South Korea's Hyundai E&C cancels USD521 MM petrochemicals deal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's Hyundai Engineering& Construction said on Monday that it scrapped a 595 billion won (USD521 million) deal to build a petrochemicals complex in Iran, saying the Iranian customer's ability to fund it had been hit by the prospect of U.S. economic sanctions against Tehran, as per Reuters.

In a regulatory filing, Hyundai E&C said the consortium it led for the project's construction cancelled the contract on Sunday.

"The contract was cancelled because financing is not complete, which was a prerequisite for the validity of the contract, as external factors worsened such as economic sanctions against Iran," Hyundai E&C said in its filing.

From Nov. 4, the United States will re-impose sanctions against Iranian crude oil exports as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to force Tehran to accede to a more restrictive deal on limiting its nuclear and missile programmes.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil and gas major Total has delayed the startup of its planned 500,000 tonnes capacity La Mede biofuel refinery to the first quarter of 2019, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company has invested around 200 million euros (USD227 million) to convert the loss-making crude refining unit in southeastern France to produce biodiesel. It was expected to start production in the summer.

De la Chevardiere told analysts that production will now start in the first quarter of next year. He did not provide reasons for the delay.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asian fuel oil refining margins climbed to a near record high on Friday, boosted by falling crude oil prices and tightening supplies of the fuel amid refinery upgrades and looming U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports next month, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"Cracks have strengthened recently mostly due to weaker crude prices which are down by almost USD10 per barrel since the start of the month," said Nevyn Nah, an analyst at consulting firm Energy Aspects. Weaker crude oil prices tend to improve margins because of the lower cost for raw materials.

Supplies of fuel oil, the residue oil left after initial crude processing in a refinery, have constricted this year. The oil product is mainly used to power large ships and for electricity generation. Refineries have cut their fuel oil output after upgrades ahead of stricter emissions regulations for ship fuel in 2020 and as exports of Iranian fuel oil, a major producer and exporter of the residual fuel, have dropped before the U.S. sanctions start on Nov. 4.

"Secondary units upgrades in Europe and South Korea, loss of low-viscosity Iranian supplies which is vital for blending West of Suez material," have all contributed to the stronger fuel oil margins, said Nah. Refinery disruptions from key producers such as Venezuela and Mexico have also tightened the availability of fuel oil.

The Singapore 180-centistoke (cst) fuel oil refining margin, or crack, for November was at USD1.43 a barrel above Dubai crude oil during afternoon trade on Friday, data on Refinitiv Eikon showed. The last time the front-month fuel oil crack was at a wider premium was in March 2003.

The more actively traded crack for barges of 380-cst fuel in Europe versus Brent crude has also soared. "The barge crack yesterday shot up pretty sharply to about minus $5.75 a barrel," said a Singapore-based fuel oil broker. The front-month 380-cst barge crack is now at its highest since September 2017, Refinitiv data showed.

Fuel oil typically trades at a discount to crude oil because it is a residual by-product. Oil prices on Friday were heading for a third weekly loss amid growing concerns of oversupply amid a slump in global equities and trade.

From 2020, International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules will ban ships from using fuel oil with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped with so-called scrubbers to clean up sulphur emissions.

The new regulations have forced the oil refining and shipping industries to prepare for the shift by making large investments to comply with the new standards.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, announces that it has signed an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in South Korean compounder DYM Solution Co. Ltd., said the producer.

The agreement and transaction are subject to all required regulatory approvals. Based in Cheonan South Korea, DYM Solution Co. Ltd. was founded in 1992 and is a provider of compound solutions for the global wire and cable industry. It specialises in semi-conductive, halogen-free flame retardant (HFFR), rubber and silane cured compounds.

With this investment, Borealis seeks to extend the global Wire & Cable asset footprint it has together with Borouge, thereby embodying the mission of Bringing Energy All Around. Borealis will be able to build upon its extensive and sophisticated portfolio, with complementary products and technologies for semi-conductive, flame retardant, rubber and silane cured compounds.

“Having access to an Asian manufacturing base would significantly expand our ability to foster continuing organic growth for Borealis and Borouge and enable us to meet the requirements of our wire and cable customers even better,” says Borealis Chief Executive Alfred Stern.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea will cut domestic transport fuel taxes by 15 percent for six months from Nov. 6 to ease the burden of rising global oil prices on households and small businesses, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The gasoline fuel tax will drop by 111 won per litre to 635 won (USD0.5589) per litre. The diesel fuel tax will fall to 450 won a litre from the current 529 won per litre, the ministry said in a statement.

The government will also lower fuel taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and butane by 28 won to 157 won per litre. The temporary tax cut will amount to a 2 trillion won (USD1.76 billion) reduction in tax revenue for the government over the next six months, the statement said.

Retail prices for gasoline and diesel have been rising for 16 straight weeks, according to data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corp, reflecting high global oil prices which now stand at just below USD80 per barrel.

As of Tuesday, the average retail price for gasoline and diesel was 1,690 won a litre and 1,495 won a litre respectively, according to KNOC data.

In the first nine months of 2018, demand for diesel eased 0.7 percent to 124.7 million barrels from the same period a year ago, while gasoline demand rose 1 percent to 60.2 million barrels, KNOC data showed
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