Rosneft completes SANORS purchase transaction

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's state-owned oil major Rosneft has completed the transaction on purchase of 100% of shares of SANORS Holding Limited (Novokuibyshevsk Petrochemical Company), as per the company's press release.

The transaction was completed after obtaining all the necessary approvals from antimonopoly and regulatory authorities. The purchase of SANORS group of companies is in line with Rosneft Long-term Development Strategy and implies a profound integration of Rosneft oil and gas production and refining assets with existing SANORS Holding petrochemical production facilities. The synergistic effect of the integration will help to strengthen the vector of petrochemical development and increase the added value of production.

This transaction will allow Rosneft to develop its own line of import substitution as well as meeting growing domestic demand for key polymers and other chemical products, viable commercially in the Russian market regarding their quality and technological characteristics. The integration of the SANORS holding in the perimeter of Rosneft will have a stimulating effect on the economy of the Novokuibyshevsk and Samara region as a whole.

Commenting on the results of transaction’s completion, Igor Sechin said: "Consolidation of the production capacities of Rosneft and SANORS group of companies will allow creating a unique business asset for the Samara region. As a result of this mutually beneficial business alliance, a new promising player will appear at the Russian petrochemical market. At the same time this agreement will extend Rosneft’s access to the marketing outlets for high margin production".

As MRC reported earlier, Rosneft plans to invest 560 billion rubles (USD14.9 bln) in the construction of the first stage of its Eastern Petrochemical Company (VNKhK), said CEO Sechin in September 2014.

Rosneft became Russia's largest publicly traded oil company in March 2013 after the USD55 billion takeover of TNK-BP, which was Russia’s third-largest oil producer at the time.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Making good things even better is the secret to success for BASF, the German chemicals giant, and its employees. As in the previous year, the company implemented more than 23,000 improvement proposals from employees last year and saved almost EUR53 million as a result, reported the producer in its press release.

That is approximately EUR3 million more than in 2013. BASF rewarded the inventiveness and innovativeness of the idea owners with bonuses amounting to EUR3.7 million. "Co-creation and celebration is the motto of BASF's 150th anniversary celebrations. And what the submitters have accomplished with their ideas is an excellent example of teamwork. We need employees who question the way things are done, and who change, simplify and recreate processes in a way that generates added value," said Margret Suckale, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

BASF SE employees at the Ludwigshafen Verbund site also contributed a host of innovative ideas, with approximately 6,700 improvement proposals implemented in 2014. The company saved just under EUR33 million in 2014 as a result. The achievement of employees in Ludwigshafen was rewarded with bonuses of approximately EUR3 million. Idea management is an integral part of BASF's innovation culture. The figures show just how creative BASF employees around the world can be: In 2014, BASF employees submitted a total of 41,000 new improvement proposals.

As MRC informed previously, in October 2014, BASF showcased its range of innovative chemical solutions as well as sustainable solutions for the upstream oil and gas industry market. These solutions allow companies to maximize their operations throughout the different phases of petroleum production including drilling, cementing, stimulation, production and enhanced oil recovery.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF had sales of over EUR74 billion in 2014 and around 113,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPC Corp has shut a residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) at its Dalin refinery owing to technical issues, said Apic-online.

A source in Taiwan informed that the cracker was shut last week. The duration of its shutdown could not be ascertained.

Located at Dalin in Taiwan, the RFCC has a propylene capacity of 400,000-450,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, CPC Corp's refinery in the Kaohsiung area reported leaks of propylene gas. Wu Yi-fang, head of CPC's Talin refinery, said a loose connector in the six-inch piping system transporting the colorless gas to its Linyuan plant caused the leak.

CPC Corporation, Taiwan is engaged in the exploration, production, refining, procurement, transportation, storage, and marketing of oil and gas. The company provides fuel oil, including automotive unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, low-sulfur fuel oil, marine distillate fuels, marine residual fuels, and aviation fuel; petrochemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, butadiene, benzene, para-xylene, and ortho-xylene; liquefied petroleum gas products comprising liquefied petroleum gas, propane, butane, and a propane/butane mixture; lubricants, motor oil, industrial oil, grease, and marilube oil; SNC products, including petroleum ether, naphtha, toluene, xylene, crude octene, methyl alcohol, normal paraffin, viscosity-graded asphalt cement, and sulfur; and natural gas.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastics manufacturer A. Schulman Inc. has agreed to buy Citadel Plastics for USD800 million, a move to expand its product portfolio into specialty plastics and gain access to new industries, said The Wall Street Journal.

Chicago-based Citadel, a portfolio company of private-equity firms HGGC and Charlesbank Capital Partners, engineers specialty thermoset composites, which are used in industries including transportation, electrical and health care. It had about USD525 million in pro forma revenue last year and has more than 2,000 products.

"Their product offering not only enhances our existing portfolio, but presents attractive expansion opportunities in other fast-growing sectors such as aerospace, medical, LED lighting and oil and gas," said Chief Executive Bernard Rzepka , who added the acquisition will help its portfolio become more highly specialized.

The deal is expected to add to earnings in the first 12 months of ownership, and could contribute as much as USD25 million within 18 months, due mostly to sourcing and plant efficiency actions.

Acquisitions are a key strategy for the Ohio-based company. In the past five years, it has completed 10 acquisitions and three joint ventures, which contributed 30% of sales last year.

A. Schulman, which has a market capitalization of USD1.2 billion, will fund the transaction with long-term debt and senior unsecured notes. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.

As MRC informed before, A. Schulman signed an agreement and a strategic partnership with the South Korean polymer producer INITZ for the compounding and marketing of INITZ Co. Ltd.'s ECOTRAN Polyphenylene Sulfide (PPS) compounds.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil planned to resume normal processing rates at its refinery in Baytown, Texas, after cutting them Wednesday because the closing was delaying crude shipments, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Vessel traffic and refinery operations began to get back to normal Thursday as a stretch of the Houston Ship Channel reopened after being closed three days because of a collision.

The section was reopened Thursday morning after the area was deemed safe and a tanker damaged in the March 9 collision was moved, the US Coast Guard said in an e-mailed statement. The tanker was carrying the gasoline additive MTBE, which leaked into the water. Air and water tests have shown no signs of public health or environmental concerns, the Coast Guard said.

The four-mile section of the channel between Light 86 and the Fred Hartman Bridge leads to five refineries with 1.34 million bpd of capacity, as well as docks used to export 600,000 bpd of propane and other liquid petroleum gases.

As the vessels waiting to move through the channel were prioritized for movement, ExxonMobil planned to resume normal processing rates at its Baytown, Texas, refinery after cutting them Wednesday because the closing was delaying crude shipments.

Deedra Moe, a spokeswoman for Exxon, said in an e-mail Thursday that the refinery, which has a capacity of 560,500 bpd, would be receiving shipments soon. There were 91 vessels in the queue as of 4 a.m. local time, 50 inbound and 41 outbound, according to the Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service in Houston.

MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is an oxygenate added to gasoline to boost octane levels and to help fuel burn cleaner. While it’s been replaced by ethanol in the US after it contaminated drinking water, other countries still use it. Its offensive odor and taste can render water undrinkable, while its health effects are unclear. US production is shipped abroad, with Venezuela receiving the second-most in December, behind Mexico.

As MRC informed before, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final notice of decision for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) for greenhouse gas (GHG) construction permit for the ExxonMobil Olefins Plant in Baytown, Texas. The company proposes to construct a new ethylene production unit consisting of eight ethylene cracking furnaces and recovery equipment to produce polymer-grade ethylene.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC