Sibur says new gas chemical complex will cost up to USD8 bln

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian petrochemical company Sibur said its plans to build a gas chemical complex in Russia's Far East will require preliminary investments of up to USD8 billion and it is still looking for Asian partners, reported Reuters.

Sibur said a year ago that it had been in talks with a number of Chinese investors about participating in the project to build the complex in Amur.

Sibur's Chief Executive Officer Dmitry Konov told Reuters in a recent interview, that the company, Russia's largest petrochemicals company, was still talking to investors, without giving details on their progress.

"We look at the implementation of the Amur complex as a joint venture, that's why the investments will be shared among the partners," Konov said.

He estimated preliminary investments in the Amur complex at USD7 billion-USD8 billion.

The plant will be built to serve Asian markets as part of a broader plan by Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom to supply gas to China.

Gazprom will supply the complex with around 2 million tonnes of ethane per year.

The plant will also enable Sibur to diversify into Asia.

"The location of the Far Eastern project is not usual for us," Konov said. "At the moment, our supplies to Asia are not that big. That's why we see benefits in Asian partners."

Sibur said last year that it had been in talks with China's Sinopec, which holds a 10 percent stake in Sibur, about investment in the project. A spokeswoman for Sibur declined to comment on Friday on whether Sinopec might invest in the project.

Konov said in March that a final decision on investments would be taken next year.

Sibur expects the plant to start operating after 2024, following the launch of Gazprom's own gas processing plant, also called Amur, which will process the gas before it is exported to China. Sibur's complex will produce different forms of ethylene from the gas supplied by Gazprom's plant.

Sibur currently mainly serves clients in the former Soviet Union, although its polymer exports are set to rise with the launch of a USD9 billion plant in Tobolsk in Western Siberia by 2020.

Sibur also has been in talks with Saudi Aramco to set up a venture to produce synthetic rubber, a move highlighting growing cooperation between OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and Russia, the biggest non-OPEC oil exporter.

Businessman Leonid Mikhelson, the head of and a major shareholder in Russia's largest gas producer Novatek, owns 48.5 percent of Sibur. His business partner Gennady Timchenko owns 17 percent, while China's Sinopec and Silk Fund control 10 percent each.

Once the Amur and Tobolsk plants are up and running, Sibur will cut exports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the feed stock for petrochemicals production.

Analysts forecast production in the former Soviet Union of basic polymers, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, will more than double to 9.6 million tonnes per year by 2024, from 4 million tonnes in 2017.

Demand for basic polymers in the former Soviet Union is expected to rise to 5.3 million tonnes, from 4 million tonnes.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- RTP Companyб a global compounder of custom engineered thermoplastics, is expanding into Poland, by opening new facility. RTP’s newest manufacturing unit is located at Prologis Park V in Wroclaw, Poland, as per the company's press release.

This newest manufacturing location will support regional demand and provide a consistent supply of our products to customers operating in Europe.

The 8,000 m2 facility has a wide dock area with a high clearance ceiling, external office space, and a laboratory with controlled temperature and humidity.

The production area will feature extra natural light, additional ventilation and drainage, and will accommodate up to six production lines. The park provides room to expand operations in the future.

The plant is scheduled to open in summer 2018 and will employ 25 or more people.

As MRC informed before, in 2015, Solvay Specialty Polymers, a leading global supplier of high-performance thermoplastics, announced a new licensing agreement that enables RTP Company to produce and sell Solvay’s Radel R-7000 series of polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) resins to the global commercial aircraft industry.

RTP company is a producer of specialty compounds from a wide range of base polymers, including polypropylene, polystyrene, low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, etc.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Devon Energy has entered into an agreement with Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) to sell its stakes in EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK) and EnLink Midstream (ENLC) for USD3.1bn, as per Compello.

The transaction is expected to reduce Devon Energy’s consolidated debt by 40%. The company had a debt of USD10.29bn at the end of 2017.

Devon Energy president and CEO Dave Hager said: "The sale of our EnLink interests represents a significant step forward in achieving our 2020 Vision to further simplify our asset portfolio and return excess cash to shareholders."

The transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions and is expected to be completed in July 2018. Following the completion of the transaction, the EnLink Midstream companies (EnLink) will continue a commercial relationship with Devon under long-term commercial contracts.

The companies will continue to partner to maximize returns in the STACK, redevelop the Barnett Shale, and team on new potential opportunities, such as crude gathering in the Delaware Basin.

Devon will extend its fixed-fee gathering and processing contracts with respect to the Bridgeport and Cana plants with EnLink through 2029.

Hager said: "EnLink remains a preferred partner for us in the midstream space, and we will continue to pursue mutually beneficial ways to grow our respective businesses across North America’s most prolific growth basins."

After the completion of the stake sale, the infrastructure fund manager GIP will 100% stake in EnLink Midstream Manager, nearly 64% limited partner equity interest in ENLC, and an approximate 23% limited partner equity interest in ENLK.

In conjunction with the EnLink transaction, Devon has also decided to increase its share repurchase program from USD1bn to USD4bn.

However, the expanded share repurchase program, which will extend through 31 December 2019, is subject to the closing of the EnLink transaction.

Based in Oklahoma City, Devon operates in several of the most prolific oil and natural gas plays in the US and Canada.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Synthomer takes pride in unveiling the new Revacryl UltraGreen 1647, an innovative, styrene acrylic binder for interior wall paints, as per the company's press release.

With its outstanding wet scrub resistance and pigment loading, it paves the way for wall paints fulfilling EN13300 class 1 wet scrub resistance and hiding power, as well as meeting the strict requirements of ecolabels like RAL UZ 102.

The polymer is designed to have high compatibility with silicate and is stable under high pH condition, making it suitable for silicate paint formulation. Synthomer binders are the basis for many premium coatings applications, for both decorative and protective use. Please contact and talk to one of our technical experts about how our polymer binders can help to elevate the performance of your products.

Synthomer is one of the world’s leading suppliers of emulsions polymers, styrene-butadiene and acrylonitrile-butadiene latexes and specialty polymers. It develops and markets polymers used in a wide range of industries to create and enhance everyday consumer products. Synthomer holds leading positions in their chosen markets and have a proven record to generate added value to its customers through in-depth application know-how and strong R&D support.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian oil and gas firm Gazprom Neft has agreed to expand cooperation with technology giant IBM in developing new technologies in onshore oil production, as per Compello.

The parties are looking to collaborate on the methodology for the launch of a digital laboratory by the Russian company among other initiatives.

Earlier, this month, Gazprom Neft had signed a collaboration agreement with the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology to establish the digital laboratory to conduct research in the field of modeling of multiphase systems in the oil and gas industry.

Gazprom Neft said that new technologies will be evaluated to boost the efficiency of geological exploration and production of onshore oil reserves. The technologies would involve software created based on artificial intelligence, Big Data, predictive analytics and industrial IoT among others.

The expanded cooperation that covers onshore production is within the framework of an agreement made on strategic cooperation in the field of digital technologies between Gazprom Neft and IBM during this year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Gazprom Neft first deputy general director Vadim Yakovlev said: “Together with IBM we will expand the accumulated experience of implementing breakthrough developments in the field of geology and drilling.

“The use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of large data has proved the possibility of increasing the economic efficiency of our projects through making timely and optimal decisions.”

So far, Gazprom Neft and IBM personnel had come up with a joint program for digitally managing oil production processes for onshore fields.

According to the Russian firm, various projects are in progress in the field of automated analysis of the geo-information system with the objective of assessing geology and predicting complications in drilling operations.

Gazprom Neft is also developing a partnership with IBM within the Gazprom Neft Project Management Center. The management center is designed to maximize the accuracy of forecasting results and cut down the time of important onshore oil production projects, said Gazprom Neft.

IBM Russia and the CIS country general manager Andrey Filatov said: "Surveys conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value among the top managers in the oil and gas industry show that the digital transformation is becoming a key driver in making the businesses more efficient.

"It allows the companies to remain leaders even in such competitive industries. IBM’s joint projects with Gazprom Neft are a clear demonstration of such approach."
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