Olin Corp., Mitsui & Co. to end Blue Water Alliance JV

Olin Corp. (Clayton, Missouri) and Mitsui & Co. (Tokyo) have announced their mutual decision to dissolve their joint venture Blue Water Alliance JV, LLP (BWA) by the end of this year, as per Chemweek.

This move allows both companies to pursue new opportunities under a more flexible framework that aligns with Olin’s evolving participation in the ethylene dichloride (EDC) market.

Founded in 2022, the Blue Water Alliance JV was established to enhance global trading of chlor-alkali products and derivatives. However, Olin has indicated that ending the JV will accelerate its commitment to diversifying its chlorine derivatives offerings, reducing its exposure to the volatile merchant EDC market and increasing its participation in the vinyls sector.

Olin said BWA customers can expect a seamless transition as the company remains committed to providing industry-leading services, value and trading management for its full product portfolio, including EDC and caustic soda.

Olin is the largest chlor-alkali producer in the world.

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Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. (GNFC; Bharuch, India) announced an immediate shutdown of its toluene diisocyanate (TDI) unit No.2 at Dahej on Sep. 19, following a sudden leakage incident, as per Chemweek.

The company reported that safe shutdown procedures were executed, ensuring that the incident remained confined within the plant premises. There were no gas releases beyond the plant boundary, no damage to property, and no loss of life, it added. The TDI unit No.2 has a production capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year.

GNFC said it is conducting necessary checks and remedial measures before restarting the plant.

In addition to unit No.2, the company operates TDI unit No.1 at its Bharuch site, which has a capacity of 14,000 metric tons per year.

According to the Chemical Economics Handbook (CEH) by S&P Global Commodity Insights, GNFC stands as the sole TDI producer in India. The CEH report highlights that TDI consumption in India was estimated at 108,000 metric tons in 2024.

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A large gas deposit has been discovered in the Ustyurt region in the republic of Karakalpakstan in northwestern Uzbekistan, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said, as per Interfax.

"Previously, oil and gas operations were limited to 2,500-3,000 meters underground. This year, for the first time in the history of our industry, we drilled a 6,500-meter-deep well in Ustyurt and discovered a very large gas deposit," Mirziyoyev was quoted by his press service as saying as he presented state awards to education system workers in Tashkent.

Mirziyoyev, however, did not disclose the size of the deposit's probable gas reserves and did not name the companies that drilled the well.

Uzbekistan has extensive reserves of industrial minerals such as tungsten, molybdenum, titan and others, he said.

"According to the estimates, the Central Asian region, including Uzbekistan, is home to 10%-15% of the world's reserves of such minerals," Mirziyoyev said.

"In order to transform these huge resources into products with high added value, we need, first and foremost, science, knowledge and innovations," he said.

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International port terminal operator Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), part of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Group, will become a shareholder of SOCAR Terminal, according to a statement from the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), as per Interfax.

SOCAR Terminal is the container terminal of SOCAR in Turkey. This is stipulated by a strategic cooperation agreement signed by SOCAR and MSC on Tuesday in Baku.

Joint investment in SOCAR Terminal, the largest container port in the Aegean region, will contribute to strengthening Turkey's position in the global supply chain, the parties said during the signing ceremony.

"The cooperation will ensure the integration of SOCAR Terminal into TiL's extensive global network. Through new investment in equipment and technology, the terminal will increase its capacity, improve operational efficiency and achieve significant progress in the areas of digitalization, sustainable development and infrastructure," the parties said.

In early August, SOCAR Terminal CEO Uygun Degirmenci said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Dunya that SOCAR is not considering selling its container terminal in Turkey (SOCAR Terminal) and instead has decided on additional investment for its development. The planned investment will make it possible to increase the terminal's equipment capacity from 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) to 1 million TEU per year, he said. The company is also exploring cooperation opportunities to expand its terminal activities, "joining forces with strategic partners," he said.

SOCAR Terminal is the largest container terminal in the Aegean region. It features a continuous quay line of 700 meters with a depth of 16 meters, a port area of 420,000 square meters, and a back-up area of 30,000 square meters. The terminal can accommodate new-generation large ULCS-class vessels and simultaneously handle several main vessels, significantly reducing waiting times. In 2024, the terminal served 630 vessels and handled 541,100 TEU containers. The total investment by SOCAR in the project amounted to $133.6 million.

The container terminal was commissioned in two stages, in December 2016 and August 2018. Its throughput capacity is 1.5 million TEU per year. Currently, 100% of the shares of SOCAR Terminal are owned by SOCAR Turkiye Enerji, SOCAR's Turkish subsidiary.

Earlier this year, SOCAR Terminal acquired 93.47% of the shares of Petlim Limancilik Ticaret A.S., established in November 2010 to develop the port of the Petkim petrochemical complex in Turkey, which was founded in 1985.

Mediterranean Shipping Company is a global leader in global container shipping. Its headquarters is located in Geneva.

Terminal Investment Limited is a leading global container terminal operator. The company, owned by the family of Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte, was founded in 2000. TiL owns container terminals strategically located in key ports on major sea routes, providing access to key developed and emerging markets. It has a significant presence in some of the world's busiest container ports by volume, including Singapore, Ningbo, Busan, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Rotterdam, Antwerp, New York/New Jersey and Valencia.

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Rosneft has appointed Timofei Streltsov as CEO of Bashneft in place of Vladimir Chernov as of September 16, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (USRLE), as per Interfax.

Prior to his new role at Bashneft, Streltsov acted as first deputy development manager for Rosneft's oil and gas offshore business and was previously head of Sakhalinmorneftegaz Shelf, which was responsible for overseeing the Sakhalin-1 project.

Chernov had been head of Bashneft since June 2024, before which he was first deputy CEO of Rosneft. Since 2020, he has also acted as CEO of Vostok Oil and its subsidiary, Vankorneft, responsible for the Vankorskoye project.

Bashneft's controlling shareholder is PJSC Rosneft Oil Company, which holds a 57.66% share. A further 4.41% is held by Bashneft Invest LLC and 25.000001% by the Republic of Bashkortostan.

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