Lukoil puts Iran plans on hold due to threat of U.S. sanctions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lukoil, Russia's second-biggest oil producer, said on Tuesday it had decided not to go ahead with plans to develop projects in Iran at the moment due to the threat of U.S. sanctions, reported Reuters with reference to a company official.

The United States plans to impose new sanctions on Iran after pulling out of a 2015 agreement between Iran and major world powers to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"Considering the latest developments, I guess, it's too early to say what our plans (about Iran) will be. For the moment, basically, we have everything on hold," the official told a conference call which followed publication of Lukoil's first-quarter results on Monday.

Lukoil said on Monday its first-quarter net profit rose to 109.1 billion roubles (USD1.8 billion), up 75 percent on the previous year with the help of rising oil prices.

The official said that company's focus remained on its domestic business. "We don't plant to do anything material on the international M&A side," he said.

Lukoil has been in talks with Iran over development of Abe Timur and Mansuri oilfields.

As MRC wrote before, in February 2017, Lukoil sold Ukrainian plant Karpatneftekhim. Thus, the Antimonopoly Committee gave permission for the purchase of a 75% stake in Lukoil Chemical B.V. (Netherlands), which owns 100% of LLC "Karpatneftekhim" (Kalush, Ivano-Frankivsk region).

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil company in Russia. The main activities of the company include operations for exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest private oil Company worldwide by proven hydrocarbon reserves. In Lukoil structure includes one of the largest Russian and Ukrainian petrochemical industries Stavrolen and Karpatneftekhim.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials company, will increase June list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Americas, as per the company's press release.

The price increases below will be effective for orders shipped on or after June 1, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, VAM prices will rise, as follows:

- by EUR150/mt - for Europe, Middle East & Africa;
- by USD0.05/lb - for the USA and Canada:
- by USD150/mt - for Mexico & South America.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese last raised its VAM prices for the stated above regions on 18 April, 2018, as follows:

- by EUR75/mt - for Europe, Middle East & Africa;
- by USD0.05/lb - for the USA and Canada:
- by USD100/mt - for Mexico & South America.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total and Domo Chemicals has inaugurated a 60 million-euro benzene production and extraction project at Total’s Leuna Refinery in Germany, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The project consisted of constructing a new unit at the refinery that enriches an intermediate product from the gasoline production. The entire output will be sent via a 1.6 pm pipeline to a new caprolactam producing unit at Domo. Both units started operation at the beginning of 2018.

The joint project was announced in 2016 when Domo had demand for 180,000 tonnes-per-year of benzene. It was initially stated that Total would produce 70,000 tonnes per-year of the feedstock to start.

"This investment ensures our long-term access to a strategic feedstock for our integrated polyamide 6 production sequence," Luc De Raedt, managing director of DOMO Caproleuna GmbH said in a 2016 statement.

"Total’s and Domo’s investment represents an important step to further consolidate our networking at our Leuna chemical site. This project impressively demonstrates how potential synergies are successfully developed in Leuna, in close and trustful cooperation across corporate boundaries. I am especially pleased that, in the 100th year of Leuna’s existence, Domo and TOTAL, key customers of InfraLeuna, send out this strong positive signal for the future of this chemical site," Christof Gunther, managing director of InfraLeuna GmbH said in the 2016 statement.

Domo and the Total have been working together for years. The refinery already supplies propylene, an important raw material of caprolactam and polyamide 6 productions.

As MRC wrote previously, in December 2017, Total inaugurated the new units at its Antwerp integrated refining & petrochemicals platform, which had progressively started up in the past few months of last year.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The devaluation of the rouble and higher oil prices led to a rise in prices of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in the Russian market in May. The pipe grade polyethylene (PE), prices of which grew by Rb6,000/tonne, accounted for the greatest price increase, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Russian producers managed to balance the domestic market after the surplus winter months, except for film grade HDPE. PE import volumes are still significant for the Russian market, but the weakening of the rouble against the dollar also led to an increase in prices of imported HDPE. In general, the price rise was from Rb2,000/tonne to Rb6,000/tonne, with black pipe grade PE accounting for the greatest price increase.

There was a slight shortage in the injection moulding HDPE market in late April-early May, but there was no rush because of this factor. Supply of this PE grade grew in the second half of May due to higher production by Kazanorgsintez. The price spread was quite wide during the month, in some cases, prices reached Rb94,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Demand and supply were balanced in the blow moulding HDPE market in the first half of May, but already in the third decade of the month, some sellers began to restrict their sales, particularly, of 273-83 HDPE grade, which was the reason for the price increase. Overall, May deals for blow moulding HDPE were done in the range of Rb89,000-92,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.

Supply of natural pipe grade HDPE was tight in the market in the first two decades of May. Due to a number of reasons, the key suppliers of this PE grade - Stavrolen and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat - resumed shipments of polymer to the domestic market only in the third decade of the month. At the same time, the shortage did not lead to a price increase, deals were negotiated in the range of Rb91,500-93,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in late May.

Unlike natural grade PE, prices of PE 100 grade of black pipe HDPE rose from Rb101,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in April to Rb107,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, this month.

Supply of film grade HDPE was excessive in the market, and this factor limited an amount of the price rise in May. Russian PE was sold at Rb93,500-95,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, prices of Uzbekh blow moulding HDPE have grown to Rb92,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, by the end of the month.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- West Virginia, Inc., (EWV) has recently received a safety award for having zero recordable injuries in 2017, presented by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) during their National Occupational & Process Safety Conference, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These awards are part of a comprehensive program to promote safe operations in the refining and petrochemical industries and to recognize facilities with outstanding occupational and process safety records.

EWV is part of Ergon’s network of refineries and terminals which provides specialty base oils to more than 90 countries around the world. The organization consistently promotes safety as a top priority, emphasizing the importance of being safety conscious on job sites, wearing proper personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times, and practicing proper lifting techniques in order to reduce strain and other injuries.

A 0.00 recordable injury rate is evidence of the effectiveness of EWV’s safety strategies, even more, impressive due to the fact that 2017 was a turnaround year at the refinery. The total number of workers onsite was almost three times greater than usual during the turnaround, with over 40,000 extra EWV man-hours logged.

"In our industries, safety is paramount, and something in which we take great pride and hold ourselves to the highest standards," Chet Thompson, president and CEO of AFPM noted. "The U.S. refining and petrochemical industries continue to have the lowest rates of injury and illness among major industrial sectors and are leading the way in process safety innovation and practices. The recipients represent leaders within our industries, and we are pleased to acknowledge these facilities for their excellent safety records, proactive programs, and impressive safety cultures. These safety awards recognize their outstanding work and exemplify the gold standard for others to emulate."

"We are honored to receive this recognition from AFPM," commented Kris Patrick, president of Ergon’s refining and marketing division. "This achievement would not be possible without the commitment of the EWV staff who understand that safety is the responsibility of every single employee. We are a family business, and our first priority is an unwavering commitment to safety at all levels throughout the Ergon organization."
MRC