Uganda says agrees terms with consortium to build oil refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) — Uganda said on Monday it had agreed preliminary terms with a consortium of investors including General Electric to build and operate the country's first oil refinery, reviving a much-delayed project, said Reuters.

Government geologists estimate Uganda's oil reserves at 6.5 billion barrels, of which 1.4 B–1.7 B are considered recoverable. The oil is due to start flowing in 2020 and the government is keen to build a refinery to process it and retain a larger slice of profits.

Uganda suffered a setback last year in its efforts to secure a lead investor for a refinery project then estimated at USD2.5 B, after talks with Russia's RT Global Resources broke down.

Subsequent negotiations with a consortium led by South Korea's SK Engineering also collapsed. On Monday, the ministry of energy and mineral development said "core project terms" had been agreed with the Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium (AGRC), whose other members include India's Yatra Ventures LLC, and Italy's Saipem SpA.

"The consortium has proposed ... a financing approach and a path to establish, develop and operate a commercially viable refinery," the ministry said in a statement.

A project framework agreement was expected to be signed within two months, it said. Energy and Minerals Development Minister Irene Muloni said in November that France's Total, one of three oil explorers operating in the country, wanted to take up a 10% stake in the refinery project.

Kenya and Tanzania have committed to stakes of 2.5% and 8% respectively, Muloni said at the time. Commercially viable hydrocarbon deposits were discovered in 2006, but production has been slowed by tax disputes and disagreements over development strategy.

An export pipeline under development is due to be completed by 2020.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Showa Denko ("SDK") has decided to acquire assets concerning Sublimation-recrystallization Method to manufacture silicon carbide (SiC) wafers from Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) and Nippon Steel & Sumikin Materials Co., Ltd. (NSMAT) by around the end of January 2018, as per the company's press release.

When compared with the mainstream silicon-based semiconductors, SiC-based power devices can operate under high-temperature, high-voltage, and high-current conditions, while substantially reducing energy loss. These features enable the production of smaller, lighter, and more energy efficient next-generation power control modules. On the other hand, development of full-SiC-based power modules including MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) requires SiC wafers with fewer crystal defects and further cost reduction.

SDK initiated research and development of SiC epitaxial wafers in 2005, and now produces and sells 3,000 epitaxial wafers per month*. This time, SDK aims to improve the quality of its products through the acquisition of assets currently owned by Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Group.

In its ongoing medium-term business plan "Project 2020+," SDK positions its business to produce and sell SiC epitaxial wafers for power devices as "Advantage-establishing" business. SDK will further strengthen its product development and supply system for SiC epitaxial wafers, aiming to contribute to the spread of SiC-based power devices.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp will spend USD2.4 B to increase capacity at its refinery in western India by about a third over the next few years to meet rising local demand for fuel, said Reuters.

The plan, announced on Friday, will enable the plant in Gujarat state to process 360,000 bdp of oil by the end of 2021. It is part of IOC's vision to increase its refining capacity by about 89 percent to 3 MMbpd by 2030 by building new plants and expanding some existing ones.

The 274,000 bpd Koyali refinery, built in 1965, has five crude units and IOC wants to replace four of them with a single 300,000 bpd crude unit.

The USD2.4 B expansion will also enable the Gujarat plant to process cheaper, tougher oil grades and improve profitability. The secondary units at the plant will be ready by the end of 2022, IOC said in a statement.

India has emerged as a bright spot amid soft demand for oil elsewhere in the world, but the South Asian nation's push to electric vehicles is forcing analysts to revise forecasts for fuel demand in the world's third biggest oil consumer.

The revamped plant will have the flexibility to withstand fluctuations in future demand and supply of fuels and to integrate with downstream petrochemical units, IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said.

The refiner is also setting up a 420,000 tpy polypropylene unit at the refinery.

IOC is bolstering its gas imports and retail business as well, as India seeks to increase cleaner fuel's share to 15% of the country's energy use in the next few years from 8% currently.

The company's board has approved a plan to buy up to a 50% stake in the 5 MMtpy Mundra LNG terminal on India's west coast.

The terminal, being set up by a joint venture between Gujarat State Petroleum and Adani Enterprises Ltd at a cost of about 50 B rupees, will start operations in the first quarter of next year.

IOC currently imports liquefied natural gas at Petronet LNG's west coast terminal for supplying to industries. It is also building a 5 MMtpy LNG terminal at Ennore on the east coast and hopes to commission the facility in 2018–2019.
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MOSCOW (MRC) — Royal Dutch Shell is considering expanding the capacity of one of its German refineries to make oil products that meet an upcoming cap on the sulfur content of fuels used in shipping, as per Reuters.

In the past few days, Rheinland refinery representatives met local officials and environmental groups to present preliminary plans for an investment at the plant's 140,000-bpd Wesseling site, Shell said on the refinery's website.

Shell is considering "a modernization of the residue processing unit at Rheinland refinery and to enhance the desulphurization plant there," Shell told Reuters in an emailed statement.

Shell declined to give further details on the project, saying it was in the "very early phase of the planning process."

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations' shipping agency, set global regulations in late 2016 to cap sulfur content in shipping fuel at 0.5%, versus the current 3.5%, from 2020.

Although shippers in the United States and most of Europe already burn low-sulfur fuel oil, a global cap means refiners will need to find a way to eliminate some 3 MMbpd of high-sulfur fuel.

A survey by consultancy KBC last month showed that just 15% of the global refineries it surveyed know how they will manage the tighter sulfur regulations.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem SA saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 14th, there was short interest totalling 831,237 shares, a decrease of 29.2% from the June 30th total of 1,174,193 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 384,525 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days, said Stocknewstimes.

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Braskem SA during the fourth quarter worth USD215,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Braskem SA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,003,902 shares of the energy company’s stock worth USD21,291,000 after buying an additional 5,118 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Braskem SA by 1,311.4% in the first quarter.

Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 846,824 shares of the energy company’s stock worth USD17,233,000 after buying an additional 786,824 shares during the period. Eqis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Braskem SA by 15.4% in the first quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,652 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Braskem SA by 14.5% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 80,301 shares of the energy company’s stock worth USD1,634,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares during the period. 0.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Braskem SA opened at 25.43 on Monday. Braskem SA has a 52 week low of USD11.05 and a 52 week high of USD25.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is USD21.79 and its 200 day moving average price is USD21.09.
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