Latest news with #Ineos
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
US ethane exports to China hit new road block with license requirement
SINGAPORE/HOUSTON: U.S. exporters face potential disruption to their shipments of petrochemical feedstock ethane after the Commerce Department told them to seek licenses to export to top buyer China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Chinese petrochemical producers rely on the United States for almost all their ethane imports, buying about half of the total U.S. exports of the gas. Washington ordered a broad swath of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Those goods included ethane, as well as butane gas. If U.S. exporters are unable to obtain licenses quickly, they will need to seek alternative buyers. Costs for Chinese petrochemical makers will rise as they compete for alternative sources of ethane or switch to another more expensive petrochemical feedstock such as naphtha. China imported a record 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) of ethane from the United States last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ethane is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is primarily used to make plastics. The exports have been caught in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 15 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast, to load about 284,000 bpd of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. 'It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended,' said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media. 'We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licenses soon.' Petrochemical producer Ineos was scheduled to load ethane on VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier from Enterprise Products Partners' terminal in Morgan's Point, Texas, on May 24 for export to China, according to Kpler shipping tracking data. The ship docked on May 24 but has yet to load, according to LSEG tracking data. Enterprise, a top exporter of ethane, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had received a letter from the Commerce Department on May 23 requiring a license to export ethane and butane to China. Enterprise said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to obtain a license. Enterprise and Ineos did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ineos may divert the cargo to one of its European plants if it cannot ship it to China, one trade source said. The next vessel expected to load for ethane exports to China is the Stl Qianjiang, which is anchored near Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal, the data showed. That vessel is scheduled to ship ethane to Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical. Energy Transfer did not respond to requests for comment, while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. 'We will continue working with the administration to ensure there are no unnecessary obstacles to these important trade flows,' said Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute trade group. 'The market disruption could be immediate,' Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks to keep operations going for now. East Daley's Renton said that if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Shares of Enterprise were down 1.12% on Friday, while Energy Transfer shares were down 1.4%. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical were down 3.1% earlier on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical stock lost 1.3%.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
US ethane exports to China face new licensing hurdles
SINGAPORE/HOUSTON: U.S. exporters face potential disruption to their shipments of petrochemical feedstock ethane after the Commerce Department told them to seek licenses to export to top buyer China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Chinese petrochemical producers rely on the United States for almost all their ethane imports, buying about half of the total U.S. exports of the gas. Washington ordered a broad swath of companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Those goods included ethane, as well as butane gas. If U.S. exporters are unable to obtain licenses quickly, they will need to seek alternative buyers. Costs for Chinese petrochemical makers will rise as they compete for alternative sources of ethane or switch to another more expensive petrochemical feedstock such as naphtha. China imported a record 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) of ethane from the United States last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Ethane is a byproduct of oil and gas production and is primarily used to make plastics. The exports have been caught in the trade war between the U.S. and China. Last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 15 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast, to load about 284,000 bpd of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. 'It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended,' said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media. 'We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licenses soon.' Petrochemical producer Ineos was scheduled to load ethane on VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier from Enterprise Products Partners' terminal in Morgan's Point, Texas, on May 24 for export to China, according to Kpler shipping tracking data. The ship docked on May 24 but has yet to load, according to LSEG tracking data. Enterprise, a top exporter of ethane, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it had received a letter from the Commerce Department on May 23 requiring a license to export ethane and butane to China. Enterprise said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to obtain a license. Enterprise and Ineos did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ineos may divert the cargo to one of its European plants if it cannot ship it to China, one trade source said. The next vessel expected to load for ethane exports to China is the Stl Qianjiang, which is anchored near Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal, the data showed. That vessel is scheduled to ship ethane to Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical. Energy Transfer did not respond to requests for comment, while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. 'We will continue working with the administration to ensure there are no unnecessary obstacles to these important trade flows,' said Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute trade group. 'The market disruption could be immediate,' Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks to keep operations going for now. East Daley's Renton said that if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Shares of Enterprise were down 1.12% on Friday, while Energy Transfer shares were down 1.4%. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical were down 3.1% earlier on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical stock lost 1.3%.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US ethane exports to China hit new roadblock with licence requirement
By Siyi Liu and Arathy Somasekhar SINGAPORE/HOUSTON (Reuters) -Chinese purchases of U.S. ethane, a key petrochemical feedstock, face fresh uncertainty after the Commerce Department told exporters to seek licences to export to China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Washington ordered a broad swathe of companies to stop shipping goods, including ethane and butane, to China without a licence and revoked licences already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The move is the latest disruption in Chinese purchases of U.S. ethane, which hit a record of 492,000 barrels per day in 2024, or nearly half of U.S. exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Early last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers who rely on the United States. for almost all their ethane imports. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 15 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast, to load about 284,000 bpd of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. "It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended," said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to media. "We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licences soon." VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier was supposed to load ethane for Ineos at Enterprise Products Partners' Morgan's Point terminal at La Porte, Texas, has docked there since last Friday, Kpler and LSEG data showed. Stl Qianjiang is anchored near Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal, due to load ethane for Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical, the data showed. Enterprise, Energy Transfer and Ineos did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside office hours while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. "The market disruption could be immediate," Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. A trade source said Ineos, which also buys ethane for its plants in Europe, may divert its cargo there. In a filing, Enterprise, a top handler of ethane and butane, said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to get a licence. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks. East Daley's Renton said if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane as a cheaper feedstock alternative to naphtha, while U.S. oil and gas producers count on China to buy their natural gas liquids as domestic supply exceeds demand. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical were down 3.1% on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical stock lost 1.3%.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Selling Bruno Fernandes would be madness – Man Utd cannot be trusted to replace him
For Manchester United, still picking through their smouldering ruins of a season, a parallel universe without Bruno Fernandes scarcely bears thinking about. It is not simply that the captain often seems their only player with any guile or gumption, but that he has almost single-handedly saved them from oblivion. The best gauge of his influence? That if you stripped out his 19 goals, the club would have finished five points worse off, with 37, on the ragged edge of relegation in any conventional campaign. Ruben Amorim accurately diagnosed his team's priorities when, after an unusually spirited home draw with Arsenal, he declared: 'We need more Brunos.' But increasingly, it looks as if United's instinct in this cost-conscious Ineos era is to burn everything down and start afresh. Sir Jim Ratcliffe's ruthlessness has reached the extreme where even Fernandes, creator of the most chances in the Premier League for three successive seasons, is deemed dispensable, free to be offloaded by his agent to Al-Hilal in the sterile opulence of Riyadh's Four Seasons hotel. Should the move be completed, it would signify a cold, impersonal ending for a player who has carried his team-mates by pure force of personality. While his bouts of petulance might grate, the mind boggles as to how anaemic United would be if deprived of his restless energy, which against all odds helped propel the club's worst side in a generation to a European final. If you believe Fernandes should go – and there are plenty of reasons why a treble-your-money sinecure in Saudi Arabia makes sense at the age of 30 – the question to ask yourself is this: do you truly trust United to spend wisely on his replacement? On paper, the estimated £80 million to £100 million that they would recoup sounds a transformative amount. But this is the institution, lest we forget, that splashed £85 million on Antony, who would go on to register twice as many bookings than goals, and £72 million on Rasmus Hojlund, who has been about as much use as a wicker canoe. There is an argument, of course, that these deals were signed off before Ineos had a chance to scrutinise the books. But the minority owners have not exactly offered a masterclass in financial prudence themselves, coughing up £21.4 million in compensation for Erik ten Hag and his staff just five months after they decided to keep him. That is before you consider the £3 million they paid Newcastle to secure the services of Dan Ashworth, only to punt him after just 15 league games. For all that Ratcliffe proudly trumpets his mother's wisdom – 'you look after the pennies, the pounds look after themselves' – in justifying savage cuts to everything from stationery supplies to staff sandwiches, he has yet to establish himself, when it comes to the big-ticket items at United, as the shrewdest judge. For the last few benighted months, Fernandes has, with the possible exception of Amad Diallo, been the only source of light at United. To extinguish this risks plunging the place deeper into darkness. There is a danger, too, of Ineos going against the wishes of Amorim, the figure meant to be spearheading a revolution. While the manager has cut underperforming players down to size with his withering barbs, he has always kept a soft spot for his fellow Portuguese, arguing in March: 'It's not just the quality and character of Bruno that is so important. It's that he is so decisive with and without the ball.' Amorim has refused to entertain any suggestion of losing Fernandes, insisting he was 'not going anywhere because I've already told him' and reiterated that stance on Friday. On several occasions, he has lauded him for the passion so conspicuously lacking in the rest of the dressing room. This is readily quantifiable: since he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in February 2020, Fernandes has amassed the most appearances and most minutes of any outfield player in Europe's top five leagues. Beyond his irascible on-pitch persona, he also demonstrates a certain humility and empathy, the very values that Amorim has sought to instil in this squad of painfully fragile egos. When he heard that the United women's team had been given only small ticket allocations for the friends and family to travel to their FA Cup final, he and goalkeeper Tom Heaton arranged for the cost of additional tickets to be covered by the men. It is one small detail, but it illustrates the gamble that United would be taking by allowing Fernandes to depart for roughly the same fee that they paid for the absurd Antony. They would be losing, in effect, their spiritual compass, the one player who in desperate times has grasped the gravitas of his role. That is not a quality to which you can easily attach a price, especially when you consider the failings of the club's recent recruitment efforts. In the circumstances, £80 million for their one genuine leader could constitute a monumental act of self-sabotage.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US ethane exports to China hit new roadblock with licence requirement
SINGAPORE/HOUSTON, May 30 (Reuters) - Chinese purchases of U.S. ethane, a key petrochemical feedstock, face fresh uncertainty after the Commerce Department told exporters to seek licences to export to China, according to trade sources and shipping data. Washington ordered a broad swathe of companies to stop shipping goods, including ethane and butane, to China without a licence and revoked licences already granted to some suppliers, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The move is the latest disruption in Chinese purchases of U.S. ethane, which hit a record of 492,000 barrels per day in 2024, or nearly half of U.S. exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Early last month, China increased levies on imports of U.S. goods to 125% but waived the tariff for petrochemical producers who rely on the United States. for almost all their ethane imports. At least two Very Large Gas Carriers were waiting at U.S. ports to load ethane this week while 13 more tankers are headed to, or waiting off, the U.S. Gulf Coast to load about 460,000 metric tons of ethane in June, Kpler data showed. "It's going to be a major issue if all exports are suspended," said a Chinese ethane importer, who sought anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to media. "We are cautiously watching if exporters can obtain new export licences soon." VLGC Pacific Ineos Grenadier was supposed to load ethane for Ineos at Enterprise Products Partners' (EPD.N), opens new tab Morgan's Point terminal at La Porte, Texas, has docked there since last Friday, Kpler and LSEG data showed. Stl Qianjiang is anchored near Energy Transfer's (ET.N), opens new tab Nederland terminal, due to load ethane for Chinese petrochemical firm Satellite Chemical, the data showed. Enterprise, Energy Transfer and Ineos did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside office hours while Satellite Chemical could not be reached for comment. "The market disruption could be immediate," Julian Renton, an analyst at East Daley Analytics, said in a note. A trade source said Ineos, which also buys ethane for its plants in Europe, may divert its cargo there. In a a filing Enterprise, a top handler of ethane and butane, said it was evaluating its procedures and internal controls and could not determine if it would be able to get a licence. Traders said there may be limited near-term impact on Chinese operators, as they have sufficient stocks. East Daley's Renton said if the restriction holds, Chinese petrochemical plants could face critical feedstock shortfalls, while projects may stall. Chinese petrochemical firms use ethane as a cheaper feedstock alternative to naphtha, while U.S. oil and gas producers count on China to buy their natural gas liquids as domestic supply exceeds demand. Shares of ethane importers Satellite Chemical ( opens new tab were down 3.1% on Friday, while Wanhua Chemical ( opens new tab stock lost 1.3%.
