Romania's OMV Petrom invests 1.7 mln euro in Petrobrazi refinery railway
Romania's top oil and gas group, OMV Petrom [BSE:SNP], said on Friday it has inaugurated a new railway section inside Petrobrazi refinery following a 1.7 million euro ($1.9 million) investment.
With this new 1.4 km section, the length of the railways in the refinery has reached almost 50 km, Petrom said in a press release.
Around three quarters of the railways in Petrobrazi have been modernized during the past ten years. The investment in these upgrades, including maintenance works, has exceeded 50 million euro.
OMV Petrom uses railway transportation for a significant part of fuel production at Petrobrazi. The fuel is loaded into tanker railcars in the refinery and then transported to Petrom's terminals across the country, where they are then distributed to filling stations.
"In the past years, we have put a lot of effort into optimizing this fuel path in terms of logistics. The inauguration of this new railway section will allow us to reduce costs even more due to reducing the maneuver time needed, and will contribute to increasing the safety of operations,” OMV Petrom executive board member and responsible for Downstream Oil, Neil Anthony Morgan, said.
The new railway section built near the cocker unit interconnects with four other existing tracks, thus making it easier to maneuver the railcars. By easing traffic in the area and increasing the safety of operations, this project is estimated to have a positive impact on the local community. More than 50,000 tanker railcars are loaded with oil products annually in Petrobrazi refinery.
In June, OMV Petrom has invested 5 million euro in the modernisation of the fuel quality test centre at Petrobrazi refinery located in Ploiesti, in southern Romania. In February, the group invested 60 million euro in a new unit at Petrobrazi for the conversion of LPG components into petrol and middle distillates using a catalytic process. The new unit is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of 2019.
Investments made by OMV Petrom in Petrobrazi since the refinery's privatisation in 2005 total 1.2 billion euro, of which around 600 million euro was invested in the modernization programme that took place between 2010 and 2014. With a refining capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per year, Petrobrazi can process the entire crude production of OMV Petrom in Romania.
OMV Petrom posted a 618 million lei ($148 million/136 million euro) net profit in the first three months of 2017, more than double compared to the same period of last year.
Romania sold Petrom to OMV in late 2004.
OMV owns 51.01% of OMV Petrom share capital, the Romanian state, via the energy ministry, holds a stake of 20.64%, Fondul Proprietatea owns 12.57%, and 15.78% is in free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange.
Shares of blue chip OMV Petrom were traded 0.16% lower at 0.3075 lei on the Bucharest Stock Exchange as at 1114 CET on Friday .
(1 euro=4.5625 lei)
Saipem wins 1.4bn euro deal to develop Kuwait oilfield
Contract signed between Saipem and al Kharafi group
Italy's Saipem SpA, a unit of Italian energy firm Eni, has signed a 1.4bn euro deal to develop Kuwait's Jurassic oilfield, Kuwaiti state news agency said on Thursday.
The contract was signed between Saipem and Kuwait's al Kharafi group, which has concession rights to extract, produce and process crude oil from the northern Kuwait oilfield, the agency reported.
The agency said the field would be constructed within three years, then the Italian firm would manage it for five years, during which the field is expected to produce 150,000 barrels per day.
ADNOC, Borealis to Develop Two Petrochemical Projects in Ruwais
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed an agreement with the Australian company Borealis to develop two petrochemical projects in Ruwais, Gulf News reported.
The two parties will collaborate in the construction of Borouge 4 complex, which is part of Borealis’ joint venture with ADNOC. Borouge 4 is estimated to start operation by 2023, ADNOC announced via twitter.
The agreement will help ADNOC in achieving its target of expanding its petrochemical production from the current 4.5 tons per year to 11.4 million tons a year by 2025.
The two companies are going to announce new tenders for a new polypropylene plant in 2017, which is expected to add 0.5 million tons per year, according to Reuters.
“The Borouge four complex and polypropylene plant will allow us to grow our current petrochemical production to almost ten million tons per year, enabling us to take advantage of the market opportunities we have identified, particularly in Asia, where the high-grade polymer market is set to double by 2040,” the UAE’s Minister of State and Group Chief Executive Officer of Adnoc, Sultan Al Jaber said.
Iran to Reveal 14 Oil, Gas Exploration Tenders
Iran is planning to unveil its first round of oil and gas exploration tenders since the easing of economic sanctions. This step comes in the light of Iran’s strategy to attract International Oil Companies (IOCs), an Iranian energy official said, according to Reuters.
“The state National Oil Company (NIOC) is planning to tender 14 oil and gas blocks for exploration in the next two to three months,” NIOC’s Deputy Director for Exploration Blocks, Rahim Nematollahi, stated.
“BP, Austria’s OMV, Gazprom, Lukoil, as well as Italy’s Edison, and Malaysia’s Petronas have expressed interest in new exploration blocks,” Nematollahi added.
Having some of the world’s biggest oil and gas reserves, Iran has already been working on deals to develop existing fields such as South Pars, South Azadegan, Yadavaran, West Karoon, Mansuri, and Abe-Timur, Zawyainformed.
Lately, France’s Total became the first IOC to sign a post-sanctions development deal with Iran. In addition, Russia’s Lukoil and Denmark’s Maersk are also potential investors in the country.
Kuwait to Invest $79b in Oil Projects
Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is willing to pump about $79b of investments over the next five years as part of its plans to increase the production capacity to 4mb/d from 3.1mb/d, Trade Arabia stated.
The planned projects include new petrochemical plants and expansion of existing units owned jointly by Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC), a subsidiary of KOC, stated PIC’s CEO, Mohammed Al Farhoud, according to Oman Tribune.
Another project involves establishing an ethylene glycol plant in the US with a production capacity of 750,000 tons per year, Al Farhoud added.
It worth noting that KOC had awarded contracts worth around $25.37b between 2014 and 2016 to boost its production capacity.
ADNOC plans gas investments
ADNOC plans to invest USD 20 billion to develop the Hail, Ghasha, Delma, Nasr and Shuwaihat gasfields, with potential production of 34 mcm [1.2 bcf] per day, Sultan Al Jaber, ADNOC’s CEO and UAE minister of state, told The National Monday.
The tender process for Hail and Ghasha as well as Dalma fields has begun, and FEED studies are expected by the end of 2017. ADNOC is also looking to increase output from the Shah field to 42.5 mcm [1.5 bcf] per day and find a profitable way to develop the Bab and Buhasa sour gasfields. The NOC has been working with Occidental Petroleum and OMV since 2016 on sour gas development.
No timeline for all these projects was specified, but estimates for implementation range from three to four years.
Abu Dhabi looks to benefit from its vast gas reserves – 6.1 tcm (215 tcf) of proven gas reserves – through large-scale gas projects to meet domestic supply. ADNOC steers the development of gas production and processing facilities through the subsidiaries Al Hosn Gas and Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO). GASCO, producing 155,760 cubic metres (5.5 mcf) and 265,000 barrels of condensate per day, is one of the biggest gas companies in the world.
Italian small-to-medium businesses to size up commercial and investment opportunities in the Balkans
Financial tools for supporting SMBs, energy, infrastructures, and IT: these are the sectors in which Italy wants to promote economic collaboration between its businesses and businesses in the western Balkans. Italy will dedicate a business forum to these four subjects on Wednesday, July 12, in Trieste, during the Western Balkans Summit that will be attended by six of the countries that are currently in the process of joining the EU—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia—and six who are already members: Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Slovenia, and Italy, which currently occupies the group’s presidency.
The Summit is scheduled to have three politically-oriented work sessions (heads of state, foreign ministers and ministers of economic development) and it will confirm the EU’s dedication to the Balkans’ European future. The Business Forum will be more operations-based: under the supervision of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) and Confindustria, with the support of the Ministries of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs, it will feature the participation of the main international and regional financial organizations—the EIB, the EBRD, the European Investment Fund, and the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
The initiative was launched by the EU Commission in 2009, and so far it has guaranteed €493 million in loans (primarily for SMBs), which has allowed the launch of nearly $14 billion in investments in the region.
280 companies have joined the Business Forum in Trieste, with more than 1,000 B2B meetings. Some of these countries are already important commercial partners for Italy. Italy has already done €3.3 billion worth of trade with Serbia, who have become their second-largest reference market (behind Germany). Italy’s trade with Albania surpasses €2 billion per year, and in this case—unlike with Belgrade— it has a trade surplus.
“The Balkans are experiencing a period of great economic vitality,” confirms Italian Trade Agency President Michele Scannavini, who will participate in the Italian Forum alongside Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda, “with a great deal of interest for ‘Made in Italy’ products, and a growing capacity for attracting foreign investments directly from Europe. In order to seize the commercial and investment opportunities, Italian Trade Agency (within the scope of its 2017 activities) has increased its promotional funds by 30% over 2016’s totals. This is a significant contribution that is intended to support the continuous growth of our exports, which have shot up by 7.7% just between January and March of this year.”
Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are official candidates for joining the EU, whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo are potential candidates. Brussels has made a significant economic commitment to supporting the area’s economic development and helping European businesses join their markets. Over the last ten years, the EIB has put €28 billion towards financing projects, while the EBRD has contributed €2 billion.
Brussels is also the region’s main source of energy investments. Among the main tools that they use, there’s the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme, which in February earmarked €30 million towards energy efficiency projects for buildings, as well as hydroelectric energy.
The priority for the Balkans is investments in their infrastructure networks, starting with the transeuropean corridors in the region: 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Ports and airports need to be modernized, and residential buildings need to be expanded.
These are massive opportunities for Italian businesses: according to the National Builders Association (ANCE), Italy’s presence in the region has strengthened in recent years and, from Albania to Bosnia, they’ve expanded into Montenegro and Serbia’s markets as well, with projects that total €324 million overall (+700%, in comparison to 2007).