Asia's MTBE prices may drift lower in the last quarter of the year

(ICIS) -- Asia's MTBE prices may drift lower in the last quarter of the year as a jittery global economy, accompanied by volatile crude values, will likely dampen demand for the octane booster in gasoline, traders said on Tuesday.


Spot MTBE prices were at USD 1,069-1,071/tonne (EUR 791-793/tonne) FOB (free on board) Singapore on Monday, down by an average of USD 45/tonne from USD 1,104-1,126/tonne in the week ended 23 September, ICIS data showed.


A slew of dismal economic data from Europe, the US and China sent global equities markets tumbling and crude prices falling by about $5/bbl on 22 September. Investors fled to the safety of bonds that significantly strengthened the US dollar. However, crude futures bounced higher on Tuesday, buoyed by news that the European Central Bank may work towards implementing more aggressive measures to remedy the region's mounting debt crisis.


MRC

Rosneft to increase its annual oil production output to 160-180 million tons

(RIA Novosti) -- Russia's oil giant Rosneft plans to increase its annual oil production output to 160-180 million tons (1,170-1,320 mln bbl) per year by 2020, company's Vice President Gani Gilayev said on Tuesday. Gilayev said that Rosneft oil production in 2010 was estimated at 119.6 million tons and the company's future plans envisage an annual production of 132 million tons by 2015 and the subsequent increase of up to 160-180 million tons by 2020. He said the company intends to up its oil output by increasing production in Russia's Siberian and Far Eastern regions.


MRC

USD 20 bln to be invested in future oil processing in Azerbaijan

(Trend) -- About USD 20 billion will be invested in future oil processing in Azerbaijan, the Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev said during a roundtable on Tuesday titled "Azerbaijan's State Independence: Industrial and Energy Complex on the Way to New Heights."


"After gaining independence, the Azerbaijani oil and gas sector has reached great achievements," the minister said. "The development was observed in all sectors, particularly in oil and gas production, processing, and chemical production."


The country's oil production amounted to about 9 million tons per year in the early 1990s. The figure exceeded 50 million tons last year, with an increase in growth of 5.5 times.


Aliyev said that success was achieved in gas production. Earlier Azerbaijan imported gas to meet its own needs but at present the country exports gas to several countries. Azerbaijan has an extensive gas transmission infrastructure.


MRC

Rexam to build a new beverage can plant in Finland.

(Rexam) -- Rexam PLC, the global consumer packaging company, is to build a new beverage can plant in Finland. The plant will be located in Mantsala in south west Finland some 60km north of Helsinki. When completed, it will have two lines and a capacity of approximately 1.35bn 330ml and 500ml aluminium cans. The first line is expected to be operational by the start of 2013 while the second line is planned for start up in January 2014.


The building of the new plant will allow Rexam to serve growing customer demand in Finland and the Baltic states in coming years, to optimise logistics and to further enhance plant efficiency across its European beverage can network.


MRC

Chevron gave go ahead for its Wheatstone LNG project in Western Australia

(Gulf Times) -- Chevron Corp gave the go ahead for its USD 28.4bn Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia, seeking to tap into growing Asian demand with its second LNG export project in the country.


The project is due to initially produce 8.9mn tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG and have a domestic gas plant, eventually expanding to 25 mtpa. First gas is planned for 2016.


Chevron is positioning itself to become one of the largest LNG producers in Australia, with the construction of the USD 37bn Gorgon project, also off the coast of Western Australia, which is set to produce 15 mtpa by 2014.


Apache Corp, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC), Royal Dutch Shell, and Kyushu Electric are all equity participants in Wheatstone, and hold 13%, 7%, 6.4% and 1.83%, respectively while Chevron holds the rest.


MRC