PPG acquires minority stake in Taiwan Chlorine Industries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG announced that it has acquired a 40 percent ownership interest in Taiwan Chlorine Industries Ltd. (TCI) from China Petrochemical Development Corporation (CPDC), said the company on its site.

TCI was established in 1986 as a joint venture between PPG and CPDC to produce chlorine-based products in Taiwan, at which time PPG owned 60 percent of the venture. In conjunction with the 2013 separation of its commodity chemicals business, PPG transferred its ownership interest in TCI to Axiall Corporation. Axiall was subsequently acquired by Westlake Chemical Corporation in 2016.

In connection with the sale of PPG’s original 60 percent ownership interest in TCI to Axiall, CPDC was granted an option to sell its 40 percent ownership interest in TCI to Axiall for USD100 million following the three-year anniversary of PPG’s commodity chemical business separation. Axiall was concurrently granted the right to name PPG as its designee to purchase CPDC’s 40 percent ownership interest. In April 2016, CPDC elected to sell its 40 percent TCI ownership interest to Axiall, and in June, Axiall designated PPG to purchase this ownership interest.

PPG funded the acquisition, which represents a minority interest related to one of PPG’s legacy businesses, using cash on hand.

PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) is a global supplier of protective and decorative coatings. Performance Coatings, Industrial Coatings and Architectural Coatings- EMEA segments supply protective and decorative finishes for customers in a range of end use markets, including industrial equipment, appliances and packaging; factory-finished aluminum extrusions and steel and aluminum. Founded in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in nearly 70 countries around the world. Reported net sales in 2014 were USD15.4 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- First oil tanker carrying 140,000 t of crude oil started discharging on Monday for delivery into a 480 mi Myanmar oil pipeline, reported Reuters with reference to China's state news agency Xinhua.

China and Myanmar have reached an agreement on an oil pipeline between the neighboring countries after almost a decade of talks, with the project due to start "very quickly," Chinese vice foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said on Monday.

As MRC informed before, in mid-March 2017, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) started operating a major crude oil pipeline that connects eastern Jiangsu province with refineries in south China. The pipeline, which spans 560 kilometers, runs at an annual capacity of 20 MMt, Sinopec said.

Besides, it became known that Sinopec group, parent of Sinopec Corp, will invest USD29.05 billion to upgrade four refining bases between 2016 and 2020 to produce higher-quality fuels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kuwait’s Equate is constructing a petrochemical plant in the US Gulf Coast at an investment outlay of USD1.7 bln (Dh6.2 bln), the chief executive officer told Gulf News at a conference organised by Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, reported Plastemart.

The production capacity of the plant, which is expected to be ready in H2-2019, is planned to be 750,000 tons.

As MRC wrote previously, Kuwait-based Equate Petrochemical Company continued its global growth through its wholly owned subsidiary MEGlobal with the launch of work on a new world-scale ethylene glycol (EG) manufacturing facility in Freeport, Texas, US, in August 2016. The new facility, to be completed during 2019, will increase Equate’s monoethylene glycol (MEG) capacity by 750,000 metric tonnes annually and will enhance the company’s global presence to meet customer needs.

Established in 1995, Equate Petrochemical Company is an international joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). Commencing production in 1997, EQUATE is the single operator of a fully integrated world-scale manufacturing facility producing over 5 million tons annually of high-quality petrochemical products which are marketed throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Fluor Corporation announced that it was selected by a division of Marathon Petroleum Corporation to execute the engineering and procurement scope for a major reconfiguration at Marathon’s Galveston Bay and Texas City, Texas refineries, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Fluor will book the undisclosed contract value into backlog in the first quarter of 2017. "Fluor continues to provide sustaining capital services at five Marathon sites across the United States, and has supported the Texas City and Galveston Bay operations since 2013," said Mark Fields, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in the Americas. "Having previously executed the initial studies and early engineering for these projects, we are proud to progress them through the engineering and procurement phase."

The reconfiguration will create a more efficient operation, allowing the two refineries to achieve updated US Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 gasoline sulfur standards. The scope includes a new unit, modernization of several existing units and modifications to the utilities and offsites to support the scheduled process changes and refinery connections. Fluor is also performing the front-end engineering and design work for Marathon’s South Texas Asset Repositioning (STAR) program.

As MRC informed earlier, Marathon Petroleum Corporation completed expansion corporate headquarters in in Ohio December 2016.

Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Poland, Angola and Iraqi Kurdistan.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A minor explosion has been reported at Reliance Industries' (RIL) petrochemicals plant in Patalganga (India), as per Business Standard with reference to the police.

A pipeline carrying chemicals inside the plant got choked up, leading to the gasket opening up and then causing the explosion. One employee suffered minor injuries and was taken to an in-house medical facility.

When contacted, a RIL spokesperson confirmed the incident and said there was a minor injury to one of the workers who was taken to an in-house medical facility.

The operations at the plant have not been affected, the spokesperson said.

As MRC informed previously, RIL has delayed the start-up of its new monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant until Q2 2017. The company scheduled to commence operations at the plant in Q2 2017. As per the earlier plans, the plant was to be started in December 2016. Located at Jamnagar, Gujarat in India, the plant has a production capacity of 750,000 mt/year.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company is engaged in a wide range of activities, ranging from oil and gas production to production of polyester and polymer goods, including the production of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and textiles.
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