China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved plans by Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp. (Sinopec), to build a grassroots refinery in the Caofeidian Industrial Zone, Tangshan, Hebei Province. The US$4.3billion refinery will have a crude oil processing capacity of approximately 12 million tonnes per year and will have additional processing units for residual fluid catalytic cracking, hydro-treating, hydrocracking, isomerization, alkylation, and desulfurization. A firm timeline for the project, which initially included a 200,000-b/d refinery scheduled to be commissioned by 2015, has not yet been disclosed.

(Source: http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/02/chinese-regulators-approve-sinopec-s-plan-for-grassroots-refinery.html, 5 February 2015)

LME extends publication of live forward price curves

The London Metal Exchange (LME) has extended its live forward price curves for each metal as part of its commitment to further enhance the transparency of the price discovery process following last year’s review of the ‘Ring’, the LME’s open outcry trading platform. The forward price curves, which were previously published for the Ring’s afternoon “kerb” trading session only, now cover all trading times in the Ring. Peter Childs, Head of Price Discovery at the LME said “The extension of the live forward curves provides a comprehensive transparency tool for use across the whole date structure, allowing users to track real-time indicative prices throughout the day via their data vendor service”. Caroline Porter, the LME’s Head of Data Sales added “This is a key addition to our market data offering – the result of increased investment in data services – providing our customers with a fuller service at no extra cost”. In addition to the new price information, the LME is providing extra granularity by publishing monthly prompt dates between three months and one year forward. The LME also proposes to assess whether there is a demand to extend this price-transparency tool outside of Ring hours.

(Source: https://www.lme.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-releases/2015/01/lme-extends-publication-of-live-forward-price-curves/, 20 January 2015)

Hong Kong’s General Nice Group acquires Greenlandic iron ore mine

According to the Greenlandic government, Hong Kong’s General Nice Group (General Nice) has acquired the Isua iron-ore mine from debt-stricken London Mining Co. Ltd (London Mining). The Isua project is expected to cost US$2.3 billion to develop. General Nice has interests in iron-ore mines in Shanxi, Shandong, and Inner Mongolia in China, among other places. A 2011 study conducted by London Mining suggested that Isua has the potential to generate US$2.5 – 4.5 billion, although this profit outlook is in need of revision in light of the fall in global iron-ore prices which has taken place since 2011. General Nice faces significant exploration challenges in Greenland. Frozen soil greatly complicates mining operations, meaning special equipment is required. Additionally Greenland faces a shortage of local manpower and lacks suitable harbour and other infrastructural facilities.

(Source: http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass cnt.aspx?id=20150116000131&cid=1205, 16 January 2015)