PP production in Russia decreased by 3% in January - April 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) - Production of polypropylene (PP) in Russia decreased to 464,900 tonne in first four months of this year, down 3% year on year, compared to the same period of 2016. The largest increase in PP production accounted for three producers, according to MRC ScanPlast.

April PP production in the country decreased to 110,600 tonnes, compared with 119,600 tonnes in March. The decreased production was caused by a long shutdown at Neftekhimiya and Stavrolen. Total PP production in Russia reached 464,900 tonnes in Jan-April 2017 against 479,600 tonnes, an increase showed Tomskneftekhim, Ufaorgsintez and Poliom.

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

The largest producer of PP in Russia - SIBUR Tobolsk in April produced about 44,300 tonnes against 48,200 tonnes a month earlier. SIBUR Tobolsk's PP production reached 173,800 tonnes in January-April 2017, which is practically the same as in Jan-April 2016.

April production at Poliom were about 17,600 tonnes, while a month earlier this figure was 17,000 tonnes. Total PP production at the plant over the reported period was about 70,000 tonnes, up 7% year on year.

Ufaorgsintez's PP production in April reached about 10,600 tonnes against 9,100 tonnes in March. Producer reduced capacity utilisation because of technical problems at the propylene preparation site. The producer's PP output at Ufaorgsintez increased to 41,200 tonnes in January-April 2017 compared with 40,900 tonnes year on year.

April PP production at Nizhnekamskneftekhim decreased to 18,100 tonnes from 18,900 tonnes a month earlier. The producer's PP production in January-April remained the same from last year's level - 72,700 tonnes.

Tomskneftekhim also kept March production volumes in April, and the final production of propylene polymers was 11,700 tonnes. Total PP production at Tomskneftekhim over the reported period reached 46,500 tonnes, compared with 42,300 tonnes year on year.

Stavrolen (LUKOIL) last month shut its capacity utilisation for 10 days scheduled maintenance works, total polypropylene production had dropped to 7,700 tonnes against 11,100 tonnes in March. Overall PP production at the plant exceeded 38,300 tonnes in January-April, down 1% year on year.

Neftekhimia (Kapotnya) shut its capacities for a long scheduled maintenance works, as a result PP production in April at the plant was less than 1,000 tonnes. The producer's PP output in Jan-April reached 22,500 tonnes, down 48% year on year.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A Dutch court on Monday rejected a request by Akzo Nobel investors for it to take immediate action against the company over its rejection of a takeover bid by U.S. rival PPG Industries, handing the Dutch company a victory in its efforts to repel the U.S. firm's 25 billion euro (USD28 billion) proposed offer, reported Reuters.

The decision ratchets up the pressure on PPG to decide whether to file formal bidding papers for Akzo with Dutch regulators by a June 1 deadline - or walk away for at least six months.

PPG said in a statement after the ruling it was still weighing whether to bid or not.

Presiding Judge Gijs Makkink said Akzo's board had been within its rights to reject entering into talks with PPG. However, he noted the management faced dissent from a large group of shareholders which wanted it to engage in talks with PPG. A group representing around 18 percent of its equity had spoken out in support of the suit, launched by hedge fund Elliott Advisors.

"This is a problem that cannot be ignored by Akzo Nobel," Makkink said, though he left it up to the company to decide what steps it should take to mend the rift.

Elliott Advisors had asked the court to order an extraordinary shareholders meeting to consider a motion to dismiss Chairman Antony Burgmans over the company's decision to reject a proposed takeover offer from PPG worth 25.3 billion euros (USD8.3 billion).

The judge rejected that, saying it amounted to an attempt to force the board of directors to change their strategic direction, which was not a right that shareholders have under Dutch law.

Elliott said in a statement it was "surprised and disappointed" by the ruling.

"Elliott is considering the implications of this judgment for shareholder rights in the Netherlands and for its next steps in relation to Akzo Nobel."

As MRC wrote previously, in mid-May 2017, AkzoNobel rejected a third unsolicited takeover bid from American rival PPG Industries, saying it was not in the interests of shareholders. AkzoNobel said that its own plan, announced in april, to spin off its Specialty Chemicals unit within 12 months to boost growth "offers a superior route to growth and long-term value creation and is in the best interests of shareholders and all other stakeholders." AkzoNobel announced the shakeup after rejecting two earlier PPG bids, saying they undervalued the company.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) is in plans to shut its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in mid-July 2017, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in the Thailand informed that the company is likely shut the plant on July 17, 2017 for a maintenance turnaround. The plant is expected to remain off-line for a period of around 15 days.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in late May 2016, PTTGC took off-stream this plant for a two-week scheduled turnaround. Initially, the company planned to shut the HDPE plant in early June, but then decided to start maintenance a week earlier.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) — Following announcements at the Saudi-US CEO Forum earlier this week, Motiva Enterprises LLC confirms it has embarked on a growth journey to become the safest and most profitable downstream business in the US, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As a wholly owned affiliate of Saudi Aramco, Motiva is expected to be the primary focus of an estimated USD18-B growth effort throughout the Americas and is exploring opportunities to increase refining capacity, branch into chemicals, and expand its commercial operations, marketing and branded presence over the next 5 yr.

"With the joint venture separation behind us, there is a real sense of self-sufficiency at Motiva," said Dan Romasko, Motiva’s president and CEO. "Our employees have embraced the changing culture, which has turned Motiva into a more agile organization. We have given employees added responsibility, but at the same time empowered them to make decisions and be accountable for our results."

The growth strategy follows a concerted effort to transform the performance of Motiva. Since 2014, Motiva has improved safety and reliability performance by nearly 50%. Additionally, the company expanded its headquarters in Houston, Texas and repatriated offshore back-office functions to a third-party service provider in Tulsa, Okla.

Motiva also recently completed an expansion of the Port Arthur Refinery’s largest hydrocracking unit and diesel hydrotreater, resulting in a 30% increase in capacity. An ongoing project with Northstar Terminals LLC to build a new marine terminal and related facilities at the Port of Port Arthur is expected to be complete in July 2017.

Motiva Enterprises LLC refines, distributes, and markets fuels in the Eastern, Southern, and Gulf Coast regions of the United States. It offers base oils, which are used to manufacture finished lubricants such as modern motor oils and industrial lubricants. The company also provides terminaling services for gasoline, distillate, jet, and bio-fuel products, which are further transported via tanker trucks, pipelines, railcars, and marine vessels.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) — China will eventually allow private companies to invest in the country's oil and gas storage, the government said in a blueprint document for its energy sector that mainly underscored earlier pledges on reforming heavily monopolized oil and gas industries, said Reuters.

Beijing has previously said it would take steps such as pushing to open upstream oil and gas exploration to private companies, help split natural gas sales from gas pipeline operations and lift the output of higher quality oil products.

That comes as China pushes to overhaul state-owned enterprises, including with the introduction of so-called mixed ownership of state firms, as part of the most far-reaching reforms of its sprawling and inefficient state sector in two decades.

"We are expecting specific measures (on energy sector reform) to follow after the State Council releases this overarching guide," said Lin Boqiang, an academic specialized in energy at Xiamen University. "(But) this is the first time that China said it would encourage private capital in oil and gas storage facilities."

In the document released late on Sunday, the State Council said it would aim to ramp up government investment in the country's oil storage facilitates, while also allowing non-state firms to operate storage. It did not give further details.

China has been building underground caverns capable of holding a substantial chunk of its expanded strategic oil reserves by 2020, as it looks for new storage methods away from expensive and exposed above-ground tanks in crowded coastal regions.

The blueprint document also said the State Council would set up a "management system" to regulate crude import licenses. The rest of the paper mainly repeated earlier government plans on reforming the energy sector.
MRC