Majors Join Forces in Downstream Segment

Italy’s Eni and France’s Total entered into a special license and R&D Cooperation Agreement for Eni Slurry Technology (EST). The two companies started on Monday to work together to evaluate and tailor the technology to Total’s requirements.

“This R&D cooperation project with Eni allows Total to enhance its know-how and expertise, and to have access to another proven technology for bottom of the barrel conversion” Nathalie Brunelle, Senior Vice President Strategy, Development and Research of Total Refining & Chemicals, said on Monday. 

Another agreement between other two big companies indicates that majors could join forces in the downstream business. 

‘BP and Ningxia Baota Chemical Fibre Co. … have signed an agreement to license BP’s latest generation purified terephthalic acid (PTA) technology, the third such deal agreed by BP’ the British company wrote on Monday. 

Meanwhile, in the upstream business, all eyes remain on deepwater technologies. 

Magma Global signed a joint development agreement with BP and Subsea 7 for subsea pipelines.  

‘The hope is that the results will lead to lighter and more cost efficient riser systems than currently exist to help reduce the costs of deep water field developments, and in particular those with corrosive fluids’ reads a note released by UK-based Magma.