Urals crude price for tax purposes 56.82/bbl in Sept - Russian Econ Ministry

The average September 2025 price of Urals crude for calculating mineral extraction tax on oil is $56.82 per barrel, the Russian Economic Development Ministry said, as per Interfax.

This matches the estimate based on Argus data that Interfax published earlier.

Since January 2025, the cost of Russian oil for MET has been calculated using a new formula, which is the sum of the average prices for Urals FOB at Primorsk and Urals Med Aframax FOB at Novorossiysk, multiplied by a factor of 0.78, as well as prices for the ESPO blend FOB Kozmino, multiplied by 0.22. Non-trading days are not taken into account.

The price was $57.55 per barrel in August.

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Eight OPEC+ countries have decided to increase their production quotas in November by 137,000 barrels per day due to a stable global economic forecast and favorable market conditions currently reflected in low oil reserves, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement, as per Interfax.

The next meeting of the ministers is due on November 2.

The decision was made due to stable prospects for the world economy and favorable market conditions expressed in low oil reserves, the statement said.

In future the 1.65 million b/d limits could be restored partly or in full, depending on the market situation, it said.

Considering the compensation schedules for some members of the alliance the combined OPEC+ quota for production in November will increase by 74,000 b/d to 38.084 million b/d.

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Syensqo, a leading global provider of high-performance materials and chemical solutions, has announced another breakthrough in its 60 years history of sulfone polymers innovations with the invention of a proprietary chemical recycling technology that efficiently depolymerizes sulfone polymers to obtain purified raw material monomers, as per company.

This new process enables the infinite circularity of sulfone polymers, confirming Syensqo’s leadership in sustainable specialty polymers.

The new technology builds on Syensqo’s sustainable ECHO sulfone polymers portfolio and relies on proprietary chemical recycling processes to break down formulated polyarylethersulfone (PAES) content in post-industrial production scrap (PIR) and post-consumer parts (PCR) into monomer feedstock for reuse in new polymer products. The purified monomers can be incorporated infinitely into Udel® PSU, Radel® PPSU or Veradel® PESU as well as other thermoplastics or even epoxy resin formulations without loss of performance.

By leading the transition to circularity within the PAES sector and engaging partners across the entire value chain, including collection, sorting and end-use, Syensqo is strengthening its pioneering role in life solution markets and welcomes the collaboration and support of the community in this endeavor.

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Ethylene prices declined in Asia last Thursday, as per Polymerupdate.

An industry source in Asia informed a Polymerupdate team member, "Prices were assessed lower on the back of a bleak buying momentum in the Asian markets."

CFR South East Asia ethylene prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 795-805/mt levels, a drop of USD (-10/mt) from Wednesday

Meanwhile, CFR North East Asia ethylene prices on Thursday were assessed at the USD 800-810/mt levels, a day on day fall of USD (-5/mt).

In plant news, Mitsui Chemicals has restarted its Osaka cracker in early October 2025, with production reported to be running at normal capacity levels. The unit had been shut down for maintenance in the first half of August 2025, although no official confirmation was provided at the time. Located in Osaka, Japan, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 500,000 mt/year.

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The Plastics Industry Association (Plastics; Washington, DC) and the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE; Danbury, Connecticut) have agreed to merge by the end of 2025, as per Chemweek.

SPE will become a division of Plastics, with the full operational integration expected to begin on Jan. 1, the two organizations announced on Oct. 2.

The directors of both last week approved the recommendation of a task group formed to explore a potential merger.

“Plastics is leading the industry in many ways — sustainability, market insights, advocacy, and of course, NPE,” said Matt Seaholm, president and CEO of Plastics. NPE is the trade group’s triennial trade show. “SPE has built an incredible legacy of technical education, scientific research, and professional development. By bringing our organizations together, we’re creating a stronger, more connected platform to serve our members and advance the industry.”

Under the terms of the agreement, SPE will become a division of Plastics governed by an executive committee modeled on SPE’s current leadership structure. SPE members will retain their membership status, benefits and identity within the new division as part of the merged organization. Patrick Farrey, CEO of SPE, will join Plastics as executive vice president of SPE and chief integration officer.

“For SPE members, this is about opportunity,” Farrey said. “Our technical expertise and professional development programs will now reach more people, supported by the resources and global platform that Plastics brings.”

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