Russia discussing VietSovPetro participation in developing offshore blocks, NPP construction, renewable energy in Vietnam

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh have discussed cooperation in fuel and energy, including nuclear and renewable energy, and in agriculture, tourism, banking and finance and education, scientific and technical cooperation and culture, the Russian government press service said, as per Interfax.

In the fuel and energy sector, the two discussed the operating environment for the VietSovPetro joint venture in Vietnam, including its possible participation in new projects to develop offshore fields.

The country plans to build a joint nuclear science and technology center, with a feasibility study for the project currently underway. Russia is ready to participate in the construction of both a large nuclear power plant and low-power onshore or floating reactors in Vietnam, and has also offered the services of its companies in creating new renewable energy capacities.

Russia and Vietnam boosted mutual trade 8.3% in 2023 compared with 2022, and 21.5% year-on-year in H1 2024. Exports from Russia to Vietnam increased 73.2%, and imports from Vietnam rose 8.8%.

Russia supplies Hanoi with fuel, ferrous metals, agricultural products and fertilizers, and wood and plastic products. Electronics and mobile phones, textiles and footwear and food and agricultural products are imported.

Some 125,000 Russian tourists visited Vietnam in 2023 with an 80% year-on-year increase in January-September 2024. The countries are negotiating an increase in the number of direct and charter flights.

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Russian energy company Surgutneftegaz awarded its annual tender for diesel and fuel oil exports in 2025 at higher prices than a year ago, three sources familiar with the tender said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Following the imposition of Western sanctions in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine, Russia has developed an alternative network to market its fuel and many Russian companies have turned to selling via direct negotiations.

Russia is still a major diesel and fuel oil supplier to international markets, although it has been forced to sell its energy at a discount compared with fuel that is not under sanctions.

Surgutneftegaz has continued to sell its oil products via annual tenders. It has, however, dropped six-month tenders for crude oil, which it now sells only on the spot market, the sources said. They asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Surgutneftegaz awarded low-sulfur diesel and straight-run fuel oil for loading in January–December 2025, the sources said.

Two of the sources said one trading firm won both lots but did not name the firm. Diesel was sold at discount of $100–$110 per barrel on free on board (FOB) Primorsk basis, the sources said. The discount was roughly $30 per barrel narrower compared to the one achieved in a previous tender for products loading this year, according to one of the sources.

Another source said that fuel oil was sold at discount of $50–$60 per barrel FOB Ust-Luga. This was also an improvement on volumes sold for loading this year, but traders did not provide details.

The oil products sold through the tender were sold with discounts to northwest Europe benchmark prices for 10-ppm diesel and fuel oil, traders said.

Surgutneftegaz also tendered to sell gasoline for loading in 2025, but sources said bans on gasoline exports from Russia meant that it was unlikely to do so.

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Jiangsu Lopal Tech Co Ltd, China’s leading lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials producer, aims to quadruple the LFP materials capacity of its Indonesian plant to 120,000 metric tons per year from 30,000 metric tons per year, making it the largest LFP materials plant outside of China, a report released by the company showed, as per Chemweek.

The company, however, did not detail the timeline by which it would raise its capacity fourfold. Lopal’s Indonesian project has started trial production of the first phase, which could help fill a gap in LFP cathode materials production and make up an important part for Indonesia’s electric vehicle (EV) industrial chain, the company said.

Lopal has signed an agreement with the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) and co-investors to jointly increase the investment in its subsidiary LAB new energy (AP) Pte Ltd with a maximum amount of $200 million, Lopal said.

INA is the national sovereign wealth fund established by the Indonesian government in 2021, with a mandate to increase investment and support the sustainable development of the country.

INA has collaborated with leading global investment institutions in areas that strengthen Indonesia’s advantages and deliver the best risk-adjusted returns.

Indonesia’s investment agency reportedly planned to invest up to $1 billion in fields such as EV ecosystems and geothermal energy this year.

Indonesia aims to become a hub for energy transition on the back of its vast nickel reserves and set a target to produce 600,000 units of EVs by 2030, media reports showed.

Indonesia has attracted global investors over the past few years in view of its abundant reserves for the materials needed for batteries used in EVs and energy storage systems, as well as government policies.

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Neste and Braskem, the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas, have reached an agreement for the supply of renewable and recycled feedstocks for polymers and chemicals production, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Braskem products based on these feedstocks are expected to be available on the market starting from the fourth quarter of 2024. These products will be sold mainly in South America and included in Braskem's Wenew product portfolio.

“This is a very important moment for the industry. We're introducing a new solution that will adhere to the industry’s high quality standards while ensuring sustainability right from the start of the value chain. This partnership with Neste is a significant milestone in our journey towards a circular economy,” stated Fabiana Quiroga, Director of Circular Economy at Braskem in South America.

Braskem will sell polymer resins and chemicals made from Neste’s more sustainable feedstock Neste RE: the recycled feedstock, produced leveraging plastic waste via chemical recycling, and the renewable feedstock produced by processing renewable raw materials such as used cooking oil (UCO).

“We are excited to welcome Braskem as our partner in advancing the transformation of the plastics and chemicals industry towards more sustainable solutions,” emphasizes Jeroen Verhoeven, Commercial Director for Polymers and Chemicals at Neste. “We are looking forward to seeing our Neste RE solution in action in South America, reducing the dependence on virgin fossil feedstock in the production of polymers and chemicals.”

An ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certified mass balance approach will be applied to integrate the new feedstocks into Braskem's existing processes. This will give customers further reassurance regarding the uninterrupted chain of custody and the sustainable sourcing of the materials.

An innovative solution with clear climate benefits. By combining chemically recycled and renewable solutions, Braskem builds upon two of the most promising solutions to reduce the use of virgin feedstock and to promote sustainability in chemicals and plastics value chains.

Chemical recycling enables the recycling of those types of plastic waste that are otherwise difficult to recycle, for example multi-material or colored plastics. In this sense, Neste’s chemically recycled feedstock can contribute to increasing recycling and therefore help reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the environment.

Neste's renewable feedstock, on the other hand, can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when replacing fossil feedstock in the manufacturing of plastics and chemicals. It is produced using renewable raw materials such as waste and residue oils and fats like used cooking oil or residues from vegetable oil processing.

Both feedstocks enable manufacturing of products that are safe and suitable also for sensitive applications, for example food-contact packaging, representing a huge step forward for the market. Particularly for chemical recycling, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) acknowledged that chemical recycling processes, which produce high-purity monomers indistinguishable from the original fossil-based monomers and that comply with applicable regulation for food-contact packaging, can be used without requiring any specific authorization.

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Olefins market sentiment was mostly pessimistic on the outlook for 2025 among participants at the concluding day of the European Petrochemical Association (EPCA) annual conference in Berlin on Oct. 10, as per Chemweek.

This contrasted with last year’s EPCA conference in 2023, when market players were more optimistic on prospects for 2024, expecting some recovery in demand and hoping that rationalization of the industry would help combat oversupply.

Sentiment this year was more pessimistic on the prospect for recovery moving into 2025, amid a year filled with persistent weak end-user demand, which weighed on the European olefins market.

“We are not optimistic for next year,” one polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer said. “[We’re] just looking to get through 2025, because the market will eventually pick-up.”

Despite rationalization occurring in Europe this year as expected, market players continued to voice expectations of further belt-tightening for the industry to reach full optimization.

One of Sabic’s steam crackers at Geleen, Netherlands, was announced for closure in April 2024, with ExxonMobil also separately announcing its cracker at Gravenchon, France, is set to be closed by the end of 2024.

LyondellBasell Industries NV announced a strategic review of some of its European assets in August, including its cracker at Berre, France. Results from the review are still pending.

Alongside discussions of rationalization, upcoming turnarounds in 2025 were also discussed at the EPCA event. Already confirmed are the TotalEnergies steam cracker in Gonfreville, France, set to undergo a planned turnaround between mid-April to mid-June 2025 and the Ineos Naphthachimie cracker at Lavera, France, from September 2025 to January 2026.

Generally, significant uncertainties regarding market fundamentals and outlooks for 2025 dominated conversations at this year’s conference.

Looking at current European ethylene market dynamics, activity was subdued on the week amid weak derivative demand as the end of the year approaches.

Supply remains balanced amid ongoing planned cracker maintenance in Europe, but market sources have warned of possible length when these crackers come back online, supported by low buying appetite across the value chain.

“We are entering a sale-out season, demand is dropping,” a producer said. “We are still in turnaround season, which is keeping supply balanced, but if they the crackers start up, the market will be long.”

With muted spot trading activity, prices have softened amid weaker fundamentals. The 3-to-30-day forward free-delivered Northwest European ethylene spot price was assessed at €890 per metric ton on Oct. 10, down €43.50 per metric ton on the month.

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