Evonik Q1 core profit up 8% on demand for tyre silica, additives

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik increased sales considerably by 19 percent to EUR3.68 billion in the first three months of 2017. The main growth drivers were higher demand, which boosted sales volumes, and the first-time inclusion of the Air Products specialty additives business, said the company on its website.

"The successful start to the year shows that we are on the right track with our growth strategy," said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board. "The combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions has strengthened the company. We are on the road to becoming less vulnerable to economic cycles and having a more balanced portfolio. Demand for our specialty chemicals such as silica, coating additives and pharmaceutical ingredients boosted quarterly earnings."

Adjusted EBITDA rose 8 percent to EUR612 million in the first quarter driven by improved results in the Resource Efficiency and Performance Materials segments. Earnings at Nutrition & Care were significantly below the prior year period mainly because of lower prices for animal nutrition products.

The company’s adjusted net income at EUR260 million remained at about the same level as the first quarter last year with adjusted earnings per share at EUR0.56. Net income was EUR160 million, about EUR80 million less than last year. The decline was primarily due to one-time effects tied to the acquisition of the Air Products specialty additives business.

The specialty additives business acquired from Air Products at the beginning of the year is being integrated successfully and smoothly. The company is still on track to achieve its planned synergies of about EUR70 million by 2020. The acquisition of the silica business of U.S. company J. M. Huber is progressing well and Evonik aims to close the purchase in the second half of the year.

The company’s net financial debt amounted to EUR2.3 billion at the end of the first quarter after payment for the Air Products specialty additives business. "Evonik still has a solid financial position after the biggest acquisition in the company’s history," said Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf. "We are within the framework of a solid investment-grade rating."

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yokogawa Electric Corp. has announced that its subsidiary, Yokogawa Kontrol (Malaysia), has won an order to supply process analysis system integration (SI) services and advanced solutions for the oil storage facilities that are being built for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project in Malaysia, as per Plastemart.

To implement these solutions, the company has been appointed an engineering, procurement, construction & commissioning (EPCC) contractor.

The Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) is PETRONAS' largest investment in Malaysia and the PIC consists of RAPID and is supported by its Associated Facilities. RAPID is a project that comprises a refinery, a steam cracker and a number of petrochemical units. The refinery has a capacity of 300 000 bpd and the steam cracker and petrochemical units will have a combined production capacity of about 3.5 million tpy of Ethylene, Propylene and C4-C6 Olefin products.

In 2014, Yokogawa Kontrol (Malaysia) was selected as a main automation contractor (MAC) for the RAPID project. After completing the front end engineering and design (FEED) process, the company received orders to supply CENTUM VP integrated production control systems and ProSafe-RS safety instrumented systems for the project's Oil Refinery, Naphtha Cracker, and Petrochemical plants.

Further to the success, PETRONAS recognised Yokogawa's capabilities and awarded an EPCC package to supply one analyser house with process analysers and sampling devices that will control the quality of the Gasoline, Diesel and Kerosene stored at this complex's oil storage facilities. For this project, Yokogawa will also carry out the design, engineering, procurement, installation, and commissioning of advanced tank quality estimator, blending property control, and pipe tracking system solutions. All construction is scheduled to be completed by August 2018, and commissioning will commence the following month.

As MRC informed before, in early 2017, Petronas announced that its new USD27 billion refining and petrochemical complex project in the southeast Asian country is on track for start-up in 2019.

As part of the new complex, Petronas plans to build a C6-based metallocene linear LDPE plant and a low density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) swing plant at its greenfield integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in southern Johor state by mid-2019. The proposed metallocene LLDPE will have a capacity of 350,000 tpa, while the LDPE/EVA will have a capacity of about 150,000 tpa. The two plants are part of Petronas' planned Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development project in Pengerang at Johor.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The commercial start-up of Vietnam's new USD7.5 B Nghi Son oil refinery will be delayed to 2018, from an initial expected start-up in the third quarter of this year, according to a notice on a government website., said Reuters.

The 200,000 bpd oil refinery is now planning to start commercial operations in the Q1 2018, according to a notice on the website for Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and a source close to the matter. Trouble with a mechanical test on some of the refinery's components set back test runs at the plant, causing the delay, according to the notice.

A spokesman for Nghi Son did not immediately reply when contacted by Reuters. The start-up delay should defer an expected decline in product margins until after Nghi Son starts operating, said Nevyn Nah, an oil analyst with consultancy Energy Aspects.

"The impact on margins will be shifted to mid-2018 if the refinery is commissioned in first quarter of next year," he said.

Vietnam's imports of oil products were expected to fall after Nghi Son began operations. The delay of additional fuel supplies in Asia could be good news for refiners, a trader with a North Asian refinery said.

Still, it could weigh on the crude oil market, a Singapore-based crude trader said. The refinery was expected to take delivery of its first crude oil in May and send out its first oil products by the third quarter of the year, the company said in February.

The plant is Vietnam's second refinery and will process Kuwaiti crude oil to produce liquefied petroleum gases, gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel, mainly for the domestic markets.

Kuwait now has less demand for its crude after shutting its 200,000 bpd Shuaiba refinery in April and this is expected to continue until Nghi Son starts, four crude traders said.

Nghi Son Refinery sent out requests to shipbrokers earlier this month to charter 27 very large crude carriers, ships capable of carrying 2 MMbbl of oil each, over July 2017 to June 2018 to transport crude from Kuwait to the refinery, according to a tender document seen by Reuters.

Japan's Idemitsu Kosan and Kuwait Petroleum International each own 35.1% of Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals, while PetroVietnam has 25.1% and Mitsui Chemicals 4.7%.

Vietnam's existing Dung Quat refinery meets about 30 percent of domestic demand.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, has inaugurated its revamped Carling - Saint-Avold petrochemical complex in eastern France following three years of transformation works, said the producer on its site.

In September 2013, Total announced that it would adapt the Carling site, investing close to EUR200 million to upgrade existing facilities and build new, higher value-added units to access to high-potential markets. The Carling - Saint-Avold complex has been turned into a leading polymer production site in Europe.

"Announced in 2013, the Carling upgrade project has been successfully completed. I would like to thank the teams that made this model evolution possible. I am proud to say that Total has fulfilled its pledge," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total Patrick Pouyanne.

The adaptation of the Carling - Saint-Avold complex did not involve layoffs or compulsory staff transfers During the transformation, Total supported contractors and kept its promises to customers and employees.

As MRC reported previously, on 5 October 2015, Total closed its remaining steam cracker in Carling, in the Lorraine region of eastern France. The cracker was the second steam cracker closed at the site. The company shut down its first cracker in 2009. The closure was part of Total's plan to adapt its Carling petrochemical platform with the development of new activities in the growing polymers and hydrocarbon markets.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group announced its financial results for Q1 2017. In the first quarter all business segments – Upstream, Downstream, Consumer Services, Gas Midstream – managed to increase their contributions compared with the same period of the previous year, said the producer on its website.

Upstream EBITDA surged year-on-year by 50% and reached USD 219mn capitalizing on higher oil prices and the very competitive asset base. Production remained stable at 111,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Downstream posted an all-time high first quarter clean CCS EBITDA delivering USD 324 mn, which is 15% higher than in the same period of the previous year. The growth was the result of much improved asset availability (and thus strong volumes and yields) and fairly supportive margins in both refining and petrochemicals.

Consumer Services also reported the best ever first quarter achievement with an EBITDA increase of 17% year-on-year. The USD 55mn result was due to stronger fuel sales volumes and higher non-fuel contribution. Motor fuel consumption rose 5% year-on-year in the Central Eastern Europe region, providing a supportive environment.

The Gas Midstream segment, a stable contributor to MOL Group’s overall results, reached USD 70mn EBITDA in the first quarter, up 4% year-on-year. Chairman-CEO Zsolt Hernadi commented the results: "The first quarter was an excellent start to the year 2017 with all our business segments posting robust earnings growth, as we were able to fully capture the benefits of a supportive external environment on the back of our systematic efficiency improvement efforts and low-cost, high-quality asset base. Downstream had its best ever Q1 on much improved asset availability and strong margins, Consumer Services (Retail) continued its impressive ascent, while Upstream successfully captured the benefit of higher oil prices and a very competitive cost base. These achievements provide a strong foundation for the rest of the year as we plan to deliver again at least USD 2bn EBITDA and pass major milestones in the implementation of our MOL Group 2030 strategy."

MRC