Asahi Kasei opens bioprocess technical center in China

Asahi Kasei Bioprocess and Asahi Kasei Microza Co., Ltd. (AKMH), both affiliated companies of Asahi Kasei Medical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Ken Shinomiya), hereby wishes to announce that the Asahi Kasei (China) Bioprocess Technical Center (CBTC) celebrated its official opening on November 23, 2023, said the company.

The new Technical Center is located in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China.

The Bioprocess Division, which focuses on biosafety testing, biopharmaceutical CDMO 1 business development, and the manufacture and sale of bioprocess-related equipment used in the production of biotherapeutics*2, is a rapidly growing division at Asahi Kasei Medical. To strengthen our capability to support customers in China, AKBC was established in 2020 to provide services to the Chinese market and manages the import and sale of Planova™ virus removal filters, BioOptimal™ microfilters and related equipment. In order to expand services through technical advice and support as well as hands-on training for local customers, AKBC opened the CBTC in collaboration with AKMH, which handles the import and sale of MICROZA industrial filtration membranes and systems.

Asahi Kasei Medical contributes to life and living for people around the world as a member of the Asahi Kasei Group’s Health Care Sector, enabling biologics manufacturers to safely and efficiently produce medicines that patients can trust.

We remind, Asahi Kasei's net profit fell by 40% year on year to Yen 30.8 bn in 1H FY 2023 (ended Sep 2023), partly due to demand weakness in China, said the company. The company's basic materials business performed better than prediction, recording an operating profit of Yen 17.7 bn and sales of Yen 610.2 bn.

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Foreign shareholders are suspending participation in the Arctic LNG 2 Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project due to sanctions, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project, seen as a key element in Russia's drive to boost its LNG global market share to 20% by 2030 from 8%, was already facing difficulties due to U.S. sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine and a lack of gas carriers.

China's state oil majors CNOOC Ltd and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) each have a 10% stake in the project, which is controlled by Novatek, Russia's largest LNG producer and owner of a 60% stake in the project.

Russian daily Kommersant, citing unnamed sources in the Russian government, said both Chinese companies, together with France's TotalEnergies and a consortium of Japan's Mitsui and Co. and JOGMEC—which also have a 10% stake each—declared force majeure on participation in the project.

Novatek, CNOOC, JOGMEC and Total did not immediately respond to requests for comment. CNPC and Mitsui declined to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the developments at the Arctic LNG 2 project, referring the questions to Novatek.

The newspaper said the suspension may lead to Arctic LNG 2 losing its long-term contracts on LNG supplies, while Novatek will have to finance the project by itself and sell the seaborne gas on the spot market.

Initial investments in the Arctic LNG 2 project stood at $21 B, and it already faced difficulties in raising funds following Western sanctions against Russia. Sanctions have also resulted in Novatek declaring force majeure over LNG supplies from the project, according to industry sources.

The European Union may also impose restrictions on Russia's LNG supplies. A Beijing-based industry official with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters last week that CNPC and CNOOC have both asked the U.S. government for exemptions from sanctions on Arctic LNG 2.

The second train of the project is due to become operational next year, while the third is expected to start production in 2026. With three processing trains, Arctic LNG 2's capacity is meant to be 19.8 MM metric tpy and 1.6 MMtpy of stable gas condensate. Production is due to start in early 2024.

Its first LNG tankers were expected to set sail in the first quarter of next year, according to Novatek. However, industry sources say commercial LNG supplies from the project are now expected no earlier than the second quarter of 2024.

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Nexeo Plastics, a global leader in thermoplastics resin distribution, is pleased to announce a significant expansion of its collaboration with Americhem, a pioneer in tailored compound solutions. Effective on November 1, 2023, Nexeo Plastics has become the preferred distributor of Americhem's full range of Engineered Compounds in North America, encompassing Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States, said the company.

This strategic move underscores Nexeo Plastics’ commitment to delivering top-tier materials, services, and solutions to customers throughout North America.

Nexeo Plastics CEO, Paul Tayler, expressed his enthusiasm for this agreement, stating, "We are thrilled to strengthen our collaboration with Americhem and expand our distribution capabilities for their Engineered Compounds. This partnership aligns with our mission to provide exceptional value to our customers by offering the highest quality materials and expertise to meet application challenges." John Richard, Americhem’s CEO, added, “We see this expanded partnership with Nexeo Plastics as a key lever to supporting our continued growth and expansion. When considering the right partner with leading Technical Support, IT Systems and Logistics, and overall commercial reach, expanding this relationship just made a lot of sense. We are truly excited with the potential this brings to our business”.

The comprehensive array of Engineered Compounds covered by this agreement includes ColorFast®, ColorRx®, InColor®, InElec®, InLube®, and InStruc®. Americhem's product portfolio is renowned for high quality tailored compounds that meet customers' unique requirements by optimizing performance properties such as structural integrity, lubricity, electrostatic dissipation, flame retardancy, critical color, and more within thermoplastic products.

Each of Americhem's product lines features distinctive characteristics, offering customers a spectrum of options to address specific needs and enhance the performance of their products.

MRC earlier said, Nexeo Univar Inc., announced that it has completed the acquisition of Nexeo Solutions, creating a leading global chemical and ingredients solutions provider. The combined company will conduct business as Univar Solutions, reflecting a commitment to combining the 'best of the best' from each legacy organization.

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Eni welcomed the launch of the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s (DESNZ) “CCUS Vision” which will strengthen the carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) to be a competitive market by 2035. This includes the launch of the Track-1 expansion process at HyNet, said the company.

This announcement reaffirms the role of UK as one of the first and most active countries to promote the CCS process as an essential lever for delivering its national decarbonisation targets and has committed ?20 billion to helping the industry reach commercial scale. This has placed the country on a trajectory to store 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by 2030, while creating 50,000 new jobs.

Whitin this framework Eni has established a leading position in the UK where is the CO2 transport and storage operator of the HyNet consortium. Moreover, the company is planning a second UK CCS hub, the Bacton Energy Hub, to decarbonise the Thames Estuary region where has been granted a license to store carbon dioxide in the depleted Hewett gas field in the Southern North Sea. Together, HyNet and Bacton have the capacity to store 500 million tonnes of CO2 and will help to preserve thousands of jobs and encourage investment in new industrial supply chains, thus contributing to the creation of new employment opportunities as well as making a significant contribution to the UK's decarbonisation objectives.

We remind, Eni has agreed to sell a 9% stake in its low-carbon and retail unit Plenitude to Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) through a deal that values the unit at 10 billion euros ($11 billion) including debt, the Italian energy company said. Under the agreement, EIP will invest in Plenitude through a capital increase of up to 700 million euros, which, post-transaction, would give the Swiss fund approximately 9% of the company. The initial capital increase will amount to 500 million euros, with the option for EIP to go up to 700 million euros by early 2024.

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MRC -- A meeting was held between the President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), Rovshan Najaf, and the delegation led by Equinor’s Executive Vice President for International Exploration and Production, Philippe Mathieu, said the company.

During the meeting, agreements were signed for SOCAR's acquisition of Equinor’s shares in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) and Karabakh fields, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project.

Before the acquisition, Equinor held a 7.27% stake in the ACG oil fields, an 8.71% interest in the BTC pipeline, and 50% in the Karabakh field. Previously, SOCAR had a 25% stake in ACG, 25% in BTC, and 50% in the Karabakh field.

The transactions will be completed following compliance with all regulatory requirements and contractual obligations.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between SOCAR and Equinor, signifying a mutual collaboration in decarbonization and green energy.

We remind, Romgaz said it signed the first individual contract for gas deliveries from Azerbaijan, with Azeri national oil company Socar. The contract allows for scheduled gas deliveries through the Southern Corridor starting January 1, using the transportation capacities of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB) , as well as those of the Bulgarian and Romanian transmission systems, Romgaz said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB.

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