Total, Saudi Aramco discussing JV refinery expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) — Total is in talks with Saudi Aramco to expand their Saudi joint venture refinery by more than 10%, the chief executive of the French energy company said on Wednesday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Capacity at their Saudi Arabia Total Refining and Petrochemical (SATORP) complex in Jubail can raise its capacity to 440,000 bpd through greater efficiency, Patrick Pouyanne said.

"We are working with Saudi Aramco, discussing gas allocation," Pouyanne told reporters at the Oil & Money conference.

"To go up to 440,000 bpd can be quick," he said.

The SATOROP refinery on Saudi Arabia’s east coast was launched in 2014 and is considered one of the world’s most advanced plants producing fuels and plastics.
MRC

China refineries run at record Sept pace

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's oil refineries increased their run rates by 12.7% to a record for September, data showed on Thursday, after a major new state-run refinery launched operations and independent plants came back on stream after maintenance, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Processing volumes in September were up 12.7% in September compared with the same month a year ago at 49.34 MMt, or 12 MMbpd. That was also an increase on August's 11.1 MMbpd, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

For the first three quarters of the year, refinery output rose 4.7% from the same period last year to 418.4 MMt.

China National Offshore Oil Co's 200,000-bpd Huizhou plant, in southern Guangdong province, started test runs in late September, becoming the second new major refinery brought on stream this year.

PetroChina started trial production at its 260,000 bpd Yunnan plant, near the southwestern city of Kunming, at end of June.

Meanwhile domestic crude oil production fell 2.9% on year to 15.53 MMt, or 3.78 MMbpd.

Natural gas production rose 10.7% in September over the same month a year ago to 11.2 Bcm.

As MRC reported earlier, Petrochina recently expressed interest in developing the Nassiriya oil refinery in southern Iraq, the oil ministry said in the last week's statement.

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

Rosneft says ready to discuss Citgo collateral swap

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian oil major Rosneft will consider proposals to replace a stake in US-based refiner Citgo it holds as collateral for a 2016 loan to Venezuela with another asset, reported Reuters with reference to CEO Igor Sechin.

"If they offer something more interesting, we will consider (proposals)," Sechin told a news briefing, adding Rosneft had no plans to use the Citgo stake in any way other than collateral.

Reuters reported in July that Rosneft was negotiating to swap its collateral in Venezuelan-owned, US-based refiner Citgo for oilfield stakes and a fuel supply deal in a move to avoid complications stemming from US sanctions.

As MRC informed before, 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.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

PVC imports to Belarus rose by 45.6% in first eight months of 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Belarus grew in January-August 2017 by 45.6% year on year, totalling 22,300 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.


According to the statistical committee of the Republic of Belarus, local converters maintained strong demand for PVC in August, total imports were 3,500 tonnes, compared to 3,600 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, PVC imports rose in the first eight months of 2017 to 22,300 tonnes from 15,300 tonnes in January-August 2016, with local window profiles producers accounting for the main increase in demand.

Russian producers were the key suppliers of resin to Belarus. They accounted for about 84% of the Belarusian market in the first eight months of the year. Producers from Germany with the share of about 13% were the second largest suppliers.

MRC

Chemicals production in Russia rose by 5.6% in January-September

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall output of chemicals increased in the first nine months of 2017 by 5.6% year on year, the largest increase in production volumes fell on caustic soda and mineral fertilizers, according to Rosstat.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, last month's production of basic chemicals grew by 6.5% from August 2017. Thus, the cumulative increase in the output of basic chemicals from the beginning of the year by 5.6%, the largest increase in output was in caustics and fertilizers, the smallest - ethylene.

September output of ethylene was 173,000 tonnes, compared to 228,000 tonnes a month earlier, lower production in last month was caused by a scheduled shutdown for maintenance at Kazanorgsintez, Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Stavrolen. Overall, over 2.14 m tonnes of this olefin were manufactured in the first nine month of 2017, up by 4.5% year on year.

Last month's production of benzene dropped to 94,600 tonnes from 110,000 tonnes in September, which was also caused by the outage at three plants. Overall output of this product exceeded 1.0 m tonnes over the stated period, up by 6.5%year on year.

September production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) were 99,400 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 96,500 tonnes a month earlier. A small decrease in output last month was a result of a decrease in capacity utilisation at RusVinyl and Kaustik Volgograd. Overall output of caustic soda grew to 901,400 tonnes in January-September 2017, up by 8.1% year on year.

Last month's production of mineral fertilizers was 1.77 mln tonnes (in terms of 100% nutrients) versus 1.86 mln tonnes in August. Nevertheless, Russian plants produced 16.36 mln tonnes of fertilizers in January-September 2017, up by 9.4% year on year.

Production of all types of fertilizers increased, with potash fertilizers, the output of which grew by 14%, accounted for the greatest increase.
MRC