PP imports to Kazakhstan rose by 28% in first eleven months of 2017, exports up by 20%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polypropylene (PP) into Kazakhstan grew in the first eleven months of 2017 by 28% year on year, exceeding 30,900 tonnes. PP exports also increased by 20%, reported MRC analysts.

PP imports to Kazakhstan rose to 3,700 tonnes in November 2017 from 2,400 tonnes a month earlier, local converters increased their purchasing of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and pipe grade statistical copolymer of propylene (PP random copolymer) in Russia. Overall PP imports exceeded 30,900 tonnes in January-November 2017, compared to 24,100 tonnes a year earlier. The main increase in demand occurred for propylene copolymers.

The structure of PP imports by grades looked the following way over the stated period.


November imports of homopolymer PP grew to 2,000 tonnes from 1,800 tonnes a month earlier, local companies increased their purchasing of homopolymer PP raffia from Russian producers. Overall PP imports of this PP grade exceeded 18,900 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2017, compared to 15,300 tonnes a year earlier.

Shipments of propylene copolymers rose to 1,700 tonnes in November from 600 tonnes a month earlier, local pipes producers raised their purchasing. Thus, imports of propylene copolymers reached 12,000 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 8,800 tonnes a year earlier.

PP exports from Kazakhstan increased along with imports. 18,600 tonnes of PP were shipped to foreign markets in January-November 2017, compared to 15,500 a year earlier.

MRC

Iraq bans Kurdish firm Kar Group from operating Kirkuk oilfield

MOSCOW (MRC) - Iraq's parliament voted on Monday to ban Kurdish engineering firm Kar Group from operating Kirkuk's oilfields, following Iraq's recapture of the Kurdish-held oil region in October, as per Reuters.

The Kurds have withdrawn from most Kirkuk oilfields since October but the vote came after lawmakers said the Kar Group refused to cooperate with Iraq's state-run North Oil Co. (NOC) and hand back the Khurmala oilfield. The Kurds claim Khurmala is located inside the official boundaries of the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government KRG. Kar Group could not be immediately reached for comment.

Parliament also authorised NOC to take over production and export operations at the field. That will potentially increase Iraq's oil production and crude exports, although it was unclear by how much. In addition, parliament requested the Iraqi central bank to track down cash deposited at banks outside Iraq that had been generated from Kurdish oil exports. It asked the central bank to draft a detailed report on the names of banks used to deposit the cash.

Iraqi government forces captured the Kurdish-held oil city of Kirkuk on Oct. 16 last year, and took over the northern region's oilfields, in retaliation for a Kurdish referendum on independence which was widely opposed by Turkey, Iran and Western powers.

The move to ban Kar Group follows financial restrictions imposed by Baghdad in retaliation for the Kurdish referendum, including a ban on direct international flights to and from the Kurdish region and closing the border crossings. Kirkuk crude sales have been halted since Iraqi forces took back control of the fields in October. Kar Group had been operating some of the Kirkuk oilfields since Kurdish forces took control of the city in 2014, when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Islamic State.
MRC

Algerian Sonatrach may invest in Iraq oil and gas

MOSCOW (MRC) - Algerian state energy company Sonatrach will study possible investments in oil exploration and natural gas projects in Iraq, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement, as per Reuters.

The statement cited comments by Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi and Algerian Energy Minister Mustapha Guitouni, who arrived in Baghdad on Sunday. The Algerian delegation will hold meetings with Iraqi energy companies "to achieve concrete steps toward sealing a cooperation agreement with Sonatrach", said Luaibi, mentionning specifically projects to develop Iraq's gas wealth.

Iraq continues to flare some of the gas extracted alongside crude oil at its fields because it lacks the facilities to process it into fuel for local consumption or exports.

Algeria is a main supplier of gas to Europe, exporting it by pipelines to the continent and also shipping it on tankers after liquefying the gas in special plants.

Guitouni expressed hope of strengthening cooperation in oil exploration and natural gas, the Iraqi ministry statement said.

Iraq is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-largest crude producer behind Saudi Arabia, with output of 4.4 million barrels per day. Fellow OPEC member Algeria has estimated output of 1 million bpd.
MRC

Keiyo Monomer to shut VCM plant in Chiba for turnaround

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Keiyo Monomer is likely to take its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plant off-stream for a maintenance turnaround, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the plant is planned to be taken off-line for maintenance over the period of February-March 2018. The exact date and duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, Keiyo Monomer shut its VCM plant in Chiba for maintenance turnaround in mid-February 2015. It remained off-stream for around one month.
MRC

Sinopec to use EST technology of Eni

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eni has sold the license and basic engineering project to the Chinese company Sinopec, for the construction of a refining plant based on the Eni Slurry Technology (EST), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will be built at the Sinopec refinery in Maoming, in Guandong province.

Sinopec, the world’s largest operator in the refining sector, will consequently be the first international company to make full use of the EST, which Eni developed through its research and industrial developments. EST is able to convert refining residues entirely into high-quality light products, eliminating both liquid and solid refining residues with significant environmental benefits.

Sinopec will build an EST plant with the design capacity of 46,000 barrels per day of heavy refining residue (310 tonnes per hour). The plant will replace the existing pet-coke production line, with significant environmental benefits in compliance with the new IMO (International Maritime Organization) regulations concerning sulfur contained in bunker fuel. The elimination of pet-coke production is part of global efforts to contain CO2 emissions. As part of the licensing agreement, Eni will provide Sinopec with the basic engineering project (Process Design Package) and other services, such as operational and technical training, as well as assistance during the development phase and the implementation of detailed engineering, and during the pre-commissioning and start up phases. Sinopec will be responsible for detailed engineering and construction operations.

The plant is due to be completed by 2020.

For Eni, technological research and development is of strategic importance in all its business areas, and this result is highly significant for a number of reasons, primarily that the world’s leading refiner has chosen EST above all other available technologies. Moreover, this agreement sees the refining sector benefiting from an Italian technological innovation for the first time.

As MRC wrote before, in June 2016, Eni, Italy’s major energy group, announced that it could not reach an agreement with the US private equity firm SK Capital to sell a majority stake in Eni’s chemicals subsidiary Versalis (Milan) and has terminated the discussions.

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.

Eni is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of EUR68 billion (USD 90 billion), as of August 14, 2013. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.
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