Factbox: Coronavirus and Americas Petrochemicals

The US Department of Homeland Security has identified the US chemical industry and its workers as essential critical infrastructure with a "special responsibility" to maintain work schedules and operations while following US Centers for Disease Control workforce and customer protection guidelines in response to the growing global coronavirus pandemic.

The identification ensures the sector can continue producing chemicals needed for disinfectants, plastics for food preservation, medical equipment and staples like diapers and soap.

The pandemic response has left millions hunkering down in their homes across the globe to try to stem its spread, slashing oil and gas demand just as Russia and Saudi Arabia launched a crude price war with increased output. Both issues have impacted the chemical sector, which relies on crude production for cracker feedstocks and consumer demand for end products.

Here are the latest industry developments:

NEWS

**US spot paraxylene prices extended declines Monday, falling $35/mt to close at $525/mt FOB USG, the lowest level since S&P Global Platts began assessing the product in October 2006. Prices began declining in Q2 2019 amid vast capacity builds in Asia, and continued their slide into 2020 amid global supply length and poor producer economics in the US.

**US styrene monomer prices have declined more than 56% since late January and fell to a historic low of $375/mt (17.01 cents/lb) FOB USG for prompt-month loading on Monday, down 18.5% from Friday.

**Dow Chemical on Monday said the company has begun producing 300 mt/month of hand sanitizer at its manufacturing site in Stade, Germany, for donation to pharmacies and hospitals in Germany. The company was "rapidly repurposing" an existing US facility to do so as well. The company did not identify which US facility. "More informationabout this effort will be shared soon," Dow said in a statement.

**Huntsman announced Monday that the company will begin making hydro alcoholic solution to produce hand sanitizer in the Swiss Canton of Vaud and the General Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland, at its manufacturing sites in Monthey, Switzerland.

**Royal Dutch Shell announced on March 18 that the company has temporarily suspended construction at its $6 billion petrochemical complex in Pennsylvania on coronavirus pandemic concerns.

PRICING

**US spot ethylene prices on Monday held steady at new all-time lows reached on March 20. Mont Belvieu ethylene was unchanged from

Friday at 10 cents/lb Mont Belvieu, the lowest level since S&P Global Platts began assessing spot ethylene in July 2004. Choctaw ethylene

held at 9 cents/lb FD Choctaw.

**Upstream, non-LST ethane fell 0.25 cent to 9.20 cents/gal on Monday, a 3% decline from Friday. US spot ethylene maintains positive

margins at 10 cents/lb, but is reaching zero margin for ethane.

**ExxonMobil and NOVA Chemicals have suspended March price increases for domestic polyethylene despite higher demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, both companies said in letters to customers dated March 23. ExxonMobil had sought a 4 cents/lb price increase for all PE grades, in addition to 2 cents/lb for low density PE in February. NOVA suspended its 5 cents/lb price increase for all PE grades except LDPE, for which a 2 cents/lb increase remains in place as of March 1. Both companies said production and supply chains remain operational.

**US March spot polymer-grade propylene prices fell 1.25 cents to 18.625 cents/lb FD USG on Monday tracing weak crude oil prices. Prompt spot refinery-grade propylene remained flat at 10 cents/lb FD USG for the fourth consecutive session.

**US MTBE reached a 21-year low on Monday, falling to an assessed value of 60.45 cents/gal FOB USG.

**US methanol was unchanged Monday at 76 cents/gal FOB USG.

**US benzene prices fell 19.8% to 105 cents/gal DDP USG on Monday from 131 cents/gal on Friday.

**March and April FOB USG toluene each down 31 cents/gal to 93 cents/gal

**March and April FOB USG mixed xylenes each down 32 cents/gal to 32 cents/gal

**USGC standard naphtha barges prices fell 33.7% on Monday to 25.220 cents/gal, down from 38.060 cents/gal on March 20. USGC lLight straight-run naphtha prices fell 21.5% on Monday to 32.75 cents/gal from 41.75 cents/gal on Friday.

**April RBOB settled at 41.18 cents/gal on the NYMEX, down 19.36 cents, or 32%, from Friday's close to a fresh all-time low.

LOGISTICS

**US ports, warehouses and trucking companies have been exempted from shelter-in-place orders like those issued last week in California and in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, which is home to the Port of Charleston's Wando Welch terminal. The Port of Savannah has canceled truck gate hours through the middle of April, but weekday operations remain as normal.

**The Port of Houston Authority on March 18 shut down its Bayport and Barbour's Cut container terminals along the Houston Ship Channel after an International Longshoremen's Association worker tested positive for COVID-19. The worker was isolated and hospitalized. Vessel operations resumed at the terminals the evening of March 19, and gate operations resumed the morning of March 20. The biggest chunks of all exports from the port are resin and plastics (34%) and chemicals and minerals (17.8%). Houston is the second-largest petrochemical port in the world behind Rotterdam.