LyondellBasell increases quarterly dividend

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that its Supervisory Board has authorized the company's Management Board to declare a dividend of USD0.90 per share, representing a 5.9% increase over the company's first quarter 2017 dividend, as per the company's press release.

The interim dividend will be paid June 12, 2017 to shareholders of record June 5, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of June 1, 2017.

"This dividend increase represents the eighth increase since we began paying dividends in 2011," said Bob Patel, LyondellBasell CEO. "The increase announced today reflects our commitment to provide strong returns to our shareholders and the confidence we have in our ability to consistently generate strong cash flows through market cycles."

The company also announced that at its Annual General Meeting on May 24, 2017, shareholders approved a new share repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase up to 10 percent of the company's shares over the next 18 months. The repurchases will be executed from time to time through open market or privately negotiated transactions.

The amount and timing of future share repurchases and dividends will depend on, and be subject to, market conditions, general economic conditions, applicable legal requirements and other corporate considerations. The share repurchase program and dividend policy may be suspended or discontinued at any time. This share repurchase program does not obligate LyondellBasell to acquire any particular amount of shares. LyondellBasell had approximately 401 million shares outstanding as of May 22, 2017.

As MRC reported earlier, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies. The company manufactures products at 57 sites in 18 countries. LyondellBasell products and technologies are used to make items that improve the quality of life for people around the world including packaging, electronics, automotive parts, home furnishings, construction materials and biofuels.
MRC

PE imports to Ukraine down by 12% in the first four months of 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of polyethylene (PE) into Ukraine dropped in the first four months of 2017 by 12% year on year to 76,800 tonnes. Demand for low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) subsided, according to MRC's DataScope report.

April PE imports to Ukraine continued to decrease and went down to 17,500 tonnes from 19,500 tonnes a month earlier. Local companies reduced their purchasing of HDPE because of weak demand for finished products in the domestic market. Overall PE imports reached 76,800 tonnes in January-April 2017, compared to 87,500 tonnes a year earlier, only shipments of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) increased.

The structure of PE imports looked the following way over the stated period.


HDPE imports to the Ukrainian market dropped last month, oversupply of polymer in the market and weak demand for finished products forced local companies to reduce their purchasing in foreign markets. April imports were 7,700 tonnes, compared to 9,000 tonnes in March. Overall HDPE imports reached 24,000 tonnes in the first four months of 2017 versus 43,500 tonnes a year earlier, shipments of film grade and injection moulding HDPE fell by almost a third, demand for PE in the pipes extrusion sector subsided by 20%.

April LDPE imports fell to 4,100 tonnes from 4,500 tonnes a month earlier, a major reduction in export quotas from Russian and European producers was the main reason for lower shipments. Overall LDPE imports exceeded 20,400 tonnes over the stated period, down by 10% year on year.

Last month's imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were 4,300 tonnes, compared to 4,100 tonnes in March, with films producers accounting for a slight increase in demand. Overall LLDPE imports grew to 19,200 tonnes in January-April 2017 from 18,400 tonnes a year earlier. Producers of film and cabling and wiring products accounted for the main increase in demand.

Imports of other PE grades, including EVA, totalled 5,400 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 3,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

Clariant completes expansion to compound high-temperature fluoropolymers at Lewiston

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant has recently completed a significant expansion at its plant in Lewiston, ME, adding equipment that increases its capacity to compound high-temperature fluoropolymers, which include FEP, ETFE, and PVDF, as per Plastemart.

These materials are important for the production of medical catheters because of their flexibility, lubricity and chemical resistance. Demand for these polymers and for specialized masterbatches, which Clariant markets for medical applications under its MEVOPUR brand, continue to grow worldwide.

Another expansion at the Lewiston plant, planned for completion in 4Q 2017, will add another compounding line featuring a 70-mm extruder. This line will enable the plant to more rapidly produce larger batch sizes of MEVOPUR pre-colored medical plastic compounds (e.g.: 3000 to 6000kg /6000 to 12000lbs or larger).

Clariant already operates several smaller lines - in Lewiston and Clariant’s other MEVOPUR facilities - which produce masterbatches and pre-colored compounds in lot sizes ranging from 25 to 2500kg/50 to 5000 lbs. In addition, production capacity for compounds is also being added during the first half of 2017 in Singapore, to handle increasing demand of color compounds for local and international customers. These small- and medium-sized lots are in high demand, especially in the medical market, since many resin producers have discontinued or severely curtailed their custom-color offerings in anything smaller than full-truck or railcar quantities.

Clariant’s MEVOPUR materials are offered for applications in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging, where strict regulations on materials and change control apply. The Lewiston plant is one of three global sites designed and operated to produce materials used in medical devices and pharmaceutical packaging. The other two facilities are located in Malmo, Sweden, and Singapore. All are certified to EN:ISO13485 (2012) and can use the same validated raw-material ingredients and processes so that the same products can be produced at any of the sites. Raw materials are pre-tested to standards commonly required for device and drug filings, e.g.: USP <87><88> (‘USP Class VI’) and ISO10993.

As MRC reported earlier, in mid-March 2017, Clariant was awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints. Clariant India has local masterbatch production activities at Rania, Kalol and Nandesari (Gujarat) and Vashere (Maharashtra) sites in India.
MRC

Vietnamese sole refinery plans to sell 5%–6% stake in IPO in Q4

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam's Dung Quat oil refinery plans to sell a 5%–6% stake in the company in the fourth quarter of 2017 via an initial public offering (IPO), it said in a statement, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The IPO is part of a government plan to sell state-owned enterprises including Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co, which runs USD3 B Dung Quat. It is currently the sole refinery operating in the country.

The firm sell up to 36% to strategic partners within 12 months of the IPO, state media reported.

The statement did not disclose how much Binh Son might aim to raise in the IPO.

Binh Son's officials were not immediately available to comment.

Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, Gazprom Neft (GPN), Thailand's top energy company PTT and the Kuwait Petroleum Corp are among foreign firms that have expressed interest in Dung Quat, located in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The refinery will shut for maintenance from June 5 to July 23.

Vietnam's second oil refinery, Nghi Son, is being built by investors including Binh Son parent PetroVietnam at a cost of USD7.5 B. 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.

As MRC wrote previously, in late September 2016, Russia's Rosneft signed a contract to supply 96 MMt of crude oil to PV Oil, an affiliate of state oil and gas PetroVietnam, starting this year. The contract, signed on the sidelines of an international economic forum in Russia's St Petersburg, will last between 2017 and 2040. The volume to be supplied by the Russian firm is equivalent to nearly six years of Vietnam's crude oil production, which totalled 16.7 MMt in 2015, based on Vietnam's government data.
MRC

HDPE production in Russia decreased by 6% in January-April 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of high density polyethylene (HDPE) in Russia decreased to about 312,300 tonne in the first four months of 2017, down 6% year on year. Gazprom neftekhim Salavat and Nizhnekamskneftekhim showed a significant decrease in production, according to MRC ScanPlast report.

April HDPE production in Russia was 73,900 tonnes, while in March it was about 83,500 tonnes. Kazanorgsintez and Stavrolen reduced their capacity utilisation because of shutdowns for maintenance at ethylene production capacities. Overall HDPE output reached 312,300 tonnes in the first four months of 2017, compared to 330,700 tonnes a year earlier. Kazanorgsintez and Stavrolen's higher output did not allow to offset the reduction in production at the other two plants.

Structure of PE production over the reported period looked as follows.

Russia's April HDPE production at Kazanorgsintez decreased to 46,100 tonnes from 51,700 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's total HDPE production was 178,800 tonnes in the first four months of the year, up 14% year on year.

Stavrolen produced about 18,400 tonnes of HDPE in April, while in January it was produced about 25,000 tonnes. The plant's HDPE output reached 91,500 tonnes in the first four months of 2017, up by 2% year on year.

Gazprom neftekhim Salavat increased its HDPE production to 9,400 tonnes in April because of a one-week shutdown for maintenance at the beginning of the month, compared to 6,700 tonnes a month earlier. Thus, overall HDPE production at the Baskhir plant reached 31,300 tonnes in the first four months of 2017, down by 14% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim shifted to the production of linear polyethylene and in the second half of January and returned to the production of HDPE only in May. HDPE production at Nizhnekamskneftekhim was 10,700 tonnes over an incomplete month of work.


MRC