Ex-Petrobras leader sentenced in corruption probe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The former director of international operations at Brazil’s state-controlled oil company was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering in the latest development in a multibillion-dollar graft investigation, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Nestor Cervero, who left Petrobras in 2014, set up a front company in Uruguay to purchase an apartment in an upscale Rio de Janeiro neighborhood with illicit funds, according to a document published by a court in Curitiba, Brazil, where the case is before a judge.

Cervero’s lawyer, Edson Ribeiro, said by telephone that he will appeal the decision.

Cervero is the second former director at Petrobras, as the biggest offshore oil producer is known, to be convicted in what has become the biggest corruption scandal in a country with a history of graft. Paulo Roberto Costa, the company’s former head of refining, will serve two years of house arrest after turning state’s witness last year under a sentence reduction agreement.

The corruption investigation, dubbed Carwash because of money laundering operations run out of a gas station, identified a cartel of construction companies that allegedly colluded to overcharge Petrobras for project contracts.

The companies allegedly funneled part of the largess to political parties including President Dilma Rousseff’s Workers’ Party and allies. The party has said all contributions were legal.

Cervero was in being held in Curitiba under preventative arrest when he was convicted. As part of his sentence, Cervero was also fined more than 500,000 reais (USD159,000).

As MRC informed earlier, Brazil's scandal-hit state oil giant Petrobras lost USD7.2 billion last year, it said Wednesday, releasing its first audited account of the damage from a massive kickbacks scheme. The corruption scandal, in which Petrobras executives allegedly colluded with construction companies to massively inflate contracts and bribe politicians, has badly hurt Brazil's largest company and President Dilma Rousseff's government.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxea expands its phthalate-free plasticizer portfolio with the introduction of Oxsoft L9TM (linear trinonyltrimellitate), said the producer.

Oxsoft L9TM is ideally suited for special applications where products must meet the most rigid demands, such as the manufacture of resilient and durable high temperature automotive cables that comply with the most severe requirements in this industry. Oxsoft L9TM directly replaces conventional C8/C10 trimellitates and is available in industrial quantities.

"In modern automobiles, stringent demands are placed on internal cables. C8/C10 trimellitates are predominantly used in this application area, but the supply situation for the natural C8/C10 alcohols from which they are derived is very difficult. This results in continuously increasing prices and unreliable availability for the corresponding plasticizer. Oxsoft L9TM is a direct replacement for C8/C10 trimellitates: Produced on purpose, Oxea not only offers the linear C9 alcohol (n-Nonanol), but also the linear C9 trimellitate in order to fulfill market demand and ensure supply reliability," says Jacco de Haas, Commercial Business Director Specialty Esters at Oxea.

Oxsoft L9TM shows excellent resistance to high temperatures, excellent cold temperature flexibility and great resistance to migration while having good plasticizing efficiency and processability. Other application areas include non-fogging automotive interior, special sheets, profiles and gaskets and base stock for lubricating oils.

We remind, Oman Oil Company (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, concluded the acquisition of Oxea which was announced in October 2013. With the acquisition, OOC aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

Oxea is a maker of oxo intermediates and oxo derivatives such as alcohols, polyols, carboxylic acids, specialty esters and amines. It is owned by Oman Oil Company, which is wholly owned by the government of Oman.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Munich-based Wacker Group has signed Germany’s Diversity Charter. The aim of this nationwide initiative is to promote diversity in companies and institutions, as per the company's press release.

Wacker is intensifying its commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce so as to enhance the Group’s performance. By signing the charter, organizations agree to create a working environment free from prejudice. The Diversity Charter was launched in December 2006. Since then, over 2,000 companies and public institutions have signed this voluntary commitment.

Wacker sees diversity and inclusion as the key to being even more successful in the future. Take the following example of cultural diversity: over the past few years, Wacker has become more international, selling its products in 130 countries around the world. Most of the Group’s sales - 86% in 2014 - are generated outside Germany. The international nature of Wacker’s business is therefore reflected in its management structure more and more. Over recent years, WACKER has increasingly filled leadership positions in its regions with local employees rather than with German executives sent there on assignment. Members of the Group’s Executive Personnel now come from 17 different countries.

"We are actively promoting diversity and inclusion, because we’re convinced that it enhances our company’s performance," says WACKER CEO Rudolf Staudigl. This commitment to diversity and inclusion applies worldwide. The company is now setting about devising regional diversity and inclusion strategies in order to reflect local cultural and legal considerations.

As MRC wrote before, in February 2015, the company now joined the "Together for Sustainability" (TfS) initiative to strengthen its commitment to sustainable business practices in the supply chain. Established in 2011, the project is targeted on implementing a standardized global program for responsible procurement of goods and services in the chemical industry and improving the ecological and social standards of suppliers. After AkzoNobel, Arkema, BASF, Bayer, Clariant, DSM, Evonik Industries, Henkel, Lanxess, Merck and Solvay, Wacker is the twelfth company to become a TfS member.

Wacker Chemie AG is a worldwide operating company in the chemical business, founded 1914. The company is controlled by the Wacker-family holding more than 50 percent of the shares. The corporation is operating more than 25 production sites in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The product range includes silicone rubbers, polymer products like ethylene vinyl acetate redispersible polymer powder, chemical materials, polysilicon and wafers for semiconductor industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of high density polyethylene (HDPE) to Kazakhstan increased to 28,400 tonnes in the first four months of the year, up almost one and half times compared with the same time a year earlier, as per MRC analysts.

April HDPE imports in Kazakhstan seasonally increased to 4,300 tonnes, compared with 3,400 tonnes in March. The main increase in HDPE imports occurred for supplies from Asia. Total HDPE imports in the country grew to 28,400 tonnes in January - April 2015, compared with 19,700 tonnes year on year. The reason for the record levels of HDPE imports were large-scale purchases of local PE pipe producers in Russia during the first two months of the year.

Structure of HDPE consumption in the sectors was as follows. More than 80% from the total imports occurred for the producers of pipe PE.
The second largest consumer sector was the film sector, with the share of about 10% from the total HDPE consumption over the reported period.

As for the geography of suppliers, the key role in the local market continued to occupy HDPE manufacturers from Russia.
Their share in total deliveries for the period rose to 79%. The second and third place in HDPE supply into the local market occurred for producers from South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Devon Energy shut wells and Kinder Morgan suspended operations at a fuel terminal southeast of Houston after storms flooded parts of Texas and cut power to tens of thousands. Refineries and pipelines continued to run, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Oklahoma City-based driller Devon stopped pumping from wells in areas affected by flooding in Texas, said company spokesman John Porretto. Kinder Morgan suspended service at a complex in Pasadena, Texas, where trucks load gasoline and diesel after lightning affected the area’s electrical systems. Pipeline operators and refiners including ExxonMobil and Enterprise Products Partners said they weren’t affected by the weather.

Storms have slammed Texas, home to the most oil-refining capacity in the US, with more than 10 inches of rain, flooding homes and freeways and halting bus and rail service. More than one-third of the nation’s oil production is in Texas.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil sank $1.69, or 2.8%, on Tuesday to settle at USD58.03/bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Operations at Exxon’s 560,500 bpd Baytown complex, Texas’s second-largest refinery by capacity, are normal, said Deedra Moe, a spokeswoman for the plant. Phillips 66, which owns two refineries in Texas, hasn’t been affected by the storms, said company spokesman Dennis Nuss.

Marathon Petroleum declined to comment on the status of its two oil refineries in Texas, which have a combined capacity of 535,000 bpd. LyondellBasell Industries, which runs a 263,776 bpd plant in Houston, also declined to comment.

Enterprise Products Partners, a Houston-based company that operates storage terminals and pipelines, hasn’t had significant trouble because of to the storms, said company spokesman Rick Rainey.

The truck racks at Kinder Morgan’s Jefferson Street terminal in Pasadena that halted operations were scheduled to resume service later on Tuesday, company spokesman Richard Wheatley said.

As MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil resumed normal processing rates at its refinery in Baytown, Texas in early March, after cutting them because the closing was delaying crude shipments.
MRC