Page 10 - FSUOGM Week 01 2021

FSUOGM INVESTMENT FSUOGM

Irkutsk Oil secures $871mn credit

for polymer plant

RUSSIA EASTERN Siberian oil producer Irkutsk Oil “The loan will support Japanese companies
(INK) has obtained a $871mn credit from inter- with exports of equipment and create business
INK has long relied on national banks to fund the construction of a opportunities for Japanese companies in the
Japanese partners for polymer plant, the private company reported on Russian petrochemical sector, thereby contribut-
its development plans. December 30. ing toward maintaining and improving the inter-
INK obtained the buyer’s credit from the national competitiveness of Japanese industry,”
Japan Bank for International Cooperation INK said in a statement. The company added
(JBIC), it said, with co-financing provided by that the financing would help it hone its focus
the Tokyo branches of Deutsche Bank and Soci- on environmental, social and governance (ESG)
ete Generale and also Goldman Sachs’ Japanese policies at the project.
realty unit. Nippon Export and Investment INK has often reached out to partners in
Insurance is providing insurance. Japan for its development plans. Japan’s Toyo
INK has so far focused almost exclusively Engineering is already involved in the polymer
on oil development, as it has been unable to plant’s construction as well as in the design and
monetise its gas resources because of infra- supply of necessary equipment and materials.
structure constraints and limited demand in The general contractor is Turkey’s Gemont,
the regions where it operates. But it is work- which will build its ethylene and polyethylene
ing to expand its gas processing capacity and units. At full capacity, the plant will produce
launch the polymer plant to make use of impu- more than 650,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of pol-
rities found in its gas. yethylene. ™

POLICY

OPEC picks new Secretary-General

as restrictions ease

OPEC OPEC this week elected its new secretary-gen- appointment was welcomed by Saudi Energy
eral, voting in Kuwaiti industry veteran Haitham Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, who
Al-Ghais said al-Ghais, who will replace Nigerian Mohammed offered his “cordial congratulations”.
continuing the co- Barkindo in August. His election was announced Meanwhile, he was quoted by Al Arabiya as
operation agreement a day before the group and its OPEC+ partners saying that he expects global oil demand to reach
into 2023 would be decided to proceed with their planned easing of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.
one of his top priorities. output restrictions in February. With OPEC+ having been nervous about the
Al-Ghais told Reuters that supporting “the impact of the mutating coronavirus (COVID-
continuation of this Declaration of Co-opera- 19) when it last met, a JTC report on January
tion” into 2023 is one of his top priorities. “It’s 2 played down the impact of the Omicron var-
in the wider interest of the industry and all the iant. It said Omicron “is expected to be mild
23 countries that have signed up to this agree- and short-lived, as the world becomes better
ment,” he added, noting that he would work to equipped to manage COVID-19 and its related
“preserve and nurture” relations with Russia. challenges”, suggesting that the group was
The secretary-general-elect spoke of his unlikely to make any knee-jerk reactions.
“unwavering” commitment to the Joint Tech- This indeed turned out to be the case when
nical Committee (JTC) and the Joint Ministe- the group reached a quick decision on January
rial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). “I have 4, proceeding with plans to ease production cuts
hands-on experience of what the JTC does, what by a further 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) next
the JMMC does. I’ve attended all these meetings month. However, with some members having
since 2017, I haven’t missed a single meeting, struggled to reach their targets, only a fraction
even when I had a broken leg,” he said. Al-Ghais’ of this is seen making its way on to the market. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 01 05•January•2022