Saudi Aramco and Total set to begin exports at new Jubail refinery venture

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Co., known as Satorp, has started operations at its 400,000bpd refinery in Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia and will export its first cargo this month, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"Start-up is progressing as per the plan. Production is starting from the refinery and first shipment will be exported before the end of September," the company said in an emailed statement. "Further to this first shipment, other products will be exported as per the start-up schedule and the production plan."

Satorp, 62.5% owned by state-giant Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Saudi Aramco, with the rest held by French oil company Total, was initially expected to be fully operational during the third quarter of 2013. But Total CEO Christophe de Margerie said in April that the refinery will start operating at full capacity by the end of the year.

The refinery complex is estimated to cost about USD14 billion to build and is part of a drive by the world's top oil exporter to boost refining capacity.

In December, Satorp said it will double its capital to 7.12 billion Saudi riyals (USD1.95 billion) in the first quarter of 2013 to fund the refinery. The capital increase was paid in cash by shareholders in proportion to their stakes and didn't change ownership levels.

As MRC informed previously, Advanced Petrochemical Company (APC) has recently signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemicals (SATORP) to increase the supply of propylene to 30,000 tpa.

Satorp, a company that is 62.5% owned by Aramco and 37.5% owned by France’s Total S.A., plans to build a 400,000 barrel-a-day export refinery in Jubail. The refinery complex, estimated to cost more than USD10 billion to build, is part of a drive by the world’s top oil exporter to boost refining capacity by more than 1.7 million barrels a day from installed capacity of 2.1 million barrels a day now.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- As the stake sale of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) gets delayed, the company’s chief financial officer (CFO) has resigned and is moving to a consultancy company, reported Plastemart with reference to Business Standard.

D S Chakraborty, former CFO at HPL, was asked to join the management after his contract ended in June. This was primarily done by the West Bengal government to keep the stake sale process intact. He did not opt for renewal in contract with HPL.

Additionally, Managing Director Sumantra Chowdhury’s extended contract with HPL terminates on September 30. Chowdhury was re-appointed by the HPL management, as the West Bengal government, which is selling its 40% stake in the company, wanted the top management to be intact till the time the highest bidder was selected.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, The Supreme Court (SC) has not granted a stay on the stake sale process in eastern Indian biggest petrochemical company - Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL) - and set the stage for the West Bengal government to call price bids by August 31, 2013. The apex court said it would hear the HPL case in September and decide on the issue of merit, but did not order any interim stay. TCG (The Chatterjee Group), a key promoter of HPL, had filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the SC against the Calcutta high court order barring it from going to the International Court of Arbitration in France.

The SLP was TCG Chairman Purnendu Chatterjee's effort to stall the stake sale process as TCG has repetitively said it wants management control in the company. Six major companies from the sector had submitted expressions of interest for buying the state government's stake in HPL.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd is a modern naphtha based petrochemical complex at Haldia, West Bengal, India. Haldia has played the role of a catalyst in emergence of more than 500 downstream processing industries in West Bengal with a capacity to process more than 3,50,000 TPA of polymers, among which are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF announced plans to build a Polyurethane Systems House in Geismar, Louisiana, in which polyurethane raw materials will be blended to deliver customized products to customers in the transportation, furniture, and construction industries. The USD42 million facility will create 22 new jobs and more than 160 construction jobs.

“Today’s announcement is great news for Ascension Parish and our entire state. BASF continues to be one of the largest economic drivers in Louisiana, investing more than USD350 million in projects since 2009,” said Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. “The continued success of BASF led to today’s latest expansion, which will allow polyurethane blending to take place right here in Louisiana rather than being shipped out-of-state. Once again, our strong business climate, world-class infrastructure and incomparable workforce are bringing new business investment to Louisiana.”

BASF will begin construction on the Polyurethane Systems House in the second quarter of 2014 at Geismar. With 40 system houses in its global network, BASF is the leading provider of polyurethane solutions to the industry. The new facility will develop, serve and manufacture innovative polyurethane systems for a wide range of applications, while also improving reaction speed and service to customer and market needs in North America.

BASF’s manufacturing presence in Louisiana includes operations in Geismar, Zachary and Vidalia, employing nearly 2,000 people in Louisiana.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR, a leading Russian gas processing and petrochemicals company, and the German chemicals giant BASF signed a Long-Term Cooperation Memorandum to supply additives used for polymer production and processing at SIBUR’s production facilities.The agreement was signed by Oleg Makarov, SIBUR’s Managing Director, and Sergey Andreev, Head of BASF in Russia and CIS, informs SIBUR.

The deal provides for supplies of additives used to produce polypropylene, polyethylene, synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), and ABS plastics at SIBUR's production facilities, with BASF ensuring also technical support. Additives help to protect polymers from harmful temperature, mechanical or light exposure.

“SIBUR is continuously working to improve the quality of its products to better serve its customers’ needs. We are happy to have signed the cooperation agreement with BASF, a recognised global leader in production of additives for polymers,” Oleg Makarov said. “Its wealth of experience and technical expertise in this segment will contribute to further quality improvements of SIBUR’s products.”

“As part of its new strategy in the Russian and CIS markets, BASF is keen to step up its presence in the region including through joint projects with its customers. We have a long-standing partnership with SIBUR and hope that our cutting-edge products and solutions will contribute to our Russian partner’s further success in building up the range of its branded products,” Sergey Andreev said.

To maintain their positions in the market, SIBUR and BASF look to develop new, advanced materials; in particular, they plan to collaborate in projects with a view to improving properties of elastomers and thermoplastic elastomers. Additionally, there is a project in progress for SIBUR’s production of a new polypropylene product for nonwoven fabrics. Potential use of customer specific blends by BASF, which boost production efficiency and consistency of product quality, is under discussion.

MRC