Oman signs pact with BP Singapore for selling LNG

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oman LNG and BP Singapore have signed a major sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the latter, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The agreement, a free-on-board (FOB) contract starting from January 2018, will span over a period of seven years for lifting 1.1 million tonnes per year, which is equivalent to approximately 18 LNG cargoes a year. It will be an important boost to the global LNG market where Oman LNG currently contributes a significant amount.

“The new agreement will not only unlock additional reserves but will also sustain our LNG business and expand our LNG business. Oman will continue to be a global preferred destination for sourcing clean energy,” said Mohammed Dr. Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas and the chairman of Oman LNG. “The revenues from this transaction will benefit Oman’s national economy and boost our gross domestic product and will also boost efforts towards In-Country Value (ICV) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), all of which are significant drivers to the socio-economic fabric of the Sultanate."

The announcement was made by Harib Al Kitani, chief executive officer (CEO) of Oman LNG, and Jonathan Shepard, chief operating officer (COO) of BP LNG. The event was also attended by Al Rumhy as well as several top-level officials from the oil and gas industry in Oman. The LNG plant at Qalhat, in Sur, has the capacity to receive and process additional volumes as it has recently been operating with some spare capacity.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Korea Trade Commission in Sejong said Monday it reached an initial decision on January 18 to impose anti-dumping duties in the range of 3.67%-60.95% on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film producers from Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates for five years, as per Apic-online.

The anti-dumping duty on Taiwanese companies has been tentatively set to 8.68% for each producers, including Shinkon Material Technology Co., Ltd.

Thailand is expected to receive dumping rates of 3.71%, 3.67% and 3.68%, respectively, for A.J. Plast, Polyplex (Thailand) and other companies.

Lastly, UAE PET film producers are due to receive among the highest dumping rates: 7.98%, 60.95% and 51.48%, respectively, for Flex Middle East FZE, JBF RAK and other producers.

The Korean Ministry of Finance is now tasked with reaching a final decision on the duties, which is expected within three months, according to the Korea Trade Commission, the country's trade watchdog.

The tariffs come after charges that these producers curtailed profits of local producing PET film companies.

PET film is widely used in packaging wrappers, bottle caps and other industrial applications.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim refinery, a Rosneft-affiliated company, has inaugurated its biological treatment plant, Bashneft key nature protection facility, which secured its spot as the world's largest industrial facility using membrane bioreactor (MBR) and electrodialysis reversal (EDR) technologies, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facilities, located in the Russian city of Ufa, will treat up to 84 million liters of wastewater per day, which makes them unprecedented for industrial wastewater treatment, employing the most advanced technologies and enabling water reuse.

SUEZ supplied its ZeeWeed MBR membranes, EDR and reverse osmosis (RO) equipment to the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim biological treatment plant and will provide services as part of a 15-year long-term service contract to ensure reliable operation of equipment and an uninterrupted guaranteed replacement of membranes.

The SUEZ MBR technology significantly improves treatment efficiency by passing water through microscopic pores of membranes, removing impurities and microorganisms. Further treatment is performed with SUEZ EDR, RO and ion exchange technologies to ensure treated wastewater compliance with the toughest discharge and reuse regulations and to minimize the waste streams disposal.

“Environmental care is an absolute priority for the company,” said Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of PJSC Rosneft. “We solve this problem at all stages of the production chain: from geological prospecting to processing and distribution. I believe that commissioning of a modern biological treatment plant —a large-scale environmental protection facility using the world best technologies for water treatment —will be a significant event not only for the company and the Republic of Bashkortostan, but for the whole country."

As part of the long-term service contract for the wastewater treatment plant, SUEZ is providing advanced asset performance management with its InSight* platform. InSight combines data and analytics to maximize performance, minimize unplanned downtime, lower operating costs and deliver better business outcomes.

“This plant is a shining example of how advanced water treatment technologies, combined with superior service and system performance, serve the interests of society, the environment and business,” said Heiner Markhoff, chief executive officer for SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions. “This is a significant project for the country, the region and the water industry, and we look forward to working for the next 15 years to help to optimize processes and meet water sustainability goals."
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Senior oil and gas sector professionals expect a step change in the industry’s capex, opex and R&D spending levels in 2018, as new research from DNV GL, the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry, confirms confidence in the industry has doubled, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

After three tough years, confidence in industry growth has risen globally from 32% in 2017 to 63% this year. Two thirds (66%) of respondents say their company will maintain or increase capital spending in 2018, compared to 39% last year.

‘Confidence and Control: the outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2018’ is DNV GL’s eighth annual report providing a snapshot of industry confidence, priorities and concerns for the year ahead. It reveals an imminent turnaround in spending on R&D and innovation after three years of cuts and freezes. More than a third (36%) of 813 senior sector players surveyed, expect to increase spending on R&D and innovation in 2018: the highest level recorded in four years. Digitalization (37%) and cyber security (36%) will form the principal areas of R&D investment focus this year.

Nearly one in five respondents (19%) cite lack of investment in innovation as a key barrier to growth in 2018 - on a par with oversupply of oil and gas (19%), operating costs (18%), reduced exploration activity (19%) and competitive pressure (22%).

“Our research indicates that the oil and gas industry is becoming more confident that its successful focus on cutting costs and building new efficiencies into the value chain will last. A new optimism is now emerging, driven from a common understanding that cost levels are under control and operators can make reasonable margins from an oil price that is expected to stay lower for much longer. The winners in our industry this year are those who can continue to make a clear shift from an expansion mindset to a margin mindset, and recognize the importance of implementing new models and technologies to improve operational efficiency,” said Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL – Oil & Gas.

Strict discipline will remain in the oil and gas industry, however. Half of respondents (50%) are steadfast in their efforts to increase cost control measures in 2018, consistent with 2017 (51%), suggesting permanent new discipline in the industry. Close to two-thirds (62%) believe that these are permanent changes, mirroring the results from last year’s survey (63%). This may suggest that the industry is going through a sustainable period of change.
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MOSCOW (MRC) – Honeywell announced that its UOP Russell business will provide a third cryogenic gas processing plant to Brazos Midstream, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The high-recovery 200 MMcf/d plant, called Comanche III, will extract valuable natural gas liquids (NGLs) from natural gas produced in the Southern Delaware Basin in Texas.

Included with the plant, Honeywell will provide engineering, fabrication and supply of a modular cryogenic NGL recovery unit. This new plant follows two earlier plants that also were customized specifically to handle the unique gas composition in the Basin.

"With this plant, Brazos now has chosen UOP Russell technology for 460 million cubic feet of gas processing capacity due to our experience with the technology, project management, and reliable installation capabilities,” said Craig Ranta, business director, Honeywell UOP Russell. “This new plant follows the on-time completion earlier this year of Brazos’ Comanche II plant, which will reduce the installation schedule for Comanche III."

Cryogenic gas processing plants cool the gas in a demethanizer column until the more valuable NGLs precipitate into a liquid. These heavier components extracted from the natural gas can be used as fuels, fuel blending components and other valuable petrochemicals.

The plant is designed to process gas in the Delaware portion of the Permian Basin, which is rich in NGLs. By combining low capital and operating expense and ultra-high NGL recovery rates, the plants allow Brazos to offer gas producers more favorable processing terms. This positions Brazos to recover very high levels of ethane and propane as prices for those NGLs continue to rise.

Brazos Midstream Holdings LLC is an independent midstream energy company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. The company is focused on crude oil gathering, natural gas gathering and processing, compression, treating, water and condensate handling, and stabilization. Brazos currently owns and operates approximately 350 miles of natural gas and crude oil pipeline, a natural gas processing complex with approximately 260 MMcf/d of operated processing capacity and 50,000 barrels of crude oil storage in the Delaware Basin.
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