Belarus drafts plan for USD17.2B in petchem spending

(downstreamtoday) -- Belarus has drafted a government program for the development of the petrochemicals industry to the end of 2015 and through 2020 that calls for overall capital expenditures of USD17.2 billion, petrochemicals company Belneftekhim told.

This will include USD9.9 billion for the development of the chemicals sector. Projects are expected to be financed with USD7.2 billion in internal funds from organizations and USD2.7 billion in borrowing.

Another source of financing is expected to be foreign direct investment. Negotiations are now being held with a number of international companies concerning involvement in the development of Belneftekhim organizations.

The program for the chemicals sector to 2020 includes more than 40 major investment projects. The most important include the construction of a facility to produce ammonia, methanol, hydrogen and carbamide at Grodno Azot, the overhaul of olefin production at Naftan's Polimir plant, and the construction of a polyether facility at Mogilevkhimvolokno.

"The main emphasis in the development of the chemicals sector until on the overhaul of existing production with their expansion and construction of new production lines, including with maximum use of Belarusian raw materials," a Belneftekhim spokesman told.
MRC

(Plastemart) -- Petrochemical industry of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has been growing recently despite the world's financial crisis. Petrochemicals production capacity in the region grew by 13.5% last year to nearly 116 bln tonnes, with Saudi Arabia alone generating more than half of the USD100 billion in sales registered.

The GCC petrochemical capacity is expected to increase by over 40% from 77.3 mln tpa to 113 mln tpa at the end of 2015, as per the Gulf Petrochemical & Chemicals Association (GPCA).

The petrochemical industry in the GCC has been vulnerable to financial crisis, as it has consistently seen up and down cycles in recent years. It has been revealed that these cycles follow the refining industry cycles with a 6 to 12-month lag. However, with recent advances in the petrochemical industry, the cyclic effect may not be the case anymore.

The Gulf Cooperation Council is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf and located on or near the Arabian Peninsula, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
MRC

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MRC

(upstreamonline) -- TNK-BP has said it has sold two units that control several West Siberian oil and gas condensate fields in a deal purportedly valued at USD450 million.

The Anglo-Russian joint venture did not disclose either financial details or the buyer for the sale.

Russian news agency Interfax said sources had told it that mid-sized oil producer Russneft was the buyer.

In the deal, Russneft is gaining 100% of Novosibirskneftegaz and 71.09% of Severnoeneftegaz, the latter of which it previously owned before selling to TNK-BP.

The Anglo-Russian venture is shifting focus to producing oil from greenfields in East Siberia.

"This approach provides us with the operating and financial resources to pursue large-scale development projects in Russia's new petroleum provinces," Mikhail Slobodin, TNK-BP's executive vice president on strategy and new business development, said.

Novosibirskneftegaz is developing the Verkh-Tarskoe oilfield with 12.6 million tonnes of recoverable oil and condensate as well as other assets in the north of the Novosibirsk Region.

Severnoeneftegaz is developing the Vostochno-Tarskoe and Maloichskoe fields with recoverable reserves of 1.8 million tonnes.
MRC