News – eUrOPe 10 rosneft borrows Us $1 billion from Gazprombank OAO Rosneft (ROSN), Russia’s biggest oil producer, agreed to borrow US $ 1 billion from OAO Gazprombank to fund operations. With interest, the deal totals US $ 1.19 billion, the state-controlled producer said. Tthe state-run natural-gas exporter and producers net debt climbed to US $ 15.9 billion at the end of last year, up 13 percent from the start of the fourth quarter and 16 percent from the start of the year, according to its website. Rosneft is boosting capital spending about 35 percent to a record 480 billion rubles this year to help counter slowing production growth. Vladimir Putin called for Russia, the world’s biggest oil producer last year, to maintain output at more than 500 million metric tons (10 million barrels a day) for at least a decade. OMv Petrom expects record profits The leading Romanian oil company OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) has announced estimations for a new record high of its net profit, to reach 867.8 million euros in 2012, despite the slighter lower sales registered by the company and mirrored in a turnover estimated to decrease by 4.6 percent, at 3.6 billion euros in 2012. The company forecast that local natural gas production will reach 5067 billion cube metres, less by 3 percent compared with the 5.214 billion cube metres registered last year. Petrom OMV has a budget of 1.2 billion euros for this year, with 8.6 percent more compared with previous year. The largest investments will target operations and production, but the company also budgeted 777 million euros for refinery and marketing. Gazprom Neft may buy Hellenic Petroleum Gazprom Neft, is considering buying a stake in Greek oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum CEO Alexander Dyukov has said. Greece’s top privatisation official said last month that refiner Hellenic Petroleum, would be put up for sale by May to boost a much-delayed privatisation plan. “We are looking into the possibility of acquiring this asset. There are two decent plants with comparatively high capacity and refining depth”, Dyukov said. He added that Gazprom Neft’s investment programme for 2012 will be flat, comparing with 2011. The Greek state owns 35.5 percent of Hellenic Petroleum. TNK-BP hydrotreater reconstruction TNK-BP’s Saratov oil refinery L-24-6 grade diesel capacity increased by almost 30 percent to 2.2Mta following reconstruction of its diesel <strong>fuel</strong> hydrotreater at the Saratov refinery, part of the large-scale upgrading programme of the company’s refining assets. The reconstruction of the two-train facility included the replacement of reactors, knockout drums, process equipment and heat exchangers. “With the LATesT News, eveNTs, jOBs ONLINe – www.PeTrOLPLAzA.COM hydrotreater, Saratov oil refinery can now produce all types of diesel <strong>fuel</strong> with improved operating and environmental characteristics of Euro 4 and Euro 5 standards”, says Vitaly Zuber, Director of TNK-BP refining department. The company produces over 20 types of products, including unleaded gasoline, diesel <strong>fuel</strong>, <strong>fuel</strong> oil of all key grades, bitumen, vacuum gas oil, technical suphur and naphtha. Keeping europe dependent on russian <strong>fuel</strong> Western Europe, already dependent on Russia for 40 percent of its oil and natural gas, is about to make itself even more dependent. Russian oil <strong>companies</strong> are buying European oil refineries, prompted by Europe’s need for major infusions of cash to offset the major economic downturn and to bring many insolvent refineries back into production. The Russian oil <strong>companies</strong> leading this effort are Gunvor, Rosneft and LUKOIL. One such refinery marked for a Russian buy-in is in Antwerp, Belgium. By acquiring the Antwerp refinery, the Russians will be expanding oil refining in Europe with <strong>Oil</strong> coming from Russia for refining. Another refinery is the Ingolstadt refinery in Germany on which Rosneft is bidding. The key both for Belgium and Germany is that the investor must also be able to provide the oil for refining. Rosneft already has other refinery investments in the Ingolstadt region. Fuel stations face forced closure in Bulgaria Some 500 <strong>fuel</strong> stations are facing forced closure over their failure to install level gauges, according to Ivaylo Nikolov, Chair of the Association of Traders at Small and Medium Filling Stations. In an interview Nikolov explained that a number of rural areas would be left without <strong>fuel</strong> stations and people would lose their jobs as a result. The deadline for the installation of the level gauges TOTAL extends ties with China French energy giant TOTAL SA has reached an agreement with China’s Sinopec on a joint venture for shale gas and refining. The news also quoted TOTAL’s Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie as saying that Chinese authorities now own a stake of 2 percent in the French company. TOTAL is in talks for the right to market <strong>fuel</strong> expired on 2nd April alongside the deadline for the mandatory electronic connection of all commercial sites to the information system of the National Revenue Agency (NRA). The revenue authority has not yet come up with summarized data on the number of electronic devices already mounted electronic but tax officials are adamant that the deadlines are realistic. and petrochemicals in China produced by a planned refinery complex in the country’s South, de Margerie was quoted as saying. TOTAL reached a pact with China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec, to search for and produce shale gas, a potentially lucrative market tapping natural gas trapped in rock formations. MOL not quitting gas transit pipeline Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was quoted by international media as breaking the surprising news that MOL is quitting Nabucco. The Nabucco Pipeline project is based on a treaty that was signed and ratified by the transit countries, including Hungary. The Intergovernmental Treaty establishes a unique and strong legal framework for lenders, producers and transportation customers. The Nabucco shareholder in Hungary is FGSZ, a MOL subsidiary and they have not had any indication that this will change. What is more, in addition to refuting the news about MOL’s quitting, the Consortium sought to make it clear that the project for the natural gas pipeline from Asia to Europe is making steady progress. “The project is seeing strong progress. The Project Support Agreements were signed by all transit countries in June 2011, thus finalizing the legal framework for the pipeline. In Hungary, three out of the four environmental permits have been granted”, the Vienna-based company said.
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