Bahrain to sign Bapcos expansion contracts before year end

MOSCOW (MRC) — Bahrain’s oil minister said on Sunday he expects expansion contracts for Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) to be signed before the end of the year, state news agency BNA reported, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Bapco will choose the winning bid in the near future, with final contracts to be signed before the end of 2017, oil minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Khalifa.

Sources close to the deal told Reuters last month that state-run Bapco was expected to take a decision in Q4 as it was due to meet a consortium led by UK-based TechnipFMC for further talks over the planned expansion of Bahrain’s only oil refinery.
MRC

Sinopec and Jiangxi Copper set up fuel retail JV

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jiangxi Copper Corp said on Wednesday it would set up a joint venture with the Jiangxi region branch of Chinese refining giant Sinopec to market oil products in the southeastern province of the country, reported Reuters.

The venture, which allies China’s biggest copper producer with its biggest crude oil refiner - officially known as China Petrochemical Corp - was described as a "win-win" move in a statement posted on Jiangxi Copper’s official WeChat social media account.

The new company, to be called Jiangxi Copper Petrochemical Sales Co, will be 51%-owned by Sinopec, with the remainder belonging to Jiangxi Copper, and have a registered capital of USD2.91 MM, according to the statement.

Financial targets for the venture, which had been under discussion for 20 months before being approved by both sides, weren’t disclosed.

Sinopec did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As MRC wrote previously, in June 2016, Rosneft and China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) signed a Framework Agreement on joint pre-feasibility study of the project related to the construction and operation of a gas processing and petrochemical complex in East Siberia. The Agreement signed in furtherance of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in petrochemical projects, provides to select a technology for natural gas processing from its components to polymers. The parties also decided to choose a consultant for the project management and identified competitive challenges and the time to fix them before entering the stage front-end engineering design (FEED). In the event of successful outcomes as stipulated by the Framework Agreement, it is supposed to create a joint venture between Rosneft and Sinopec in 2017.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

CB&I to supply storage tanks for Greenfield refinery project in Oman

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I announced a consortium between CB&I and Saipem S.p.A. has been awarded a contract by Duqm Refinery and Petrochemicals Industries Company L.L.C. (DRPIC) for EPC Package 3 for the Duqm Refinery Project. DRPIC is a joint venture between Oman Oil Company and Kuwait Petroleum International, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The consortium's scope of work for Package 3 encompasses the engineering, procurement and construction of a product export terminal at Duqm Port, a crude tank farm at Ras Markaz and an 80-km crude oil pipeline.

CB&I will be performing all of the EPC works for storage tanks at the export terminal and crude tank farm, while Saipem—the leader of Package 3—will perform the balance of the works. CB&I's portion of the contract is valued at approximately USD140 MM.
MRC

Indorama Ventures enters the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the first time

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), a global chemical producer, has announced that the company has been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI Emerging Markets) for the first time as published by RobecoSAM, said the producer in its press release.

The inclusion confirms IVL’s excellent performance among the world’s leading companies in the chemical sector and its commitment to leadership in sustainability.

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) is a leading global benchmark in corporate sustainability and socially responsible investment. The indices are offered cooperatively by RobecoSAM and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Every year DJSI conducts the assessment to ensure that companies continue developing in terms of sustainability. The ranking is based on a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of economic, environment and social performance.

Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Aloke Lohia, Group CEO of Indorama Ventures, said, "We aspire to be a world-class chemical company making great products for society. Being included by DJSI and ranked among top five of all global chemical companies is an important milestone for us. This truly reflects our sustainability leadership within the industry and the progress we are making in our sustainability journey on a global scale. We will continue to make the most positive possible impact on society to create a better future for all".

As MRC reported earlier, in March 2016, IVL and India's Dhunseri Petrochem Ltd. (Dhunseri) agreed to enter into an equal joint venture to manufacture and sell polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins for Indian domestic markets and for exports.

Indorama Ventures is a leading producer in the polyester value chain in Thailand with strong global network and manufacturing across Asia, Europe and North America. Its products serve major players in diversified end use markets, including food, beverages, personal and home care, health care, automotives, textile, and industrial. The company’s main products are PTA, PET and polyester fibre, which are distributed across the world.
MRC

Iran plans to trim condensate exports to Asia in October

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The National Iranian Oil Co has informed buyers in Asia that it could reduce condensate exports in October because of maintenance at the South Pars gas field, six industry sources said on Tuesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

NIOC could trim exports by at least 1 MMbbl that month, one of the sources said. The company typically exports about 15 MMbbl of South Pars condensate each month.

The drop in Iranian condensate exports in October comes as China’s Unipec is about to resume cargo liftings from Iran in October, a second source said. The trading arm of Asia’s largest refiner Sinopec typically halts imports in summer months due to environmental restrictions at Chinese ports.

Demand for Iran’s condensate is also on the rise as test runs continue at a new splitter operated by its Persian Gulf Star Refinery at Bandar Abbas, the sources said.

A rise in Chinese demand and a drop in Iranian supplies have supported values for Qatari condensate. Spot premiums for low-sulfur condensate (LSC) in November are up about 70 cents from the previous month.

Condensate is an ultra light oil that is processed in splitters to produce mainly naphtha, a petrochemical raw material.

As MRC reported before, in April 2016, the CEO of France's Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, said in April 2016 that the company's priority on getting back into Iran's energy sector was gas and petrochemicals. And earlier, in March 2016, The National Petrochemical Company (NPC) of Iran and Total signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) to build a petrochemical complex in Iran.

Besides, in July 2017, Total signed a deal with Tehran to develop phase 11 of Iran's South Pars, the world's largest gas field, marking the first major Western energy investment in the Islamic Republic since the lifting of sanctions against it. Total will be the operator with a 50.1 percent stake, alongside Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC with 30%, and National Iranian Oil Co subsidiary Petropars with 19.9%.
MRC