Taminco to buy Kemira formic acid business for USD191 mln

MOSCOW (MRC) - U.S. chemicals group Taminco Corp said on Monday it would broaden its offering by acquiring the formic acid business of Finland's Kemira for 140 million euros (USD191 million), said Reuters.

The business, which includes a plant in Oulu, Finland, had sales last year of around 140 million euros and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 23 million.

Taminco, which makes ingredients for crop protection products and animal feeds, said the deal helped it add new product lines. Formic acid's uses include the preservation of animal feed and de-icing airport runways.

Kemira had been expected to shed the business as part of a shift to focus on its water treatment business. However, analyst Antti Saari from Pohjola Markets said the deal price was lower than expected.

"The valuation looks low. There had been speculation of a price closer to 200 million euros," he said. Shares in Kemira were flat on the Helsinki bourse in thin trading. Kemira said it expected to report a capital gain from the deal in the first quarter of next year.

As MRC wrote before, Kemira signed an agreement to sell its distribution of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in Denmark to Brenntag Group. The deal includes the distribution business and certain assets in Copenhagen. Revenue of the divested business in 2012 was approximately EUR 15 million and the transaction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2014.

Kemira is a global chemicals company serving customers in water-intensive industries. We provide expertise and chemicals that improve our customers' water, energy and raw material efficiency. Our focus is on pulp & paper, oil & gas, mining and water treatment. In 2012, Kemira had annual revenue of EUR 2.2 billion and around 4,900 employees.
MRC

Morgan Stanley sells oil trading assets to Rosneft

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian Rosneft has taken over an oil unit of US bank Morgan Stanley’s commodities division for an undisclosed sum, said Upstreamonline.

The acquisition-hungry oil giant is getting the global oil merchanting unit that includes access to and international network of oil storage facilities, crude oil and oil products inventories and freight agreements.

Some 100 front-office executives and 180 other personnel will join Rosneft as a result of the deal reached on Friday.

The transaction does not, however, include Morgan Stanley’s stake in TransMontaigne of any of its commodities operations outside of the oil and products sector. It also does not include the bank’s current client business relating to oil and products merchanting.

Commenting on the transaction, Rosneft president Igor Sechin said: "The agreements reached today represent a breakthrough in strengthening Rosneft's commerce and logistics unit, which will spearhead the company's growth in the international oil and products".

"The transaction will deliver increased value for Rosneft's equity barrels by going deeper into the merchanting value chain, while equally enhancing the visibility of global oil and products markets and opening up new revenue streams by accessing third party barrels."

Rosneft became the world's biggest listed oil producer in March after the USD55 billion acquisition of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP. Its oil output accounts for over 40% of the total in Russia, the global leader in crude production.

Rosneft has amassed assets abroad in the past few years, including refineries in Germany and Italy, but has bought no significant assets in the United States. Rosneft has an oil trading division in Geneva, which helps supply its refining assets in Europe.
MRC

Novatek 'to gain' Rosneft gas asset

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Novatek is set to acquire Russian state-owned Rosneft’s stake in the SeverEnergia gas producing joint venture in exchange for other assets, said Upstreamonline.

Rosneft has agreed to hand Novatek its recently acquired stake in SeverEnergia, which is expected to produce 36 billion cubic metres of gas and liquids by 2017, its chief executive Igor Sechin was quoted as saying on Friday by Interfax news agency.

Rosneft recently bought into SeverEnergia by acquiring a stake in Italy's Enel for USD1.8 billion, while Novatek and Gazprom Neft have agreed to acquire Eni's share for USD2.94 billion.

MRC

Ineos says most at UK Grangemouth plant agree to terms

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Almost the entire workforce at Ineos's Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical plant in Scotland have signed up to the company's new pension plan and accepted new terms and conditions, reported Ineos in its statement.

The acceptance of the deal comes after a drawn out and bitter dispute between operator Ineos and the Unite union over the dismissal of a union representative.

Ineos Grangemouth (UK) said that "almost the entire workforce" of 1,350 employees had agreed to the new arrangements. The deal puts the company in a good position to bring in significant new investment, Calum MacLean, chairman of Ineos Grangemouth (UK), said.

"With our costs coming under control, the shareholders are committed to making good on their promise of a GBP300 million investment, which will allow us to build a new terminal and use US shale gas as a new raw material for the petrochemicals site," he said.

Ineos is the full owner of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant and a joint owner of the 210,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) refinery along with PetroChina (601857.SS), which holds 49.9%.

It is now planning to double the number of apprentices and new graduate recruits it is hiring over the next three years.

As MRC wrote previously, the company halted operations at Grangemouth in October and demanded changes in terms and conditions before it would permit a restart. It had previously said that losses would force it to shut the petrochemical plant.

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

Technip to supply ethylene technology to CNOOC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French engineering giant Technip has been awarded by CNOOC Oil & Petrochemicals Company a contract to supply its proprietary ethylene technology and process design package for a grassroots 100,000 tpy ethylene plant in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This contract also covers technical support during detailed engineering, pre-commissioning and start-up.

Key components of Technip’s ethylene technology for this project include: its Ultra Selective Conversion (USC) furnace technology preferred for high-capacity, low-cost liquid and gas cracking capabilities; its Advanced Recovery System (ARS) technology utilizing the Heat Integrated Rectifier System (HRS), which reduces energy consumption in liquids cracker designs.

The products of this ethylene plant will feed other downstream units at the complex. Technip’s operating center in Houston, with the support from the Group’s operating center in Mumbai, is currently executing the project. Mechanical completion is scheduled by mid-2015.

"This award strengthens Technip’s presence in the Chinese market, where its ethylene technology is recognized for its reliability, feedstock flexibility and lowest energy consumption," said Stan Knez, Technip’s senior vice president of process technology.

As MRC informed earlier, last year, Technip won FEED work on Sibur Russia PE project. The first contract concerns a linear low/high density gas phase polyethylene plant. Meanwhile, the second deal is for a high density slurry phase polyethylene plant. Each plant will consist of two parallel production trains with a total capacity of 1.5 million tpy of polyethylene.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry. Present in 48 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
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