Saudi minister sees lack of refining capacity in market, not lack of oil

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said that he saw no shortage of oil in the market, but a lack of oil refining capacity, making it necessary to invest more in capacity to process crude oil into various oil products, said Reuters.

"As of today, we don't see a lack of oil in the market. There is a lack of refining capacity, which is also an issue, so we need to invest more in refining capacity," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters in Tokyo.

Global oil prices have soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions on Russian energy stoked supply concerns.

Asked about the kingdom's ties with Moscow, Prince Faisal said Russia remains an important partner, especially in regard to the stability of the oil market.

"Russia is an integral part of OPEC plus, and without cooperation in OPEC plus as a collective, it would be impossible to properly ensure adequate supplies of oil to the international markets," he said.

As per MRC, the recovery in Russian oil production has continued this month as higher domestic demand offset a slight drop in exports to key markets. The nation’s producers pumped 10.78 million barrels a day on average from July 1 to 17, according to data from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit that was seen by Bloomberg. That’s 0.6% above the June level, according to calculations based on the data, indicating that the pace of the country’s output recovery has slowed.
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Technip Energies and National Petroleum Construction Company create joint venture to accelerate energy transition, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

On the sidelines of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit to Paris, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs witnessed the signing of an agreement to establish a new joint company between National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), a subsidiary of National Marine Dredging Company and Technip Energies.

The agreement was signed by Eng. Ahmed Al Dhaheri, CEO of NPCC and Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the new joint venture NT ENERGIES LLC aims to support energy transition in the UAE, the broader Middle East region and North Africa by providing added value services in blue and green hydrogen and related decarbonization projects, carbon capture in addition to industrial projects in the fields of waste-to-energy, biorefining, biochemistry, as well as other energy transition related themes.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, commented: “This partnership with NPCC marks a new milestone in our journey to accelerate the energy transition and limit climate change. We are very proud to have signed this agreement with such a recognized leader and long-standing partner with whom we have delivered many key energy projects. By sharing the experiences, capabilities, and know-how of our companies, we are confident that NT Energies will be able to rapidly bring to life the energy transition infrastructures that the UAE and MENA region require both domestically and for exports, particularly in the areas of Power to Gas, blue/green hydrogen and ammonia, carbon management, sustainable fuels and circularity. Beyond policies, it is industry leaders like T.EN and NPCC who will develop, scale up and integrate credible solutions towards a low carbon environment. Our collaboration will help to further develop local competencies, increase in-country value, and cooperate to break down barriers to engineer a sustainable future together."

Eng. Yasser Zaghloul, the Group Chief Executive Officer at National Marine Dredging Group, said: “The new agreement reaffirms the commitment of NPCC, a subsidiary of National Marine Dredging Company, to support energy transition and decarbonization in line with the UAE’s strategy to take positive and effective climate change actions to ensure a decarbonized future. This agreement with Technip Energies opens up new opportunities for sharing expertise in the field of sustainable energy and aligns with our expansion plans and ongoing search for new ways to strengthen global partnerships in line with our strategic vision of continuous growth."

Eng. Ahmed Al Dhaheri, CEO of NPCC, said: “We are excited to sign this agreement with Technip Energies, a pioneer in the energy transition industry. The new joint venture aims to promote a culture of sustainability and supports the best environmental practices in light of our rational government's commitment to moving toward clean energy sources. By combining Technip Energies technological know-how, overall project management capabilities and global footprint, and NPCC’s project management skills for EPC projects, regional footprint and fabrication capabilities, NT ENERGIES LLC will bring to the table added value services in hydrogen and related decarbonization projects and CO2 capture in the UAE, the region and North Africa."

The new joint venture will also provide onshore and offshore oil and gas fields and facilities services, building and energy efficiency services, oil tanks installation and repair, installation, maintenance and manufacturing of alternative energy equipment as well as oil and gas facilities consultancy and engineering consultations on alternative energy and research.

As per MRC, Technip Energies has been awarded a large(1) Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio, the largest supplier of district heating in Norway, for a world-first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at waste to energy plant located in Oslo, Norway.

As per MRC, TechnipFMC announced the launch of the placement of 16 million Technip Energies shares, representing ca. 9% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital, through a private placement by way of an accelerated bookbuild offering. Upon completion of the Placement, TechnipFMC would retain a direct stake of ca. 22% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital.
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The Brazilian state-owned oil major Petrobras’ PBR eligibility committee recently stated that two of the Brazilian government's seven nominees for a refurbished board at the company did not meet the requirements to hold the position, said Reuters.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro picked the two ineligible nominees – Jonathas Assuncao Salvador Nery de Castro and Ricardo Soriano de Alencar. Both of them, however, are not qualified to become the board members of PBR based on the company’s internal bylaws, the committee established, per the minutes of its last meeting.

The committee mentioned that the candidates would have a conflict of interest in serving the board of the company as they both hold high-ranking positions in the Brazilian Government led by Bolsonaro. While Castro is an official in the chief of staff's office, Alencar serves as the prosecutor general of Brazil's national treasury.

The committee’s report is nonbinding, and the rejected nominees can still be board members as necessary approvals by the current board and Petrobras' shareholders are pending. The other five government picks and the two minority shareholder appointees were given consent by the committee.

As per MRC, Petrobras resigned in the face of mounting pressure from politicians following a fuel price hike last week, with a high-ranking company insider quickly tapped to replace him on an interim basis. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a securities filing that CEO Jose Mauro Coelho had resigned on Monday morning. In a separate filing, it said that Chief Exploration and Production Officer Fernando Borges had been appointed interim CEO until a new boss is elected by shareholders.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras S.A. is the largest integrated energy firm in Brazil and one of the largest in Latin America. PBR’s activities include the exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trading and transportation.
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According to details given by the General Department of Customs, June alone witnessed the country import 717,000 m3 of petroleum with a total value of USD812 million, a decline of 19% in volume and 9% in value over the previous month, said VOV.

The department assessed that the Republic of Korea (RoK) was the largest supplier of petroleum to the country in the reviewed period, making up 40% of the total. In addition, the nation imported 1.9 million m3 of petroleum worth US$2 billion, up more than two fold in volume and 3.8 fold in value compared to the same period from last year.

Furthermore, the price of petroleum imported from the RoK stands at USD1,063 per m3, an annual increase of 84%. This sharp increase can be attributed to free trade agreement signed between the two countries coming into force, with tax being set at 10% on imported petroleum from RoK.

As a result of these measures, the Ministry of Finance again proposed the Government move to lower the most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff placed on unleaded gasoline to 10% from 20%, as opposed to the figure of 12% previously suggested. This is along with efforts to cut the environmental protection tax placed on fuels.

The Ministry said the reduction would not help to reduce the domestic petroleum price however, particularly as it would encourage domestic enterprises to diversify petroleum supply from other countries, such as China, the United States, and Middle East nations. This would therefore avoid dependence on a few partners, especially if the supply in the global market fluctuates.

As per MRC, Indorama Ventures completed the acquisition of Ngoc Nghia Industry, one of Vietnam’s leading PET packaging companies. The acquisition will boost IVL's market position as it continues to expand its integrated offering of PET products to major multinational customers throughout the region. Ngoc Nghia is a trusted market leader in PET, preforms and closures, with long-term partnerships with major global and Vietnamese brands in the beverage and non-beverage industries. It has four manufacturing facilities in Vietnam's north and south with a total production capacity of 5.5 B units of PET preforms, bottles and closures, totaling 76,000 tpy of PET conversion.
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Brazil's Petrobras has secured a USD1.25bn credit line that includes sustainability commitments, the company said on July 11, said Gaspathways.

The line was secured from Bank of China, MUFG and the Bank of Nova Scotia, the national oil company said, and includes incentive mechanisms relating to the firm's key performance indicators regarding upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions intensity, and upstream methane intensity.

Petrobras noted it was the first time it had secured financing that is tied to its sustainability targets. The move "reinforces the company's focus on the decarbonisation of its operations and expands the liability management strategy by diversifying financing models, in line with the sustainability requirements that are increasingly present in debt markets," Petrobras said.

The credit line has a five-year duration.

We remind, Petrobras said it has signed a deal with TSE and Toyo Engineering Corp to build a new diesel hydrotreating unit at its Paulinia refinery. The move will require USD458 million in investments and is in line with Petrobras’ 2022-2026 business plan, the company said in a securities filing. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said the hydrotreating unit is expected to enter production in 2025.

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.
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