items of Other was significantly more negative than in 2019.
The BASF Group’s EBIT amounted to an expected €932 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, above the figure for the prior-year quarter (Q4 2019: €579 million) and above analyst consensus. In the full year 2020, EBIT declined to –€191 million (2019: €4,201 million), mainly due to the non-cash-effective impairments and provisions for restructuring in the third quarter of 2020, but was better than expected by analysts on average.
January 19, 2021
Polyurethane Foam Association Accepting Abstracts For Technical Presentations For May 2021 Meeting
Abstract Deadline March 22, 2021
LOUDON, TN (January 19, 2021)—The Polyurethane Foam Association is accepting proposals for technical presentations for its spring Technical Program, May 27, at the Renaissance Vinoy resort in St. Petersburg, FL.
Authors must submit an abstract with request for presentation. Presentations must not exceed 25 minutes in length. A written paper and slide file are also required to become part of PFA’s online information library.
The Paper Selection Process
To be eligible for presentation, papers must have a non-commercial focus and specifically address topics related to slabstock or molded flexible polyurethane production, raw material developments, environmental performance, occupational safety, product evaluation, novel commercial applications, or production control, and be based on actual production applications.
Deadline for submitting an abstract for proposed presentation is March 22, 2021.
To submit a proposal or for more information, please contact Russ Batson by email (rbatson@pfa.org) or telephone (865.657.9840).
Based on a program that includes at least 6 technical papers, the presentations will be scored to compete for a $500 Technical Excellence Award provided by the Herman Stone Family Endowment.
January 19, 2021
Polyurethane Foam Association Accepting Abstracts For Technical Presentations For May 2021 Meeting
Abstract Deadline March 22, 2021
LOUDON, TN (January 19, 2021)—The Polyurethane Foam Association is accepting proposals for technical presentations for its spring Technical Program, May 27, at the Renaissance Vinoy resort in St. Petersburg, FL.
Authors must submit an abstract with request for presentation. Presentations must not exceed 25 minutes in length. A written paper and slide file are also required to become part of PFA’s online information library.
The Paper Selection Process
To be eligible for presentation, papers must have a non-commercial focus and specifically address topics related to slabstock or molded flexible polyurethane production, raw material developments, environmental performance, occupational safety, product evaluation, novel commercial applications, or production control, and be based on actual production applications.
Deadline for submitting an abstract for proposed presentation is March 22, 2021.
To submit a proposal or for more information, please contact Russ Batson by email (rbatson@pfa.org) or telephone (865.657.9840).
Based on a program that includes at least 6 technical papers, the presentations will be scored to compete for a $500 Technical Excellence Award provided by the Herman Stone Family Endowment.
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