ONGC sells Russian Sokol crude oil to Indian refiners

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's ONGC Videsh Ltd has sold at least one cargo of Russian Sokol oil to India refiners Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp after failing to draw interest in a tender earlier this month, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with the matter.

Indian companies are snapping up Russian oil as it is available at a deep discounts after some companies and countries shunned purchases from Moscow due to sanctions against Russia for its Ukraine invasion.

India, the world's third-biggest oil consumer and importer, has not banned Russian oil imports.

ONGC Videsh, the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, has a stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 project and sells its share of the oil from the project through tenders.

In the tender earlier in March, ONGC Videsh did not get any bids for the Sokol crude oil cargo for May loading.

The sources said HPCL and BPCL had been able to offer a discounted price for the cargo. This marks the first purchase of Sokol crude by HPCL. BPCL had previously purchased the grade in 2016.

The two refiners will pay ONGC in rupees, the sources added.

One of the sources said ONGC Videsh will look at selling more cargos to Indian refiners if there is no interest from overseas buyers.

ONGC Videsh, HPCL and BPCL did not respond to Reuters emails seeking comment.

Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have hit Russian oil sales, making it possible for Indian and Chinese refiners to buy Russian Urals crude at a deep discount.

As MRC wrote before, crude oil processing by Indian refiners rose about 10% year-on-year in February, provisional government data showed, as demand in the world's third biggest oil importer and consumer grew. Throughput in February rose 9.8% to 5.35 MMbpd (20.44 MMt), the data showed. But processing fell 5.8% from January, with a drop at Indian Oil Corp's Bongaigaon Refinery in Assam due to a power failure.

We remind that last year the Indian company Nayara Energy, 49.13% of which is owned by Russia's largest state oil company - Rosneft, launched a USD750 million petrochemical development program. Nayara Energy has the second largest refinery in India with a capacity of 20 million tons per year. The Indian company has already launched a refinery development program: within the first stage, it is planned to build units for the production of polypropylene (PP) with a capacity of up to 450,000 tonnes per year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, in 2021, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tasnee has signed an Export Credit Insurance (ECI) policy amounted about SAR 500 million with the Saudi Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank) on 23 March, 2022, said the company.

The agreement was signed by HE Eng. Saad A. Alkhalb, CEO of EXIM Bank, and Mr. Mutlaq H. Al-Morished, Tasnee CEO. The agreement aims at providing credit coverage for the exports of Tasnee’s petrochemical products, that contributing to strengthening its presence in the global markets and increasing its market share.

Mr. Al-Morished stated that Tasnee pays great attention to its customers’ satisfaction and the quality of its petrochemical products to meet their needs in more than 50 countries around the world. Through this cooperation with EXIM Bank, Tasnee aims to secure its exports to the markets to enhance its presence in the international markets and increase its market share, emphasizing the company’s keenness to contribute to achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 which aims at increasing the contribution of non-oil products to the Kingdom’s GDP. On the other hand, Tasnee seeks to enhance its ability to contribute effectively to promoting the Saudi product competitiveness and support the slogan “Made in Saudi” by increasing its presence in the regional and global markets.

As MRC informed before, in 2013, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Tasnee announced the signing of an agreement to establish a masterbatches joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Within the framework of the agreement, through its 100% subsidiary Rowad National Plastic Company Ltd., Tasnee acquired a 40% stake in Clariant’s masterbatches operations in the country, already operating under the name Clariant Masterbatches (Saudi Arabia) Ltd.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Tasnee is primarily engaged in petrochemical, chemical and industrial projects. The
company produces petrochemical products, including polypropylene, polyethylene and acrylic acid, as well as other downstream petrochemical products.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cosmo Speciality Chemicals, a 100% subsidiary of Cosmo Films Ltd., has launched two new eco-friendly polyester dyeing agents - POLYST PB and POLYST PLD-aiding in better results for polyester dyeing, said the company.

POLYST PB is an effective acidic PH buffer for polyester dyeing which ensures uniform buffering action by maintaining PH levels of the fabric, while also reducing the risk of change in shades caused by fluctuation of PH values. It requires less dosage and is non-volatile, making it reliable. What makes POLYST PB stand out is it is foam-free and buffers in a pH range of approximately 4-7, making it well-suited for all wet processing in this pH range. Being a versatile agent, it can be used as a buffer for dyeing of Nylon (PA), Polyester (PES), Polyarcylic (PAN), and Wool (WO) or their blends.

POLYST PLD, on the other hand, is an effective dispersing cum levelling agent for polyester, that imparts consistency in level dyeing and provides better brilliancy with disperse dyes, by improving the solubility of polyester fabric, all of which ensure uniform results during the process of dyeing. The specially formulated agents are both biodegradable and eco-friendly. The product is an auxiliary that helps to improve their solubility and consistency in dyeing. It also gives better fastness and a softer feel to dyed yarns or fabric. It aids in preventing the agglomeration of dyestuff by improving the dispersion property. Owing to its multi-usage, no separate use of levelling and dispersing agent is required along with this product. It is a low-foaming agent with good lubricating properties that eliminates separate use of a defoamer and Anti-creasing agent.

Talking about the new product, Dr. Anil Gaikwad, Business Head, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals said, “In another step towards innovation in the textile industry, the products will help improve the process of dyeing in polyester fabrics, by ensuring a uniform procedure and a consistent outcome. Both the products will help in improving fastness and appearance of the colour and feel, while also keeping the properties of fabric intact and easing the process."

“Owing to its structure, polyester is hydrophobic, which makes it difficult to dye consistently and to finish in aqueous media. To tackle the same, one requires a dispersing cum levelling agent,” he added.

Backed up by technical know-how and long-term experience in textile processing, formulations of anionic, cationic, non-ionic, and amphoteric surfactants, Cosmo Speciality Chemicals have a unique and strong experience in Speciality textile chemicals. The R & D facility is equipped with sophisticated analytical instrumentations including SEM-EDS, TGA-MS, DMA, FTIR & imaging IR, DSC & optical microscope, etc. which helps the company develop products at a molecular level.

As MRC informed earlier, Cosmo Films introduced BOPP based heat resistant (HR) films. The films have been engineered to work as printing layer replacing BOPET film in multi-layer laminates for various packaging applications in both food and non-food segments. The company has also launched a barrier version of the film.

Cosmo Speciality Chemicals is a 100% subsidiary of Cosmo Films Ltd with strong research capabilities to provide best and the most competitive products through innovations based on sustainable science to its customers. The Company is into specialty polymers& textile chemicals and has now launched 'Fabritizer' to safeguard consumers from the various viruses, bacteria and germs.

Established in 1981 and founded by Mr. Ashok Jaipuria, Cosmo Films today is a global leader in specialty films for packaging, lamination, labeling and synthetic paper. With engineering of innovative products and sustainability solutions, Cosmo Films over the years has been partnering with worlds’ leading F&B and personal care brands and packaging & printing converters to enhance the end consumer experience. Its customer base is spread in more than 100 countries with sales & manufacturing units in India and Korea and additionally sales & distribution base in Japan, USA, Canada and Europe.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yemen's Houthis said they launched attacks on Saudi energy facilities on Friday and the Saudi-led coalition said oil giant Aramco's petroleum products distribution station in Jeddah was hit, causing a fire in two storage tanks but no casualties, reported Reuters.

A huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising over the Red Sea city where the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is taking place this weekend, an eyewitness said.

The Iran-aligned Houthis have escalated attacks on the kingdom's oil facilities in recent weeks and ahead of a temporary truce for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The coalition has repeatedly said it is exercising self-restraint in the face of the attacks, but launched a military operation in Yemen early on Saturday saying it aimed to protect global energy sources and ensure supply chains.

A coalition statement on state media on Friday said the fire had been brought under control. Flames could still be seen in live footage aired by Saudi-owned Ekhbariya television channel.

The Saudi energy ministry said the kingdom strongly condemned the "sabotage attacks", reiterating that it would not bear responsibility for any global oil supply disruptions resulting from such attacks, state news agency SPA reported, citing an official in the ministry.

The ministry blamed Iran for continuing to arm the Houthis with ballistic missiles and advanced drones, stressing that the attacks "would lead to impacting the Kingdom's production capacity and its ability to fulfil its obligations to global markets". Teheran denies arming the Houthis.

There was no immediate comment from Aramco.

As MRC informed before, in June 2020, Aramco finalized its USD69 billion acquisition of a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the Middle East's biggest petrochemical maker. SABIC reported more than a fivefold year-on-year increase in its Q3 net profit to USD1.49 billion thanks to higher average sales prices.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German chemicals distributor Bodo Moller Chemie (BD Chemie) is to distribute BASF’s resins and additives in northwest Africa, said the company.

BD Chemie will take on the sales and distribution of resins and performance additives for paints, inks and coatings in the Maghreb region and francophone countries in northwest of Africa.

The distributor’s office and warehouse in Casablanca, Morocco, will serve as a hub into the region, BD Chemie said.

“The region contains a lot of growth potential in paints, inks and coatings. Together, we’re looking forward to better serving our customers with strengthened technical and logistic capabilities,” said Erkin Ataman, head of sales, dispersions and resins for BASF in Turkey and northwest Africa.

As MRC reported earlier, Air Liquide and BASF plan to develop world largest cross-border CCS value chain. The goal is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions at the industrial cluster in the port of Antwerp. The joint project has been selected for funding by the European Commission through its Innovation Fund, as one of the seven large-scale projects out of more than 300 applications.

We remind that BASF aims is to electrify its production processes for basic chemicals, which are currently based on fossil fuels.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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