Page 8 - FSUOGM Week 23
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FSUOGM INVESTMENT FSUOGM
Sibur, Sinopec agree on terms for JV at Amur GCC
RUSSIA
RUSSIA’S top petrochemical producer Sibur has drawn up terms for a joint venture with Chinese state energy group Sinopec to develop the Amur gas chemical complex (GCC).
e pair signed a term-sheet agreement on the partnership at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), in a ceremony wit- nessed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Amur GCC is one the largest upcoming investments in Russia’s Far East, carrying an estimated price tag of 575 billion rubles (US$8.9 billion).
Sibur aims to take a nal investment decision (FID) on the project later this year, a er which point Sinopec is expected to take a 40% stake in the venture.
The complex is slated to start up in 2023- 2024, with its launch timed to coincide with the completion of Gazprom’s Amur gas processing plant (GPP), which will supply the project with 2 million tpy of ethane. At peak capacity, the Amur GCC will process this feedstock into 1.5 million tpy of polyethylene, most of which will be sold in China.
Sibur is likely waiting on the Russian govern- ment to nalise a subsidy scheme for ethane use before greenlighting the Amur GCC. Russia’s ministries of nance and energy have reached
a preliminary agreement to apply a so-called reverse excise duty of 9,000 rubles (US$139) per tonne of ethane consumed domestically. e move is aimed at providing petrochemical producers with some relief following a rise in the commodity’s price as a result of changes in taxation.
Another project set to bene t from this sup- port is a proposed gas chemical plant on the Baltic Sea, operated by Russian businessman Artem Obolensky’s RusGazDobycha enter- prise. e facility will be supplied with ethane from a nearby gas processing complex, which RusGazDobycha and Gazprom took an FID on in April.
Rosneft eyes takeover of STB fuel firm
RUSSIA
ROSNEFT is reportedly set to take over one of the largest independent fuel retailers in St Peters- burg, as it looks to consolidate its dominance over Russia’s fuel market.
Sources have told Russian business daily Kommersant that the company is seeking to acquire the Petersburg Fuel Co. (PTK) within the next few months.
PTK runs a chain of 142 lling stations across St Petersburg and other areas in northwestern Russia, as well as a eet of fuel trucks and two oil depots. It also operates the Petersburg Transport Co., one of St Petersburg’s largest private passen- ger carriers.
The deal, if closed, would expand Rosneft’s nationwide lling network by almost 5% to 3,100 stations. In St Petersburg, the company would dis- place its rival Lukoil as the largest fuel retailer. Lukoil currently controls 24% of the city’s fuel outlets, while Rosne only has 10%. By acquiring PTK’s network, Rosne would boost its share to 27%.
PTK was originally set up in 1994 and has changed hands numerous times since then. Its current owners are businessman Andrei Gol- ubev and his wife Olga.
Independent fuel retailers are struggling in Russia following a steep rise in gasoline prices last year. The price spike was triggered by a recovery in the international fuel market as well as Russia’s overhaul of oil industry taxation.
Under its so-called “tax manoeuvre”, Mos- cow has committed to phasing out export duties on crude oil and re ned fuels by 2023, while jacking up mineral extraction tax (MET). is has driven up domestic prices, putting pressure on non-integrated re ners and fuel retailers.
Larger companies like Rosne , which con- trols the entire chain from oil production to re ning to fuel retail, can better withstand these testing conditions, making it likely that the mar- ket will continue to be consolidated.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 23 12•June•2019
