Chevron sells Canadian refinery, fas stations in USD1.1 bln deal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp. has agreed to sell the Burnaby refinery and gas stations in British Columbia to Parkland Fuel Corp. for about CD1.46 billion (USD1.1 billion) as Chief Executive Officer John Watson unloads assets, reported Bloomberg.

The sale includes 129 retail service stations, 37 commercial cardlock and three marine fueling locations, Red Deer, Alberta-based Parkland said in a statement Tuesday. Parkland also is picking up terminals throughout British Columbia and a wholesale business that provides aviation fuel to Vancouver International Airport.
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The sale is part of Watson’s plan to raise as much as USD10 billion from asset sales this year. The company has been marketing everything from Asian oil fields to African storage facilities to generate cash. For Parkland, the deal complements the 44 Chevron-branded sites it has in the province, and builds on the USD750 million acquisition of CST Brands Inc.’s Canadian assets that it expects to complete this quarter.

As MRC informed before, in July 2016, a USD36.8bn expansion of the Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan, the largest investment by private sector oil companies this decade, was given the go-ahead by Chevron of the US, bucking the trend of delays and cancellations resulting from the slump in crude prices since mid-2014. The green light for the plan is a rarity at a time when oil companies worldwide have been slashing capital spending and holding back on new commitments to large developments in particular. The decision to go ahead is a sign of the importance of Kazakhstan to Chevron's long-term future. The investment will add 260,000 barrels a day of crude to production at Tengiz. That would increase the output at TCO, the Chevron-led consortium that runs the field, by 44 per cent from its average of 595,000 b/d last year. The expansion is scheduled to deliver oil from 2022.

Earlier, in December 2014, Chevron Phillips Chemical announced plans to build a state-of-the-art polyethylene (PE) pilot plant at its research and technology facility in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Chevron is the second-largest US oil group by production and market capitalisation, after ExxonMobil. Chevron Phillips Chemical (part of Chevron), headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston), US,l is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. Chevron and Phillips 66 each own 50% of Chevron Phillips Chemical.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Amec Foster Wheeler announces that it has been awarded a new contract by China Energy Engineering Group Guangdong Power Engineering Co., Ltd., for the design and supply of two circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generator boilers, as well as technical advisory services, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Located in Attarat Um Ghudran, approximately 100 km southeast of Amman, the two 235 MWe CFB boilers are designed to burn 100% of Jordanian oil shale.

Amec Foster Wheeler was selected in 2014 by GPEC to perform the EPC of the USD2.1 B 554-MW oil shale fired power plant, Jordan’s first.

This project will help Jordan utilize its substantial oil shale reserves, estimated to be approximately 30 Bt, thereby reducing its reliance on imported oil and gas. It is expected to meet 10%–15% of Jordan’s annual power demand.

"As leading energy markets around the world aim to introduce energy-efficient and eco-friendly solutions with challenging fuels, this project is further testament to Amec Foster Wheeler's leadership and track record in CFBs, which is central to this effort. We will use our CFB technology that is successfully operating in four European plants to burn oil shale," said Tomas Harju-Jeanty, President, Energia Group, Global Power Group at Amec Foster Wheeler.

As MRC informed earlier, Amec Foster Wheeler won the tender as the project's manager and consultant to carry out primary engineering designs with a total cost of USD34 million for the Third Olefins and Second Aromatics Project Integrated with Al-Zour Refinery.

Amec Foster Wheeler plc is a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is focused on the oil and gas, minerals and metals, clean energy, environment and infrastructure markets and has offices in over 55 countries worldwide.Roughly a third of its turnover comes from Europe, half from North America and 12% from the rest of the world.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil slid lower on signs that the United States is continuing to add output, largely counteracting strong economic growth in China and OPEC efforts to cut production, said Reuters.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 50 cents at USD55.39 at 1126 GMT. On Thursday, before major markets closed for a holiday break, they settled up 3 cents at USD55.89 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 47 cents at USD52.71 a barrel, after rising 7 cents to USD53.18 on.

Both benchmarks had risen last week for a third consecutive week, with Brent adding 1.2% over the four days before the Good Friday holiday and WTI up 1.8%. While trading was subdued, the focus was on indications that shale oil output in the United States was pushing higher.

"All the signs of an ever-growing bull market are starting to fade away, (with) Libya and geo-political tensions easing, but also because the Texans are back and they are pumping like there's no tomorrow," said Matt Stanley, a fuel broker at Freight Investor Services (FIS) in Dubai. "If I were OPEC, I'd be pretty worried."

Although the failure of a ballistic missile launch in North Korea brought some respite, markets were braced for further tensions in the region.

In Libya, fighting between rival factions has cut oil output, but state oil company NOC was able to reopen at least one field and was pushing to reopen another. US drillers last week added rigs for a 13th straight week, bringing it to its highest in roughly two years. Investors are also pouring money into the industry, suggesting US output gains will continue.

Increasing US output is undermining attempts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers to curb output and sustain a price rally in a market that has been oversupplied since mid-2014.

While Iran fueled hopes that OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers could extend their output cuts beyond the six-month agreement, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said it was too early to discuss an extension. US crude oil production reached 9.24 MMbpd, according to the latest Energy Information Administration data, making it the world's third-largest producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The increasing production largely counteracted figures showing first quarter economic growth of 6.9% in China. Forecast-beating March investment, retail sales and exports all suggested China's economy, the world's second-largest oil consumer, may carry solid momentum into spring.

China's March refinery throughput also rose to 11.19 MMbpd, just shy of December's record, as margins remained attractive.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LG Chem said that it posted 796.9 billion won (USD698 million) in operating profit, a 74 percent rise on-year, said Koreaherald.

It also posted 6.4 trillion won in sales, a 33 percent increase, for the same period. The battery firm said the strong earnings were brought about by the record-breaking operating revenue in its basic material business, the turnaround in its information electronics materials and profit increases in its life science unit.

Its basic material unit posted 4.4 trillion won in sales and 733 billion won in operating income, a 28 percent and 57 percent on-year increase, respectively, due to clients’ growing need to secure inventory in a strong oil price environment and good performance in the Chinese market.

"The stable performance is expected to continue as the favorable market situation of basic materials is predicted to continue in the second quarter," a LG Chem spokesperson said.

As MRC informed earlier, LG Chem had decided to drop a plan to jointly build a USD4.2-billion petrochemical complex in Kazakhstan, citing a prolonged slump in oil prices and a sharp increase in facility investments.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. According to ICIS report, it is 15th biggest chemical company in the world in 2011. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dutch paint and chemicals giant Akzo Nobel NV AKZA reported a flat net profit for the first quarter of 2017, while guiding for higher profitability during the full year, said the company on its site.

Net profit for the period ended March was 240 million euros (USD257.5 million), on par with net profit during the same period a year earlier.

The company said it expects earnings before interest and taxes to be roughly EUR100 million higher than in 2016, which came in at EUR1.5 billion (USD1.61 billion).

Quarterly revenue rose 7% to EUR3.67 billion, mainly as a result of higher volumes and acquisitions.

As MRC wrote earlier, in December 2016, AkzoNobel finalized the acquisition of BASF’s global Industrial Coatings business, which supplies a range of products for industries including construction, domestic appliances, wind energy and commercial transport, strengthening its position as the global number one supplier in coil coatings. The transaction included relevant technologies, patents and trademarks, as well as two manufacturing plants in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.

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