Germany's SEFE signs 10-year contract with SOCAR for gas supplies starting 2025, scaling up to 1.5 bcm per year

Germany's SEFE (Securing Energy for Europe, formerly Gazprom Marketing & Trading before being seized from Gazprom ) has signed a 10-year gas purchase contract with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), with supplies commencing in 2025, the companies said in a press release, as per Interfax.

"The annual volume will gradually increase to 15 terawatt-hours (TWh), equivalent to approximately 1.5 billion cubic meters. This partnership will support investment in production and infrastructure, such as gas compressors, increasing pipeline gas volumes to Europe and thereby enhancing the continent's supply security," the press release said.

"Through this partnership, we're establishing a new route for substantial gas volumes to reach Europe, diversifying our portfolio and strengthening supply security for our customers," SEFE CEO Egbert Laege was quoted as saying.

"SOCAR remains committed to investing in infrastructure and production capacity to ensure reliable and uninterrupted energy supplies for our partners," SOCAR CEO Rovshan Najaf said.

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Yokogawa Electric Corp. has unveiled the next-generation Release 7 concept and the launch of Release 7.01 of the CENTUMTM VP integrated production control system, a core product in the OpreX™ Control and Safety System lineup, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This is the 10th generation of the CENTUM series, and its release coincides with the 50th anniversary of the announcement of CENTUM as the world’s first(*1) DCS on June 19, 1975.

Development background. In addition to the dynamic changes in supply chains over recent years, countries have been strengthening regulations in response to a growing awareness of the need to protect the environment. At the same time, with the increasing use of digital technologies for complex applications such as the management of the utilization of renewable energy and the analysis of data in cloud-based environments, security risks have become a greater concern. Also, while utilizing existing tangible assets, there is a growing need to pass on to others the expertise of seasoned operators, and to reduce the workload and mental burden for personnel who are responsible for systems that must be kept operating around the clock. Amidst the growing complexity of these industry challenges, management and frontline personnel are required to increase competitiveness and strike a balance between the stable manufacturing of superior products and the need to improve efficiency and profitability.

The concept behind CENTUM VP Release 7. In response to these issues, Yokogawa has based its development of CENTUM VP Release 7 on the concept of enabling autonomous operations (*2). With CENTUM, Yokogawa is helping its customers attain sustainability by improving energy efficiency, accelerating decarbonization and providing a safe and secure working environment. While maintaining the reliability, stability, continuity, robust security and comprehensive engineering and service network that have been hallmarks of the CENTUM series since its inception.

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Russia's oilseed processing capacity could increase by 4 million to 6 million tonnes within the next three years, Institute for Agricultural Market Studies General Director Dmitry Rylko said, as per Interfax.

"Russia continues implementing oilseed processing projects. We anticipate additional capacity growth of 4-6 million tonnes within a three-year perspective. Loading these new capacities will require expanding oilseed cultivation areas by 1.3-2.5 million hectares beyond the record 2025 planting," Rylko said at a poultry farming seminar organized by the Russian-Dutch joint stock company De Heus (Vladimir region).

The institute estimates that Russia's oilseed processing capacity will reach around 35 million tonnes of raw materials annually in 2025.

Farmers' strong interest in oilseeds and increased production of meal (an oilseed processing byproduct) will favorably impact feed availability for poultry and livestock, Rylko said. In particular, growing supplies of soybean, sunflower and rapeseed meal will help stabilize price volatility for grain-based feeds. However, grain feed pricing increasingly depends on export channels and interregional logistics, especially considering transportation gaps between European Russia and Siberia, he said.

Industry estimates show feed accounts for up to 70% of poultry production costs. Rylko forecasts that Russia's planted area under oilseeds may set a new record exceeding 20 million hectares in the 2025-2026 agricultural year, with the harvest reaching 31-32 million tonnes. "Next season we anticipate record soybean, rapeseed and sunflower plantings, with the total area under oilseeds potentially surpassing 20 million hectares. Given current planting forecasts and absent severe weather issues, the total harvest could grow to 31.3-32.3 million tonnes," he said.

A year earlier, oilseed plantings covered 18.9 million ha, with the Agriculture Ministry reporting the harvest at 30 million tonnes.

Producers are reorienting towards sunflower, rapeseed and legumes to maintain business profitability, Rylko said. Simultaneously, farmers are reducing wheat (Russia's most common grain) and rye (previously in high demand) cultivation areas.

De Heus ranks among Russia's leading producers of premium premixes, prestarters and compound feed for livestock and poultry. Its premix production capacity reaches 120,000 tonnes annually, with 60,000 tonnes for prestarters. The company partners with around 300 Russian businesses, exporting up to 15% of products to Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Georgia.

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Gazprom has proposed indexing tariffs for industrial consumers twice a year, and the issue is under consideration, Federal Anti-monopoly Service chief Maxim Shaskolsky told Interfax.

"Gazprom is making proposals regarding tariff indexation. This issue is currently being scrutinized together with the company, the Energy Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry," he said.

"There is no decision on this. We will assess the impact of this tariff change on the cost of electricity, the cost of gas for consumers. So this issue has not been resolved yet. Yes, it is being looked at," Shaskolsky said.

Dmitry Vologzhanin, director of the Council of Energy Producers, said at the end of May that regulators were discussing the idea of raising gas prices for industrial categories of consumers, including energy, by 10% in the first and fourth quarters of each year.

Shaskolsky said on June 10 that there were no specific parameters for a possible increase in tariffs yet: "There is no exact figure. There are various proposals. There might have been 10%, but that does not mean that it will be 10%," he said.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said she was hoping to agree on cutting the Russian oil price cap at the upcoming G7 meeting in Canada, as per Interfax.

"Our teams have of course been in touch with all the G7s, but also specifically with the United States," von der Leyen said in Brussels on Monday, while presenting the new package of sanctions against Russia.

"We are very much aligned in the aim to urge Russia by those massive sanctions to come to the negotiation table and to be serious about negotiations that leads towards just and lasting peace. That is the common aim," she said.

Cutting the Russian oil price cap will be high on the agenda of the G7 summit due in Canada on June 15-17, she said.

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