Ineos to acquire significant share of key IGas North-West shale gas assets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has announced a deal to acquire a 50% interest in seven IGas shale gas licences in the North West of England (the Bowland licences), reported the company on its site.

This consists of a 60% interest in three Petroleum Exploration & Development Licences (PEDL’s 145, 193 and EXL273) and a 50% interest in a further four licences (PEDL’s 147, 184, 189 and 190).

In Scotland, Ineos will acquire IGas’ entire interest in PEDL 133 (the Grangemouth licence) which will give the company 100% ownership of this asset.

In addition, Ineos has the option to acquire 20% in two IGas East Midland shale gas licences (PEDL’s 012 and 200).

Gary Haywood, CEO of Ienos Upstream, says "This is a great opportunity to acquire some first class assets that have the potential to yield significant quantities of gas in the future. INEOS believes that an indigenous shale gas industry will transform UK manufacturing, and that we can extract the gas safely and responsibly. We are pleased to have agreed this deal with IGas. Ineos’s scale, asset position across the UK, US shale gas expertise, and our expertise in managing oil and gas facilities will be a great match with IGas’s existing onshore asset base, and significant exploration and production capability".

Ineos is paying IGas a cash sum of GBP30 million and additionally committing to fund a two phase work programme of up to GBP138 million to develop the sites. IGas will reimburse its share of the work programme to Ineos upon commencement of commercial production.

Gary Haywood also adds, "This is a further significant step for Ineos in its plan to become the biggest player in the UK shale gas industry. We believe shale gas could revolutionise UK manufacturing and Ineos has the resources to make it happen, the skills to extract the gas safely and the vision to realise that everyone must share in the rewards for UK shale gas to be successfully developed".

As MRC wrote before, in october 2014, Ineos Upstream Limited signed an agreement with Reach Coal Seam Gas Limited (Reach CSG) to acquire an 80% interest in Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) 162, in the Midland Valley of Scotland.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Synthos Dwory, the Polish producer of polystyrene (PS), announced an increase of EUR200-210/tonne, excluding VAT, in export prices of expandable polystyrene (EPS) last week, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Raising prices, Synthos cut its export quantities to Ukraine. Not all Ukrainian converters had the opportunity to purchase the required quantities of material in Poland. The plant's increase in contract price for March shipments was caused by higher feedstock prices.

As reported earlier, March contract styrene monomer (SM) prices in Europe rose by EUR175/tonne. SM prices were agreed on FOB Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) basis and were at EUR1,170/tonne FOB, excluding VAT. All producers of this polymer in Europe increased their prices of PS and styrene plastics, following higher SM prices.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Hungarian oil and gas company MOL said yesterday that it is applying its squeeze-out right for shares of petrochemicals company TVK, reported Hungarian news agency MTI.

The agency added that MOL wound up a voluntary public purchase offer for the shares on Friday, raising its stake in TVK from 94.86% to 99.1%, providing all preconditions were met.

In the squeeze-out, which runs until March 23, MOL is offering shareholders the same price as in the public purchase offer: HUF 4,984, MTI added.

As MRC informed before, MOL made a voluntary public tender offer on petrochemical works TVK. It bid HUF 4,984 for each of the outstanding ordinary shares of TVK based in Tiszaujvaros in eastern Hungary.

Tiszai Vegyi Kombinat (TVK) is a Hungarian manufacturer of olefins and polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Feedstock is supplied by MOL of which TVK is a subsidiary and which also processes a major portion of resulting by-products from the olefins plant.

MOL previously said Hungarian authorities had dismissed the allegations against MOL, which now holds a 49.1% share of INA. Hungary's government holds a 24.6% stake in MOL.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem expects costs to rise for a petrochemical project on Peru's south coast, said Bnamericas, citing the company's country manager said.

The 1Mt/y polyethylene plant, originally calculated to cost USD3.5bn, may now require as much as USD5bn in project financing as potential locations such as the southern port of Matarani lack infrastructure, qualified personnel and services, Braskem's Jaime Quipusco told BNamericas.

Sao Paulo-based Braskem, which in 2011 signed an MOU for the project with Peru's state oil company, Petroperu, is waiting for the government to decide on a location for a petrochemical cluster, Quipusco said in an interview on the sidelines of an energy event in Lima.

Braskem, which needs 65,000b/d of ethane, has also yet to line up an ethane supply contract from Camisea gas fields operator Pluspetrol, Quipusco added. Once a port has been chosen, the company would take two years to carry out studies and four years to build a plant similar to its USD4.5bn Etileno XXI facility currently under construction in Veracruz, Mexico, he said. Companies exploring around the Camisea fields in the Ucayali basin may also increase natural gas resources, currently calculated at 16.7Tf3 (473Bm3), he said.

"The cost of ethane, low natural gas prices and the fact the government is in its last year are all factors to be taken into account," Quipusco said. "If we take the decision today, the situation could improve in six years' time."

Peru, which aims to corner 50% of the total polyethylene resin market in South America, last year awarded a USD3.6bn natural gas pipeline to link Camisea to the south coast. But delays in guaranteeing gas supplies has set back petrochemical projects proposed by CF Industries, Orica and Chile's Sigdo Koppers.

President Ollanta Humala said last week his government was still aiming to obtain commitments for a petrochemical cluster before he steps down in July 2016 following April general elections.

As MRC informed before, Braskem announced its plans for the construction of an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) plant at its site in La Porte, Texas.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema, a France-based chemical manufacturer and the world’s second leading producer of organic peroxides, has reinforced its organic peroxide operations with the acquisition of Italian company Oxido, a European player in the formulation of organic peroxides used primarily in synthetic rubber crosslinking, according to the company's statement.

This company specializes in the formulation of organic peroxides used in the crosslinking of rubber and plastics, as well as initiators for polyester resins and hardeners, and generates sales of some EUR20 million.

With this acquisition which offers significant synergies, along with the project to increase production capacities currently underway in China and due to come on stream early 2016, Arkema strengthens its position as a leading player in organic peroxides, and offers an even more extensive range of products for growing sectors such as cable, automotive and construction.

This acquisition will also help support the downstream integration of its organic peroxide productions in Europe, in particular bis-peroxide for which capacities were recently increased as part of the development plan launched in 2013 at its Spinetta (Italy) and Franklin (US) plants to meet the steady growth of the synthetic rubber industry. Hence Arkema consolidates its world leading position in bis-peroxide production with its Luperox and Vulcup brands.

With this acquisition, Arkema now manufactures organic peroxides on 12 sites around the world.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2014, Arkema announced the construction of a new organic peroxide plant on its Changshu site in China. This investment helped to double the site’s production capacity. The new Changshu plant is due to come on stream in early 2016.

Arkema is a leading European supplier of chlorochemicals and PVC. Kynar and Kynar Flex are registered trademarks of Arkema Inc. With operations in close to 50 countries, some 19,000 employees and research centers in North America, France and Asia, Arkema generates pro forma annual revenue of some EUR7.6 billion.
MRC