ExxonMobil ups Guyana recoverable, makes discovery at Uaru

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil has increased its estimated recoverable resource base in Guyana to more than 8 billion oil equivalent barrels and made a further oil discovery northeast of the producing Liza field at the Uaru exploration well, the 16th discovery on the Stabroek Block, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new recoverable resource estimate includes 15 discoveries offshore Guyana through year-end 2019. The Uaru discovery is the first of 2020 and will be added to the resource estimate at a later date.

"With recent high-quality finds at Tripletail and Mako contributing to our recoverable resources, our investments will continue to provide benefits for the people of Guyana,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “The Uaru discovery is another positive step as we begin a new decade with the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and our co-venturers."

Uaru encountered approximately 94 feet (29 meters) of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. The well, drilled in 6,342 feet (1,933 meters) of water, is located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of the Liza field, which began producing oil in December 2019.

Production from the Liza Phase 1 development is currently ramping up and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day in the coming months, utilizing the Liza Destiny floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).

The Liza Unity FPSO, which will be employed for the second phase of Liza development and will have a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day, is under construction and expected to start production by mid-2022.

Pending government approvals and project sanctioning of a third development, production from the Payara field north of the Liza discoveries could start as early as 2023, reaching an estimated 220,000 barrels of oil per day.

Four drillships in Guyana continue to explore and appraise new resources as well as develop the resources within approved projects. A fifth drillship is expected to be deployed later this year.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Limited, holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.

As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil resumed PE production at its site in Notre Dame de Gravenchon, France after a temporary shutdown due to commercial reasons. Thus, this plant wa taken off-stream at the end of the 2nd week of December 2019.

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.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), following up on the release disclosed on 12/20/2019, informs the beginning of the non-binding phase related to the sale of all shares of BSBios Industria e Comercio de Biodiesel Sul Brasil S/A (BSBios) by its wholly-owned subsidiary Petrobras Biocombustiveis S.A. (PBio), as per Bnamericas.

Potential buyers qualified for this phase will receive a descriptive memorandum with more detailed information about the aforementioned company, as well as instructions on the divestment process, including guidelines for preparing and submitting non-binding proposals.

This disclosure is in accordance with the guidelines for the divestiture of Petrobras and PBio and with the special regime for the divestiture of assets by federal mixed-capital companies, provided for in Decree 9,188/2017.

This transaction is in line with the portfolio optimization and the improvement of the company's capital allocation, aiming at maximizing value for our shareholders.

PBio holds a 50% stake in BSBios and will sell it together with its partner, RP Biocombustiveis SA, which owns the remaining 50%, through a competitive process carried out exclusively by PBio.

As MRC informed before, the chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro said in early December 2019 he wants to sell the company's stake in petrochemical company Braskem within 12 months, adding that he strongly disagreed with reported plans to delay the sale.

We also remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

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.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant is reviving the sale of its pigments unit, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, which may fetch up to 900 million Swiss francs (USD927.7 million) as the Swiss chemicals maker slims down after failing to combine with peers, said Reuters.

Deutsche Bank, mandated by Clariant to find a buyer, will launch the auction next month, one of the sources said. Information memorandums are going to private equity groups such as Cinven, Bain, Triton, Ardian and SK Capital in the first quarter, several people said.

Clariant’s pigments business, which makes dyes including for the car and building industries, may be valued at 800-900 million francs, or around 8 times core earnings.

The auction was initially slated for a year ago, but Clariant put it on a back burner after rival BASF put a similar business on the block, then sold it to Japanese printing ink maker DIC Corp (4631.T).

While BASF’s unit was sold at a valuation of 9-10 times core earnings, Clariant’s more-commoditised business may fetch less amid a tough economic climate, one of the sources said.

Analysts from Vontobel this month suggested Clariant’s pigments unit could fetch 900 million francs, bringing the total haul from disposals to at least 2.8 billion francs.

Slimming down could have its price in independence, they added. "Clariant is a very attractive takeover target after the disposals in 2020," Vontobel said.

Clariant declined to comment on the auction’s time frame or valuation. The Muttenz, Switzerland-based company is also seeking a new CEO after the last one bolted in August following a difference of opinion with Chairman Hariolf Kottmann, who is now running Clariant on an interim basis.

Clariant’s failed merger with Huntsman (HUN.N), in the face of activist investor resistance, and the joint venture it abandoned in August with Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) have led to asset sales beyond what the Swiss company originally envisioned.

Clariant is concentrating on its faster-growing segments including catalysts, ingredients for shampoos, and chemicals for the oil and gas industries, while unloading commoditised operations.

As MRC informed earlier, Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland) agreed to sell its entire Masterbatches business to PolyOne Corp. (Avon Lake, Ohio). The transaction values the Masterbatches business at USD1,560 million, representing about 12.2 times the last twelve months reported EBITDA (ending September 2019) on a cash and debt free basis. This amount is payable at closing, which is expected by Q3 2020.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing 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.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Middle East oil producers are investing in more Southeast Asia energy projects to keep their market share as US crude exports grow in a region that is equivalent to India's USD3 trillion economy, reported S&P Global.

The most immediate project to come to fruition is Malaysia's Pengerang Refining and Petrochemical, or PREfChem, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Petronas in the Johor province adjacent to Singapore. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the UAE's biggest oil producer, also signed an agreement with Indonesia's Pertamina last year to explore opportunities. Potential investments between the two countries are estimated at USD10 billion, including the upgrade of Balikpapan refinery and LPG storage.

US crude exports are showing up in unusual places as the country takes advantage of its shale resources. The US became Australia's top crude supplier for the first time in November, according to government data. Last year, Indonesia's state-run Pertamina bought its first cargo of US crude oil and plans to triple purchases this year, officials have said. The Middle East currently accounts for at least half of southeast Asia's oil imports.

"It (US crude) gives Asian buyers more options and leverage," Alexander Yap, a senior analyst at S&P Global Platts Analytics, said. "They historically were locked in with the Middle East, now there are more options, which is a rationale for the Middle East to make these investments to secure market share."

The GDP of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew 5.2% in 2018, reaching USD3 trillion, according to its statistics. These nations spent USD74.4 billion in 2018 on their oil imports, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE holding first and second place respectively, and accounting for nearly half of oil imports by value, according to its statistics. Kuwait, which has a refinery in Vietnam, was fourth, and Qatar took fifth place.

Oil product demand in southeast Asia is forecast to grow by over 12% during the next 5 years, the second highest growth rate in the world after sub-Saharan Africa. That compares with oil product demand growth of just over 10% in China in the next 5 years, according to Wood Mackenzie estimates.

"Most of these projects are not only supplying the domestic market, but there is also a degree of exports for some of these products," said Alan Gelder, vice president of refining, chemical and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie. "You have the opportunity for taking some of these products and putting them within their own trading organizations."

The refineries that Gulf states are investing in are geared toward the Middle East's medium sour crude versus US light sweet crude, which should allow Gulf countries to defend their market share.

The PREfChem Aramco project, set to start in the H2 of 2020, includes a 300,000 b/d refinery and 3 million t/year of petrochemical production. Aramco will supply 150,000 b/d, with an option for an additional 60,000 b/d and offtake rights for 50% of production.

Aramco is also looking at Indonesia, and in 2016 signed an agreement with Pertamina to own, upgrade and operate the Cilacap Refinery in central Java.

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Co., which manages assets of some USD230 billion, is also mulling an investment with Indonesia's PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical in a USD6 billion project.

Meanwhile, Gulf states political ties with ASEAN members, such as Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, are also helping them expand.

"Within ASEAN, you have some of the most vibrant and fast growing economies in the world," said Giorgio Cafiero, the CEO of Gulf State Analytics. "Some of them are Muslim majority countries where countries like Saudi Arabia have maintained religious and cultural influence for many years."

As MRC wrote before, PRefChem abruptly shut down its cracker in Pengerang, Malaysia last Friday, 25 October 2019, due to an unspecified technical issue. The naphtha cracker produces 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene. Sources with knowledge of the matter said that it might take roughly ten days for the cracker to come back online. The company received commerical ethylene and propylene at its new cracker in Pengerang on 13 September, 2019.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy and Industrial Gases Group (“Group”), a subsidiary of Nikkiso Co., Ltd (Japan), closed the acquisition of the Alternative Fuels Division from GP Strategies Corporation (Columbia, Maryland) for an undisclosed amount, said Bloomberg.

The GP Strategies’ Alternative Fuels Division (“AFD”) is a recognized leader focused on the design, fabrication and maintenance of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Liquefied to Compressed Natural Gas (LCNG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Hydrogen (H2) facilities.

AFD will operate as part of the Group’s Integrated Cryogenic Solutions unit (“Solutions”), and will be renamed ICS. The Solutions unit is one of five functional business units of the Group and operates independently from the Group’s product companies. Solutions provide innovative specialty engineering, centralized project management, procurement, manufacturing and maintenance, focusing on supplying complete solutions.

"We are excited for AFD to join our Nikkiso family. AFD will broaden our offering of complete solutions. We now have an individual functional unit that can provide a solution to the customer in addition to the units that deliver products. This acquisition exemplifies our passion to provide, efficient, performance-based products and service,” according to Peter Wagner, CEO of Cryogenic Industries and President of the Group.

Mike Mackey, who will remain with ICS as a Senior Vice President said “The opportunity is exciting and we look forward to being part of Nikkiso. We will meet our customer's demand for the best quality, reliability, and return on their investment."

The acquisition was effective January 1, 2020.

As MRC informed earlier, Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical Ethylene, a joint venture of Asahi Kasei Corp and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp, said it will restart operation at its naphtha cracker in Mizushima, Okayama prefecture on 24 January, after completing planned repair of the unit’s troubled refrigeration system. The naphtha cracker automatically shut down on 14 January after it detected a malfunction in the refrigeration system. Inspection remains underway and the venture plans to complete repairs by 24 January.

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.
MRC