15,000 tonnes of PP were sold in Stock Exchange of Turkmenistan on 12 March

MOSCOW (MRC) - The export trades of polypropylene (PP) were resumed at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan after a long break. This time, 15,000 tonnes of PP were sold on 12 March, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Turkmen State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange did not put for auction polypropylene produced by the Turkmenbashi Gas Processing Plant for a long time. The last auction was in early May 2017, where were sold 7,500 tonnes of polypropylene.

Export trades were resumed in early March of this year, the demand was quite high. The first trading session in the export trade took place on 7 March, the bids were for 40,000 tonnes of polypropylene with 15,000 tonnes offered.

The next round of trades was held on 9 March, and due to high demand, the winners were not defined. The final auction was held on 12 March, at a starting price of USD960/tonne FCA / FOB Turkmenbashi port; the final deals were done at the level of USD1,225/tonne FCA / FOB Turkmenbashi port.

The greatest interest in the purchases of Turkmen polypropylene was seen from Russian companies.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Chevron Corp is exploring options including the sale of a minority stake in its Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project as it pushes ahead, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Among the parties in talks with Chevron for a possible stake in Kitimat LNG are Petroliam Nasional Bhd [PETR.UL], or Petronas, which scrapped its own USD36 billion LNG project in British Columbia last year due to challenging market conditions, two of the people said.

Reuters spoke over the past week to the sources, who said there is no certainty that Chevron would proceed with the stake sale. The persons spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is private.

Chevron declined to comment, and Petronas did not respond to a request for comment. Chevron is also considering selling a stake in the project to a financial investor such as a Canadian pension fund or a private equity firm, the people added.

Canadian companies Seven Generations Energy Ltd (VII.TO) and Tourmaline Oil Corp (TOU.TO) are in discussions to supply natural gas to Chevron’s project, the people said. Seven Generations may also consider buying a stake in the project by partnering with other gas producers, the people said.

While any possible deal with a financial investor would be strictly a cash infusion to help support the cost of building the project, a deal with a producer could be structured as a commitment to supply natural gas to the plant for a period of 20 to 25 years, the people said.

Canadian pension funds have a huge appetite for infrastructure-style assets that offer stable cash flows over a long period, and pipeline investments tend to have those attributes.

The project in British Columbia, a 50/50 joint venture with Australia’s Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL.AX), has a 20-year, 10 million-metric-tonne-per-year export license for LNG and is expected to cost tens of billions of dollars to build.

Kitimat could become one of the largest capital investments in a Canadian energy project, Chevron says on its website. Taking such a substantial investment decision has been difficult for the duo, given concerns over a global LNG supply glut for the last three years. Fierce political opposition in Western Canada to building pipelines and other energy infrastructure has also escalated in the last several years.

However, surging gas demand from China and Southeast Asia is reassuring export project developers that the market cycle is finally beginning to turn.

Seven Generations declined to comment, and Tourmaline did not respond to a request for comment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's Sinopec Corp got a major boost in its pursuit of Chevron's South Africa and Botswana assets after South Africa's Competition Tribunal approved, with conditions, the USD900 million transaction, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

State-owned Sinopec was competing for the assets against commodities trader and miner Glencore, which swooped in last October with a USD973 million bid following delays to Sinopec's original agreement.

The transaction is subject to Sinopec investing 6 billion rand (USD504 million) over five years to develop a refinery in South Africa's Western Cape, over and above Chevron's current investment plans, the Tribunal said in a statement.

The Tribunal also said there should be no retrenchments as a result of the proposed transaction.

As part of the deal, Sinopec will buy a 75 percent share in Chevron's South African subsidiary that runs the 100 Mbpd refinery, a lubricants plant in Durban and 820 petrol stations and other oil storage facilities.

The deal also includes 220 convenience stores across South Africa and Botswana.

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2016, a USD36.8bn expansion of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, the largest investment by private sector oil companies this decade, was given the go-ahead by Chevron of the US, bucking the trend of delays and cancellations resulting from the slump in crude prices since mid-2014.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. One of the successor companies of Standard Oil, it is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and active in more than 180 countries. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy industries, including hydrocarbon exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrofac has been awarded a lump-sum Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) valued at approximately USD 135 million, as per Yourpetrochemicalnews.

Located at BPCL's Kochi Refinery, Kerala, India, the scope of work encompasses engineering, procurement, construction, pre-commissioning and assistance with commissioning. The 27-month contract is for the addition of a new Motor Sprit (MS) block of refining units, which will increase the current output of the facility to meet India's BS-VI automotive fuel quality.

Sunder Kalyanam, Group Managing Director for Petrofac's Engineering & Construction Growth business said: "Having previously executed EPC projects in India between 1997 and 2004, we are delighted to have secured this contract to deliver a new complex of units at the BPCL Kochi Refinery. This award demonstrates our organic growth ambitions in action, and attests to our strategy of a continued increase in our capabilities in India, a country which holds a special place in our service offering.

"Petrofac has thriving operational centres in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi that provide engineering services through a multidisciplinary capability, supporting our projects globally. In addition to our core activities, we offer a comprehensive graduate training programme and are committed to social investment. We look forward to continuing to build a sustainable and long-term presence in-country through the safe and timely delivery of this project for BPCL."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced price increases for all polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and acrylonitrile styrene copolymer (SAN) grades, as per the company's press release.

Effective March 5, 2018, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below will increase as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR70 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) - by EUR70 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR50 Euro per metric ton.

As MRC informed before, Trinseo last raised its prices for all PS, ABS and SAN grades on 1 February 2018, as stated below:

- STYRON GPPS grades - by EUR135 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech HIPS grades - by EUR135 per metric ton;
- MAGNUM ABS resins - by EUR100 per metric ton;
- TYRIL SAN resins - by EUR120 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.4 billion in net sales in 2017, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,200 employees.
MRC