Exxon Mobil to sign Arctic exploration deal with Russia's Rosneft

(Wall Street Journal) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. snatched away a major Arctic exploration deal with Russia's OAO Rosneft from competitors including BP PLC in a sweeping agreement that for the first time gives a Russian state-controlled company access to energy projects in the U.S.


WSJ's Liam Denning breaks down the USD 3.2 billion deal struck between Exxon Mobil and Russia's OAO Rosneft to explore for oil in the Arctic's Kara Sea.

Exxon, entering a country where energy investments are fraught with political risk, agreed to invest USD 2.2 billion to explore potentially giant oil fields with state-run Rosneft in the ice-choked Kara Sea. It also finalized a deal to spend USD 1 billion looking for oil in the Black Sea. In return, Rosneft will be able to purchase stakes in some Exxon projects in the U.S., including deep-water Gulf of Mexico exploration and onshore oil fields in Texas. That would mark the first time a state-controlled Russian oil company acquired ownership stakes in U.S. oil and gas assets.

The deal, signed in the presence of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at his vacation residence on the Black Sea, is a big win for Exxon as it competes with other international players for increasingly scarce, large, untapped oil deposits. It is also an embarrassment for London-based BP, which tried to negotiate a deal for the same Kara Sea acreage earlier this year. That deal fell apart in May amid a legal battle with BP's partners in its existing Russian venture. Other companies, such as Chevron Corp., Total SA and Statoil ASA, were also angling to grab the Arctic acreage.

MRC

(Financial Times) -- Bailiffs searched the Moscow offices of BP in Moscow on Wednesday, adding to the UK-based oil major's woes in Russia a day after ExxonMobil stole a march on it by signing a historic Arctic exploration deal with Russian oil major Rosneft.

BP officials said the search was related to a lawsuit by minority shareholders in TNK-BP who are suing for USD 3 bln over the collapse of a similar tie-up between BP and Rosneft earlier this year.

Andrei Prokhorov, a Russian businessman who filed the suit in July, alleged that two BP executives who sit on the board of TNK-BP must have known about the UK group's negotiations with Rosneft, and their failure to inform TNK-BP caused damage to the company.

The lawsuit was upheld by a court in Siberia's Tyumen region in July. BP has said the minority shareholders were pursuing a ⌠groundless action that it would vigorously contest.

BP on Wednesday said it believed there ⌠are no legitimate grounds for the raid this morning. The offices being raided belong to BP Exploration Operating Company, a subsidiary which ⌠has no connection with the process in Tyumen and is not engaged in any shareholder dispute. The company added that it would ⌠defend its interest vigorously and believed there are ⌠no grounds for damages.

MRC

(ICIS) -- August polystyrene (PS) prices have risen by EUR 100/tonne (USD 145/tonne), following the EUR 121-129/tonne increase in monthly styrene monomer barge contracts, but margins have been reduced in 2011, several producers said on Wednesday.

General purpose polystyrene (GPPS) is now trading at a net price of EUR 1,350/tonne FD (free delivered) NWE (northwest Europe), up EUR 100/tonne from the July level, and INEOS Styrenics has announced a EUR 30/tonne increase for its September business.

September styrene contracts have not yet been settled and other producers are waiting for the outcome of negotiations before announcing September plans for PS pricing.

PS prices tend to follow the styrene contract curve closely, but the spread between the monomer and polymer has been reduced.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Butadiene (BD) prices in Asia may fall further in September with more supply coming into the market while demand is still weak, given current low production in downstream synthetic rubber sector, market sources said on Wednesday.

Spot BD discussions for September shipments on Wednesday are at USD 3,500-3,700/tonne (EUR 2,415-2,553/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) NE (northeast) Asia, according to traders. In the week ending 26 August, BD spot prices were assessed at USD 3,650-3,700/tonne CFR NE Asia, down by USD 350/tonne from end-July, according to ICIS.

Several BD spot parcels from China and the Middle East are available for September loading but demand has remained soft as several downstream synthetic rubber plants in Asia are either shut for maintenance or are running at reduced rates, traders said.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US ethylene margins rose by 2.7% in the fourth week of August, lifted by higher ethylene spot prices and softer production costs, the ICIS margin report showed on Tuesday. Ethylene margins were at 34.27 cents/lb (USD 756/tonne, EUR 522/tonne) for the week ended 26 August, up from 33.36 cents/lb a week earlier, using ethane as a feedstock.

US margins rose as ethylene spot prices climbed by 1% last week on inventory building ahead of upcoming cracker turnarounds, market sources said.

Ethylene for August traded at 62.50-63.25 cents/lb, up from 61.75-62.75 cents/lb during the week that ended on 19 August.

The increase in spot prices was driven by anticipated supply tightness because of scheduled maintenance at four US crackers in September and October.

MRC