Rosneft ruffled over Gazprom

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The head of Russia's top oil producer Rosneft asked the government to intervene and help it get access to a Gazprom's trunk gas pipeline, vital for the liquefied natural gas project it is planning with ExxonMobil, said Upstreamonline.

Reuters reported that Igor Sechin, at a government meeting, said both Gazprom and Shell, which operate a gas project in the Pacific island of Sakhalin, were denying access to a trunk pipeline for its LNG project.

Upstream reported on Friday that Shell is urging Russian President Vladimir Putin to step-in an influence Rosneft to instead to help supply gas for a third train at its Sakhalin 2 project.

Rosneft has been pushing to build its own LNG plant in 2015 in the south of Sakhalin Island, close to the port of Prigorodnoye, where the Sakhalin 2 LNG plant is located.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil are reportedly targeting to produce 5 million tonnes of LNG per year from their own project from 2018.

As MRC wrote before, Rosneft and ExxonMobil signed documents establishing a joint venture to implement a pilot project for tight oil reserves development in Western Siberia as part of the implementation of the agreement on strategic cooperation. Rosneft will hold 51% interest and ExxonMobil will hold 49% interest in this project.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China’s government has removed its two biggest oil and gas companies from an environmental blacklist after their operations posted drops in pollution last year, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Overturning an eight month-old ban, China National Petroleum Corp. and China Petrochemical Corp. can resume applying for clearance from the Ministry of Environmental Protection for new refining and petrochemicals projects, the ministry said Wednesday on its website.

CNPC, China’s biggest oil and gas company and parent of PetroChina Co., and Sinopec Group, Asia’s biggest refiner and parent of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. known as Sinopec, were banned from seeking environmental clearances in September 2013 following a review of their emissions in 2012.

The ban effectively prevented the companies from building new refineries and petrochemical facilities.

The nation’s energy companies have generally been reducing spending on downstream businesses to focus on capturing more supply. CNPC chairman Zhou Jiping said in March that the company will spend most of its capital on natural gas exploration and production in China, and would be more cautious in investing in new refineries and chemical plants.

As MRC wrote earlier, China's state-run Sinopec posted an increase in production in 2013, compared to the previous year. Output for 2013 totalled nearly 442.4 million barrels of oil equivalent which was up about 3.4% on 2012's total which came in at just under 428 million boe. Helping boost figures was domestic crude production which totalled more than 310.8 million barrels, up 1.4% on 2012, and helped offset a 0.8% decline in overseas production which totalled 21.5 million barrels.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) is a large scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Sinopec is the worlds seventh biggest company by revenue.
Sinopec is China's largest manufacturer and supplier of major petrochemical products. It is the second largest producer of crude oil in China. Its refining capacity and ethylene capacity rank No.2 and No.4 globally.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysian state-run oil company Petronas is looking to expand in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, according to Upstreamonline.

Malaysian daily Business Times cited unnamed sources as saying Petronas was targeting the five countries which have a combined nominal gross domestic product of more than USD16 billion.

"Brazil, Russia, South Africa and China have huge land base and there are a lot of opportunities for exploration and production works in these markets," the source was quoted as saying.

" But the first hurdle Petronas has to go through is the political and country risk. That is what Petronas is concerned about". "Once that is done, the next step is to move in. It sounds easy, but there will be a lot of work involved. The last is, of course, the cost."

In India, the source said Petronas was targeting the energy sector but noted that there were a number of barriers to do doing business in the country. The source also told the paper that Petronas was looking to balance is portfolio from about 30% oil and 70% gas, currently, to a more balanced 50:50 mix.

Business Times also quoted its source as saying the company was confident on on prospects in Myanmar and Iraq. "Petronas is already a big investor in Myanmar and has started to produce oil there," the source was quoted as saying.

"It also has service contracts in Iraq, which are contributing very well to its bottom line. Petronas is upbeat it will continue to do well in Iraq, as well as in other parts of the world."

As MRC wrote before, Petronas Chemical Group Bhd (PCG) and German chemical giant BASF will begin construction of a RM1.63 billion integrated aroma ingredient plant in Kuantan by the end of April 2014.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC has announced two LEXAN sheet solutions for aircraft interiors today at the Aircraft Interiors Expo, said the producer in its press release.

These innovative, new offerings – clear LEXAN XHR2000 sheet and LEXAN LIGHT F6L300 sheet - will help provide solutions to airlines’ quest for differentiated cabin interior designs while also helping to take out significant weight, resulting in a more fuel efficient aircraft. Design engineers will benefit from these lightweight, durable materials which can help to reduce system costs, offer ease of fabrication and comply with the industry’s strict regulatory standards.

Aircraft interior designers are often restricted by the clarity and compliance limitations of the transparent materials currently available to them. With 80% light transmission – the highest level of light transmission available in an OSU-compliant sheet material today – SABIC’s new clear LEXAN XHR2000 sheet is a pioneering option for aircraft interiors with this level of transparency while still meeting OSU 65/65 heat release and typical industry flame, smoke, toxicity requirements.

Robust vertical burn performance is also possible with the use of a post-secondary process, such as a functional coating or laminated film, which adds further design, chemical resistance and scratch resistance properties. LEXAN XHR2000 sheet facilitates the design of large components such as security partitions and oversized windows, which are becoming increasingly popular in top deck designs.

As MRC reported before, SABIC started producing its new polypropylene (PP) impact copolymer (ICP) grade PP77MK40T in China for the local market. PP77MK40T is the first product of its type to be made locally, paving the way for a more efficient supply chain, quicker time-to-market and enhanced competitiveness for SABIC's customers in China.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world’s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers. SABIC announced its unaudited financial results with a net profit of SR 25.23 (USD6.73 billion) in 2013. Sales revenues for 2013 totaled SR 189 billion (USD50.4 billion). Total assets stood at SR 339 billion (USD90.4 billion) at the end of 2013.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ufaorgsintez, owned by "United Petrochemical Company" (UPC), has announced an increase in contract prices of low density polyethylene (LDPE) for shipments starting from 1 May 2014, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The company raised contract polyethylene (PE) prices by Rb1,000-3,500/tonne from 15 April. 15803-020 grade LDPE accounted for the most significant price increase.

Prices of 108 and 158 grade PE rose by Rb1,000/tonne and Rb3,500/tonne, respectively, from mid-April. Prices of shrinkable film grade LDPE grew by Rb2,500/tonne.

Ufaorgsintez OAO manufactures organic synthesis products in Russia and Europe. Its products include ethylene, propylene, ethanol, cumol, ethyl benzol, phenol, acetone, copolymer rubber, polyolefines, polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene items, thinners, and dilutants. The plant's annual polypropylene (PP) production capacity is 100,000 tonnes. Ufaorgsintez's overall output of polyethylene (PE) and PP totalled 23,100 tonnes and 32,600 tonnes, respectively, over the first two months of 2014. The company exports its products to Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Germany, France, and Brazil.

Ufaorgsintez OAO was founded in 1956 and is based in Ufa, Russia. As of January 22, 2010, Ufaorgsintez OAO operates as a subsidiary of Bashneft Joint Stock Oil Company. "United Petrochemical Company" (UPC) owns 87.76% of Ufaorgsintez's registered capital. Bashneft sold Ufaorgsintez's stake to UPC in May 2013.
MRC