Eni and Total join for another gas search license off Cyprus

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy companies Total of France and Italy's Eni have teamed up to expand their search for natural gas off southern coast, signing a licensing agreement Wednesday, reported EconomicTimes.

Cypriot Energy Minister Georgios Lakkotrypis said the companies will have an equal share in a new block into which a gas deposit that Eni discovered in an adjacent block last year is believed to extend.

Lakkotrypis said Total also gains a 20-40% share in four of Eni's concessions inside Cyprus' exclusive economic zone. Korea's Kogas is also a partner with a 20% share in three of the four concessions.

With Wednesday's signing, Eni and Total now hold exploration licenses for seven of Cyprus' 13 blocks. ExxonMobil and a partnership between Texas-based Noble Energy, Dutch Shell and Israeli Delek hold licenses for one block each.

The two companies are expected to drill six wells in their blocks over the next two years.

Earlier this year, ExxonMobil and partners Qatar Petroleum announced the discovery of a gas field in their concession estimated to contain 5-8 trillion square feet of gas.

Noble Energy discovered a field of its own estimated to hold 4.1 trillion cubic feet of gas back in 2011.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told The Associated Press on Tuesday that there are "sufficient quantities" of gas in Cypriot waters for exploitation.

As MRC reported earlier, in February 2018, Eni and Total discovered a promising natural gas field off Cyprus.

ENI is an Italian multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Rome. It has operations in in 79 countries, and is currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of EUR68 billion (USD 90 billion), as of August 14, 2013. The Italian government owns a 30.3% golden share in the company, 3.93% held through the state Treasury and 26.37% held through the Cassa depositi e prestiti. Another 39.40% of the shares are held by BNP Paribas.

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) -- A natural gas project jointly developed by China and Uzbekistan in the southern part of the central Asian nation is ready to start producing, China National Petroleum Corp said Scmp.

Phase one of the Karakul block in southern Bukhara province would be able to pump 1 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year to China though the Central-Asian pipeline grid, the company said, though it did not say when the supply would start.
Natural gas crunch in northern China leaves hospitals, schools out in the cold
The block, which comprises three fields, is being developed by New Silk Road Oil & Gas, a joint venture between CNPC and Uzbek state-run oil and gas firm Uzbekneftegaz.

The Central Asian pipeline network, launched in 2009, runs nearly 2,000km from Turkmenistan through the former Soviet neighbours of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan before reaching China’s northwestern Xinjiang region.

Chinese customs data showed China imported 1.84 million tonnes of gas from Uzbekistan in the first 10 months of this year, or about 2.54 bcm.

Turkmenistan remains China’s single largest pipeline gas supplier, with supplies during the same period reaching nearly 29 bcm.

As MRC informed earlier, Uzbekneftegaz and Singapore's Indorama Group have established the UzIndoramaGazChemical joint venture (JV) to build a gas chemical complex (GCC) on a parity basis. Uzbekneftegaz and Indorama signed a memorandum of cooperation, providing for technological and financial participation of Singapore company to establish production of diversified products (polymers and polyethylene) on the basis of the Mubarek Gas Processing Plant. As reported earlier, the project worth USD2.5 bln envisages building the GCC with a capacity of 400,000 tpa of polyethylene.

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. At the same time, 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp (XOM.N) began shutting its 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas, on Thursday morning because of flooding from Tropical Storm Imelda, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Exxon earlier on Thursday shut the Beaumont chemical plant, which adjoins the refinery, company spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry said.

The company operates a cracker with a capacity of 830,000 mt of ethylene and 195,000 mt of proplyelen per year, low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant with a capacity of 236,000 mt per year and linear low density polyethylene plant with a capacity of 727,000 tonnes per year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption was 1,081,100 tonnes in the first half of 2019, up by 8% year on year. Deliveries of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated consumption of PP in the Russian market totalled 694,210 tonnes in January-June 2019, up by 14% year on year. The supply of propylene block copolymers (PP-block) and propylene homopolymers (PP-homo) increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik’s venture capital arm has invested in a start-up that sustainably produces biofabricated materials that are inspired by leather, eliminating the need for animal skins. Modern Meadow’s technology produces animal-free collagen, a protein naturally found in animal hides, via a fermentation process using yeast cells, said the company.

The investment in the start-up, based in Nutley, New Jersey, follows a successful partnership between the two companies in which Evonik is supporting the development of a commercial scale process to produce collagen. “Consumer demand for non-animal derived products is increasing rapidly,” said Lutz Stoeber, investment director for Evonik Venture Capital in North America. “With this investment Evonik is supporting Modern Meadow in developing a sustainable animal-friendly technology."

The biofabricated material produced by this animal-free method, more closely resembles animal leather than synthetic equivalents because it contains collagen, the main structural component in cow hides. ZoaTM biofabricated materials, Modern Meadow’s first branded materials line, will be offered in a variety of shapes, sizes, textures and colors. The technology opens possibilities to create materials inspired by leather with new properties, such as lighter-weight options, new processing forms, and patterning. Modern Meadow is developing both leather-like composites, which allow for superior mechanical properties, and non-composite materials.

Collagen has many forms and applications that go beyond leather-like materials. As the most abundant protein found in the human body, it has many pharmaceutical and medical applications. Collagen promotes the healing of wounds, guides tissue regeneration and can revitalize the skin, areas in which Evonik has research activities. The investment strengthens Evonik’s Health & Care growth engine, one of the areas that the company has identified as a growth driver.

"We are excited to further strengthen our partnership with Modern Meadow, a highly dynamic and visionary company,” said Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of Evonik’s Health Care business line. “The fit is perfect as we are also looking into opportunities provided by biofabricated collagen for the healthcare market."

In March 2018, Evonik and Modern Meadow agreed to collaborate to bring the production of Modern Meadow’s collagen to commercial scale while optimizing the process productivity. Evonik has more than three decades of experience in the development, scale-up and commercial production of fermentation-based products and has developed leading competencies in the field of protein fermentation. The plan is to start commercial production in 2020 at an Evonik site in Slovakia, which is specialized in pilot and low- to mid-scale production of specialty bio-fermented products.

"After successfully partnering with Evonik in 2018, we are thrilled to deepen our relationship and bring them on board as an investor,” said Andras Forgacs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Modern Meadow. “We look forward to accelerating our growth and scaling our technology with their support and expertise."

The animal and artificial leather market combined is estimated to be worth USD190 billion with many applications such as automotive, footwear, furniture, garments and bags.

Evonik Venture Capital plays a strategic role in Evonik’s goal to become a best-in-class specialty chemicals company, by helping secure access to disruptive technologies and innovative business models as well as supporting digital transformation. To this end, Evonik launched its second venture capital fund with a volume of EUR150 million at the beginning of 2019, more than doubling the amount under management to EUR250 million.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A group of 13 major oil companies charted out a plan on Monday to promote investments in carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), ahead of a gathering in New York, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oil chiefs grappling with growing demand for action to fight climate change have looked to invest in carbon-capture and sequestration techniques that some executives, including Occidental Petroleum Corp CEO Vicki Hollub, say could make drilling carbon neutral.

With fossil fuel development growing worldwide, the oil and gas industry faces growing criticism from activists concerned about accelerating climate impacts from melting ice caps to sea-level rise and extreme weather. Scientists say the world needs to halve greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade to avoid catastrophic warming.

Carbon sequestration technology traps carbon in caverns or porous spaces underground. A number of oil and gas CEOs say the technology will be crucial to meeting goals set in the 2016 Paris agreement on climate change to reduce global emissions.

"A lot of people don't even know what CCUS is. I think the world is going to hear more and more and more about it," BP plc CEO Bob Dudley said. "I don't think we can meet the Paris goals without CCUS." The group, known as the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), said it aims to double the amount of carbon dioxide stored globally by 2030. The group is also taking steps to reduce methane emissions.

The group formed in 2014 to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Its gathering will be held on the sidelines of a climate summit, where United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he is banking on new pledges from governments and businesses to abandon fossil fuels.

Last Friday, millions of young people flooded the streets of cities around the world to demand urgent steps to stop climate change. Many, including 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, have criticized governments and industries for not doing enough.

The OGCI group said in a statement that carbon-capture technologies could be expanded to more efficiently trap large amounts of carbon released by facilities such as power plants, which could then be used in oil recovery and, ultimately stored - thus, removing it from the atmosphere.

The group plans to work with others to put carbon-capture techniques into operation in the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, and China. On Monday afternoon in New York, it will sign a declaration of collaboration with certain energy ministers and other stakeholders, to commit to efforts to expand carbon storage.

The companies, which include Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron Corp and BP PLC, account for 32% of global oil and gas production. They have agreed to cooperate to accelerate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Separately, almost 90 big companies in sectors from food to cement to telecommunications are pledging to slash greenhouse gas emissions, organizers said.
MRC