BP and Eni to form energy company in Angola

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP and Eni have entered into talks to merge their oil and gas operations in Angola to form one of Africa's largest energy companies, said Reuters.

The two companies have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding and are in discussions on a joint venture that will include their LNG facilities, they said in a statement. A business plan will be agreed to allow the companies "to capture future opportunities in exploration, development and possibly portfolio growth, both in Angola and regionally."

Spinning off oil and gas assets is seen as a way for BP and Eni to squeeze more out of their oil and gas assets as the two companies prepare to shift towards renewable energy. The two companies have successful joint ventures in Norway, which serve as a model for the Angolan model.

"We see the combined Angola asset JV position providing for improved capital allocation, cost synergies, business efficiencies and an enhanced focus on value over volume," Santander analyst Jason Kenney said in a note. Reuters reported last month that Eni was considering spinning off oil and gas operations in West Africa and the Middle East into new joint ventures to help reduce debt and fund its shift to low-carbon energy. The report said Eni had held discussions with BP.

Oil and gas production from both Angolan portfolios would reach around 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, BP and Eni said in a statement. The 50-50 joint venture will also be self-funded, the companies said.

"The aim is to create a long-term future for operations in the country that will have a material portfolio of production, reserves and exploration prospects - one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa," BP's head of production and operations Gordon Birrell said in an internal statement seen by Reuters. The talks are expected to last several months, according to a company source.

As per MRC, Rosneft, the largest state oil company in the Russian Federation, was the first Russian oil company to decide to develop its hydrogen business. British BP will act as a partner. Together they will study the prospects for new projects using renewable energy sources (RES), as well as the use of technologies for capturing, utilizing and storing CO2. Earlier in Russia, Gazprom and Novatek spoke about their intention to create a hydrogen business and new technologies for the disposal of harmful emissions.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

BP plc (until May 2001 - British Petroleum) is a British oil and gas company, the second largest publicly traded oil and gas company in the world.
MRC

Shin-Etsu Chemical receives lower FY profit, raises dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. has reported that its fiscal year ended March 31 net income attributable to owners of parent declined 6.5 to 293.73 billion yen from last year's 314.03 billion yen, said the company.

Earnings per share were 706.26 yen compared to 755.01 yen last year.

Operating income declined 3.4 percent from last year to 392.21 billion yen.

Net sales were 1.50 trillion yen, down 3 percent from 1.54 trillion yen a year ago.

Further, the company announced that the year-end dividend for the fiscal year is planned to be 140 yen per share, compared to previous forecast of 130 yen per share. The annual dividend will be 250 yen per share, 30 yen up from the last fiscal year.

As MRC reported earlier, Shin-Etsu has declared force majeure (FM) on shipments of all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) grades from its plant in Pernis, the Netherlands. Thus, FM was declared on PVC supplies from this plant with the capacity of 450,000 mtyear on 6 May, 2021, following a critical and unforeseen leakage at the upstream vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) production plant in the Netherlands.

We remind that the completion of Shintech's USD1.49 billion expansions across the PVC chain at its Louisiana complex has been pushed back to the first quarter of 2021 from late 2020 because of a slowdown in the work to ensure safety protocols on coronavirus pandemic concerns. Shintech, the North American division of one of the largest Japanese companies - Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.
MRC

Two crude oil traders to leavet ExxonMobil team in Singapore next month

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two senior crude oil traders will be leaving ExxonMobil Corp's trading team in Singapore next month, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with the matter.

Ruddin Dhilawala will join Norwegian energy major Equinor, while Edward Ang will go to Hengyi Petrochemical, which runs a refinery in Brunei, the sources said.

Exxon Mobil said it does not comment on personnel matters. Equinor and Hengyi did not respond to requests for comment.

Dhilawala and Ang declined to comment.

As MRC informed previously, Sinopec Engineering (Group) and ExxonMobil (Huizhou) Chemical (EMHCC) have just entered into a BEPC (basic design, engineering, procurement and construction) contract for the proposed Huizhou Chemical Complex Project (Phase I). The main units of the project include a 1.6 million tonnes/year ethylene flexible feed steam cracker, downstream polymer and derivative units and utilities. The main product units include two performance polyethylene (PE) lines and two differentiated performance polypropylene (PP) lines.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of PE and PP, respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers 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

Sinopec ZRCC to take off-stream its PP plant in China for turnaround

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co (ZRCC), part of Sinopec Group, is in plans to shut down its polypropylene (PP) plant for a scheduled maintenance in H2 May, 2021, according to CommoPlast.

The turnaround at this plant is scheduled to last until the first half of June, 2021.

Located in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, the plant has a production capacity of 350,000 mt/year.

Sinopec ZRCC also operates linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant with a production capacity of 500,000 mt/year at the same site. The company also intends to conduct a turnaround at this plant during the stated above period.

As MRC informed earlier, Zhongke Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, also part of Sinopec Group, successfully conducted trial runs at its new 350,000 tons/year polypropylene (PP) unit on 9 June, 2020. Based in Zhenjiang, China, the complex consists of two PP lines with combined production capacity of 550,000 tons/year, a 100,000 tons/year low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant and a 350,000 tons/year high density polyethylene (HDPE)/LLDPE plant. All lines were expected to startup within July-August 2020 period.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group) is a super-large petroleum and petrochemical enterprise group established in July 1998 on the basis of the former China Petrochemical Corporation. Sinopec Group's key business activities include the exploration and production of oil and natural gas, petrochemicals and other chemical products, oil refining.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 19.05.2021

1. Japanese refiners to sell assets and speed structural reform as on expectations of weaker demand due to COVID-19 impact

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japanese refiners plan to sell assets and speed structural reform and overseas expansion as fuel demand is expected to fall at a faster pace due to a prolonged impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and an accelerating global decarbonization trend, reported Reuters. The dual headwinds of the pandemic and stronger pressure to cut carbon dioxide have forced Japan's top refiner Eneos Holdings and second-ranked Idemitsu Kosan to downgrade their profit goals for the three years to March 2023. "There has been a significant environmental change since 2019, with the unprecedented coronavirus crisis, green recovery and Japan's declaration of becoming carbon neutral," Idemitsu President Shunichi Kito told a news conference last week after the company released its earnings.



MRC