Turkey expects to start importing gas from Karabakh field in Caspian Sea in 2028-2029

Turkey and Azerbaijan are working on a long-term agreement on gas supplies from the Karabakh field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, as per Interfax.

"We have been working on a long-term agreement on the Karabakh field in the Caspian Sea for a long time. An agreement in principle has been reached on the start of gas imports from the field, if possible, in 2028, or at the latest in 2029," Bayraktar said during an interview with Azerbaijani AzTV state television.

He said that Turkey is ready to conclude long-term contracts for the purchase of additional volumes of natural gas from Azerbaijan.

"If Azerbaijan has additional gas volumes over the next 15 years, our domestic market is open. Turkey's industry, economy, and the population are growing, and we are ready for long-term commitments to purchase gas," Bayraktar said.

The minister also said that in order to expand the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor, an active position is needed not only from Turkey and Azerbaijan, but also from Europe.

He said that Turkey is confidently moving toward being an energy hub and is "ready to double gas transportation to Europe."

The Karabakh oil field is located 120 km east of Baku, 20-25 km from the Caspian Gunashli field, at a depth of 150-200 meters.

On May 31, 2018, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and Equinor signed a PSA for the exploration and development of the Dan Ulduzu-Ashrafi-Aypara block of promising structures and a Risk Service Contract for the development of the Karabakh field. SOCAR and Equinor created an operating company on a parity basis to implement the project.

However, Equinor sold its 50% stake in the projects to SOCAR in December 2023, with the deal closing on April 24, 2024.

In September 2024, BP and SOCAR signed a memorandum of understanding on the Karabakh field and the Dan Ulduzu-Ashrafi-Aypara structure. BP noted at the time that its participation in the exploration and development of the two offshore areas could accelerate the implementation of the projects owing to possible synergies.

In early 2025, BP plc vice president for the Caspian region, Bakhtiyar Aslanbeyli, said that the company expects to enter into a contract for the development of the Karabakh field this year.

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Orlen Group SA (Plock, Poland) has announced additional one-off asset impairments for its petrochemicals business totaling 11.5 billion Polish zlotys ($2.97 billion) that will be included in its final 2024 consolidated financial results, said the company.

The noncash write-offs within its petchems segment include 6.2 billion zlotys for its Orlen SA business, 1.8 billion zlotys for its subsidiary Unipetrol AS and 900 million zlotys for its Anwil SA subsidiary, it said on March 31. It also confirmed additional write-offs of 1.8 billion zlotys in its refining segment.

The impairments “result from assumptions of the difficult macroeconomic and market conditions,” it said.

Orlen, currently in the midst of a restructure of its petchems business, announced in December it had scrapped original development plans for its New Chemistry expansion project, previously known as Olefins III, at Plock to avoid spiraling forecast costs of up to 51 billion zlotys. The project’s schedule was delayed to at least 2030, and the overall development was scaled down to lower its overall anticipated cost.

Orlen said March 31 that capital expenditure on the New Chemistry project in 2024 totaled 4.8 billion zlotys, bringing the project’s total capex to date since its launch in 2021 to 14.1 billion zlotys. In December, the company said total capex under the revamped scheme is now forecast at about 34 billion zlotys. The value of the assets under construction as part of the expansion project, including a new 740,000 metric tons per year steam cracker, has also been increased by 5.2 billion zlotys, it said.

Orlen said the final version of its group consolidated financial results for 2024 will be published on April 15. The company announced its initial fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results in March, posting an EBITDA loss for its petchems business of 1.09 billion zlotys.

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Risk Intelligence A/S (Copenhagen) said it has signed agreement with major Singapore- based chemical tanker company for the Risk Intelligence System, as per Chemweek.

Risk Intelligence did not disclose identity of its client.

Risk Intelligence said its client is a specialist in the marine transportation of liquid chemicals and vegetable oils and operates more than 70 chemical tankers that have diverse and changing trading patterns, “which is why near real-time intelligence is key for their operations.”

It said, “With the Risk Intelligence System, the client will have access to credible security intelligence to assist in planning, managing and adjusting their operations and at the same time reducing risk to people, cargo and assets.”

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JSR Corp. has appointed Tetsuro Hori as the company’s new president and CEO, effective April 1, as per Chemweek.

Hori replaces Eric Johnson, who has been appointed as the company’s board member.

Hori previously worked at semiconductor manufacturer firm Tokyo Electron Ltd. and joined JSR in January this year as CFO and chief legal officer.

JSR is a leading producer of semiconductor materials, with a global top position in photoresists. In 2023, state-backed investment firm Japan Investment Corp. (JIC) acquired JSR for around $6.3 billion.

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Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. has established a new affiliate, Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Medical Solutions America LLC (SC-AMSA; Marlborough, Massachusetts, as per Chemweek.

This new business will serve as a contract research organization (CRO) for Sumitomo Chemical’s oligonucleotide contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) business. SC-AMSA plans to begin providing samples to customers by August 2025.

SC-AMSA is in Marlborough, which is close to Boston, where there is a large concentration of drug discovery start-up companies with high demand for gRNA, said the company. Sumitomo Chemical will provide gRNA samples from this new company to closely communicate with customers and promptly respond to their needs.

Sumitomo Chemical began its nucleic acid drug substance contract manufacturing business in 2013. Recently, it has focused on large-scale production of long-chain oligonucleotides called gRNA, which are necessary for genome editing therapy.

A new manufacturing plant for the gRNA was established at Sumitomo Chemical’s Oita Japan, site and shipments to multiple customers last year.

Sumitomo Chemical established the Advanced Medical Solutions Sector last October and it has identified it as the next growth area. The sector provides solutions for advanced medical treatments, including oligonucleotides, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for small-molecule drugs, and regenerative medicine and cell therapy products.

Sumitomo Chemical plans to enhance SC-AMSA’s functions and operations as a foothold to develop its oligonucleotide CDMO business in the US, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market.

Sumitomo Chemical operates CDMO businesses related to APIs and intermediates for small molecule drugs, oligonucleotides, and regenerative medicine and cell therapy.

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