Kemira to buy 3F Chimica for USD111 mln for oil clients

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kemira Oyj agreed to acquire privately owned 3F Chimica SpA of Italy for EUR85 million (USD111 million) to expand its offering of additives for industries spanning oil drilling to wastewater treatment, said Bloomberg.

3F, which makes specialist polymers, is forecast to generate about EUR75 million euros in sales this year, Helsinki-based Kemira said today in a statement. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

The acquisition is part of Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Buechele’s transformation of Kemira into a maker of higher-margin additives and products needed to extract minerals and resources. The company is in the process of finding a buyer for its ChemSolutions division, which is focusing on generating cash for the parent.

Polymers "are highly synergistic with Kemira’s other differentiated process chemicals," and sales of the products are likely to exceed the industry average, Randy Owens, head of the Finnish company’s oil and mining units as well as the North American operations, said in the statement. "Besides the strong strategic fit, the transaction is expected to result in substantial synergies through raw material, logistics and fixed-cost savings."

Kemira is acquiring two Italian manufacturing sites, in San Giorgio and in 3F’s headquarters city of Sandrigo, and one in Aberdeen, Mississippi. The Finnish company will also gain 3F’s supply of intermediate ingredients such as bioacrylamide and cationic monomers, it said.

No investment banks were used in the deal.

As MRC wrote before, Tokyo- Mitsui Chemicals said it has signed a licensing agreement with Kemira giving Kemira "geographical exclusivity" for the production of acrylamide (AAM) using Mitsui"s proprietary bio-process technology.

Kemira is a chemical industry group that consists of three main segments. Kemira is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland. Kemira became the world's biggest provider of the pulp and paper chemicals after its acquisition of the pulp and paper chemical operations of Lanxess.
MRC

INEOS ChlorVinyls announces SPVC list prices for July 2013

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS ChlorVinyls announces the following list prices effective from 1st of July 2013, said the Switzerland-based producer at its site.

The prices of pipe grade suspension PVC delivered in bulk in Europe is at EUR1,035/metric tonne; for pipe grade suspension PVC delivered in bulk in UK/Ireland - GBR935/metric tonne.

As MRC wrote earlier, INEOS has today announced its intention to close production of Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) at its Marl site in Germany, at the end of Q4 2013.

INEOS ChlorVinyls is one of the major chlor-alkali producers in Europe, a global leader in chlorine derivatives and Europe's largest PVC manufacturer.
MRC

Russia parliament may consider LNG export liberalization in autumn

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lower house of parliament in Russia may consider a bill to liberalize the exporting of LNG in its autumn session, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"It is planned that it will be reviewed in the fall session of this year by the State Duma Alexander Novak told reporters.

The announcement comes after President Vladimir Putin said in late June that Russia will move towards the liberalization of LNG exports.

The announcement comes after President Vladimir Putin said in late June that Russia will move towards the liberalization of LNG exports, which will allow companies other than the state gas monopoly Gazprom to sell it abroad.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, Gazprom can return to the construction of LNG plant with the nominal capacity of 7 million tonnes in Primorsk (Leningrad region).

Gazprom's sales are likely to fall further in 2013 as weak economic conditions lead to continued low demand in Europe, the company's key market for natural gas. Russian gas production data for 2012 indicate that Gazprom's European and FSU gas sales fell slightly more than expected.
MRC

Marubeni Corporation announces long-term off-take agreement for polypropylene and sulfur in Vietnam

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marubeni Corporation has concluded an off-take agreement with Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Limited Liability Company, the operator of the Nghi Son Refinery & Chemical Complex in Vietnam, for its products, namely polypropylene and sulfur, said Your Petrochemical News.

Idemitsu-Kosan Co., Ltd, one of the largest oil refineries and distribution companies in Japan, Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., a major Japanese petrochemical company, Kuwait Petroleum International and PetroVietnam are expected to start construction of the complex and aim to begin commercial production in 2017.

Polypropylene, polymerized propylene which is processed from heavy oil recovered from the oil refining process in the complex, is one of the commodity plastics widely used in daily household goods and industrial materials. Marubeni will off-take a certain portion of annual production (370,000MT) for the long-term period to distribute mainly within the Vietnamese domestic market and export partially. Marubeni is the only non-shareholding company selected as off-taker of petrochemical products from Nghi Son Refinery & Chemical Complex for its well-established polypropylene import sales and propylene handling records in Vietnam.

Sulfur is processed into sulfuric acid and used for fertilizer production and metal leaching. Marubeni will off-take over half of the annual production for the long-term period to distribute domestically in Vietnam and also export to neighboring countries where rapid demand increase is expected.

Marubeni is delighted to be a support of the first Japanese-owned refinery & chemical complex located outside of Japan in terms of stable operations by committing to long-term off-taking and is willing to continue its contribution to the emerging Vietnamese economy for further development.
MRC

Marubeni announces participation in Laffan Refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marubeni Corporation has reached an agreement with other parties to participate in Laffan Refinery Company Limited 2, which will be incorporated in the near future by the purchase of 1% of its shares, and signed a Joint Venture Agreement on April 21, 2013, said Your Petrochemical News.

The other participating parties are Qatar Petroleum, Total S.A., Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Marubeni has a 4.5% stake in Laffan Refinery Company Limited, which owns a condensate refinery in Ras Laffan Industrial City with a refining capacity of 146,000 barrels per day that has been in operation since 2009. The LR2 condensate refinery is the same size as LR1, and the commencement of commercial operations is expected in the second half of 2016. The total project cost is estimated to be approximately USD1.5 billion.

As with LR1, LR2 will produce naphtha, kerojet fuel, gasoil and LPG by refining the condensate produced from Qatar North Field, which is the largest single natural gas field in the world. The gasoil from the refinery will be treated by a diesel hydro treater to produce more eco-friendly and value-added products. It is expected that there will be synergy between LR1 and LR2 as both projects will share certain facilities with each other.

In addition to LR1 and LR2, Marubeni has been doing a lot of business in the State of Qatar, including LNG projects. Through this new project, we intend to expand our natural resource business and also would like to reinforce the strong longstanding relationship with QP and the State of Qatar.

As MRC wrote before, Rosneft and Marubeni Corporation signed Memorandum of Cooperation in LNG project implementation and joint exploration and development of oil and gas fields.
MRC