In the first half of 2018, the total production capacity of domestic styrene refineries increased significantly compared with previous years. The production situation of the factory has a more obvious impact on the market. At present, domestic styrene producers have shown significant profits in the first half of the year, and the operating rate has increased. Increase and other characteristics.
Compared with last year, the domestic styrene plant profitability in 2018 can be described as 'explosive shed', mainly due to the increase in styrene price fluctuation range, while the upstream raw materials are weak.
From the above figure, we can clearly see that in the most part of the first half of the year, in 2018, the theoretical profit of domestic styrene refineries was much higher than that of the same period in 2017.
In January-February 2018, upstream benzene was drastically reduced by external disk prices, domestic stocks were high, and the overall market talks fell sharply. In addition, another raw material ethylene gradually weakened, and the styrene cost line was always low. The ethylene market was affected by anti-dumping investigations. The overall trend remained strong. The factory's profitability improved. It reached 1700 yuan/ton. However, in early March, the East China styrene market entered a weak recovery period, and the styrene industry's profitability also shrank. .
However, from the end of March, the styrene market in East China began to fluctuate higher, while the upstream raw materials remained at a low level, and the profit of styrene plants began to rise. Among them, from the end of May to the beginning of June, the styrene boom in the East China The profit level of the factory once reached 4,800 yuan / ton, creating a new high in domestic factory profits.
Under the stimulation of high profits, in the first half of 2018, the average operating rate of domestic styrene refineries increased compared with the same period of last year. As of the end of June, the average operating rate was about 76.72%, compared with the average of 73.91% in the first half of 2016. The rate increased by 2.81%.
In the first half of 2018, the domestic styrene refinery operating rate trend was similar to that of last year. In the first quarter, the domestic refinery operating rate fluctuations remained at a high level, especially in February, with the newly-launched Qingdao Gulf Chemical 500,000 tons/year device upgrade. At full load, the factory operating rate began to rise. The domestic East China styrene market skyrocketed after the Spring Festival, and the factory profitability rose sharply, further prompting domestic factories to operate at high load. In the first quarter, the domestic refinery operating rate increased month by month, averaging The monthly operating rate reached 78%.
However, since April, domestic refineries have entered a centralized maintenance period, and after long-term high-load operation, domestic equipment failures frequently occurred. During the month, Tianjin Daxie, Changzhou Dongpu, Zhenhai Refining and Chemical, Shandong Liaoyuan and other factories have been overhauled or Faulty parking, the operating rate of styrene refinery fell sharply. Although Tianjin Daxie, Changzhou Dongpu, Shuangliang Lishide equipment returned to normal, but Yanshan Petrochemical, Abel chemical parking overhaul, coupled with Zhenhai refining restart delay, domestic There are still many maintenance devices. From April to May, the domestic factory load is maintained at around 74%.
However, after entering June, with the styrene pre-treatment refinery began to gradually restart, and due to the upstream raw material pure benzene, ethylene fell, the domestic market price rose strongly, the refinery theoretical profit continued to rise, once reached 4,800 yuan / ton, domestic The operating rate of styrene refineries increased rapidly. Throughout June, the average operating rate of domestic refineries returned to over 78%, reaching 78.13%.
In recent years, domestic styrene production has maintained its growth momentum. In 2018, not only did the domestic factory operating rate increase compared with last year, but the total domestic factory capacity also increased significantly, so styrene production increased significantly compared with the first half of last year. January 16, 2018 On the day, Qingdao Bay Chemical's new 500,000 tons/year plant was officially put into commercial production. The domestic total styrene production capacity reached 9.11 million tons/year. As of the end of June, the domestic total styrene production was about 3.461 million tons, compared with the first half of 2017. 3.13 million tons increased by 348,000 tons, an increase of 11.18%, and the monthly average output reached 577,000 tons, which is also a new high in recent years. Among them, domestic styrene production reached 595,000 tons in February, the highest in the first half, in May, by the device The impact of centralized maintenance, domestic styrene production of 561,000 tons, the lowest in the first half.
In the second half of the year, Anhui's 260,000 tons/year plant is scheduled to be commissioned in July. By then, China's total styrene capacity will be further improved. In addition, this year, domestic factories have been overhauled in the first half of the year, so the overall operating rate of domestic installations will be stable in the second half of the year. There is a rise in the supply of styrene, and the supply of styrene is expected to continue to increase.
On the whole, import sources are affected by anti-dumping, customs clearance costs increase, domestic sources of supply expand competitive advantages, and factory profits are always higher, so the production capacity and output of domestic factories are expected to continue to increase, and domestic sources will further increase the market share of styrene. The impact of plant operation on the styrene market will be more pronounced.