Total closes the acquisition of Anadarko Shareholding in Mozambique LNG

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total has announced the closing of the acquisition of Anadarko’s 26.5% operated interest in the Mozambique LNG project for a purchase price of USD3.9 billion, according to HellenicShippingNews.

This closing comes after Total reached a binding agreement with Occidental on May 3, 2019, to acquire Anadarko’s assets in Africa (Mozambique, Algeria, Ghana and South Africa) and signed the subsequent Purchase and Sale Agreement on August 3, 2019. This first transaction follows receipt of all requisite approvals by the relevant authorities and partners.

"Mozambique LNG is one of a kind asset that perfectly fits with our strategy and expands our position in liquefied natural gas", said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman & CEO of Total. "As the new operator, we are fully committed to the Mozambique LNG project and we will bring the best of our human, technical, marketing and financial capacities to further strengthen its execution. Total will of course work on the strong foundations established by the previous operator and its partners, in order to implement the project in the best interest of all those involved, including the government and the people of Mozambique."

Mozambique LNG is the country’s first onshore LNG development. The project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum fields located within Offshore Area 1 and the construction of a two-trains liquefaction plant with a capacity of 12.9 million tonnes per year (Mt/y). The Area 1 contains more than 60 Tcf of gas resources, of which 18 Tcf will be developed with the first two trains. The Final Investment Decision (FID) on Mozambique LNG was announced on June 18, 2019, and the project is expected to come into production by 2024.

The Mozambique LNG project is largely derisked since almost 90% of the production is already sold through long-term contracts with key LNG buyers in Asia and in Europe. Additionally, the project is expected to have a domestic gas component for in-country consumption to help fuel future economic development.

Total operates Mozambique LNG with a 26.5% participating interest alongside ENH Rovuma Area Um, S.A. (15%), Mitsui E&P Mozambique Area1 Ltd. (20%), ONGC Videsh Ltd. (10%), Beas Rovuma Energy Mozambique Limited (10%), BPRL Ventures Mozambique B.V. (10%), and PTTEP Mozambique Area 1 Limited (8.5%).
Closing operations are still ongoing in relation to Anadarko’s assets in the other countries (Algeria, Ghana, South Africa).

Total is the second-largest private global LNG player, with an overall portfolio of around 40 Mt/y by 2020 and a worldwide market share of 10%. With 22 Mt of LNG sold in 2018, the Group has solid and diversified positions across the LNG value chain. Through its stakes in liquefaction plants located in Qatar, Nigeria, Russia, Norway, Oman, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Australia or Angola, the Group sells LNG in all markets.

As MRC wrote before, last Wednesday, France's Feyzin refinery was in the process of halting units and the steam cracker is running at reduced rates. Local media reported earlier that the refinery had been halting operations since Monday due to a strike. The company said it regrets the decision by labor unions to call a strike while discussions are ongoing with refinery staff about a planned indefinite closure of a unit due to lower product demand.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's crude oil imports from the US in September more than doubled from a year earlier, while intakes of Saudi crude dropped 17.6% year on year due to the September 14 attacks on Saudi's major oil facilities, reported S&P Global with reference to customs data.

Customs data also showed the Asian country's intake of Iranian barrels remained at zero last month for a fifth straight month on Washington's sanctions.

South Korean refiners imported 1.62 million mt, or 11.87 million barrels, of US crude oil in September, compared with 5.11 million barrels a year earlier, according to the data.

The shipment made the US, South Korea's third-biggest crude supplier following Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The September shipments were also up 7.3%, compared with 11.06 million barrels imported in August.

The rise came after South Korea bought as much as 14.78 million barrels in July, the biggest volume since the country began US crude imports in 2015, breaking the previous record high of 13.61 million in December 2018.

The Asian nation's crude imports from the US have sharply increased since July last year when the Washington moved to re-impose sanctions on Iran which made South Korea buy more US crude to make up for the loss of Iranian barrels.

For the first nine months this year, South Korean imports of US crude soared more than three times to 97.94 million barrels, compared with 31.89 million barrels a year earlier, according to data compiled by S&P Global Platts.

The sharp increase was partly driven by more purchases of Eagle Ford condensate and DJ Common condensate as an alternative to Iran's South Pars condensate.

South Korean importers have also recently increased purchases of WTI Light and Eagle Ford Light and Medium as well as light sweet Bakken and WTI Midland ahead of the IMO 2020 marine fuel regulation, according to refiners.

South Korea's crude imports from Saudi Arabia dropped 17.6% year on year to 2.84 million mt, or 20.82 million barrels in September, from 25.26 million barrels a year earlier, according to the customs data.

The reduced shipments came after the attacks on Saudi Arabia's pivotal Abqaiq processing facility and Khurais oil field last month, which knocked out half of the kingdom's crude oil production.

Meanwhile, South Korea did not import any crude oil from Iran in September for a fifth straight month as waivers on US sanctions on Tehran expired early May.

In total, South Korea imported 10.48 million mt (76.82 million barrels or 2.56 million b/d) of crude oil in September, down 5.3% from 81.11 million barrels a year earlier.

Over January-September, South Korea's crude imports fell 3.1% year on year to 804.51 million barrels, down from 830.19 million barrels in the same period a year ago.

The September imports were down 20.9% from August imports of 97.07 million barrels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- GlobalData identifies Fujian Billion Petrochemicals Co. Ltd. as the second highest capacity contributor among the global companies for planned and announced PTA capacity additions by 2023, said the company.

‘Fujian Billion Petrochemical Fujian PTA Plant’, will account for the company’s entire capacity additions by 2023. The project is expected to start operations in 2020, with a capacity of 2.50 mtpa.

ChengHong Holding Group Co. Ltd. stands third, contributing a capacity of 2.40 mtpa from an announced project by 2023.

As MRC informed before, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co. Ltd. is expected to lead the global planned and announced purified terephthalic acid (PTA) capacity additions during the period 2019 to 2023, contributing around 22% of the global growth by 2023. Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co. Ltd. is expected to add a capacity of 5.00 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) from two planned projects by 2023.

PTA is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

According to MRC's DataScope report, Chinese bottle grade PET deliveries to Russia increased 34% in the first eight months of 2019 to 95,600 tonnes. China accounted for 90% of the total imports, compared to 85% a year earlier.
August imports of material from China decreased by 41% to 7,600 tonnes from 12,800 tonnes in July. Jiangsu Sanfangxiang, Yisheng, Wankai and Sinopec were the leading Chinese suppliersof material to the Russian market.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ZapSibNeftekhim (ZapSib) affiliate has produced the first batch of polyethylene (PE) granules using its own ethylene feedstock at its Tobolsk complex in Siberia, the Russian petrochemicals major said in its press-release.

Earlier this year, ZapSib produced a test batch of PE from imported feedstock, “while today the process is running smoothly using our own feedstock,” SIBUR said.

"The first PE batch from our own feedstock is one of the key stages of launching the entire ZapSibNeftekhim petrochemical facility,” said Igor Klimov, member of SIBUR’s management board, and CEO of ZapSibNeftekhim and SIBUR Tobolsk.

Commissioning and start-up are “well under way”, and after ramping up to its full capacity, the petrochemical facility will produce 1.5m tonnes/year of PE – making ZapSib’s Tobolsk project Russia’s largest polymer production facility, the company said.

ZapSibNeftekhim includes four polymerisation units to produce various grades of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE).

PE is the most widely used plastic in the world. It is primarily found in packaging including plastic bags, plastic films and geomembranes.

In June 2019, SIBUR announced that it commissioned its ZapSibNeftekhim integrated petrochemical (PC) complex in Tobolsk, Russia, the "largest" petrochemical complex in the country. The USD9.5 bn project involves a steam cracker with the capacity to produce 1.5 M tonnes/y of ethylene, about 500,000 tonnes/y of propylene and 100,000 tonnes/y of butane/butylene fraction, as well as polyethylene and polypropylene units with a combined total capacity of 2 M tonnes/y.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,436,390 tonnes in the first eight months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 909,260 tonnes in January-August 2019, up by 10% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

OAO SIBUR Holding is the largest petrochemical company in Russia and Eastern Europe with full coverage of the industry cycle from gas processing, production of monomers, plastics and synthetic rubbers to plastics processing.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) to Russia rose in the first nine months of 2019 by 22% year on year to 37,400 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was at 30,800 tonnes in January-September 2018.

European materials of Styrolution, Versalis and Trinseo accounted for over 90% of HIPS shipments and 60% of GPPS deliveries. Iranian GPPS of Petropaak and Artan Petro accounted for about 22% of the total imports.

At the same time, GPPS and HIPS imports to the Russian market almost doubled in September, totalling 5,100 tonnes versus 2,700 tonnes in September 2018.

August imports of material into the country were 5,000 tonnes.

MRC