Williams and ETE give SEC more time to review their deal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy Transfer Equity LP and Williams Companies Inc. have agreed to change an administrative requirement for their USD20 billion-deal to give U.S. regulators additional time to complete their review of the tie-up, reported Reuters.

The new timeline may give Energy Transfer time to renegotiate terms of the deal ahead of June 28 - the deadline for the deal to close, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The companies said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had requested additional information about the deal to be included in the proxy statement, which the companies may not mail to shareholders before the SEC completes its review.

Williams shareholders need to vote on the transaction, and the SEC must sign off on the proxy statement before it is sent out to shareholders and a date is set for the vote.

The companies agreed to shorten the period between when the proxy and form of election are sent and when the deal can close. The form of election allows Williams shareholders to choose whether they want cash or stock for their shares.

Energy Transfer chief executive Kelcy Warren, a Dallas billionaire, set his sights on Williams last year to transform his empire into one of the biggest pipeline networks in the world. However, a prolonged drop in oil and gas prices has made the deal less economically attractive.

Williams is suing ETE in Delaware to stop a controversial offering of preferred shares to its top shareholders. It has also sued Energy Transfer's Warren in Texas over the same offering.

Williams has alleged that ETE is looking into ways to walk away from the tie-up even though the terms of the deal would not allow that.

The latest obstacle to the deal arose last month, when Energy Transfer said its lawyers may not be able to deliver a tax opinion needed to close the deal. Williams disagrees with the position Energy Transfer's lawyers have taken on the tax issue.

As MRC reported earlier, Williams Partners announced its expanded Geismar plant began manufacturing ethylene for sale in February 2015 after experiencing an unexpected delay in the final stages of commissioning. Besides, in March 2016, Williams announced the startup of its second offgas liquids extraction plant, a key asset in the company’s Canadian midstream and petchem complex, said the producer on its site. The new plant boosts domestic production of petchem feedstocks and significantly reduces emissions in the oil sands production process while recovering valuable natural gas liquids (NGLs) and olefins.

Williams, headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., is one of the leading energy infrastructure companies in North America. It owns controlling interests in both Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P. through its ownership of 100% of the general partner of each partnership. Additionally, Williams owns approximately 66% and 50% of the limited partner units of Williams Partners L.P. and Access Midstream Partners, L.P., respectively. On June 15, 2014 Williams proposed the merger of Williams Partners and Access Midstream Partners. The proposed merger has been approved by boards of each partnership and is expected to close in early 2015.
MRC

Lotte Chemical Titan expediting land acquisition process for its naphtha cracker

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group’s Indonesian petrochemical operation Lotte Chemical Titan is expediting the land acquisition process for a USD4 bln naphtha cracker, according to Plastemart.

The company plans to build the facility on a 40-hectare plot of land near its existing plant in Cilegon, Banten, as per The Jakarta Post. The new plant, which is expected to take three to four years to build, is hoped to reduce Indonesia’s dependence on imported raw materials.

"If we can complete the negotiations in the upcoming months, we will know the exact size of the area for the plant and can start the design phase by the end of this year," said J. Bambang Budihardja, the independent director and corporate secretary of Lotte Chemical Titan.

As MRC wrote previously, around 40% of the total investment needed for the new plant would be taken from the company’s internal cash, while the rest would be from bank loans. All investors would be from South Korea.

Lotte Chemical Titan is one of the most well-known petrochemical companies in South East Asia. It produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins, which contribute to the enhancement of every day life. The Lotte Group currently has a presence in Indonesia via its subsidiary, Honam Petrochemicals, which acquired Malaysia’s polyolefin major Titan Chemicals in July 2010. Included in the acquisition was Titan’s Indonesian subsidiary - PT Titan Petrokimia Nusantara (TPN), which has a polyethylene (PE) production capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year.
MRC

BP Indonesia cuts investment budget for Tangguh train 3 LNG project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP has cut its investment budget for the Tangguh Train 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Indonesia to between USD8 B and USD10 B, from USD12 B previously, a company official said on Wednesday, amid depressed oil prices, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"The market is adjusting to oil prices and we have to make a lot of effort to maximize the scope so we can keep costs down," BP Indonesia country head Dharmawan Samsu told reporters.

BP is currently holding a tender for engineering, procurement and construction for the third LNG train at its Tangguh project in West Papua and expects a final investment decision on the project mid-year, Samsu added.

As MRC informed before, earlier this year, BP PLC sold its petrochemical complex in Decatur, Alabama, to Indorama Ventures Public Co. Ltd. (IVL.TH), for an undisclosed sum, as part BP's plan to restructure its global petrochemicals business. The divestment was in line with BP’s global petrochemicals strategy of pursuing a competitively advantaged portfolio through world-scale, low-cost facilities that utilize BP proprietary technology, including the production of purified terephthalic acid, or PTA, a key raw material in the production of polyester.

BP is a leading producer of oil and gas and produces enough energy annually to light nearly the entire country for a year. Employing about 17,000 people across the country, BP supports more than 170,000 additional jobs through all of its business activities.
MRC

PTTGC to take off-stream LLDPE plant in Thailand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to shut its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Thailand informed that the company is likely take its plant off-stream on June 1, 2016 owing to a feedstock issue. The plant is likely to remain under maintenance for a period of around 1 week.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LLDPE plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, PTTGC restarted its LLDPE plant on 3 April 2016, following a maintenance. The plant was shut for maintenance in early-March 2016. Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the LLDPE plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

Lukoil and SNF Floerger break ground for Russia polymer plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The foundation stone has been laid in Saratov, Russia for the future plant of OOO SNF Vostok (part of SPSM S.A., a holding that owns companies of SNF Group) to produce polymers from acrylonitrile, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by several top executives and officials, including: Vladimir Nekrasov, first vice president of PJSC Lukoil; Vadim Vorobyev, vice president for oil refining, petrochemicals and gas processing of PJSC Lukoil; Valery Radayev, governor of Saratov Region; Rene Pich, general director and owner of SPSM S.A.; and Stanislas Henrion, counsellor for transport, industry and sustainable development of the Embassy of France in Russia.

As the only producer of acrylonitrile in Russia, OOO Saratovorgsintez - a wholly-owned subsidiary of PJSC Lukoil -will supply feedstock to the future facility of SNF Vostok for the production of polymers that will be used by Lukoil to enhance oil recovery rates of its fields.

The construction of the polymer plant in a close proximity to LUKOIL's petrochemical facility will reduce costs for transportation of feedstock and end products, as well as facilitate the import substitution of considerable volumes of chemicals.

As MRC wrote previously, OAO Lukoil Holdings, Russia's No. 2 oil producer, will invest USD1 billion in the oil firm Samara-Nafta to increase production. Lukoil acquired Samara-Nafta from Hess Corp. this month for USD2 billion as part of a strategy to stabilize and increase oil production. Lukoil has for years fought declining output at its main, Soviet-era fields in Western Siberia. The investment in Samara-Nafta will increase production by between 5% and 7% over the next five years from 2.5 million tonnes a year, Prime news agency cited the company as saying.

LUKoil, a Russian-based company, is one of the global leaders in the production and refining of crude oil and gas resources. The world's largest privately owned oil and gas company, measured by proven oil reserves, LUKoil has operations in over 40 countries.
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