NOVA Chemicals reports Q2 2014 results

MOSCOW (MRC) -- NOVA Chemicals Corporation generated profit of USD167 million compared to profit of USD201 million for the second quarter of 2013, as per the company's report.

The quarter-over-quarter decrease was primarily due to lower margins in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments, partially offset by higher margins in the Polyethylene segment.

For the six months ended June 30, 2014, the company generated profit of USD412 million, compared to profit of USD386 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to higher margins in the Polyethylene segment and lower finance costs, partially offset by lower margins in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments.

The Olefins/Polyolefins business unit generated USD275 million of operating profit in the second quarter of 2014, compared to operating profit of USD328 million in the second quarter of 2013. The decrease for the second quarter of 2014 was primarily due to lower margins in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments.

The Olefins/Polyolefins business unit generated USD652 million of operating profit in the first half of 2014, compared to operating profit of USD664 million in the first half of 2013. The decrease for the first half of 2014 was primarily due to lower margins in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments.

The Performance Styrenics segment generated break even operating profit during the second quarters of 2014 and 2013. Higher polymer sales prices in the second quarter of 2014 were offset by higher feedstock costs and lower product sales volumes.

The Performance Styrenics segment reported operating profit of USD3 million in the first half of 2014 compared to operating profit of nil in the first half of 2013. The increase was primarily due to higher polymer sales prices and lower feedstock costs, partially offset by lower product sales volumes.

As MRC informed previously, NOVA Chemicals announced in mid-June 2014 that the first barrels of ethane supplied from natural gas associated with oil production from Bakken Shale are being utilized at its Joffre complex in Canada's Alberta province.

Nova Chemical is one of the largest world's petrochemical companies, a manufacturer of polyethylene, styrene polymers, monomers, and many other related products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysia's Petronas has awarded Tecnicas Reunidas (TR) a contract for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC) for a refinery package in Petronas’ refinery and petrochemicals integrated development (RAPID) project in Pengerang, Johor, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The EPCC scope includes all the hydrotreating units, catalytic reforming unit, hydrogen production units, saturated gas plant, interconnection and flare for the refinery.

The contract has been awarded on a lump sum turnkey basis for an approximate value of USD1.5 billion with a 50 months project schedule until ready for start up.

RAPID is part of the bigger Petronas Pengerang integrated complex (PIC) development worth an estimated USD27 billion, which comprises of RAPID and its associated facilities including the Pengerang co-generation Plant (PCP), re-gasification terminal 2 (RGT2), air separation unit (ASU), raw water supply project (PAMER), crude and product tanks (SPV2) as well as central and shared utilities and facilities (UF).

RAPID will consist of a 300,000-bpd refinery and petrochemical complex with a combined capacity of producing 7.7 Mtpa of various grades of products, including differentiated and specialty chemicals products such as synthetic rubbers and high-grade polymers.

As MRC wrote before, in July 2014, Technip, leader of a joint venture with Fluor, was awarded a program management consultancy contract by Petronas for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Johor, Malaysia. The contract includes overall project and site management for the project and provision of project management services for specific engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning packages within Rapid.

We remind that Petronas has pushed back the completion date for its Johor refinery-petrochemical project to 2017 as a final investment decision has been delayed. The company was expected to give the project the green light this year but had to push it back due to political uncertainty during the national elections early this year, industry sources said.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, will increase list and off-list selling prices for the following products effective September 1, 2014, reported the company on its site.


Product North America (USA,Canda) Mexico Central and South America

Ethyl Acetate 3 cent/lb 3 cent/lb USD70/mt
Methyl Isobutyl Carbinol (MIBC) 5 cent/lb 5 cent/lb USD100/mt
Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK) 5 cent/lb 5 cent/lb USD100/mt

As MRC informed previously, Celanese Corporation has recently announced that it will increase the price of all grades of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and Ateva vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) in September. The increase of USD0.05/pound will be effective 1 September, 2014, or as contracts allow, and is caused by market conditions.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) is in plans to undertake a maintenance turnaround at an aromatics plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the plant is planned to be shut in H2 September. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 40 days.

Located at Huizhou in China, the plant has a PX capacity of 840,000 mt/year and MX capacity of 130,000 mt/year.

We remind that Indonesian state-owned energy company Pertamina is in plans to shut down an aromatics plant for maintenance turnaround in end-September 2014. It is likely to remain off-stream for around 40 days. Located in Cilacap, Indonesia, the plant has a PX capacity of 270,000 mt/year and benzene capacity of 110,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote previously, Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s largest refining and petrochemical companies, shut down its aromatics plant for maintenance turnaround in July 2014. It is likely to remain shut for around 50 days. Located in Chiba, Japan, the plant has a PX capacity of 265,000 mt/year, benzene capacity of 577,000 mt/year and MX capacity of 353,000 mt/year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos has bought rights to explore for shale gas in the area surrounding its Grangemouth refinery complex in Scotland, in the petrochemicals giant's debut move into the fracking industry, said Telegraph.

The company, which requires gas and gas by-products to run the plant, said on Monday that it had bought a 51pc stake in the shale section of the PEDL 133 licence area from BG Group for an undisclosed sum.

The licence covers 127 square miles in the Midland Valley, spanning the Firth of Forth and including Grangemouth, Falkirk and much of Stirling.

The remaining 49pc of the shale section is owned by Dart Energy, which is in the process of being taken over by fracking firm IGas Energy.

No shale gas exploration has so far taken place in the area, but Dart estimates it could contain 4.4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas. If 10pc were recoverable, estimates suggest it could provide enough gas to meet Scotland's needs for more than a year.

As MRC wrote before, Ineos Compounds and Doeflex Compounding received the green light for the merger of their polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compounding businesses from the European Commission. The combined business, once completed, will create a leading PVC compound manufacturer, with a turnover in excess of EUR200m and production sites in the UK, Sweden and Switzerland.

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