PetroChina eyes USD1.6bn shale spend in 2014

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese state oil and gas giant PetroChina plans to spend more than 10 billion yuan (USD1.6 billion) on shale gas this year, said Upstreamonline.

PetroChina's decision to triple its shale gas spending from expenditures on the unconventional fuel over the past few years comes just months after Sinopec lifted hopes that China is near a breakthrough by announcing a commercial find.

PetroChina has also lifted its 2015 shale gas output target to 2.6 billion cubic metres, up from the previous 1.5 Bcm, according to a company official and a government source cited by the news wire. That would represent only about 2.3% of China's total natural gas output of around 113 Bcm last year.

"PetroChina wants to play catch-up after Sinopec's success," one government source told Reuters.

Since around 2010, PetroChina has spent about 3 billion yuan (USD482.39 million) total on pilot shale drilling, according to the news wire. The state giant, which makes up around 70% of China's total natural gas output, has so far largely focused on growing its conventional oil and gas portfolio.

PetroChina will reportedly focus on two pilot zones: Weiyuan-Changning in south-west Sichuan basin and Zhaotong in Yunnan province.

"PetroChina has over the past four years improved understanding of the shale resources and achieved some technological breakthroughs," said Mao Zefeng, joint company secretary of PetroChina. "We're stepping up shale gas development this year," he said.

Sinopec's shale work has been concentrated in the Fuling area of Chongqing municipality in south-west China, also part of the Sichuan basin, one of the most promising geological zones for the unconventional fuel. Sinopec has drilled nearly 30 pilot shale gas wells in the Fuling area.

The main challenge for both Sinopec and PetroChina is to cut the drilling cost per well to under 50 million yuan (USD8 million), half the current hefty rates averaging around 80 million - 100 million yuan, experts say. The government has set shale gas production targets at 6.5 Bcm for 2015 and at 60-100 Bcm for 2020.

As MRC reported before, this summer, Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies and The Dow Chemical announced that PetroChina Guangdong Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of PetroChina selected LP Oxo technology to produce 2-ethylhexanol, normal butanol and iso butyraldehyde in its major petrochemical complex in Jieyang, Guangdong, China. The new LP Oxo unit, with a capacity of 85,000 metric tons of 2-ethylhexanol, 235,000 metric tons of normal butanol and 33,000 metric tons of iso-butyraldehyde on a yearly basis, will adopt JM Davy and Dow's LP Oxo SELECTOR 10 Technology with advanced liquid phase hydrogenation which features a high conversion of propylene to alcohols, low capital investment and easy operation.

PetroChina Company Limited, is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, received the EDANA INDEX14 Innovation in Raw Material Award for its Eastman Cyphrex microfibers, as per the company's press release.

Launched in 2013, the new and groundbreaking Eastman Cyphrex microfibers platform, enables nonwovens solutions unlike anything else on the market. It has become a novel resource for media and downstream component manufacturers.

"We are honored to receive this recognition from a leading international association such as EDANA," said Tim N. Dell, vice president, innovation, marketing, sales and pricing, Eastman Chemical Company. "We are continuously investing in growing our application development expertise to address customer needs with market-changing products that offer an entirely new level of performance."

Eastman Cyphrex microfibers offer a unique combination of capability in variation of size, shape and material, a high level of uniformity and consistency, and ease of wetlaid processing. This combination opens new possibilities to nonwovens formulators and their customers in achieving an expanded reach of desired properties with a high degree of precision and consistency.

Earlier this year, Eastman enhanced its platform capability with a new 4.5-micron PET fiber, demonstrating the company’s capability of changing size. Manufacturers can use this unique fiber to pinpoint permeability and pore size and to improve media uniformity.

Customers have the potential to use Eastman Cyphrex microfibers in such markets as air and liquid filtration; specialty papers; and battery separators.

As MRC wrote previously, earlier this year, Eastman Chemical Company, a global specialty chemical company, enhanced its medical packaging portfolio with Eastalite copolyester, the company’s first opaque offering, which is styrene-free and can be a sustainable alternative to high-impact polystyrene (HIPS).

Eastman (headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA) is a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With a portfolio of specialty businesses, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. Its market-driven approaches take advantage of world-class technology platforms and leading positions in attractive end-markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell will announce first-quarter financial results before the U.S. market opens Tuesday, April 29, to be followed by a conference call to discuss results at 11 a.m., said The Wall Street Journal.

As MRC wrote before, LyondellBasell said it had pulled out of talks to sell its Berre refinery in southeastern France to Monaco-based Sotragem, adding that the bid offered no guarantee that the mothballed site would restart.

LyondellBasell Industries NV is a manufacturing company. The Company produces chemicals, fuels, and polymers used for packaging, clean fuels, durable textiles, medical applications, construction materials, and automotive parts. LyondellBasell Industries operates globally and is headquartered in the Netherlands. LyondellBasell is also a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies. The more than 250 polyolefin process licenses granted by LyondellBasell are twice that of any other polyolefin technology licensor.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - SIBUR, the largest producer of expandable polystyrene (EPS) in Russia, announced an increase in contract EPS prices for May delivery, according ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Domestic price for EPS of Alphapor brand will be increased by Rb2,000/tonne. Following price rise in the domestic prices, the producer also increased its export EPS prices by USD30/tonne, compared with the April level, effective from 1 May.

The producer said the reason for the price rise was the growth of styrene and polystyrene prices in the foreign markets as well as strong sales in the domestic market.

Buying activity in the domestic EPS market is seasonally strong in Russia this month. Demand for both the Russian and the Asian EPS has improved. Spot prices for Asian EPS were heard in the range of Rb90,000-93,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyethylene (PE) into Belarus decreased by 16% over the first two months of 2014. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest fall in supplies, according to MRC analysts.

PE imports to Belarus dropped in January and February of 2014 to 14,200 tonnes from 16,900 tonnes over the first two months of 2013. HDPE accounted for the greatest decrease in demand. The main reasons for reduced imports were weak demand for finished products and the devaluation of the national currency amid shrinking credit financing.

The structure of PE imports over the stated period lookds the following way.

Imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) totalled 7,800 tonnes over the first two months of the year, down by 19.2% year on year. As expected, European HDPE producers reduced their presence in the local market (higher prices), while Russian producers increased their shipments to 6,000 tonnes (about 4,000 tonnes - a year earlier).

The overall imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) fell to 6,400 tonnes in January and February 2014 from 7,200 tonnes a year earlier. Producers from Saudi Arabia are leaders in this market (they supplied about 3,500 tonnes of PE over the stated period). The share of Russian LDPE is insignificant in the local market and was about 728 tonnes over the first two months of the year.
MRC