US DuPont proposes 15 cent/lb TiO2 hike

(ICIS) -- DuPont Titanium Technologies announced on Friday its plan to increase North American pigment prices by 15 cents/lb ($331/tonne, ┬238/tonne) effective on 1 November, making it the second domestic producer to propose an increase. Current North American TiO2 prices are $1.80-1.94/lb, as assessed by ICIS. Buyers said they were frustrated but not surprised.


⌠I am hearing a possibility of another 30% in price increases next year, a coatings maker said. But he and other buyers said they would resist the increase as strongly as possible.


Kronos announced in September its intent to implement a 25 cent/lb increase effective on 1 October, but buyers likewise vowed to fight the effort.


⌠White business is still soft, a compounder said, ⌠and TiO2 sales are just as soft. Customers are hoarding TiO2, awaiting another shortage in the marketplace. But you can only sit on so much inventory before you run into cash-flow problems.


Producers did back off of recent initiatives for October implementation by 10 cents/lb, generally conceding softer market conditions, but a producer said that it would continue to negotiate to achieve that remaining portion in the near term.


If the newest initiatives succeed, the Kronos hike would take place on 1 January, in accordance with the market's typical 90-day lag. Likewise, DuPont's increase would take place on 1 February. For all the supply-side rationale, the ongoing increases will have a chilling effect on the marketplace, a buyer said.


MRC

Anadarko agrees to pay $4.0 billion to BP

(Arabian oil and gas) -- Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has announced an agreement with BP to settle all of BP's current and future claims against Anadarko associated with the Deepwater Horizon event. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Anadarko agrees to pay $4.0 billion to BP, and both parties have agreed to mutually release claims against each other. As part of this agreement, BP will release its claims against Anadarko for approximately $6.1 billion of outstanding invoices received to date, as well as to forego reimbursement for any future costs related to the event.


In addition, BP will fully indemnify Anadarko for damage claims arising under the Oil Pollution Act, claims for natural resource damages and associated damage-assessment costs, and any claims arising under the relevant Joint Operating Agreement. Anadarko also will transfer its 25-percent interest in Mississippi Canyon block 252 (Macondo) to BP.


According to its public filings, BP has recorded a charge in excess of $40 billion for total estimated costs associated with the event.


To date, BP has invoiced Anadarko an aggregate of $6.1 billion for what BP considers to be Anadarko's 25-percent proportionate share of BP's actual and near-term costs.


MRC

Saipem has been awarded new E&C Offshore contracts

(Arabian oil and gas) -- In Iraq, Saipem has been awarded by South Oil Company the EPIC contract for the Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project - Phase 2, within the framework of the expansion of the Basra Oil Terminal, off the Al Faw Peninsula in the Arabian Gulf, approximately 550 kilometres south-east of Baghdad.


The contract encompasses the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of a Central Metering and Manifold Platform (CMMP), to be installed in a water depth of 28 metres, along with associated facilities.


Fabrication of the CMMP topsides will be carried out at Saipem's yard in Karimun (Indonesia), while the jacket and piles will be fabricated at the Saipem Taqa Al-Rushid (STAR) yard in Dammam (Saudi Arabia). Offshore activities will be performed in the third and fourth quarter of 2013.


In Nigeria, Saipem has been awarded the OFON2 - D030 contract by Total E&P Nigeria Limited, for new offshore facilities in the Ofon field, about 50 kilometres off the southern coast of Nigeria.


Saipem will carry out the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of the OFP2 Jacket (comprising the 1,970 ton jacket structures and the 4,500 ton piles), as well as the transportation and installation of the complete new OFQ living quarter offshore platform.


MRC

Unique System to provide diving systems for the Leighton Offshore project in Iraq

(Arabian oil and gas) -- Unique System FZE, a Unique Maritime Group company, has been awarded a US$5.2 million contract to supply a 12 MAN ABS Classed saturation system and 3 air diving systems for the Leighton Offshore diving project, based in the Middle East.


Unique Maritime Group will provide their 12 MAN ABS Classed saturation system, complete with SPHL for subsea construction work activities and will deploy its equipment, consumables and skilled diving personnel on board client-designated vessels for the project.


The Iraq Crude Oil Export Expansion Project (ICOEEP), Phase 1, is being undertaken for Iraq's South Oil Company, by international EPCIC contractor Leighton Offshore as part of an $799 million contract.


The ICOEEP Phase 1 includes the following scope of work on a full engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning basis: Installation and commissioning of two 48 parallel pipelines, 20km onshore and 120km offshore, Installation of three SPM systems (single point mooring systems) capable of receiving and loading VLCC tankers and the fabrication and installation of a 600MT Subsea Valve Manifold.


MRC

Chevron Phillips to invest $6bn in Basra

(Iraq-BusinessNews) -- The American petrochemical producer Chevron Phillips Chemical is to invest $6 billion (7.2 trillion Iraqi dinars) to create a new facility in Basra. The Company has obtained a licence to operate in the city, and that Basra Investment Commission has also voiced its support for the project and is now seeking to allocate a plot of land. Once launched, the project is expected to provide up to one thousand jobs for local people.


MRC