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Author: Chemist

Qatar Oil, Gas and Energy News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: August 4, 2013 , ,

Updates from July, 2013

• Ooredoo reports strong profit growth – Quarter-on-quarter profit rises 44 per cent.
• Qatar to tender project management consultancy for rail systems – Deadline set for 15 September for rolling stock, depots and track work.
• Qatar reopens prequalification for expressway programme – Expressway programme includes 42 major construction packages.
• Consultants resubmit bids for Qatar long-distance railway – Contract now includes expanded scope of works.

• Qatari developer seeks contractors for Lusail museum – Contractors invited to prequalify for Doha’s latest iconic building project.
• Qatar invites bids for solid waste transfer facility – Contract will involve building waste management facility in the Al-Khor area of Doha.
• Qatar Petroleum (QP) and Qatar Petrochemical Company Limited (QAPCO) have signed technology license contracts for the Al Sejeel Petrochemical Complex – The companies will jointly develop this petrochemical complex in Ras Laffan with QP and QAPCO holding 80 per cent and 20 per cent equity interest respectively, industry sources have revealed. The Al Sejeel Petrochemical Project is scheduled for completion in 2018 and it will feature a mixed-feed steam cracker, with the original mixed feedstock of ethane, butane, and naphtha. With the signing of the technology agreements, the plant will be designed to produce 6.2 million cubic metres per annum of polymers.
• Qatar Fuel Additives Company (QAFAC) – A subsidiary of Industries Qatar, is planning to increase production of MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether), a gasoline additive, in refineries at Mesaieed and Ras Laffan due to increasing demand for cleaner fuels in Qatar. MTBE is the most widely used oxygenate, following the global phase-out of lead as an octane enhancer in gasoline.

Kuwaiti Oil and Gas News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: August 4, 2013 , ,

Update Insights from July, 2013

• Kuwait discovers new oil field – New discovery near existing Minagish field.
• Landmark Kuwait power deal unlikely until late August – Al-Zour North project has still not reached financial close despite being awarded in January.
• Contractors prepare bids for $576m Kuwait contracts – Firms bidding to build two court complexes.
• Aecom wins Kuwait port access contract – US firm to oversee feasibility study at Bubiyan Island.
• Kuwait further extends deadline for Doha Link bridge – Consortiums now have until 13 August to submit bids for the project.
• Contractors prepare bids for $385m Kuwait hospital project – Firms bidding to build 600-bed healthcare facility.
• Kuwait extends tender closing date for $910m Kuwait hospital – Kuwait hospital’s bid submission deadline pushed back to 28 July.
• Kuwait tenders major oil pipeline deal – More than 10 local firms prequalified to bid.
• Kuwait’s state-owned KPC possibly sold 24,000t of light naphtha for end-July loading at a premium at the high-$20/t level to Mopag, although this could not be confirmed. KPC previously awarded a similar light naphtha cargo for 29-30 June loading, possibly at a premium just above $30/t to Mopag.

Saudi Oil and Gas News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: August 4, 2013 , , ,

Updates Insights from July, 2013

• Saudi Aramco still undecided on Jizan air supply contract – State-owned oil company could offer contract on conventional basis or as build, own, operate, transfer.
• KBR and AYTB have signed a seven-year contract to provide refinery maintenance services for the Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP) at a new refinery in Jubail – The contract value for the 400,000 bpd refinery has been estimated to be between US$140mn and US$170mn depending on services required.
• Saudi Arabia is likely to import record volumes of diesel in summer 2013 as it gears up to meet the rising travel needs during the fasting month of Ramadan – State oil company Saudi Aramco said it will import up to 8.9mn barrels (bbl) of diesel in June 2013, up from an estimated 6.7mn to 7.5mn bbl in May, with the same volume or higher to be booked for July. To cut its imports, Saudi Aramco has planned three new refineries. The first of these – Jubail – is expected to produce 176,000 bpd of diesel and will come online in the second half of 2013. Until the refinery, a joint venture with France’s Total and Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemicals Co.’s (SATORP), is at full capacity, Saudi Aramco will buy heavily to ensure it is covered for Ramadan, it claimed.
• Sadara Chemical Company has signed a loan package for the US$19.3bn petrochemical complex it is currently building in Saudi Arabia – The joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Company has raised around US$12.5bn loan from banks, export credit agencies and the state-owned public investment fund, as well as proceeds from an Islamic bond issue worth US$2bn.
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• Saudi Aramco has announced that it plans to develop two onshore oilfields by 2017 as Saudi Arabia attempts to maintain its longer-term capacity – The increased capacity from Khurais and Shaybah oilfields, by a total of 550,000 bpd, is expected to take the strain off Ghawar, reportedly the world’s largest conventional oilfield, according to industry sources.
• International Participation At SAOGE Remains Strong – As for previous editions, local and regional attendance is naturally high and continues to be mirrored by considerable international participation. As companies recognize the huge potential that the Saudi oil and gas sector offers, they are using SAOGE to introduce their products and services to this lucrative market. Of those confirmed so far, 34% are foreign with exhibitors coming from Australia, Belgium, Ch Ina, Finland, Italy, France, Germany, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, U.S.A.
• SAOGE Highlights Saudi Arabia’s Most Prominent Sector – According to SAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority) – the Kingdom which already offers considerable investment opportunities, sees its leading sector continuing to offer excellent opportunities for investors.
The outlook for Saudi Arabia’s energy sector has never been brighter or more secure. The high oil revenue environment has spurred a boom in both oil and non-oil development projects and unlike previous investment cycles, the current round of investment projects is marked by heavy private sector participation with US$79 billion in private-sector energy projects under development. Private investment is expected to grow even further as the economy expands and the Saudi business environment continues to improve.

UAE Oil, Gas and Energy News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: August 4, 2013 , ,

Update from the month of July, 2013

• UAE partners lift gas production in Iraqi Kurdistan – Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum producing 900 tonnes a day of liquid petroleum gas.
• Dubai to expand oil output with Al-Jalila field development – Platform and pipelines contract tendered.
• National Petroleum Construction Company selected for Umm al-Lulu package two – UAE group signs letter of intent with Abu Dhabi offshore operator on $1.4bn-plus deal.
• Gulf RAK Oil, a joint venture of the Ras Al Khaimah government and Hinduja Group’s Gulf Oil International, has opened a lubrication manufacturing plant – The present blending capacity of the plant was 84,950mn cubic metres per annum of lubricants. Proposed expansion plan with new machineries and equipment would see an increased blending capacity of lubricants to 1.2bn cubic metres per annum. Currently, the facility has bulk storage capacity of around 19,821mn cubic metres for base oils and 5,663mn cubic metres of finished products. The production facility at Gulf RAK Oil provided for blending, filling and storage of finished products. The plant has also been set up with a small pack filling line, drum decanting unit, drum and bulk filling facilities.
• Investment and Development Office (IDO) and Gulf Oil, through another joint venture named Standard Greases and Specialties (India), have also commissioned a grease manufacturing plant in the same facility at Ras Al Khaimah.
• US-based Excelerate Energy has won a contract to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the UAE, sources close to the deal have said – Emirates LNG, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Petroleum and International petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), chose Excelerate Energy over Norway’s Golar LNG. The facility at Fujairah, which lies on the east coast of the UAE outside the Strait of Hormuz, is expected to have an annual import capacity of 25.4mn cubic metres of LNG,Emirates LNG officials said. The terminal will be built next to a power and desalination plant at the industrial and oil storage centre.
• According to a Reuters report, from April next year crude from Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif fields will be combined into the new grade known as Das. The API will be about 39 degrees.
• It makes sense to consolidate as the oil produced are of relatively small volumes and similar quality,” a source added.
• Oil output from Lower Zakum field, which has an API gravity of 40.5 degrees and a sulphur content of 1.04 per cent, is around 350,000 bpd. Umm Shaif field produces 280,000 bpd and has a weight of 36.9 degrees and 1.44 per cent sulphur.
• International energy consultancy Xodus Group has acquired the business of Dubai based Prime Energy as part of a major expansion drive
• Fuel oil arbitrage from Europe remains closed – The Mideast Gulf 380cst premium was steady at $2/t as of 1 July. The July-August spread fell to $6/t in backwardation from $7/t previous Monday as demand weakened on the back of ample supplies.
Fuel oil’s discount to Dubai crude reached its widest level since early April at $7.24/bl on 28 June, despite no fresh exports from the Mideast Gulf. High-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) demand was muted as interest from shipowners and Chinese independent refineries stayed subdued. Stocks of fuel oil have been building in Singapore in recent weeks. About 5mn t of heavy fuel oil is heading to Singapore in July from Europe and the US Gulf Coast. Any cargoes currently heading from Rotterdam to Singapore are a result of older transactions, as the arbitrage between Europe and Asia-Pacific remains closed. But the lack of fresh arbitrage cargoes has yet to lead to supply tightness in August. Rising fuel oil prices in the Mediterranean have prompted BP to fix the Jill Jacob early next week to deliver 50,000t of fuel oil from Yanbu to the Mediterranean, shipping fixtures indicated.
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Exports from the Mideast Gulf typically fall in the summer months as producers divert fuel oil to meet domestic demand. Supplies from Saudi Arabia are expected to decline as the summer air-conditioning demand season gets under way ahead of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan that starts next week. Saudi Arabia typically becomes a net importer of fuel oil during the peak summer demand period. The start of Ramadan will boost power generation demand significantly, with at least 1mn people from outside the country set to visit Saudi Arabia’s holy sites. Saudi Aramco typically uses a very large crude carrier (VLCC) as floating fuel oil storage near Yanbu on the country’s west coast during Ramadan. Yanbu is the safest location for floating storage and is close to power plants in the Mecca area. Egypt’s state-owned oil firm EGPC has a tender outstanding to buy two 40,000-45,000t cargoes of 180cst HSFO each month for power generation during the third quarter. The cargoes will be delivered to Suez from July through September. The tender will close on 2 July. Trading firms BB Energy, Trafigura, Vitol and Astra have in the past supplied 180cst to EGPC. Political turmoil and financial difficulties have caused a severe power shortage in the country.
• Jet Fuel, Sellers stayed away as the premium remained weak. Buyers were mostly looking to supply cargoes within the Mideast Gulf, where demand remained robust as airports reported surging passenger growth. Passenger numbers in the Mideast Gulf continue to rise, with outbound tourist traffic increasing because of high summer temperatures.
• The arbitrage window for jet fuel cargoes from the Mideast Gulf to Europe remained weak on paper, but steady demand within the Mideast Gulf region kept premiums unchanged at $2.10/bl to Mopag.
• Availability of cargoes for July and August delivery to the Mideast Gulf and the Red Sea remained ample, putting pressure on gasoline premiums. Demand from buyers in east Africa supported the market.
• Most of the additional requirement in the Mideast Gulf for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan starting on 9-10 July has been tied up. Regional importers have bought increased volumes in June to prepare for expected Ramadan demand. This further pressured the market and weakened premiums.

World-wide Oil and Gas News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: August 4, 2013 , ,

Updates from the months of July, 2013
• Sonatrach starts development of Tinrhert gas fields – Scheme moves to front-end engineering and design phase.
• Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) AG has announced that it has won a pipeline contract to supply gas from the Shah Deniz 2 gas field in Azerbaijan to Europe – TAP AG is now expected to provide 10bn cubic metres of gas to Europe per annum via an 800km line partly running subsea. Kjetil Tungland, managing director of TAP, said, “This is an important step in opening up the Southern Gas Corridor and it will have a major role to play in Europe’s energy security and ensuring the diversification of gas supplies to western and south eastern European markets.” The shareholders in project comprise of Axpo Switzerland and Norway’s Statoil with 42.5 per cent interest each and Germany’s E.ON with 15 per cent stake.
• Shell Lubricants Named A Supplier Of The Year By Chrysler Group.
• Russian oil duty set increase 2.9 pct in August 2013.
• The Ice gasoil futures market moved deeper into backwardation, with prompt-month values trading at a premium to the months ahead. July traded at a $7.00/t premium to August, compared with a $2.50/t premium last week, while August traded at a $4.00/t premium to September, against $0.50/t last week. The backwardation in the Ice gasoil market discouraged trading firms from buying jet fuel to put into storage.
• Jet fuel stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp (ARA) trading hub remained higher than a year earlier. Jet fuel stocks fell by 32,000t, or about 8.3pc, over the week to 352,000t as airline demand picked up because of the summer holiday season. But stocks remained about 20pc above the 293,000t level seen during the same week last year.
• The east-west spread stayed positive for July, which is the prompt month, although it narrowed to about $0.90/t from $4.50/t in the previous week. The spreads for August and September moved deeper into the negative at -$4.80/t and -$5.65/t, against -$0.80/t and -$4.40/t respectively in the previous week. The spreads typically have to move deeper into negative territory for the arbitrage to work from the Mideast Gulf to Europe.
General
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• But the regrade, or the spread between jet fuel and gasoil prices in Asia-Pacific, remained negative as summer gasoil demand remained strong in the region and in the Mideast Gulf. The Asia-Pacific prompt-month regrade has averaged about -$0.80/bl in April-June compared with about +$0.60/t in the year-earlier period and about +$0.30/bl in January-March. This could tighten jet fuel supplies in the region in the months ahead.
• There were no fresh offers from sellers in the region. KPC is likely to have committed the bulk of its production to term supplies, leaving little for spot sales. The refiner has increased term supplies to its Q8 Aviation subsidiary this year. KPC’s last sale was of a 40,000t jet fuel cargo for 1-2 April loading, possibly to Vitol, at Mopag +$2.15/bl.
• Availability remained steady from India, where state-controlled refiner MRPL sold a 40,000t (315,000 bl) jet fuel cargo for loading during 1-3 August from its 300,000 b/d New Mangalore refinery at about Mops -$1.30/bl, possibly to Vitol. The differential was weaker compared to its previous deal with trading firm Mercuria that was done at a discount of $0.90- 1.00/bl to Mops for a similar volume for loading during 24-26 July.
• MRPL issued a new tender to sell a 40,000t (315,000 bl) jet fuel cargo for loading during 11-13 August from New Mangalore. The tender closes on 3 July with validity until 4 July. MRPL exports two or three medium-range size jet fuel cargoes a month. Indian private-sector refiner RIL also exports jet fuel, but mostly to Europe.
• State-owned IOC has a tender to sell 35,000t of naphtha for 28-30 July loading from Chennai. The tender closes on 3 July and has a single day’s validity. These cargoes are likely to head east.
• ONGC’s subsidiary MRPL offered 35,000t of naphtha through a tender for 6-8 August loading from New Mangalore. The tender closes on 4 July with same-day validity. MRPL last sold a similar cargo to Japanese trading firm Marubeni at about $25-26/t above Mopag for 28-30 July loading from the same port. That was MRPL’s fifth cargo for loading during July. MRPL has restarted a 120,000 b/d crude distillation unit at its 300,000 b/d Mangalore refinery, which had been shut since second-half May for maintenance lasting around a month (see news).
• RIL sold 55,000t of naphtha to Chinese trading firm Unipec at a premium of $21-22/t to Mopag for 24-28 July loading from Sikka. It earlier sold another 55,000t cargo to trading firm Vitol at a similar level for 5-10 July loading.
• High prices of LPG, an alternative cracking feedstock, provided some buying support for naphtha. But Asia-Pacific might have difficulty fully absorbing surplus European cargoes. LPG can replace up to 15pc of naphtha in some advanced South Korean and Taiwanese crackers.
• The Mideast Gulf naphtha premium fell by $0.50/t to $24/t as of 1 July as heavy arbitrage inflows enabled buyers to insist on lower premiums.
• Naphtha premiums slipped slightly as ample availability weighed on crack spreads.
• Lower Asia-Pacific demand sent the regional crack spread, or 92R gasoline’s margin relative to Brent crude, down by $2.90/bl or about 26pc to $11.35/bl on 1 July from $14.25/bl on 24 June. The product’s premium to naphtha also edged down by about $0.10/bl over the week to $21.05/bl.
• Acceptance of ‘green’ lubricants growing. Re-refining industry will see a robust growth to an estimated 1.39 million MT by 2016
• Anglomoil’s Synthetic Food Grade (SFG) lubricants range has been awarded ISO 21469 certification NSF International.

General Oil and Gas News

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: July 5, 2013

Main Update Highlights from entire month of June, 2013

Shell launches inhibited transformer oil based on gas‐to‐liquids technology.

Exxon Mobil breaks new ground with food grade lube last month. ExxonMobil has expanded the
range of its food grade lubricants that have won ISO 22000 accreditation.

Phillips 66 to sell Ireland’s only refinery, another blow to Europe’s ailing oil refining industry.

United Airlines has signed a new deal aimed at advancing the commercial production of aviation
biofuel.

EU tariffs could slow global pace of biodiesel production ‐ The production of biodiesel
throughout the world could reach the slowest pace seen since 2008, according to Oil World. The global
output of biodiesel has been damaged by the decline in Argentine production since the EU imposed
limits on exports. The import tariffs imposed upon Argentina ‐ the third‐largest biodiesel producer in the
world ‐ and Indonesia by the EU’s European Commission came as a result of the countries allegedly
selling biodiesel to cheaply. The EU penalised the two production countries for biofuel ‘dumping’ in the
27‐country bloc, following complaints from other companies in the industry that the low prices were
unfair and couldn’t be matched. As a result biodiesel exports from Argentina declined by 320,000 tonnes
between January and April. The EU could benefit from the export tariffs against Argentina and
Indonesia, with an increase of 1.3 per cent on biodiesel production in 2013, making total production
somewhere in the region of 9.6 million tonnes. The US could see an increase of around 18 per cent to
3.9 million tonnes and Brazil’s production could increase to 2.6 million tonnes ‐ an increase of 8.8 per
cent.

Ultrasound can improve biodiesel production ‐ Researchers at Iowa State University have begun
experimenting with the use of sound waves in the creation of biodiesel. The team involved is exploring
whether high‐frequency sound waves can be used to successfully break down plant matter for the
creation of high grade biofuels.

Oil prices turn higher in Asian trade ‐ Oil prices turned higher in Asian trade Wednesday, as
investors await the outcome of a US Federal Reserve meeting for clues on when it will begin scaling back
its massive stimulus programme.

Africa Oil and Gas Market Update

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: July 5, 2013 ,

Main Update Highlights from entire month of June, 2013

Sonatrach awards US$100m gas contract to ABB ‐ Algerian state‐run energy group Sonatrach has
awarded ABB a US$100 million EPC contract for a new liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pumping station in
Algeria.

BTG Pactual buys 50% stake in Petrobras Africa ‐ Investment bank BTG Pactual has agreed to buy
a 50 per cent stake of Petrobras’ African operations for US$$1.53 billion.

Plan to build mega port in Nigeria ‐ First phase of the project is scheduled to open in 2016. APM
Terminals and its consortium partners have announced plans to develop a new greenfield mega‐port
project and Free Trade Zone at Badagry in Nigeria’s Lagos State, 55 km (34 miles) west of Apapa and the
Port of Lagos on the Benin‐Lagos Expressway. At full build‐out, the deep‐water full‐service port will be
one of the largest in Africa with 7 km of quay and 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of dedicated yard, and
will include state‐of the art facilities for container, bulk, liquid bulk, Ro/Ro and general cargo as well as oil and gas operations support and a barge terminal. Plans for the adjoining Badagry Free Trade Zone
will include a power plant, oil refinery, industrial park and warehousing and Inland Container Deport
functions. The first phase of the project is scheduled to open in 2016.

Australia Oil and Gas Market Update

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: July 5, 2013 ,

Main Update Highlights from entire month of June, 2013

WOODSIDE Petroleum has agreed to buy controlling stakes in about a dozen deepwater oil and
gas exploration blocks off the coast of Ireland, as the Australian company expands offshore to offset
slow progress on planned developments at home.

CHINA National Offshore Oil Corp, known as CNOOC, and Royal Dutch Shell are among
companies that have committed to spend at least $180 million over the next three years searching for
new oil and gas deposits in Australia.

THE shale oil and gas revolution that has transformed global energy markets is on its way to
Australia. But according to the US Department of Energy, the industry is only likely to develop at a
“moderate pace” in Australia because the nation’s shale oil and gas resources are far away from the sort
of infrastructure that has underpinned the US production boom.

Sri Lanka Oil and Gas Market Update

Posted by: Chemist Posted on: July 5, 2013 ,

Main Update Highlights from entire month of June, 2013

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) are set to form a joint
venture (JV) for cooperation in the oil and gas sector. One of the initiatives of the JV could be of supply
of LNG to Sri Lanka by Petronet LNG to feed power plants in that country.

Cairn India Limited said it is currently evaluating the options of converting gas into commercial
use, one and a half years after identifying natural gas in the Sri Lanka’s Mannar Basin.

Petronas is planning to explore for oil and gas off the shores of Sri Lanka, near the Palk Straits
and the Mannar Basin.