Total completes USD1 bn of onshore divestments

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil giant Total said that it has sold its stake in a Nigerian oil field to a local company for USD569 million (523 million euros), said Reuters.

Total's sale of its share in the onshore Oil Mining Lease 29 to Aiteo Eastern E&P comes after the French group made two similar divestments in Nigeria. The three transactions reached a sum of USD1 billion.

"These transactions ... reduce our exposure to non-operated blocks onshore Nigeria, and allow us to focus on our core, operated developments," said Patrick de La Chevardiere, Total's Chief Financial Officer.

The group added that the divestment is "in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria's aim of developing Nigerian companies in the sector".

Energy groups have been slashing their investments in a bid to shore up earnings, as crude prices have collapsed by about 60 percent since June.

As MRC informed earlier, Total acquired a majority 68% interest in Germany's Polyblend. Polyblend produces compounds, which are blends of polymers (polyethylene and polypropylene) and other ingredients such as mineral fillers, glass fibres, elastomers and additives, formulated to customer specifications.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem has lifted the investment forecast for its flagship Etileno XXI complex in Mexico by 13% amid rising construction costs, the company said on Friday, reported BNAmericas.

The overall outlay for the project in the Coatzacoalcos region of Veracruz state has been revised to USD5.2bn, according to a Braskem securities filing.

The Sao Paulo-based firm said it had assumed additional expenses related to infrastructure and local services, and a change to the power generating unit capacity. The company aims to sell surplus electricity from the unit to Mexico's grid.

Braskem also said "the amount corresponding to its portion of the additional contribution, close to USD450mn, required for the project completion, will not result in an increase of its annual level of investments."


The centerpiece of Braskem's project pipeline, Etileno XXI is a joint venture with Mexican industrial conglomerate Idesa, which owns a 25% stake.

The ethane cracker, expected to begin operating by December, will have annual polyethylene (PE) capacity of 1.05Mt.

As MRC wrote before, in 2012, Braskem Idesa announced the approval of a line of credit in the amount of USD700 million by the Brazlian National Economic and Social Development Bank - BNDES to finance the construction of the largest petrochemical complex being developed in the Americas: Braskem Idesa- Etileno XXI Project. The group of financial institutions will also include Mexico's development banks, Bancomext and Nafinsa- Nacional Financiera, and commercial whose loans are subject to the completion and closing of the formal documentation.

Braskem is Brazilian main producer of polyethylene and polypropylene. In addition with ongoing plants located in both petrochemical complexes, in April 2008 Braskem opened a 300,000 metric ton polypropylene plant in the city of Paulinia (Sao Paulo).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sasol has started construction work on its USD8.1bn ethane cracker and derivatives complex in Westlake, Louisiana, US, said Chemicals-Technology.

Said to triple Sasol's chemical production in the US, the petrochemical complex will benefit from domestic ethane supplies, to produce various speciality chemicals for global markets.

Sasol international operations executive vice-president Steve Cornell said: "By the time construction is complete in 2018, Sasol's investment will total almost USD9bn dollars, making it one of the largest investments in our company's history.

"Along the way, we'll create more than 5,000 construction jobs and more than 500 full-time positions, 100 of which have already been filled." "By the time construction is complete in 2018, Sasol's investment will total almost USD9bn dollars."

The company has been carrying out early works, site preparation and civil construction work since 2014.
Sasol will soon start site above-ground work and heavy equipment deliveries with plans to commence mechanical, electrical and instrumentation work in 2016 and 2017.

The complex, which will also have six chemical manufacturing plants, is planned to commence operations in 2018. It will produce around 1.5 million tonnes of ethylene a year, which will be used to produce chemicals for products such as synthetic fibres, detergents, fragrances, paints, film and packaging.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said: "This industrial complex of an ethane cracker and six affiliated chemical plants is an important component of the remarkable economic success story that is south-west Louisiana." The company plans to invest USD800m in infrastructure improvements, land acquisition and utility improvements at the site.

In 2012, Sasol announced the project during the feasibility stage alongside plans for a gas-to-liquids facility.
Louisiana will grant USD115m incentives to Sasol if the gas-to-liquids is also finalised.

As MRC informed earlier, in late January 2015 Sasol said it would delay its USD8.1 billion investment in an ethane cracker in Louisiana, in response to low global oil prices.

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It develops and commercialises technologies, including synthetic fuels technologies, and produces different liquid fuels, chemicals and electricity.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- An overnight fire at the ExxonMobil Chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas, was extinguished by about 5:45 a.m. on Monday morning, according to local news sources, reported Hydrocarbonprodcessing.

The fire in a propylene unit forced the company to shut down the entire chemical plant, according to sources at Beaumont's CBS television affiliate KFDM. The cause of the fire has not yet been disclosed.

Workers had been fighting the fire since about midnight Monday.

Exxon spokesman Lee Dula said in a statement that there were no injuries and that all workers have been accounted for.

"What we know at this time is that there was a vapor release around 12 a.m. from a propylene line and that is what combusted," said Dula.

The plant employees about 425 workers and 500 contractors.

"Ongoing air monitoring continues to indicate no impact to the community at this time," Dula said in a statement. "All our personnel should report for their scheduled shift and check in with their supervisors. Our response is ongoing. Safety is our core value and we are responding in the safest and most orderly manner possible."

As MRC informed before, in late February 2015, large fire explosion’ rocks ExxonMobil’s Torrance Refinery in California. Workers evacuated an ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance, Calif., after an explosion, which occurred near a fluid catalytic cracking unit, according to the United Steelworkers union that represents operators at the plant.

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Chemical Co will separate a portion of its century-old chlorine business and sell it to Olin Corp in a tax-efficient deal worth USD5 billion as part of efforts to shed low-margin assets, said the company in its press release.

The deal will make smaller rival Olin the world's largest producer of chlor-alkali, which is used to make chlorine and caustic soda. These chemicals are used in a variety of industries such as healthcare, textiles and automotive.

Shares of Dow Chemical, which will designate three directors to Olin's board, rose 3.3 percent to USD47.96 at mid-afternoon. Olin's shares jumped as much as 25 percent to USD33.91, a near 17-year high, valuing the company at about USD2.60 billion.

Dow, which had been pressured by activist investor Dan Loeb to break itself up, first announced plans to sell a bulk of its chlorine operations in 2013. The company averted a proxy fight with Loeb last November by agreeing to add four independent directors to its board.

Dow has turned its focus to more profitable businesses such as packaging, electronics and agriculture. Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said there could be more deals over the next 12 months as the company simplifies its joint ventures.

"JV conversations are ongoing right now and we are seeking the right strategic answers," he said. As part of the Olin deal, Dow will sell its U.S. Gulf Coast chlor-alkali and vinyl, global chlorinated organics and epoxy assets.

Dow will get USD2 billion in cash and cash equivalents and about USD2.2 billion in Olin shares in a Reverse Morris Trust deal, a transaction that allows a parent company to sell its unit in a tax-efficient manner.

Olin will assume USD800 million of pension and liabilities under the deal. The transaction will give Dow shareholders control of the combined company.

The deal, likely to close by 2015 end, will create a company with revenue of about USD7 billion and EBITDA of USD1 billion. The combined business will be better positioned as the chlor-alkali market in North America improves, Olin Chief Executive Joseph Rupp said on a conference call.

As MRC informed before, Dow Chemical Company signed a long-term agreement with a new wind farm, currently under development in South Texas by a subsidiary of Bordas Wind Energy, LLC, a joint venture between MAP and Enerverse, LLC.

Olin Corporation manufactures chemicals and ammunition products. The Company manufactures and sells chlorine, caustic soda, sodium hydrosulfite, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, sodium chlorate, bleach products, and potassium hydroxide. Olin also manufactures products that include sporting ammunition, reloading components, small caliber military ammunition and industrial cartridges.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. As of 2007, it is the second-largest chemical manufacturer in the world by revenue (after BASF) and as of February 2009, the third-largest chemical company in the world by market capitalization (after BASF and DuPont). Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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