Dow, DuPont complete planned merger to form DowDuPont

MOSCOW (MRC) - Dow Chemical Co and DuPont said on Friday the companies had successfully completed their planned USD130 billion merger to form DowDuPont, as per Reuters.

Shares of DuPont and Dow stopped trading at the close of Aug. 31 and will now trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DWDP”.

Dow and DuPont announced the merger in December 2015.

"The true value of this merger lies in the intended creation of three industry powerhouses that will define their markets," Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of DowDuPont, said in a statement on Friday.

Post-merger, Dow and DuPont are expected to break up into three independent, publicly traded units.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has finalized the acquisition of French manufacturer Disa Technology (Disatech), as per the company's press release.

The acquisition strengthens AkzoNobel’s global leadership position in supplying innovative industrial coatings and aerospace and automotive coatings.

Headquartered in Limoges, Disatech is the leader in aerospace technical marking systems. The company specializes in the manufacture of self-adhesive vinyl, polyester and polycarbonate films used on aircraft, vehicles, agricultural machinery and other equipment.

The acquisition of Disatech will bring new technologies and services that complement AkzoNobel’s existing portfolio of coatings and films for the aerospace and transport sectors.

Commenting on the final agreement, AkzoNobel COO Paints & Coatings Ruud Joosten said: "With the acquisition now finalized we can further invest in growth and innovation. The technology and knowledge acquired from Disatech strengthens the product and service range we can offer to our customers, bringing them numerous benefits."

Financial details were not disclosed.

As MRC informed before, 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.

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) - Chicago fuel distributor Olson Service Company snapped up gasoline this week to pre-empt a potential supply crunch in the third-most populous US city as fuel supplies dry up from Texas because of Tropical Storm Harvey, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Harvey has triggered widespread flooding across southeastern Texas and neighboring Louisiana, closing close to a quarter of US refining capacity. On Tuesday, a major fuel artery from the Gulf Coast to Chicago shut down because there was no fuel to pump through it. The line can carry 660 Mbpd, and about 350 Mbpd of that typically go to the Chicago area.

There are refineries in Chicago and other pipelines that pump in gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. But with the nation's entire fuel supply system strained and prices at the pump rising, Olson is taking no chances, said Mario Orlandi, operations manager at the company.

The firm, which supplies diesel and gasoline to construction companies, has bought more fuel in anticipation of possible shortages and more price rises, he said. Retail gas prices in the Chicago area are already about 7.5 percent above national averages.

His company typically keeps fuel tanks 60% full, but has increased stored fuel to 80 or 90 percent of capacity, Orlandi said. Olson Service tanks store 150,000 gallons, he added. At least one other Chicago-area distributor planned to stockpile extra fuel as the shutdown on Wednesday morning of the Explorer Pipeline, which ends in the city's suburbs, raised the threat of shortages.

The AAA, representing motor clubs throughout the United States and Canada, said Chicago's gasoline stocks would fall because of the pipeline closure, but downplayed the possibility of shortages because inventory levels were high.

"We're going to see surplus stocks go down," said AAA spokeswoman Jeanette Casselano. The Midwest has 52.7 million barrels of gasoline in surplus, 4.4 MM more than this time last year, she said. "The pipeline status is not going to have a huge impact at this time," she added. "If refineries are offline for months and months, it's a different story and we will need to reassess."

It is unclear how long it will take to repair and restart refineries. Refiners have yet to assess the damage they sustained. On Wednesday, average retail regular gas prices in Metro Chicago were USD2.58 per gallon, up from USD2.56 a week ago, according to the AAA. Nationally, gas averaged USD2.40 on Wednesday, up from USD2.34 a week ago.

Further pressure on retail prices could be coming, as Chicago wholesale CBOB gasoline prices are at the highest level since at least mid-June 2016. They last traded at about 18 cents a gallon above benchmark futures, traders said. Diesel prices firmed by about half a cent, they said.

William Fleischli, executive vice-president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association, which represents 400 fuel distributors, said much depended on how long the shutdown lasts.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Kenyan government has enforced a major ban on the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags for commercial and household packaging, said Plasticsnewseurope.

The ban, which was announced 28 Feb, will apply to two categories of bags: the carrier bag, a "bag constructed with handles, and with or without gussets," and the flat bag, a "bag constructed without handles, and with or without gussets."

Infringement of the ban, according to the Kenyan government’s notice in February, can carry imprisonment of up to four years or a fine between EUR16,000 and EUR32,000.

The country’s environment ministry says that roughly 100 million plastic bags are handed out annually in Kenya by supermarkets alone.

The purpose of the Government to ban the use of plastic bags is to avoid health and environmental effects resulting from the use of plastic bags, including impacts on soil quality, literring and damage to ecosystems.

In its February notice, the environment ministry encouraged manufactures of all plastic bags to invest in the production of alternative bags.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Liquide Engineering & Construction has signed a cooperation agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation to license MCC’s Butene-to-crude-Butadiene technology used in the petrochemical industry, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) has developed this state-of-the art oxidative dehydrogenation technology of n-butene to produce crude Butadiene and verified the viability in a demonstration plant at MCC Mizushima, Japan.

Butadiene is an important industrial chemical used in many day-to-day products, mainly as synthetic rubber for the automotive industry. Butadiene can also be used as a raw material for the production of products such as polymers, plastics and paper chemicals.

Air Liquide Engineering & Construction can now offer its customers a unique integrated solution for both, butene dehydrogenation and butadiene extraction, the company said in a press release. This allows to extend the production of Butadiene from the conventional extraction from a Naphtha Cracker product to on-purpose production based on a wider range of feedstocks.

As MRC informed before, in May 2016, Air Liquide said it had completed the USD13.4-billion acquisition of Airgas, which was announced November, 2015.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.

L'Air Liquide S.A., or Air Liquide, is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers.
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