Oman's OQ to list up to 49% stake in methanol, ammonia and LPG arm

Oman's OQ Base Industries (OQBI), the methanol, ammonia and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) arm of state-owned OQ, plans to list an up to 49% stake on the local stock exchange, it said on Monday, adding to a string of IPOs in the Gulf country, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The listing is part of a privatization program by state-owned energy group OQ, which is helping Oman - a small non-OPEC oil producer - to diversify its economy and cut its debt.

It would follow the flotation of OQ's exploration and production business OQEP.OM, which raised about $2 B last month in the country's biggest IPO ever.

OQBI is in talks with potential investors and working with bankers "to determine the fair price for the shares", CEO Khalid Khalfan Al Asmi told Reuters, without providing further details.

Based in Salalah, home to Oman's biggest port, OQBI operates three strategic divisions: methanol, ammonia and LPG products.

Methanol is a lower-carbon fuel while ammonia is mainly used in fertilisers and chemicals. LPG includes propane, butane, and cooking gas, which are used as fuel for cars, heating.

The company has a combined capacity of 1.8 MMtpy of production, with methanol accounting for around 1.1 MMtpy of the total.

OQBI, which exports all of its produced methanol and ammonia and 87% of its LPG products, was leveraging its strategic location near major shipping lines, Al Asmi added.

It expects to pay a dividend of 32.7 MM Omani riyals ($85 MM) for 2024 and distribute a dividend at least 5% higher than this year's payout for 2025 and 2026.

The company posted first-half revenue of more than $500 MM, with core profit of over $200 MM, Al Asmi said.

OQBI said that all the proceeds from the offering will be distributed to the selling shareholders, with the subscription period expected to start this month. The shares are expected to begin trading in December.

mrchub.com

Fujian Southeast Electrochemical Co., LTD. (SEEC) and thyssenkrupp nucera have reached another milestone in their collaboration, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Chinese chemical company is now utilizing thyssenkrupp nucera’s latest e-BiTAC v7 electrolyzer with a production capacity of 300,000 tpy of caustic soda at their chlor-alkali plant in the Chinese Fujian province. This marks the commencement of the fourth phase of the project, serving for expanding of downstream application.

Over the past 13 years, SEEC and thyssenkrupp nucera, a supplier of world-leading technologies for high-efficiency electrolysis plants, have collaborated on four project phases with a total capacity of 1,020 kilo metric tons of caustic soda per year. SEEC has consistently placed its trust in thyssenkrupp nucera’s innovative BiTAC series electrolyzers, from n-BiTAC and nx-BiTAC plus to two phases of e-BiTAC v7. Establishing a hub for ongoing technological improvement, both companies have agreed that SEEC will henceforth serve as the “Strategic Cooperative Demonstration Base” for thyssenkrupp nucera’s BiTAC series electrolyzers.

“Our long-standing collaboration with SEEC is characterized by a high level of mutual appreciation. Reaching the next project phase and having the plant in Fujian designated as a 'strategic cooperative demonstration base' underscores the importance of our collaboration and the significant role this plant plays in showcasing and advancing our technology,” says Keisho Cho, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera China.

“With its proven electrolyzer performance, low power consumption, simple and stable operation, and cost-effective structure, thyssenkrupp nucera meets our needs for large-scale and full-load operation of our plant. This solid foundation paves the way for a long-term collaboration”, said by SEEC. In 2023, SEEC awarded thyssenkrupp nucera as “Excellent Supplier”.

SEEC, formerly known as Fuzhou No. 2 Chemical Company, is one of China's key enterprises in the chlor-alkali industry and a large-scale production base of chlor-alkali plant in Fujian province. The company manufactures and distributes caustic soda products, polyvinyl products, and liquid chlorine products, among others.

mrchub.com

Oil production at the Kashagan field in Kazakhstan reached its full capacity on Sunday, November 3, upon completion of an overhaul, which lasted from October 7 to 28, the Kazakh Energy Ministry told Interfax on Monday.

"We confirm that the deposit has reached its full production capacity," it said. As reported, operations at the Kashagan field were shut down entirely in the period October 7-28 while a new inlet gas separator was connected and commissioned. The maintenance was completed ahead of schedule.

The ministry adjusted the oil production forecast for Kazakhstan in 2024 from 90.5 million tonnes to just over 88 million tonnes due to the shutdown of the country's largest field.

The Kashagan field is Kazakhstan's first Caspian offshore oilfield and its biggest international investment project. Its recoverable reserves range from 9 billion-13 billion barrels of oil. Commercial production at Kashagan started on November 1, 2016. Kashagan produced 18.8 million tonnes of oil in 2023.

The shareholders of NCOC, the operator of the Kashagan field, are KMG Kashagan B.V. (16,877% of shares), Shell Kazakhstan Development B.V. (16,807%), Total EP Kazakhstan (16,807%), AgipCaspian Sea B.V (16,807%), and ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc. (16.807%), as well as CNPC Kazakhstan B.V. with 8.333% and Inpex North-Caspian Sea Ltd. with 7.563%.

mrchub.com

Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman are extending voluntary oil production cuts by 2.2 million bpd for one month until the end of December 2024, the OPEC Secretariat said in a statement on Sunday, as per Interfax.

These eight OPEC+ countries reiterated their collective commitment to achieve full conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation, including the additional voluntary production adjustments.

The OPEC+ countries welcomed the recent announcement made by Iraq and the joint statement made by Russia and Kazakhstan, in which they "strongly reaffirmed their commitment" to the agreement including the additional voluntary production adjustments and to their compensation schedules for the overproduced volumes.

The eight OPEC+ member states have been reducing production voluntarily since last year. This reduction is taking place in two "tranches."

They were supposed to begin to gradually phase out one of the cuts, by 2.2 million bpd, on October 1 in increments of 180,000-200,000 bpd per month, but in early September they decided to put off the increase in output by two months. The parties to the agreement are also closely following how the countries that allowed overproduction in the first seven to ten months of 2024, namely, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Russia, will compensate for this breach with additional cuts in the future.

mrchub.com

U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals reached an all-time high of 21.6 MMt in 2023, up 135% since the U.S. began exporting ethane in 2014 and 17% more than in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The rapid expansion of U.S. ethane and ethane-based petrochemical exports has been fueled by the growth in domestic ethane production, which has increased with the country’s natural gas production and the buildout of export and production infrastructure.

All elements of the ethane value chain, are produced in, consumed in, and exported from the United States, including ethane, ethylene, polyethylene, and other ethylene derivatives.

The U.S. started exporting ethane in 2014 via pipeline to petrochemical plants in Canada. In 2016, the United States began exporting ethane to countries in Europe from marine export terminals. U.S. ethane export capacity has increased since 2016 with the completion of two new pipelines and three more marine export terminals.

U.S. ethane exports increased to a record high of 3.0 MMmt in 2023, up 12% from 2022. In 2023, U.S. ethane was mostly exported to China, which accounted for 45% (1.4 MMmt) of U.S. ethane exports, followed by India (16%), Canada (14%), Norway (9%), and the United Kingdom (7%).

U.S. ethane exports to China increased fastest between 2022 and 2023, rising 35% last year. China’s Satellite Petrochemical has begun ethylene production at two new ethane crackers since 2021, which has increased domestic ethane demand in China. Ethane exports to Norway rose the second fastest, rising 32% to 288,000 metric tons in 2023. Other importers of U.S. ethane include Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden.

Ethane’s high ethylene yields and cost advantages over naphtha in ethylene production have driven export volumes of ethane higher since 2014. Most petrochemical crackers have some flexibility in switching between ethane and naphtha as a feedstock, depending on the relative profitability of each feedstock. In the United States, cracking ethane to produce ethylene has historically generated higher profit margins compared with the margins from cracking naphtha, the most common feedstock in Western Europe and East Asia. Global petrochemical manufacturers looking to secure low-cost ethane feedstock to produce ethylene are developing new petrochemical crackers and associated infrastructure.

The United States exported ethylene derivatives to over 100 nations in 2023. Unlike ethane and ethylene, which require cryogenic cooling to turn them from a gas to a liquid, ethylene derivatives do not require special handling and can be exported or imported through any port or overland route capable of handling containerized traffic.

Total U.S. ethylene-derivative exports grew 20% to 16.9 MMt from 2022 to 2023, led by a 69% increase (2.2 MMt) in exports to Asia. U.S. exports to Canada fell by 10% to 1.5 MMt; exports to Mexico grew 3% to 2.4 MMt in 2023. Until 2017, North American destinations, particularly Canada and Mexico, accounted for the largest share of U.S. polyethylene and other ethylene-derivative exports.

US-based Shintech (Houston, Texas) will expand the capacity of its plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana. The company will build an ethane cracker with a capacity of 500,000 tons of ethylene per year, a chlor-alkali plant, and a plant for the production of ethylene dichloride (EDC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). According to a statement from the company, construction will begin in late 2024, with commissioning of the new facilities scheduled for late 2027.

mrchub.com