Ruslan Shigabutdinov headed the board of directors of KOS

MOSCOW (MRC) - General Director of TAIF PJSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kazanorgsintez PJSC, the company said.

His candidacy was unanimously approved at the annual general meeting of shareholders of the enterprise. The previous composition of the Executive Directorate of Kazanorgsintez PJSC remained unchanged. It includes General Director Farid Minigulov, Chief Engineer Rafael Safarov, Deputy General Director for Personnel and General Issues Aidar Akhmetshin, Deputy General Director for Production Rinat Zaripov, Chief Accountant Larisa Kaleeva, Deputy General Director for Economics and Finance Fanis Kalimullin, Deputy General Director for corporate management of property and investments Bulat Sabirov; Deputy General Director for Economic Security and Regime Rostislav Sarkisov; Deputy General Director for Commerce Timur Sulteev.

Chairman of the Board Ruslan Shigabutdinov on behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire staff of Kazanorgsintez PJSC expressed gratitude and gratitude to Zeljko Milich and Rinat Sabirov for their fruitful activities.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR and TAIF on April 26 announced the start of the merger of the oil and gas chemical businesses of the companies. As part of the merger, a company will be created on the basis of SIBUR Holding PJSC, in which the current shareholders of TAIF PSC will receive a 15% stake in exchange for the transfer of a controlling stake in a group consisting of petrochemical and energy enterprises.

Earlier it was reported that Kazanorgsintez began a project to build a production of polyethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and high-pressure polyethylene (LDPE). The capacity of the new production will be 100 thousand tons of EVA / LDPE per year. The Japanese company Sumitomo Chemical will act as the licensor. The production complex will be located on a free site, inside the territory of Kazanorgsintez. To implement the project, it is planned to use the company's own funds and attract debt financing.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Kazanorgsintez PJSC is one of the largest polyethylene producers and the only polycarbonate producer in Russia (part of TAIF Group). The only Russian member of the international Association "PE100 +". All products manufactured by Kazanorgsintez PJSC are certified in the system of the State Standard of the Russian Federation. The enterprise is the largest exporter of polyethylene among Russian manufacturers. Kazanorgsintez PJSC supplies products to 31 countries of the world.
MRC

First Novolen PP unit to be build in Nigeria

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lummus Technology's Novolen business has been awarded a polypropylene (PP) contract by BUA Refinery, a subsidiary of Nigeria's BUA Group, at their grassroots refinery in Nigeria, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Lummus' scope includes the technology license for a 285 KTA PP unit as well as basic design engineering, training and services, and catalyst supply.

"We are pleased to sign this polypropylene contract for our BUA Refinery and Petrochemicals Project with Lummus Technology, a world leader in delivering polypropylene solutions, which will solve the increasing demand for high-performance grade polypropylene in Nigeria, the Gulf of Guinea as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa Region," said Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group. "We are confident in the capacity and technical expertise of Lummus Technology to deliver a best-in-class, 285 KTA PP unit for our refinery project scheduled to come on stream in 2024."

Lummus Novolen Technology GmbH licenses PP technology and provides related engineering and technical support/advisory services. Novolen also supplies NHP catalysts for the production of high-performance polypropylene grades in the Novolen process and NOVOCENE metallocene catalyst for the production of special PP grades.

As MRC reported before, Lummus Technology has been just awarded a master licensor contract by PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim for its ethylbenzene, styrene monomer (SM), ethylene dimerization and olefins conversion technologies. These four plants will be part of the expansion of an olefins production facility in Nizhnekamsk, Russia. The dimerization and olefins conversion units will be the first in Russia.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

TAIF and SIBUR intend to invest over Rb1 mln in the implementation of joint projects

MOSCOW (MRC) - TAIF together with SIBUR will spend over 1 trillion rubles. for the implementation of joint projects, Kommersant reports with reference to the words of the general director of the company Rafinat Yarullin during a meeting of Tatneftekhiminvest-holding.

It is noted that the companies plan to implement over 30 projects in total. "TAIF, in synergy with SIBUR, plans to implement more than 30 projects, the cost will be determined, it is also somewhere over a trillion," R. Yarullin noted.

The companies previously signed a legally binding asset pooling agreement. The deal involves the exchange of a minimum controlling stake in TAIF for a 15% stake in SIBUR. To complete the transaction, SIBUR will conduct an additional share issue. The merged enterprise will have an option to buy out the remaining stake in TAIF, and TAIF shareholders will also have the right to activate this option.

After the completion of all investment projects underway - the Amur Mining and Chemical Combine and the construction of a new pyrolysis facility at Nizhnekamskneftekhim, the combined company will enter the TOP-5 global leaders in the production of polyolefins and rubbers, whose combined capacity will amount to 8 million tons of polyolefins and 1.2 million tons of rubbers.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR increased sales of polypropylene and polyethylene last year amid growing utilization of the ZapSibNeftekhim complex. This led to an increase in the company's revenue in the olefins and polyolefins segment by 77.1% to RUB 187.3 billion. This growth was mainly due to an increase in sales of polypropylene and polyethylene as a result of increased utilization of the ZapSibNeftekhim complex and was partially offset by a decrease in prices for these types of products.

SIBUR is the largest vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemical company in Russia, uniting a number of production sites in various regions of the Russian Federation. The company sells products to consumers in the fuel and energy complex, automotive, construction, consumer goods, chemical and other industries in more than 80 countries around the world.

PSC "TAIF" was established in 1995, is the parent company of the group of the same name, which includes enterprises structured in four business areas: oil and gas processing, chemistry and petrochemistry (energy); investment and financial services; building; telecommunications and complex services, including trade. TAIF Group of Companies is a large Russian holding that controls 96% of the chemical, petrochemical and oil and gas processing industries in Tatarstan. The most important of its directions is the "Chemistry, Petrochemistry and Oil and Gas Processing" division, which includes the leading Russian polymer producers Nizhnekamskneftekhim and Kazanorgsintez.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 29.04.2021

1. Crude oil futures up on signs of stronger downstream demand in the US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures ticked higher during mid-morning trade in Asia April 29, as sentiment in the market remained positive amid signs of strong downstream demand in the US, but the progress of the pandemic in India remained on the market's radar, reporte S&P Global. At 11:17 am Singapore time (0317 GMT), the ICE Brent June contract was up 36 cents/b (0.54%) from the April 27 settle at USD67.64/b, while the June NYMEX light sweet crude contract rose 29 cents/b (0.45%) at USD64.15/b. There was some bullishness in the market after the US' Energy Information Administration released its weekly data late April 28, which backed the narrative of a recovery in US oil demand.

MRC

Crude oil futures up on signs of stronger downstream demand in the US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures ticked higher during mid-morning trade in Asia April 29, as sentiment in the market remained positive amid signs of strong downstream demand in the US, but the progress of the pandemic in India remained on the market's radar, reporte S&P Global.

At 11:17 am Singapore time (0317 GMT), the ICE Brent June contract was up 36 cents/b (0.54%) from the April 27 settle at USD67.64/b, while the June NYMEX light sweet crude contract rose 29 cents/b (0.45%) at USD64.15/b.

There was some bullishness in the market after the US' Energy Information Administration released its weekly data late April 28, which backed the narrative of a recovery in US oil demand.

Total products supplied, the EIA's proxy for demand, increased 8.7% on the week, in the week ended April 23 to 20.34 million b/d. The increase in implied products demand was largely powered by a 12.35% increase in implied distillates demand to 4.33 million b/d in the same period, even as implied gasoline demand edged 2.49% lower to 8.88 million b/d.

The increase in implied distillate demand sent distillate inventories 3.34 million barrels lower last week to 139.05 million barrels. Gasoline inventories, meanwhile, climbed 90,000 barrels to 235.07 million barrels even as Apple mobility data showed US driving activity edging 0.4% higher last week.

The headline increase in US crude inventories was 90,000 barrels, according to the EIA data, which put stocks 0.3% behind the five-year average and erased a surplus that has persisted since the week ended March 27, 2020. Even though crude inventories registered a rise, the market took it as a positive development, as the rise was much smaller than the 4.32 million-barrel build reported by the American Petroleum Institute on April 27.

The increase in US oil demand, as per the EIA report, came amid the market's assessment of improved US economic conditions. The Federal Reserve, on April 28, echoed the market's view of bullish economic conditions in the country, saying that amid progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have strengthened.

Elsewhere, however, concerns over the pandemic and its pernicious impact on economic activity have escalated. COVID-19 infection and fatality numbers in India, the third largest importer of crude oil, have shown no signs of abating, with the country reporting record 360,927 new cases and 3,293 deaths on April 27, latest data from John Hopkins University showed.

As MRC informed earlier, COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented decline in demand affecting all sections of the Russian economy, which has impacted the demand for petrochemicals in the short-term. However, the pandemic triggered an increase in the demand for polymers in food packaging, and cleaning and hygiene products, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. With Russian petrochemical companies having the advantage of access to low-cost feedstock, and proximity to demand-rich Asian (primarily China) and European markets for the supply of petrochemical products, these companies appear to be well-positioned to derive full benefits from an improving market environment and global economy post-COVID-19, says GlobalData.

We remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex”.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 356,370 tonnes in the first two month of 2021, down by 9% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market was 246,870 tonnes in January-February 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC