Ukraine crisis raises European demand for LNG

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine will boost liquefied natural gas demand from European countries eager to diversify their access to the fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing, citing Hoegh LNG Holdings.

The crisis in Ukraine, which transits more than 15% of Europe’s gas use, may boost demand for floating LNG import terminals such as the one the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company will deliver to Lithuania this year, the first in the former Soviet Union, CEO Sveinung Stoehle said.

“It will create an extra push in demand," he said in an Oslo interview. "It will put even more focus on energy independence, especially on gas. The only way you can be independent on gas is to import LNG."

LNG exports from the US, which is building plants to ship the fuel after a boom in production, will boost global annual supply by about 40 million metric tons in 2017 from today’s 250 million, Stoehle said. That is already creating demand for import terminals and tankers that will extend to European nations such as Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Italy and Croatia, he said.

The standoff between Russia and Ukraine, which escalated over the weekend when Moscow invaded the Crimean peninsula, should lead US authorities to ease restrictions on gas exports, industry groups and politicians including House Speaker John Boehner said this week.

While the first of six government-approved US export projects won’t start output before next year, the Energy Department is considering at least 24 applications for new terminals.

As MRC reported earlier, Shell and Ukrainian Company "Nadra Yuzovsky" on Thursday, 24 January, in Davos, signed a production sharing agreement (PSA) for the developments of shale gas at Yuzovsky area, Ukraine. Each partner has a 50% interest in the project. Shell will be the operator of the project, responsible for all activities under the agreement. The agreement was signed for a period of 50 years.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Igor Sechin, Rosneft's President and Chairman of the Management Board, and Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of SIBUR Holding’s Board of Directors, have signed a set of documents for supplies of associated petroleum gas (APG) from Rosneft's fields to Nizhnevartovskiy, Belozerniy and Nyagangazpererabotka gas processing plants (GPPs), and a contract for sales of dry gas from Nizhnevartovskiy and Belozerniy GPPs to Rosneft, according to press release of the producer.

The new contract arrangements will come into effect on 1 April 2014 and will be valid through 2032.

SIBUR has also completed the purchase of the 49% stake in Yugragazpererabotka, which owns and operates Nizhnevartovskiy, Belozerniy and Nyagangazpererabotka GPPs, from RN-Holding, Rosneft’s subsidiary. As a result of the transaction, SIBUR has gained full control of Yugragazpererabotka.

Previously, SIBUR and Rosneft reached an agreement on increasing guaranteed supplies of APG from Rosneft's fields to Yugragazpererabotka’s gas processing facilities up to 10 bcm per annum through 2032.

The APG price will be formula-based and indexed in line with changes in prices for APG derivatives: dry gas and raw natural gas liquids (raw NGLs).

Rosneft swiftly followed this up with confirmation that it has reached an agreement with AAR to take the other half of TNK-BP in an all-cash deal worth USD28 billion.

SIBUR is a vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. SIBUR owns and operates Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes, and is a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An Agreement of Cooperation as part of LNG projects was signed at the Gazprom headquarters by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Andrey Akimov, Chairman of the Gazprombank Management Board, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

According to the Agreement, the parties will cooperate within the Baltic LNG and Vladivostok LNG projects.

Gazprom will be the majority shareholder in the project companies set up to implement the Baltic LNG and Vladivostok LNG projects. Gazprombank will have an opportunity to acquire a stake in the project companies.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, Gazprom can return to the construction of LNG plant with the nominal capacity of 7 million tonnes in Primorsk (Leningrad region).

The project companies, among other things, will own LNG plants along with other necessary production facilities as well as manage the projects at all stages, including the development of project documents.

Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas and one of the largest companies in the world. Its headquarters are in Moscow. Gazprom was created in 1989. The company was later privatised in part, but currently the Russian government holds most of the control in its hands.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Institut de recherche d'Hydro-Quebec (IREQ) and Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer, have announced that they have reached a collaborative research agreement for the development of a new highly safe electrolyte from fluoride and non-fluoride salts produced by Arkema, according to the company's statement.

Accordingly, Arkema has signed a licensing contract on the technology of its fluoride salts to IREQ which will hold intellectual property rights.

This cooperation venture is excellent news for both the automotive and the electrification of private and public transport industries, which are seeking high-quality cost-effective technologies for the development of materials for electric batteries. This new electrolyte will be suitable for use in lithium-ion and lithium-polymer battery technologies - both already on the market and next generation.

"This partnership is strategic for Arkema: it will enable us to speed up our developments and validate our solutions for batteries thanks to IREQ’s world-renowned expertise in lithium-ion batteries. This collaboration is a boost to Arkema’s commitment to the development of renewable energies", explains Ian Cayrefourcq, Director - Emerging Technologies, Arkema.

As MRC informed previously, in November 2013, Arkema officially started its new 60,000 MTY emulsion polymers facility on its Changshu platform. The plant, part of Arkema’s Coating Resins business unit, will serve customers in the Asia Pacific region with a full line of waterborne emulsion polymers for coatings and adhesives applications.

Arkema with annual revenue of EUR6.4 billion is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc.
MRC

Moscow (MRC) - Emergency shutdown of production at Stavrolen and rouble devaluation were the main factors for the increase in polypropylene (PP) prices in the Russian market in March. The largest price increase was recorded in the propylene copolymers market, according to ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Russia's PP price rose in the first week of March, helped by the shutdown at Stavrolen (LUKOIL) and a significant weakening of the rouble against the dollar, resulting in the feedstock price rise. Besides, propylene copolymers market was affected by noticeable rise in prices of imported material.

In contrast to the market of high density polyethylene (HDPE), where Stavrolen's shutdown led to a sharp jump in price, PP market reacted more calmly.

In the first week of March price offers for homopolymer PP of raffia grade in the spot market rose to Rb60,500-63,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT.Lower price end level was typical for February residues that appeared earlier last week in the market. Ufaorgsintez suspended raffia sales in the spot market on Friday.

Price offer for injection moulding homopolymer PP were heard in the range of Rb64,000-67,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Some market participants reported a tight supply in the market.

Poliom is likely to stabilise the situation in the second half of March; the producer plans to produce injection moulding grades from 14 March.

Propylene copolymers prices grew more sharply. During last week price offers for injection moulding block copolymer of propylene (PP-block) in the spot market rose to Rb75,700 - 80,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT. Some market participants did not rule out further price increase of propylene copolymers in the second half of the month, on the back of a significant price rise of imports, resulting in its reduction.
MRC