Total evacuates UK platform

(isssource) -- Total UK shut down oil and gas production from its North Sea Elgin/Franklin platform and evacuated staff following a gas leak on Sunday, the company said.

⌠Production has stopped, Total UK said Monday, adding all 238 personnel are safe and no one sustained any injury.

An aerial surveillance flight was to inspect a sheen reported in the vicinity of the platform on Monday, Total added.
The peak production capability for the Elgin/Franklin field is 280,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, 175,000 barrels per day condensate and 15.5 million cubic meters of gas per day (mcm/d), Total said. The cause of the leak was still unknown and investigations were ongoing, Total said.

On Monday morning, 150 non-essential personnel evacuated to Aberdeen and a further 69 employees went to neighboring offshore installations. Oil produced at the facility exports via the BP-operated Forties Pipeline System to Kinneil in Scotland and gas flows through the SEAL pipeline to Bacton in Norfolk.

Gas flow through the Bacton SEAL terminal fell by around 10 (mcm/d) to 7 mcm/d early Monday, data provided by UK energy network operator National Grid showed.

MRC

Shell scrambles to pay huge bill for Iran oil

(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) is struggling to pay off USD1 billion that it owes Iran for crude oil because European Union and U.S. financial sanctions now make it almost impossible to process payments, industry sources said.

Four sources said the oil major owes a large sum to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for deliveries of crude, with one putting the figure at close to USD1 billion. A debt of that size would equate to roughly four large tanker loads of Iranian crude or about 8 million barrels. A Shell spokesman declined to comment.

The European Union toughened financial sanctions and placed a ban on Iranian oil imports on January 23, but gave companies until July 1 to wind down their existing business.

With daily contract volumes of 100,000 barrels, Shell ranked as Iran's second biggest corporate client - along with France's Total (TOTF.PA) - behind Turkey's Tupras. Shell CEO Peter Voser said on March 7 the company would take its final deliveries of Iranian crude "within a matter of weeks".

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Petrokemija management says has no info on plans for privatisation

(daily.tportal) -- Petrokemija's stock has been in investors' focus after the media reported a week ago that the government could privatise the company by the end of the year. Stock exchange analysts expect interest to increase this week as the media speculate that Economy Minister Radimir Cacic's visit to Moscow is, among other things, also related to Petrokemija's privatisation.

A union active in the company forwarded a letter to the top state officials on Sunday night, asking for answers regarding the privatisation.

In the letter, the EKN union recalls that upon signing an agreement on how to privatise Petrokemija on 28 August 1998, the government committed to owning at least 51 per cent of the company's stock, as well as parliament's decision on companies of special state interest.

The state's current stake in Petrokemija is 50.63 per cent.

Last week, the company's shares were among the more traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange, turning over HRK 12.6 million. The price went up 8.06 per cent on the week, to HRK 228 per share.

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Amcor buys Indian flexible packager Uniglobe

(canplastics) -- In a bid to expand its footprint in India, Australia-based PET packaging supplier Amcor Ltd. has acquired Uniglobe Packaging Private Ltd. for USD20.7 million.

Uniglobe is based 150 km north of Mumbai, and produces flexible packaging for the food, personal care, and health sectors.

Amcor is a global packaging company that manufactures PET containers for beverages, flexible packaging for the food and healthcare markets, tobacco packaging, and corrugated boxes. The company has operations across 30 countries and 89 plants; with this deal, it will increase its facilities in India from three to five plants.

⌠This is an important opportunity to expand Amcor's footprint in the high growth Indian market, said managing director and CEO Ken MacKenzie. ⌠The Uniglobe business comes with a strong management team, and a track record of delivering significant annual sales growth.

The purchase is Amcor's second this month: the company also acquired The Aperio Group, producers of flexible packaging products with 13 manufacturing facilities across Australia and New Zealand.

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LG Chem, Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries reconfirm plans of JV

(koreaherald) -- Kazakhstan is a state rich in gas, oil and other natural resources. LG Chem and state firm Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries plan to move ahead with a petrochemical complex in Atyrau, at a total investment outlay ofUSD4.2 bln.

The event took place as LG Chem and state firm Kazakhstan Petrochemical Industries plan to go forward with building a petrochemical complex in Atyrau.

A total of USD4.2 billion in investment will be injected into the complex, which is the biggest project since Kazakhstan announced its independence in 1991. It will include an 800,000-ton ethylene unit and another 800,000-ton unit for polyethylene, according to LG Chem officials.

With the petrochemical complex being dubbed one of the few projects by a foreign firm fully supported by the Kazakhstan government, LG chairman Koo Bon-moo has discussed various cooperative measures with President Nazarbayev since Koo first visited Kazakhstan as Korea's business representative in 2004.

The project, to comprise an 800,000 ton ethylene unit and a 800,000 ton unit for polyethylene, will be the biggest project since Kazakhstan announced its independence in 1991.

MRC