Sri Lanka to start oil production in 2023

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sri Lanka has enlisted French major Total and Norway’s Equinor to study the hydrocarbon potential of two blocks, saying it aims to start oil production in the island nation in 2023, as per Reuters.

Sri Lanka does not produce oil and importing the fuel costs it USD4.15 billion in 2018.

The country has received three bids for the exploration and development of a block, shunned by Cairn India in late 2015 due to low hydrocarbon prospects, Vajira Dissanayake, the top government official in the petroleum ministry said. He declined to name the companies.

Cairn India, a subsidiary of London-listed Cairn Energy , confirmed the first discovery of the natural gas and the Sri Lankan government has said seismic data shows the potential for more than 1 billion barrels of oil under the sea in a 30,000 sq km (18,640 sq mile) area of the Mannar Basin, off the island’s northwestern coast.

The block in the Mannar Basin off the country’s northwest coast is expected to be awarded by November, Dissanayake said.

“Definitely by 2020 they will start operation and (we) expect the first hydrocarbon production by 2023,” he said.

To boost its oil and gas production, Sri Lanka has enlisted Total and Equinor to explore the JS-5 and JS-6 blocks in the eastern offshore region.

Data from a previous seismic survey revealed the JS-5 and JS-6 blocks to have “significant hydrocarbon potential” following which Total decided to move ahead with the next phase of exploration with Equinor, the petroleum ministry said in a statement.

Equinor will bear 30% of the project cost, its Vice President for exploration Janne Rui said, without specifying details.

Similar projects typically cost anywhere between USD2 million and USD10 million, said Jean-Marc Rodriguez, Total’s Vice President, Exploration for Asia Pacific.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Libya’s Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Processing Company (RASCO), has received the first shipment of ethylene gas at its port as part of in efforts to restart its ethylene production, as reported by Liibya Herald.

RASCO reported that the tanker Stella Kosan had docked with the first shipment of about 4,000 metric tons of ethylene gas, which it said would be the first of numerous planned shipments needed to fill the ethylene tank at the cryogenic (freezing) area. These feedstock shipments will supply the polyethylene (PE) plant in preparation to re-start the plant "‘within next few days’", RASCO said.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), the parent company of RASCO, had announced in April last year that ethylene and PE production was to start ‘‘soon’’ at the Ras Lanuf Oil and Gas Manufacturing Company. No exact date had been given at the time of the announcement. In March this year RASCO had announced that it had successfully replaced a flaring incinerator and in the same month it announced that its port was now ready to operate after maintenance was completed.

The Ras Lanuf ethylene plant has been inactive since 2011, and the PE plant has been suspended since 2013. The plants are awaiting necessary maintenance and the re-commissioning of the refinery to provide the necessary feedstock raw material.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwanese investor CPC Corporation isn't finding land for setting up its Rs 45,300 crore petrochemicals project in Paradip eight months after Odisha wooed the company at a much-publicised investor summit, as reported by Plastemart with reference to Business Standard.

A delegation drawn from the Taiwan Petrochemical Alliance led by Lee Shun-Chin, president of CPC Corporation, had surveyed the proposed site of the petrochemicals project at Paradip in August 2018. The corporation's officials also held talks with the authorities of the Paradip Port Trust (PPT). Before visiting the site, the delegation had negotiations with Dharmendra Pradhan, minister for petroleum and natural gas. The successful operations of the projects proposed by CPC Corporation were contingent on a consistent supply of feedstock by Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) refinery unit at Paradip.

Later, CPC followed up with an investment intent at the second edition of Make in Odisha conclave held in November 2018. CPC was the second biggest investor at the biennial conclave after West Bengal-based Haldia Petrochemicals which pledged Rs 70,000 crore. But nearly eight months into the showpiece investment summit, CPC's planned project is in disarray. Land, the key component for installing the petrochemicals plant is unavailable, at Paradip.

"There is hardly any land available for CPC or other prospective investors in and around Paradip. Land acquired for the mega Posco project is to be transferred to JSW Steel. Besides, IOC has come up with a fresh proposal, seeking a land parcel of 4000 acres of land adjacent to its crude oil refinery at Paradip", said a government official in the know. Another source familiar with the development said, "CPC has not evinced interest since their initial interest. We are ready to provide them land at an alternative location if they are still keen on investment".

As MRC informed earlier, CPC Corporation's all crackers in Linyuan have a combined capacity of 1.08 million mt/year of ethylene as well as 500,000 mt/year of propylene.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan, is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell's second quarter profits fell nearly 40% from the previous year as the petrochemical industry contends with lower prices, plentiful supplies and tariffs, as per the company's press release.

Earnings were at USD1 bln in Q2, down from nearly USD1.7 bln during the same period in 2018. Second quarter revenues fell 12% to about USD9 bln from USD10.2 bln a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the company's EBITDA was USD1.6 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 11% over the first quarter 2019.

The company increased our quarterly dividend to USD1.05 per share, the eleventh increase over the past 8 years. The issued dividends totaled USD388 million.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer of polymer compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's production of polyethylene (PE) totalled 1,085,600 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 1% year on year. At the same time, the output of exclusively linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

July total PE production in Russia was 146,300 tonnes versus 167,200 tonnes a month earlier, lower production was caused by shutdowns for maintenance at Angarsk Polymers Plant and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Thus, overall PE output reached 1,085,600 tonnes in January-July 2019, compared to 1,071,200 tonnes a year earlier. LLDPE production increased significantly, whereas production of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) showed a minimal decrease.

The PE production structure by grades looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's HDPE output was 78,100 tonnes, which was virtually corresponded to the June figure. Overall HDPE production exceeded 564,500 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, down by 1% year on year.

July LDPE output dropped to 49,300 tonnes from 57,000 tonnes a month earlier, the reduction in production was caused by the scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at the Angarsk and Salavat plants. Overall LDPE production reached 380,800 tonnes over the stated period, down by 1% year on year.

Last month's LLDPE output fell to 18,900 tonnes from 31,900 tonnes, Kazanorgsintez suspended its LLDPE production in July. The two plants' overall LLDPE production was 140,300 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 23% year on year.

MRC