Petronas, Aramco seeking US$8 bil for Malaysian project

Petronas and Saudi Aramco are seeking to raise US$8 billion for a refinery and petrochemical complex via a bridge loan, Project Finance International (PFI) reported on Wednesday.

Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID), in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, is a US$27 billion project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.

The Saudi energy giant Aramco agreed in February to buy a US$7 billion stake in RAPID's refinery and cracker project. Aramco agreed this month to take a US$900 million stake in petrochemical projects in the RAPID complex.

PFI, which is owned by Thomson Reuters, reported that more than 10 banks have been invited to submit pricing for the loan facility, which will have a tenor of 1.5 years.

Pengerang Integrated Complex 77 Pct Complete, To Be Fully Operational In Q1 2019

The construction of the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC), which forms part of the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC), has achieved 77 per cent completion and is expected to be fully operational in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the construction of the critical infrastructure had been completed to support the refinery and cracker operations later.

He said the supporting facilities encompassing the Regasification Terminal 2 (RGT2) and Pengerang Co-Generation Plant (PCP) had started to undergo the accreditation process and would meet the industry requirements of the PIC, besides giving the benefits to the community not only in Pengerang but Malaysia generally.

"By 2020, the total investments in PIPC is expected to generate some RM8.3 billion in gross national income, with PIC as the biggest contributor. As of end-September, I have been informed by Petronas that the progress of the PIC project has achieved 77 per cent.

Global oil demand will pass 100 million barrels per day by 2020, says OPEC

OPEC General Secretary Mohammad Barkindo said Thursday that oil markets are rebalancing at "an accelerating rate" and that he foresaw "no peak" for oil demand for "the considerable future."

Speaking at the Oil & Money conference in London, Barkindo said confident prices would rise and global oil demand would grow as the global economy continued to strengthen.

"We expect global oil demand to surpass 100 million barrels per day by 2020," Barkindo told the audience of oil industry leaders. This figure is far above the oil producing group's forecast for 2017 in which global oil demand is expected to be around 96.8 million barrels per day.

This strengthening in global oil demand meant that there was "no peak demand for the considerable future," Barkindo said.

As such, continued investment within the oil industry was crucial, he said, as was a continued working partnership with non-OPEC producers.

Subsea 7 and Sapura Energy Terminate Joint Venture

Subsea 7 has agreed with Sapura Energy Berhad to discontinue the SapuraAcergy joint venture.

SapuraAcergy’s heavy-lift and pipelay vessel, Sapura 3000, has been sold to a subsidiary of Sapura Energy Berhad.

The decision by Subsea 7 and Sapura Energy Berhad to discontinue the joint venture reflects the evolution of both companies’ long-term strategic priorities. Subsea 7 remains committed to the Asia Pacific region, with offices located in Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore, the Oslo-listed company said on Tuesday.

As a result of the discontinuation of the joint venture and the sale of Sapura 3000, Subsea 7 said it expects to receive approximately USD 100 million in cash dividends, and recognise a loss of approximately USD 10 million in the third quarter.

Petronas bars TH Heavy Engineering unit from various job scopes

Loss-making TH Heavy Engineering Bhd, which is 30.08%-owned by Lembaga Tabung Haji, says its oil and gas fabrication unit has once again been barred by Petronas from various job scopes due to its “non-performance” in a Sabah project, this time without a specified timeline.

Its wholly-owned THHE Fabricators Sdn Bhd (TFSB) received the letter on the exclusion from Petronas, which stands for Petroliam Nasional Bhd, on Monday.

In a filing today, THHE said the latest exclusion was in relation to TFSB’s “non-performance in relation to a contract known as “Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (PCC) of KNPG-B Topside PH II, Kinabalu Non-Associated Gas (NAG) Development Project” (PH II Kinabalu Project).

The letter is another blow to TFSB, which is currently facing a two-year ban from participating in tenders by Petronas Carigali since April 4, 2016, due to what Petronas Carigali described as “non-performance” on TFSB’s part under the same contract.

KNM Awards UK EPCC Contract To China Western Power Industrial

KNM Group Bhd’s UK subsidiary, Peterborough Green Energy Ltd, has executed and awarded a £346 million (RM1.9 billion) engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract (EPCC) to China Western Power Industrial Co Ltd (CWPC) on a deferred payment scheme.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia today, the company said the contract involves the erection of a net 36 megawatt energy from waste power plant for its Peterborough Green Energy Project in the UK.

KNM said the contract is for a period of 37 months from the commencement date of the construction, which is expected to commence in first quarter of 2018.

It said upon successful completion and commissioning of the plant, the project is expected to yield positive returns in line with KNM’s long term strategic direction of generating sustainable and recurring income streams from its renewable energy businesses for the Group.

DOE stop-work order on Lotte Chemical Titan lifted

The Department of Environment (DOE) has lifted its stop-work order on Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd's (LCT) KBR Catalytic Olefins Technology catalytic cracking reactor (K-COT) within LCT's TE3 Project.

LCT said the stop-work order issued by the DOE on Oct 1 was lifted Oct 5th upon the company satisfactorily completing requested remedial actions.

To recap, LCT had on Oct 1 received the stop-work order from the DOE on its K-COT to mitigate and reduce odour emission and eliminate surface oil sheen/film discharge.

LCT subsequently said it was attending to remedial actions and would provide an update in due course.

Petronas Chemicals sells 50% stake in PRPC Polymers to Saudi Aramco

Petronas Chemicals Bhd has disposed of a 50% stake in its unit PRPC Polymers Sdn Bhd to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) for US$900mil or RM3.8bil.

Petronas Chemicals said on Monday it had inked an agreement with Saudi Aramco’s unit Aramco Overseas Holdings Coöperatief U.A.(AOHC) to divest half of its 100% stake last Friday.

PRPC Polymers’ principal activities are to develop, construct, commission and operate polymers and glycol plants for the production and sale of products. PRPC Polymers has not started operations since the date of incorporation.

Based on the latest audited financial statements of PRPC Polymers for FY ended Dec 31, 2016 it has not generated any operating income, and recorded net loss of RM57mil. PRPC Polymers’s net assets are RM1.3bil.

“Petronas Chemicals will share the project and operation risk with Saudi Aramco upon divesting 50% of the equity interest and 50% of the shareholder loans in PRPC Polymers to AOHC,” it said.

Serba Dinamik secures contract worth RM206mil

Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd via its wholly owned subsidiary Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd has secured contracts worth a combined estimated value of RM206mil.

It said the contracts comprise three operation and maintenance (O&M) projects and four engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) projects with tenures ranging from six months to 10 years.

Serba Dinamik also announced that it will begin construction work of its new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) centre in Bintulu, Sarawak. The construction work is expected to take approximately two years to complete at a value of about RM200mil.

In addition, Top Luxury Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serba Dinamik, will be undertaking the construction works for Pengerang eco-Industrial Park value at approximately RM400mil.