Rosneft may become a majority private comany in 2012

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Following the abortive deal with BP over development of arctic oilfields, Rosneft may become a majority private comany in 2012, a year earlier than initially planned. In an interview with the London Guardian newspaper, Arkady Dvorkovich, chief economic policy adviser to Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, said "we want Rosneft to be a normal commercial public company".

Dvorkovich's statements build on those previously made by Medvedev, which the Russian President said dominated by state-backed firms "poses a danger for the country's future. This is not my choice". "The original government proposals were to start [the share sale] in 2013 but maybe now it will be brought forward to 2012," added Dvorkovich. "It's not up to me to say what the best timing would be. That is up to the company itself and investment banks working on this."

The Russian state currently holds an 85% stake in Rosneft and is expected to retain a sizeable minority share.

MRC

(Lanxess) -- Owing to continued steep rises in energy and raw material costs, from July 1, 2011, Perlon-Monofil GmbH is to raise its prices worldwide for synthetic monofilaments by at least EUR 0.40 per kilogram depending on the field of application and grade.

Perlon-Monofil GmbH is one of five sections belonging to the Semi-Crystalline Products (SCP) business unit of specialty chemicals group Lanxess. It manufactures an extensive range of polyamide and polyester monofilament products for a wide variety of applications, and markets them worldwide under the brand names Perlon, Atlas and Bayco. The plastic wires are used for the production of durable technical fabrics, cords and ropes with outstanding dimensional stability and high strength.

Lanxess is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2010 and currently around 15,500 employees in 30 countries. The core business of Lanxess is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

MRC

(Arabian Oil and Gas) -- Italian conglomerate Saipem has announced a slew of new contracts under which exploration and production is to commence imminently. The company has been awarded the contract by Eni to extend the charter of the Saipem 10000 drillship for the duration of 24 months, starting from August 2012.

Saipem 10000 is an ultra deepwater drillship, capable of operating in water depths up to 10,000 feet in full dynamic positioning.

Within offshore drilling activities, Saipem has been awarded a contract by Addax Petroleum extending the charter of the semisub Scarabeo 3 for a period of 6 months, starting from November 2011, for drilling activities in Nigerian waters.

In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco awarded Saipem the contract for the charter of 4 rigs, of which 3 for a period of 3 years each, starting from the fourth quarter of 2011, and 1 for a period of 1 years, starting from the third quarter of 2011.

MRC

(Plastics Today) -- Sustainable chemicals and plastics dominated the winners of the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, including a bioplastic made with the help of E. coli and an acrylic paint that utilizes recycled water bottles. The 16th edition of the awards comes during the 2011 International Year of Chemistry and the 20th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts in to create "green chemistry".

An independent panel of technical experts convened by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute selected the 2011 winners from "scores" of nominated technologies. Over the course of the program, the EPA has received more than 1400 nominations and awarded 82 winners. The agency estimates that winning technologies have reduced the use or generation of more than 199 million lb of hazardous chemicals, saving 21 billion gallons of water, and eliminating 57 million lb of carbon dioxide releases to the air.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US ethylene spot margins fell by 1.4% in the third week of June due to a drop in ethylene (C2) spot prices, the ICIS margin report showed on Monday.

C2 margins fell to 34.96 cents/lb (USD 771/tonne, EUR 540/tonne), from 35.45 cents/lb a week earlier, using ethane as a feedstock. The drop followed a 1% average decline in C2 spot prices in the week ending 17 June.

C2 for June traded at 65.25-66.00 cents/lb last week, down from 65.00-67.50 cents/lb a week earlier, pressured by loosening supply and a softer outlook downstream resulting from weaker polyethylene (PE) demand.

US PE export demand has softened because of competition from lower Asian prices, while domestic demand is weakening as US buyers move to the sidelines in anticipation of lower prices.

MRC