French oil major Total signs asset transfer deals with Qatar Petroleum

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil major Total said it had signed deals to transfer some of its assets in Kenya, Guyana and Namibia to Qatar Petroleum, reported Reuters.

In Namibia, Total will transfer to Qatar Petroleum a 30% interest in Block 2913B while keeping a 40% interest. Total will also transfer 28.33% in Block 2912 while retaining a 37.78% stake.

In Guyana, Qatar Petroleum will have 40% of the company holding Total's existing 25% interests in the Orinduik and Kanuku blocks. In Kenya, Total and Eni will transfer a combined 25% interest in Blocks L11A, L11B and L12 to Qatar Petroleum.

As MRC wrote previously, in H2 May 2019, Total said it had curbed output at its German refinery at Leuna due to continuing problems with contaminated Russian crude oil supply. Russia’s oil export flows were disrupted since April when high levels of organic chloride were found in crude pumped via the Druzhba pipeline to the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and elsewhere in Europe via Poland.

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) -- Bolivian Fiscal Petroleum Reservoirs (YPFB) on Friday launched a public tender to hire an international company with a recognized track record in the petrochemical industry, to carry out the engineering of the "Propylene and Polypropylene Plants" project, said Bnamericas.

"This engineering consists in determining the necessary facilities to be built in these plants, as well as their auxiliary systems, so that this petrochemical complex has a production of 250,000 metric tons of polypropylene annually," said YPFB President Oscar Barriga Arteaga. The raw material that will be used by this petrochemical complex that will be located in the town of Palmar Chico (Yacuiba), 10 km north of the Carlos Villegas Plant, is propane from the liquid separator plant.

In the act of launching this tender, the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Luis Alberto Sanchez, the president of YPFB, Oscar Barriga Arteaga and regional authorities of the Gran Chaco province of the department of Tarija.

At the end of this engineering, the final designs of the petrochemical complex will be carried out, which will allow us to continue with the following stages regarding the “Purchase of Machinery and Equipment” and “Construction and Assembly”.

The national industry may use polypropylene as a raw material for the manufacture of finished products, such as household appliances, auto parts and other products for daily use, which have a greater added value. This industry will allow generating development poles that will boost the economy not only by the industries but also by the services that they require for its operation.

The installation of industries in towns near the Propylene and Polypropylene Plants, such as Yacuiba, Villa Montes and Carapari, in addition to other regions of Bolivia, will allow the manufacture of finished products intended for both internal consumption and export.

At the moment, progress was made with Conceptual Engineering and product development processes (PDP). Likewise, an investment of more than USD2 billion is estimated, for which a loan from the Central Bank of Bolivia is available.

The project will be dedicated to the production of polymers to obtain soft and hard plastics. It will also allow adding value to natural gas and thus promoting the plastics processing industry to consolidate the petrochemical industry in Bolivia.

This YPFB release was published using machine translation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik is to install a new advanced high-efficiency gas and steam turbine power plant at Marl Chemical Park. The specialty chemicals group is thus, after more than 80 years, ending hard-coal based power and steam generation in Marl, which will reduce its CO2 emissions by up to one million metric tons annually, said the company.

Direct greenhouse gas emissions of its plants worldwide will then be reduced annually by almost one fifth. Evonik and its partner Siemens signed agreements for the construction of the two-block power plant on August 30th. Construction is slated to start before the end of this year. The high-efficiency and very flexible plant, produces power and steam in a cogeneration process, is expected to come on stream in 2022. Its total system efficiency will exceed 90 percent.

The project cost is in the three-digit million-euro range. Siemens Gas and Power is the main contractor and, jointly with its internal partner Siemens Financial Services, is responsible for the planning and construction of the entire power plant, including a new central control station building. Evonik will operate the plant in conjunction with the existing natural gas power plants.

“The modernization of our power plant park is a key element in achieving Evonik’s sustainability targets,” says Thomas Wessel, Chief Human Resources Officer and Industrial Relations Director of Evonik. “The main climate target of Evonik is to halve our absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 relative to base year 2008."

Willibald Meixner, CEO of Siemens Gas & Power, Power Generation Operations, said: “Siemens is actively helping to shape the energy transition in Germany. Decentralized industrial power plants that are equipped to meet the requirements of digitalization are an important component of our portfolio for the reduction of CO2 emissions. This is well illustrated by the Evonik order, which gives us immense satisfaction."

With the new power plant Evonik is securing cost-efficient and sustainable energy for its Marl Chemical Park, Evonik’s largest production site, over the long term. Apart from power, steam generation is also important for production in the Chemical Park. The plant has a power output of 180 megawatts—which corresponds to the power requirement of almost 500,000 households—and can produce up to 440 metric tons of steam per hour. The load control of the plant is highly flexible. This means it can contribute toward balancing out fluctuations in power feed from renewable energies into the grid—which is an important and indispensable element for the energy transition. About 2,000 households will continue to be supplied with district heating from the site’s integrated steam network.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In fiscal 2018, the enterprise with more than 32,000 employees generated sales of EUR13.3 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR2.15 billion from continuing operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea’s exports extended their slump in August as an escalating feud with Japan adds to uncertainties for the economy already elevated amid the U.S.-China trade war, said Bloomberg.

Exports fell 13.6% in August from a year earlier, a ninth consecutive month of contraction, data from the trade ministry showed Sunday. That compared with economists’ consensus for a 12.5% drop. Imports fell 4.2%, and the trade surplus was USD1.7 billion.

Export weakness has been the main drag on South Korea’s economy this year, weighing on companies’ investment and hiring. Headwinds from trade tensions remain high. Japan, a key supplier of materials and components, formally removed South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners on Aug. 28. The U.S. will start applying a new round of tariffs on some Chinese imports starting Sunday.

Exports fell in August due to deteriorating external trade conditions, base effect and a drop in operating days, according to a trade ministry statement. Impact from Japan trade sanctions seen limited so far, statement said.

South Korea’s trade data serve as a barometer of global demand due to its early release. The country is the world’s biggest source of memory chips, which go into everything from computers to smartphones.

“Global trade remains in a slump, and a turnaround is not around the corner,” said Howie Lee, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, before the data release. "There are some suggestions that the electronics market may have hit a bottom, and it will be interesting to see if this manifests."

The Bank of Korea held its benchmark interest rate on Friday, while noting that risks to its 2.2% growth forecast have increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR and Tatneft has signed a letter of intent with respect to Togliatti-based petrochemical facilities, as per SIBUR's press release.

Under the deal, SIBUR plans to sell and Tatneft plans to acquire certain production and other assets that are currently registered in the name of SIBUR Togliatti and Togliattisintez legal entities.

The assets include production facilities for various types of synthetic rubber used by Russia's and the world's leading tire manufacturers, for MTBE (high-octane fuel component), butadiene, isoprene, and other intermediates, as well as infrastructure of the industrial park accommodating a number of chemical and other technological companies.

For Tatneft, the acquisition is an opportunity to strengthen the vertical integration of its KAMA TYRES business and increase its value. After the acquisition, Tatneft intends to further develop the assets in line with its gas and petrochemical strategy. SIBUR - with its focus on establishing and developing global scale production of basic polymers, high-potential medium-tonnage products and premium special chemicals – will continue to cooperate with the Togliatti-based companies as partners.

The deal is expected to be closed by the end of 2019, including all corporate procedures, antitrust approvals, and other statutory formalities.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

SIBUR is the largest integrated petrochemicals company in Russia. The Group sells its petrochemical products on the Russian and international markets in two business segments: Olefins & Polyolefins (polypropylene, polyethylene, BOPP films, etc.) Plastics, Elastomers & Intermediates (synthetic rubbers, EPS, PET, etc.). SIBUR’s petrochemicals business utilises mainly own feedstock, which is produced by the Midstream segment using by-products purchased from oil and gas companies. More than 26,000 employees working in SIBUR contribute to the success of customers engaged in the chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction, energy and other industries in 80 countries worldwide. In 2018, SIBUR reported revenue of USD 9.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA of USD 3.3 billion.
MRC