Ineos completes the acquisition of North Sea Forties pipeline system and Kinneil terminal from BP

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has completed its acquisition of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) and associated pipelines and facilities from BP, said the producer in its press release.

The 235-mile pipeline system links 85 North Sea oil and gas assets to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth, Scotland, delivering almost 40% of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production.

Ownership and operation of FPS, the Kinneil gas processing plant and oil terminal, the Dalmeny storage and export facility, sites at Aberdeen, the Forties Unity Platform and associated infrastructure has now transferred to INEOS FPS, together with approximately 300 personnel.

Andrew Gardner, CEO INEOS FPS said, "Our acquisition of the Forties Pipeline System and associated assets together with its highly skilled workforce is significant and strategic. It demonstrates INEOS’ commitment to securing a competitive long-term future for this critical piece of oil and gas infrastructure and provides the platform to potential future offshore INEOS investments. We will bring our focus and proven track record on safety, reliability and excellence in operations and apply them throughout the FPS business."

The deal consolidates INEOS’ position as a top ten company in the North Sea. It further expands the INEOS oil and gas business interests following the acquisitions of the Breagh and Clipper South gas fields in the Southern North Sea from Letter1 in 2015 and the Dong Oil and Gas business from DONG Energy at the end of September this year. Twenty per cent of the oil that passes down the Forties pipeline feeds the Petroineos refinery that in turn provides more than 80% of Scotland’s transport fuels.

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2016, Ineos said the second manufacturing unit at Grangemouth’s KG ethylene plant had been brought back to life eight years after being mothballed. Ineos then said it had completed successful operational trials as it prepared to receive shale gas ethane from the US as petrochemical feedstock. The Ineos investment should bring US shale gas economics to Europe. The project includes contracts to acquire gas from the Marcellus Shale in Western Pennsylvania; connection to the new, 300-mile Mariner East pipeline to bring the gas to the Marcus Hook deep water terminal near Philadelphia; the design and commissioning of eight Dragon-class ships that will create a virtual pipeline across the Atlantic; and the construction of a new import terminal, including the biggest shale gas storage tank in Europe at Grangemouth.

The new import terminal at Grangemouth will also benefit the Fife ethylene plant in Mossmorran, Scotland, after it was announced that the owners of the plant had agreed a long-term sale and purchase agreement to secure ethane from mid-2017.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan decreased in January-September 2017 by 5% year on year to 41,700 tonnes, reported MRC analysts.

PVC imports into Kazakhstan decreased in September, reaching 3,400 tonnes compared with 7,100 tonnes in August.
Total SPVC imports to Kazakhstan reached about 41,700 tonnes in the first nine months of this year, compared to 43,900 tonnes in the same period in 2016.

Due to the geographical position, the main suppliers of PVC to Kazakhstan were Chinese producers, with the share of about 92% of the local market over the stated period.

PVC shipments from Russia have grown significantly more than 3,400 tonnes this year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- RockRose Energy has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Idemitsu Petroleum UK from Idemitsu Kosan, a Japanese corporation, said Drillingandproduction.

The Acquisition will be funded out of the existing facilities and cash resources of the Company. The Acquisition will be funded out of the existing facilities and cash resources of the Company. Completion of the Acquisition is conditional upon confirmation from the UK Oil and Gas Authority that there is no objection to change of control.

The Acquisition also brings with it a number of key employees and its premises in London, which will enhance RockRose's internal expertise providing continuity on the acquired assets and assisting with the management of the wider portfolio.

On closure of this Acquisition and previously announced transactions, RockRose will have a projected 6,200 - 7,000 boepd of production in 2018 on an aggregated basis.

Andrew Austin, Chairman of RockRose said: "RockRose is continuing to deliver on its stated strategy of building a business through the acquisition of mature producing assets. We believe that this acquisition is a significant one for the Company and that this portfolio also has a lot of potential for extended field life and gives Rockrose access to significant tax losses."

"We continue to review further acquisition opportunities in North West Europe and, post completion of this along with the previously announced Maersk, Sojitz and Egerton transactions by the end of this year, will have established a material business in the North Sea, set to deliver value to our shareholders."

The Acquisition constitutes a reverse takeover for the purposes of the listing rules, the Company has requested that the UK Listing Authority to suspend the listing of the shares with immediate effect. The Company will proceed to prepare and publish a new prospectus in the coming weeks which will include a competent persons report on the assets of the Company as enlarged by the Acquisition.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsubishi Chemical is in plans to shut its naphtha cracker for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company is likely to undertake planned turnaround at the cracker in early-May, 2018. The cracker is expected to remain under maintenance for a period of around two months.

Located at Kashima in Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 540,000 mt/year and a propylene capacity of 260,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in July 2016, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings unveiled plans to sell its PTA business, the primary raw material used to manufacture various polyester products and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in India and China amid profitability concerns with oversupply of the acid, mainly from China.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — The European Commission on Wednesday cleared USD154.12 MM of investment aid Hungary granted to oil and gas company MOL for expanding a plant in the North of the country, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

MOL will invest a total of 874 MM euros to expand production at its Tiszaujvaros plant in northern Hungary, to include petrochemical products used in car manufacturing.

The Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the European Union, said that without the funding, the project would not have been carried out in the Northern Hungary region, eligible for rural development aid.

"The Commission therefore concluded that the positive effects of the project on regional development clearly outweigh any distortion of competition brought about by the State aid," it said in a statement.
MRC