Clariant and Tasnee establish masterbatches joint venture in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Tasnee, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Saudi Arabia, have announced the signing of an agreement to establish a masterbatches joint venture in Saudi Arabia, reported Clariant on its site.

Within the framework of the agreement, through its 100% subsidiary Rowad National Plastic Company Ltd., Tasnee will acquire a 40% stake in Clariant’s masterbatches operations in the country, already operating under the name Clariant Masterbatches (Saudi Arabia) Ltd.

The joint venture will be operational following completion of customary merger control clearance procedures and will keep its main focus on the Arabic peninsulas core market.

Together, the companies will be able to develop new solutions for the plastics market. In addition to the exisiting operations the construction of a new plant for the production of white masterbatches has been decided.

"Our strategic partnership with Tasnee and the formation of the joint venture represent a first essential step for Clariant in strengthening its presence in one of the most important growth regions of the world. Clariant will contribute a high level of specialist know-how to the new company, whereas Tasnee has in-depth knowledge of the relevant regional markets, which will deliver major benefits to our clients. The link with Tasnee will also create additional value by facilitating access to feedstock. This partnership therefore represents another step in the implementation of our global growth strategy", said Clariant CEO Hariolf Kottmann.

As MRC informed previously, in June, 2013, Clariant introduced AddWorks, its new brand for polymer additives solutions. It consists of: AddWorks, application oriented solutions specifically designed by segments of the plastics industry AddWorks LXR, a new range of polymer additives designed to provide particular effects in a wide variety of applications.

Clariant Masterbatches (Saudi Arabia) Ltd. is a market leader and a pioneer in the region, with masterbatches production already started in 1993.

Rowad National Plastic Company Ltd is a regional leader in plastic conversion, and is a long-standing customer of Clariant Masterbatches.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s Gazprom Neft has decided to go ahead with a four-well appraisal programme at its Bazheno-Abalaksky shale oil play in western Siberia’s Krasnoleninskoye field, said Upstreamonline.

The oil arm of state giant Gazprom said that four inclined wells would be drilled by its Gazpromneft-Khantos unit on the shale patch to a depth of 2700 to 2800 metres over the next 12 months.

Gazprom Neft first deputy chief executive Vadim Yakovlev said that the shale oil play was an example of the explorer using non-traditional reserves to increase its resource base and meet a targeted reserves-to-production ratio of 20 years’ output.

The project in the Palyanovskaya zone of the Krasnoleninskoye field saw its first completed and tested appraisal probe garner an oil flow at a rate of 80 cubic metres per day in the spring, the explorer said.

The play first emerged last Autumn during appraisal and production drilling for conventional oil at the Bazheno-Abalaksky complex.

Gazprom Neft has now used seismic data to pinpoint locations for new appraisal and production wells close to the first probe along with initial field development modeling.

The explorer will carry out a feasibility study based on the results of the four new wells before taking a decision on commercial production drilling in autumn 2014.

The field is Gazprom Neft’s second foray into shale oil after its joint venture with Shell that is developing the Bazhenov formation of the Verkhne-Salymskoye oil field as well as other potential projects in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil are also seeking to tap the Bazhenov formation along with the Achimov formation for shale oil at 23 Rosneft blocks elsewhere in Western Siberia.

We remind that Gazprom Neft signed an agreement with France-based Total to form a joint venture to produce and sell modified bitumen and bitumen emulsions on the Russian market.

Gazprom Neft, is the fourth largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about 96% of its shares. The company is registered and headquartered in St. Petersburg after central offices were relocated from Moscow in 2011.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ConocoPhillips has struck a USD720 million deal to sell off its 100% stake in the Clyden oil sands lease in Canada to ExxonMobil and Imperial Oil, said Upstreamonline.

Clyden comprises 226,000 net acres of undeveloped acreage in the Athabasca oil sands region of north-east Albert, where ConocoPhillips holds about 1.1 million net acres of land estimated to hold 16 billion barrels of net bitumen resources.

The US giant, led by chief executive Ryan Lance, is set to net an after-tax gain of around USD450 million on the sale, due to close in the third quarter, that is part of its strategic divestment effort to shed non-core assets as it seeks to expand in other areas.

It has so far raised proceeds of about USD13.5 billion from the disposals, including the latest sale.

"This transaction is a significant step toward rebalancing our world-class oil sands portfolio," said business development vice president Don Wallette.

As MRC wrote before, in Canada, CNOOC gains control of Nexen's Long Lake oil sands project in the oil-rich province of Alberta, as well as billions of barrels of reserves in the world"s third-largest crude storehouse - the oil sands in the province of Alberta.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian largest independent gas producer Novatek boosted its second-quarter net profit by 20%, beating consensus, on the back of higher output and prices, said Upstreamonline.

The company reported profit attributable to shareholders of 11.6 billion roubles (USD353 million), versus 9.6 billion roubles a year earlier, as oil and gas sales rose 29% year on year to 57.9 billion roubles.

A Reuters poll of analysts showed an average forecast of 11.1 billion roubles in second-quarter net profit and revenue of 57.7 billion roubles.

Novatek attributed increased gas sales to higher production from its Yurkharovskoye field as well as a greater number of purchase deals.

As MRC wrote before, Novatek has joined the Polish gas market, purchasing storage facilities and a retail network for liquified petroleum gas from Statoil Fuel & Retail Polska. The new assets will allow Novatek to tap enter an LPG market worth an estimated EUR300m per year. Local subsidiary Novatek Polska announced the purchase, but did not disclose financial details. The distribution network includes 300 stations.

Novatek is Russia's largest independent gas producer and the second-largest natural gas producer in Russia. Founded in 1994, Novatek is engaged in the exploration, production, processing and marketing of natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons. Its upstream activities are concentrated in the prolific Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region, which is the world's largest natural gas producing area and accounts for approximately 90% of Russia's natural gas production and approximately 17% of the world's gas production. Novatek is an open joint stock company established under the laws of the Russian Federation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel announced that it has received a binding offer for the purchase of its Building Adhesives business by Sika AG for EUR260 million. Building Adhesives generated annual revenues of EUR185 million in 2012, said AkzoNobel.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year subject to regular consultation with employee representatives, will see all of Building Adhesives’ approximately 550 employees as well as its two manufacturing facilities in Rosendahl (Germany) and Damville (France) and its products and brands transfer to Swiss-based Sika AG.

The intended sale of Building Adhesives follows a strategic review of the business’ fit within AkzoNobel’s portfolio. Building Adhesives is a standalone business within AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints business area, primarily serving the professional market in North Western Europe with a portfolio of brands and products including floor and wall leveling compounds, floor adhesives, tile setting, sealants and floor finishes. Its respected brands include Schonox, Casco, Cegecol, Synteko and EriKeeper. AkzoNobel’s Wood Finishes and Adhesives business (which also operates under the Casco brand) is not the subject of this offer.

"We want to focus our Decorative Paints business at AkzoNobel on the strong strategic paint positions we have in Europe and the growth markets of Asia and South America," commented AkzoNobel CEO Ton Buchner. "The intended sale of Building Adhesives is in line with this strategy. In Sika, with its portfolio of businesses in this industry, we are pleased to have found a good future home for this business."

As MRC wrote before, Akzo Nobel N.V. reported a 4% decrease in revenues in the second quarter compared with the same period last year. Operating income for Q2 was 17% lower at EUR322 million. Net income attributable to shareholders for the quarter rose to EUR429 million, buoyed by recognition of a deferred tax asset and profit on the divestment of Decorative Paints North America.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.
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