Gazprom to continue supplying gas to Armenia on same terms in 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia signed an additional agreement to the contract for Russian gas supplies to the Republic of Armenia, said the company.

In accordance with the agreement, the price of natural gas at the border between Georgia and Armenia will not change starting from January 1, 2020, and will remain at the level of 2019.

Gazprom Armenia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is focused on natural gas supplies to the Armenian market. In addition, the company transports, stores, distributes and sells natural gas, as well as upgrades and expands the gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities in the Republic of Armenia.

The contract between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia for the supplies of up to 2.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year will be in effect until the end of 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, Gazprom and Sinopec discuss potential avenues for cooperation. A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Li Yong, Vice President of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), took place in St. Petersburg. The parties discussed their potential areas of cooperation.

As MRC informed earlier, Gazprom Neft and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have entered into a Framework Agreement on Strategic Cooperation. The companies will explore opportunities for implementing joint projects in the upstream and downstream sectors, as well as in information technologies, artificial intelligence, and other areas.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased in 2019 by 26% year on year, totalling about 49,000 tonnes, whereas sales of Ukrainian PVC to foreign markets rose by 11% year on year, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports into the Ukrainian market grew to 4,300 tonnes from 3,300 tonnes in November, with North American resin accounting for the increase in shipments from a windows and plastics producer. Overall imports of suspension reached 49,000 tonnes in 2019, compared to 66,100 tonnes a year earlier.

European producers with the share of about 64% of the total imports were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market in 2019. Producers from the USA with the share of about 36% were the second largest suppliers.
The Ukrainian producer's higher output allowed to increase exports. 12,900 tonnes of suspension were shipped to foreign markets in December, whereas this figure was 13,900 tonnes a year earlier. Overall, 163,300 tonnes of PVC were shipped for export in 2019 versus 147,500 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco's IPO will now be valued at USD29.4 billion with the exercise of the over-allotment option granted by the government in what is the world's biggest flotation, reported S&P Global.

Aramco had initially raised USD25.6 billion by selling 3 billion shares priced at Riyals 32 (USD8.53), but with the over-allotment option an extra 450 million shares will be added to the offering at the share price of Riyals 32, the company said Sunday in a statement on the local stock exchange, Tadawul.

"The 450,000,000 shares subject to the over-allotment option had been allocated to investors during the bookbuilding process and therefore, no additional shares are being offered into the market today," Aramco said.

Aramco's IPO, which came after two years of delay, beat the previous record held by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which raised USD25 billion in 2014.

Aramco's shares are up by 9.4% since their December 11 listing.

The shares dipped slightly last week amid tensions between Iran and the US, stoking investor fears of war in the region.

Aramco's IPO is part of the kingdom's Vision 2030, a roadmap to weaning the kingdom off oil income.

As MRC informed previously, Saudi Aramco, which temporarily lost half of its oil production following the September 14 attacks on two key oil facilities, has been running its local refineries at full capacity since November 2019 and is forging ahead with plans to start up new refineries. The company is also starting up a joint venture refinery in Malaysia in 2020. According to Aramco's bond prospectus released in April, the refining and petrochemical joint venture with Petronas - the Malaysian national oil company - collectively known as PRefChem, was supposed to start this year.

The PRefChem joint venture includes a 300,000 b/d refinery, an integrated steam cracker with capacity to produce 1.3 million mt of ethylene located in Johor, Malaysia. Aramco was supposed to provide a significant portion of PRefChem's crude supply under a long-term supply agreement. Jazan and PrefChem will help Aramco reach a gross refining capacity of 5.6 million b/d, it said in the prospectus. The company currently owns and has stakes in four refineries abroad with a total refining capacity exceeding 2 million b/d.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Saudi Aramco is an integrated oil and chemicals company, a global leader in hydrocarbon production, refining processes and distribution, as well as one of the largest global oil exporters. It manages proven reserves of crude oil and condensate estimated at 261.1bn barrels, and produces 9.54 million bbl daily. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, the company employs over 61,000 staff in 77 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A fire at petrochemical producer Sasol in Lake Chalres has been extinguished, according to KPLC.

KPLC reports that viewers in the area called in to their station after hearing a loud noise. Calls to Sasol found that there was a fire at the Lake Charles West plant.

A spokesperson tells KPLC that the fire has been extinguished and no community action was required. All employees are safe and accounted for.

There were no injuries.

As MRC wrote before, Sasol announced that its world-scale US ethane cracker with the capacity of 1.5 mln tonnes per year reached beneficial operation on 27 August 2019. Sasol’s new cracker, the heart of its Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), is the third and most significant of the seven LCCP facilities to come online and will provide feedstock to our six new derivative units at the company's Lake Charles multi-asset site.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Sasol is an international integrated chemicals and energy company that leverages technologies and the expertise of our 31 270 people working in 32 countries. The company develops and commercialises technologies, and builds and operates world-scale facilities to produce a range of high-value product stream, including liquid fuels, petrochemicals and low-carbon electricity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A massive explosion took place on Tuesday at a chemical plant in the city of Zhuhai in China's southern Guangdong province, said UrduPoint with reference to local media reports.

The Guangdong Radio and Television, a local broadcasting company, posted on its verified Weibo account a video showing a huge fire and black smoke rising from the plant.

The China Central Television (CCTV) also reported the explosion at the Zhuhai plant, citing videos posted by local residents on social media.

According to the CCTV, the fire was still not put out by 3 p.m. local time (07:00 GMT).

Thus, the blaze erupted at Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical's plant, which can produce 40,000 tonnes/year of benzene; 280,000 tonnes/year of mixed xylene; and 150,000 tonnes/year of toluene at the site.

Benzene is the main feedstock for the production of styrene monomer (SM), which, in its turn, is used in the production of polystyrene (PS).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics totalled 458,770 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, which corresponds to the level of 2018. November estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics rose by 2% year on year, totalling 49,210 tonnes. PS production remained in January-November 2019 the same as a year earlier. Russian producers manufactured 471,390 tonnes of material in the first eleven months of 2019.

Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd. is an enterprise in China, with the main office in Zhuhai. It operates in the Basic Chemical Manufacturing sector. The company was established on August 20, 2003. There are currently 240 (2018) people employed by Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd.. In its most recent financial highlights, the company reported a net sales revenue increase of 15.41% in 2018. There was a total negative growth of 1.57% in Zhuhai Changlian Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd.’s total assets over the same period. In, 2018, the company’s net profit margin decreased by 0.67%.
MRC