Taiwan's private refineries are ready to stop purchasing Russian naphtha

The Taiwan government has stated that private refineries are ready to stop purchasing Russian naphtha if the EU requests it, Reuters reports.

Taiwan's National Development Council Minister Gong Ming-hsin made this statement in an interview with Reuters.

The statement came after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the island's continued business relations with Russia. Despite Taiwan joining the United States and major Western allies in imposing sweeping sanctions against Russia in 2022, the country has not explicitly banned energy imports.

Therefore, although Taiwan's state-owned companies stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there are no restrictions on private companies continuing to do so.

Specifically, the country's government, led by Minister of Economy Gong Ming-hsin, held discussions with Formosa Petrochemical, which continues to purchase Russian naphtha, as well as with representatives of the European Union, to gather their opinions.

"We can only discuss this with our private companies, and they are ready to comply. If the EU says there will be no more purchases next year, then our companies will no longer purchase them either," Gong Ming-hsin responded when asked whether Taiwan would stop purchasing naphtha from Russia.

Russian naphtha remains the cheapest feedstock for Formosa at a time when petrochemical producers are struggling with losses, but continued imports are drawing close attention from Ukraine's supporters.

"Formosa holds open bids for naphtha purchases through our tenders. Therefore, we don't buy it directly from Russia, but we select the lowest-priced offers on the open market, and Russian naphtha has always been competitive. Russian naphtha is cheaper than most naphthas, say, in the Middle East or India. However, for the October delivery, we didn't buy anything Russian because there were no offers," Formosa spokesman K. Yu. Lin told Reuters.

In the first nine months of 2025, Taiwan imported 75,000 barrels per day of Russian naphtha, compared to 71,000 barrels per day in 2024, according to shipping company Kpler. According to the calculations presented, Russia supplied Taiwan with USD 1.3 billion worth of oil over the past six months.

As previously reported, Formosa Plastics (USA) announced the commissioning of North America's largest horizontal polypropylene reactor at its Point Comfort, Texas, plant. The facility has an annual capacity of 550 million pounds (approximately 249,000 tons). The new unit is based on Japan Polypropylene (JPP) technology and can produce a wide range of resins, including homopolymers, random copolymers, and high-impact copolymers.

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Oil supplies from Russia to Pakistan are sporadic with the country's oil refineries are geared to lighter crude blends, Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik told journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, as per Interfax.

"There are five or six oil refineries in Pakistan, and they are already working with trial cargoes from Russia. Since Russian oil is quite heavy, and Pakistani refineries are used to lower-sulfur varieties, in particular, from the Middle East, we try to mix it with other crudes and optimize production plans," Malik said.

He said Pakistani refineries continued to work with Russian suppliers to identify their needs.

"If you ask about the number of ships and cargoes we received, I think one or two were processed by Pakistan Refinery Limited, and three or four more by Cnergyico. But this is sporadic rather than the norm, because of the problems I told you about. We are adjusting the properties of the oil, and as soon as we have an understanding, I think it will be possible to guarantee more stable supplies," the minister said.

He said there were no problems between the two countries in settlements for oil. Pakistan expects to say finally how much oil it needs during the intergovernmental commission, which should be held before the end of the year.

But he also said working with heavy grades of oil would lead to an increase in fuel oil production. This may become an obstacle to the import of Russian oil due to the country's obligations to the International Monetary Fund.

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German chemical company BASF will sell a majority stake in its BASF Coatings coatings business to funds managed by the Carlyle Group and the Qatar Investment Authority, said the company.

The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026. The company will retain a 40% stake in the business and receive approximately €5.8 billion, according to Carlyle.

BASF Coatings produces and markets advanced, sustainable automotive coatings for OEM and refinish applications, as well as surface treatments for metal, plastic, and glass across a wide range of industries. It operates in Europe, North America, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. In 2024, the company's sales were approximately €3.8 billion.

"Working closely with management, Carlyle will support the business's future growth by investing in its commercial potential, innovative portfolio, and organizational structure to enhance customer focus. Carlyle will leverage its extensive experience and strong track record of successfully spinning off industrial and chemical assets, building on its previous investments in Axalta, Atotech, and Nouryon," the document states.

Previously, BASF closed the sale of its Brazilian decorative paints business. The transaction price was $1.15 billion on a debt-free and cash-free basis.

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Pakistan hopes for help from Russia's Gazprom to develop onshore and offshore oil and gas fields, Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (SPMGF-2025), as per Interfax.

"Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the entire government have committed to carry out reforms to ensure greater stability for our gas market, together with our friends, such as Russia, and my comrade [addressing Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller], who is absolutely right. We look forward to his visit to Pakistan to help us develop opportunities to tap our exploration potential for gas on land and on the country's shelf," he said.

Malik said Pakistan was an underexplored market where hydrocarbons were concerned. Investments in upstream are not enough today, so the country has to import gas from many countries. "This is a big challenge for the government. The gas sector's stability and energy security are at risk," he said.

He said another task of the country's leadership was to make gas exports more flexible, to move away from long-term take-or-pay contracts. "There are four seasons in Pakistan: it can be very hot here, and in winter the temperature drops below zero, so we need supply flexibility," he said.

Malik also recalled that Pakistan had one of the longest gas pipeline networks, about 200,000 km, and gas for households was subsidized by the state. "But these subsidies are imposed on prices in other sectors, which prevents the wider use of gas as a fuel. So we are trying to achieve deregulation, to exclude cross-subsidization," he said.

Gazprom and Pakistani Oil and Gas Development Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the PMGF-2025 on October 8.

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Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom and the government of Kazakhstan have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a new gas pipeline from Russia to Kazakhstan, Gazprom said in a statement, as per Interfax.

The memorandum was signed during a working meeting between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar.

The parties emphasized their commitment to long-term cooperation, noting Kazakhstan's increasing demand for natural gas.

They also signed a long-term agreement setting out the terms and conditions for processing Kazakh gas in Russia. The document formalizes cooperation on processing gas from the Karachaganak field at the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant, which is slated for modernization.

Miller also held a working meeting of with Kyrgyzstan's energy minister, Taalaibek Ibrayev. "They discussed current and prospective issues of cooperation in the gas sector, in particular the supply of Russian gas to the republic and efforts by Gazprom Kyrgyzstan LLC to preparation gas transmission and gas distribution systems in Kyrgyzstan for the autumn-winter period," the press release says.

In addition, Miller met with the Pakistani Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik. "The parties discussed promising areas of cooperation in the gas industry. In the presence of Alexei Miller and Ali Pervaiz Malik, a memorandum of understanding was signed with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (Pakistan)," the information says.

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