North Asian refiners to get full allocation of Saudi crude in October

Saudi Aramco has notified at least three North Asian buyers that it will supply full contractual volumes of crude in October, said Reuters.

The world's top oil exporter has slashed its official selling prices (OSPs) to Asian buyers for the month, the first reduction in four months.

The price cut was overall in line with the market expectation as the spot premiums for the Middle Eastern crude dipped since mid-August amid an increasing number of arbitrage cargoes flowing into Asia.

"The market (in Asia) is still holding up. The pressure is now more on Europe instead of Asia," said a Singapore-based trader.

Spot premium for Dubai rebounded from as low as USD3.53 a barrel over the Dubai quotes on Aug.23 to stand at an average of USD5.6 a barrel in September.

The major oil producers last week has agreed to lower oil production by 100,000 barrels per day, or 0.1% of global demand, from October to bolster oil prices which have slid on fears of an economic slowdown.

We remind, Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco”) inaugurated the Aramco Research Center at KAUST (ARC KAUST), which aims to accelerate the development of low-carbon solutions for the energy industry using advanced analytics. Strategically located within the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the newly established research hub deploys artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop innovative ways to advance low-carbon solutions and enable a Circular Carbon Economy.
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Thai Oil PLC (TOP), Thailand’s largest oil refining company by capacity, will select Vietnam as one of three destinations for its investment expansion, along with Indonesia and India, said the company.

TOP will invest in the fields of oil refinery, lube oil, and high-value petrochemical products, according to the newswire Bangkok Post. The total investment capital for these projects has yet to be disclosed. The expansion of its operations overseas is to meet the growing demand for energy and petrochemical products.

Wirat Uanarumit, president and CEO of TOP, stated that these three markets have the advantages of high rates of economic growth and large numbers of young people, thus these nations offer the best potential for investment throughout the Asian region.

It is not its first investment in Vietnam. In 2009, TOP expanded its business network in Asia-Pacific by establishing the TOP Solvent (Vietnam) Co., Ltd in Ho Chi Minh City, which operates the business of distributing solvents and chemicals imported from Thailand and abroad. The main warehouse is located in Dong Nai in the south of Vietnam.

In April 2019, TOP Solvent opened its 27,000-square metre integrated solvent facility in DEEP C Industrial Zone, gearing up to extend its reach not only in Vietnam but all across Southeast Asia. The facility has the total investment capital of USD13 million.

As per MRC, The Map Ta Phut site of Covestro in Thailand recently received ISCC PLUS certification, an internationally recognized system for biomass and bioenergy sustainability certification. This means the company can now offer its customers in the ASEAN region large volumes of the high-performance plastic polycarbonate, including compounds and polycarbonate films, produced with alternative raw materials in the same good quality as their fossil-based counterparts.
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LyondellBasell announced that Polski Koncern Naftowy ORLEN S.A. (PKN ORLEN) will be using the LyondellBasell Lupotech T high-pressure polyethylene technology, said the company.

The Lupotech T process technology will be used for a 250 kiloton per year (KTA) low density polyethylene (LDPE) line. The new line will be located at their existing complex in Plock, Poland.

“With our high-pressure process engineering capabilities and long-standing operating and product expertise, LyondellBasell is delighted to become PKN ORLEN’s licensing partner for the new LDPE project at their site at Plock,” said Neil Nadalin, Director Global Licensing and Services at LyondellBasell. Nadalin added, “For larger scale production of LDPE resins, the Lupotech T process technology has proven to be the safe, reliable and energy efficient benchmark for our customers around the world."

Mr. Daniel Obajtek, President of PKN ORLEN S.A. stated: “Once the plant is started-up, PKN ORLEN S.A. will expand its product portfolio with benchmark LDPE resins. LDPE is a widely used polymer enhancing people’s everyday lives such as for film in agricultural applications or packaging such as for food preservation. The program to expand the value chain of olefins, especially ethylene and downstream products, is in line with PKN ORLEN’s strategy. The LDPE Project is the foundation for PKN ORLEN’s further development, contributing to an increase in the share of the stable EBITDA of petrochemicals in the PKN ORLEN’s results”.

Decades of experience in high-pressure application design makes the Lupotech T process the preferred technology for LDPE plant operators. High conversion rates, demonstrated high plant availability and effective process heat integration are key attributes of the Lupotech T process, designed to ensure this technology’s energy efficiency.

More than 14 million KTA of the Lupotech T process for LDPE/EVA production capacity has been licensed by LyondellBasell in over 70 lines around the world. Licensees can take advantage of LyondellBasell’s in-house expertise of continuous production improvement, product development according to the latest environmental regulations and LyondellBasell’s knowhow in high pressure design, by optionally joining our Technical Service program.

We remind, LyondellBasell has introduced an energy surcharge on its European sales of polypropylene, high-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene. Register Now The surcharge is based on the average of the German month-ahead forward power price and will total Eur160/mt during September, the company said. The surcharge will then automatically increase or decrease in following months according to the electricity price.
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Clariant, a focused, sustainable, and innovative specialty chemical company, announced that it has reached a definitive agreement for the divestment of its Quats business to Global Amines Company Pte. Ltd., a 50/50 joint venture owned by Clariant and Wilmar, Asia’s leading agricultural business and oleochemicals business globally, said the company.

This divestment is a further step in Clariant’s portfolio transformation to focus operations purely on specialty chemicals. Quats are quaternary ammonium compounds, a group of chemicals used for a variety of purposes including as preservatives, surfactants, and as antistatic agents. Quats are used in a wide range of commercial, industrial, and consumer products. The business maintains an excellent reputation as a leading supplier of quats with proprietary technology and a good service reputation.

The transfer will be an asset sale of the sites in Germany, Indonesia, and Brazil and will provide for tolling agreements where needed. The sales price, subject to standard closing conditions, is set at USD 113 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to be consummated in the first half of 2023.

We remind, Clariant has been awarded a major contract by Wanhua Chemical Group to supply catalysts for its new maleic anhydride plant, which will be one of the largest in the world. Designed to produce 200 kilotons of maleic anhydride annually, the plant will rely on Clariant’s SynDane catalyst for the production process. The facility will be located in Yantai city, Shandong province, and is scheduled to commence operation in 2023. Also based in Yantai, Wanhua is one of the largest chemical producers in China and is among the top 30 chemical producers globally by 2020 sales.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nayara Energy announced that Mr. Prasad K Panicker, Director and Head of Refinery would be taking over the responsibility of Chairman of the Company with effect from October 3, 2022, said the company.

Mr. Prasad K. Panicker will take on this important role from Mr. Charles Anthony (Tony) Fountain, whose 5 years of dedicated service have been landmarked by significant improvements in the level of performance and financial position of the Company. Despite a very challenging external environment, Nayara Energy has developed a clearly articulated strategy for a phased expansion into petrochemicals. The first phase of that development plan, the expansion into polypropylene, will be delivered next year.

Nayara Energy has significantly expanded and focused its CSR role with a commitment to ensure that the communities in which it operates develop and grow alongside it. Under the guidance of Mr. Fountain, the Company has established highly effective corporate governance systems, enhanced its external reputation and put in place a very strong executive team under the leadership of a highly experienced CEO, Dr. Alois Virag.

Nayara Energy wants to thank Mr. Fountain for his important contribution to steer the Company through some of the most challenging of economic cycles. Mr Fountain said, “I am deeply proud of what has been achieved at Nayara, and it has been a privilege to work with the Board in achieving this. Given the much-improved position of the company and after 5 years, now is the right time to hand on to a new leader to work with the management team and Board to deliver the next exciting phase for the Company”.

At the new stage of its growth journey, Nayara Energy would focus on implementation of its cutting-edge asset development program to transform itself into an integrated petrochemical producer, while continuing thoughtful implementation of its ESG initiatives, with strong impact on employees and local community well-being and environmental sustainability.

In his new role, Mr. Panicker will deploy his outstanding technological experience and excellent knowledge of the local Indian market to lead Nayara Energy through a new set of strategic priorities with strong focus on development projects.

Mr. Panicker will also continue with his critical leadership role as Head of Refinery, which will support hands on implementation of Nayara Energy’s ambitious development program. Mr. Panicker is well-respected within national and local authorities and has strong reputation in Gujarat State, which will assure strong CSR contribution and successful implementation of existing and new commitments.

We remind, Rosneft backed Nayara Energy, earlier known as Essar Oil, has chalked out massive expansion plans for India which include setting up of a greenfield petrochemical complex and ramping up its existing refining capacity from 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 46 mtpa at Vadinar near Jamnagar in Gujarat. The total envisaged investment for expansion, of which a major part is towards building a new petrochemical complex, is about Rs.1.5 lakh crore, they said. The expansion plans also include increasing its retail presence and additional investment at the captive port of Vadinar.

Nayara Energy is a downstream & petrochemicals company of international scale with strong presence across the hydrocarbon value chain from refining to retail. In August 2017, the company was acquired by international investors, Rosneft and an investment consortium comprising of global commodity trading firm, Trafigura and UCP Investment Group. The company owns and operates India’s second largest single site refinery at Vadinar, Gujarat with a current capacity of 20MMTPA. The refinery is one of the world’s most modern and complex refineries with a complexity of 11.8, which is amongst the highest globally.
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