China NEWS

China’s CNOOC has received its first LNG cargo from the Russian Arctic gas project on November 11. The cargo was shipped from Yamal and was bought from Novatek, a Russian firm. Novatek also controls Yamal LNG along with Total, CNPC and the Silk Road Fund. Meanwhile, CNPC is also planning to buy at least 3 million tonnes of LNG from Yamal starting from 2019.

China-based Inner Mongolia Huineng Coal Chemical Co Ltd Technology firm has contracted the Linde Group to supply a mid-scale LNG plant in Inner Mongolia. The new LNG plant will be seventh in line for Linde to date in China, and also the largest. Linde's Engineering Division will provide engineering, procurement and site services for the 750,000 tpa LNG plant. Linde will utilise its proprietary LIMUM(R) process for the plant.

Oil prices in the international market edged up today, gaining on the hopes that US and China might end the tariff war. International benchmark Brent crude futures, climbed 0.2%, were priced at $73.04 per barrel. US WTI crude futures, rose by 0.1%, were traded at $63.76 a barrel. A phone call between the US and Chinese presidents raised investors’ hopes today.

On Wednesday, oil prices climbed up for the first time in three days. The increased prices were weighed down by the pressure of rising supply fears amid the US-China trade war. The international market benchmark, Brent crude gained 0.7% and was traded at $76.43 a barrel. US WTI futures rose by 0.4% and was traded at $66.47 a barrel.

CEO, Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) yesterday said that the petrochemical giant is pondering over investment opportunities in Africa, China and the US, driven by a positive global economic outlook. SABIC reported 6.1 billion riyals ($1.63 billion) of net profits for the quarter that ended on September 30th, up from 5.8 billion riyals in the previous year.

Many technologies have been developed in the recent past to soak oil spills, but they suffered from one or the other limitation. Recently, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Forestry have developed reusable wood sponges to soak oil spills from water bodies. It has been made by Xiaoqing Wang and colleagues from the Academy. The tests revealed that the sponge absorbs 16 to 41 times its own weight.

Aker Solutions has signed a huge subsea deal with CNOOC. Under this deal, which is worth more than £158 million, Aker will supply umbilicals and subsea production system for the Lingshui 17-2 gas field. This project is located almost 5000 feet deep and is CNOOC’s first project at this depth. The work scope includes connecting the subsea development to a new, semisubmersible platform and more than 930 miles of umbilicals.

After two days fall, oil prices rose again on Friday. The signal of exaggerated supply concerns and downturn in equity markets have affected the crude market. Brent crude rose by 0.4%, at $80.59 a barrel, while WTI futures went up by 0.4%, at $71.23 a barrel. On Thursday, a global equity index went down to a 1-year low due to the ongoing trade war between US and China.

Sources have said that CNPC-owned PetroChina is setting up its first office in South Asia to look for business opportunities in oil and liquefied natural gas. The move is seen as Chinese oil major’s strategy of expanding its role in overseas markets. According to the Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs website, the company was listed as PetroChina International (India) in July with a total paid-up capital of $444,000 in Mumbai.

With Chinese refiners struggling to find alternatives to Iranian crude, oil shipments from West Africa oil to Asia will reach a two-month high in October. Reuters’ calculations and Refinitiv Eikon data show 2.52 million barrels per day (bpd) growth in the loadings for Asia in October. West African oil imports to China are predicted to rise to a record 1.94 million bpd.

A strong dollar and increasing US crude supply restricted oil prices from gaining any further on the rates in last session. Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were traded at $84.86 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were priced at $75.24 a barrel. Data released yesterday by API showed a rise of 907,000 barrels in the US commercial crude inventories.

Ongoing trade war with the US has forced Asia's refiners to look for alternatives. China has bought 1.71 MMbpd from West Africa for October, which is the highest since August 2011. Also, the nation has decided to increase its crude imports from West Africa. Further, the overall crude import of Asia from West Africa will climb to 2.44 MMbpd in October, which is the highest in seven year.

Chinese state-owned CNOOC successfully deployed Clariant’s MegaMax 800 methanol synthesis catalyst at its China BlueChemical methanol plant. The 800 kilotons facility runs on DAVY™ methanol process technology to manufacture methanol-based chemical products and mineral fertilizers. MegaMax 800 results in 40% higher productivity than previous catalyst generations and can sustain its performance advantage at low-temperature conditions as well.

China’s energy giant, CNOOC Limited has informed that production has begun at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield 1/3/8/9. CNOOC is the operator in this project, holding 51% interest in the oilfield, rest 49% are being held by ConocoPhillips. This comprehensive adjustment project is located in Bohai Sea and has the advantage of existing facilities at Penglai 19-3 oilfield. The water depth of the oilfield is 27 to 33 m.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) yesterday said that the Chinese retaliatory tariff on US could cost as much as 55,000 American jobs, apart from putting $18 billion of domestic activity in jeopardy. NACD’s analysis on the third round of tariffs indicated cost increment of $1.27 billion for the American distributors if the Trump administration moves forward.

Oil supermajor, Exxon Mobil is planning to set up a 1.2 million tonnes per year ethylene plant. The project also includes two polyethylene and two polypropylene lines, in China’s southern province of Guangdong. Exxon will begin working on the multi-billion dollar project from 2023. The US oil major is intending to cover the growing demand for chemical products in Chinese market.

With the deadline of potential new round of tariffs on Chinese goods approaching, oil prices fell today in the market. International Brent crude futures LCOc1 dropped by 0.4%, to $77 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were priced at $68.47 per barrel, trading 0.4% lower from their last settlement. Experts are of the opinion that President Donald Trump will undoubtedly enact the additional levies.

China-based PetroChina Co’s net profit in the recent quarter folded twice from a year earlier. The profit of second-quarter increased to $2.48 billion from the corresponding last year quarter. The revenue of the recent quarter has climbed up by 17.5% which is highest since the 2014 third quarter. The surge in the overall earnings was due to high crude oil prices, strong gas sales, and good refining margins.