Azerbaijan's proved hydrocarbon reserves hit 4.2bln tons of equivalent fuel

(Trend) -- Azerbaijan's proved hydrocarbon reserves made up 4.2 billion tons of equivalent fuel, State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) head Rovnag Abdullayev said in his interview with the New Azerbaijan Party's official website.


He said the projected level of reserves is 10 billion tons of equivalent fuel . Azerbaijan has more than 40 off-shore and on-shore structures for drilling.


Reserves of the prospective structures such as Babak are estimated at 400 billion cubic meters of gas and 80 million tons of condensate, Nakhchivan - 300 billion cubic meters of gas and 40 million tons of condensate and deep gas reserves of the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli at 300 billion cubic meters.


Oil production will be brought to 50-55 million tons and gas up to 30 billion cubic meters in 2015, Abdullayev said. Today, the proved gas reserves exceed 2.5 trillion cubic meters in Azerbaijan.


MRC

Asia's benzene market may turn weak in the fourth quarter

(ICIS) -- Asia's benzene market may turn weak in the fourth quarter as regional demand from the styrene monomer (SM) sector, as well as US' imports of the aromatics product, traditionally slackens towards the end of the year, industry sources said on Tuesday. SM production is the largest downstream for benzene, using up an estimated 50-55% of Asia's output of the material.


Spot benzene prices in Asia were hovering at about USD 1,070-1,085/tonne (EUR 781-792/tonne) FOB (free on board) Korea on Tuesday morning, according to ICIS.


At present, regional demand for benzene from the SM sector is steady, as SM producers currently generate robust margins, market sources said.


But the onset of the winter season from November in northeastern Asia usually leads to a slowing of demand for SM and, consequently, for benzene. Because of the freezing weather, there is less activity in the construction industry, which is a major end-user of SM.


MRC

US ethylene margins fall 15% on higher feed, lower spot prices

(ICIS) -- US ethylene margins continued to fall in the second week of September, dropping by 15% from a week earlier on lower spot prices and higher production costs, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.


Ethylene margins were at 26.88 cents/lb (USD 593/tonne, EUR 433/tonne) in the week ended 16 September, down from 31.61 cents/lb a week earlier, using ethane as a feedstock. The drop last week followed a nearly 4% average decline in ethylene spot prices, as the monomer traded at 57.25-60.00 cents/lb for September delivery, down from 60.00-62.00 cents/lb a week earlier.


Market sources continued to point to looser supply, citing a delay in a Dow Chemical cracker turnaround in Louisiana that originally was scheduled for October.


Dow was expected to shut down the 610 KTa cracker in St Charles on 10 October for 30 days, but sources said the company decided to push the shutdown back to January 2012 or possibly the first half of 2013.


MRC

BASF to increase sales prices globally for all engine coolants by up to EUR 300

(BASF) -- With immediate effect, or as contracts allow, BASF is increasing the sales prices globally for all engine coolants by up to EUR 300 (or the equivalent in other currencies) per metric ton. The price adjustments are necessary due to significantly increased raw material costs.


BASF is the world's leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and agricultural products to oil and gas. BASF posted sales of about EUR 63.9 billion in 2010 and had approximately 109,000 employees as of the end of the year.


MRC

Petrovietnam to launch prospective drilling in Uzbekistan

(Trend) -- The Vietnamese Petrovietnam Exploration & Production (PVEP) will begin drilling the first exploratory well on the Kosorsky investment unit in Uzbekistan's Ustyurt region in mid-2012, the National Holding Company (NHC) "Uzbekneftegaz" said.


The Vietnamese company is currently conducting a seismic survey on the Kosorsky unit. Results of field processing of the first seismic data showed high perspective for the unit, especially the Paleozoic sediments.


The information was provided at the Uzbekneftegaz leadership talks held last week with the Vietnamese government delegation, led by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Minister Le Zan Vin.


The sides appreciated the course of geological work in the Kosorsky investment unit, conducted as a joint project with PVEP.


Preparations for signing an agreement between "Uzbekneftegaz" and the Vietnamese company, under the investment project "Joint study of Paleozoic sediments in some parts of the Bukhara-Khiva region," were also discussed.


MRC