Transneft taking stake in Ust-Luga oil terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) — Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft is buying a stake in the oil terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga from businessman Andrei Bokarev, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Transneft-Baltica's request to buy a 25% plus one share stake in terminal was approved by the Federal Antimonopoly service last week. The terminal, launched in 2015, has a capacity of 30 MMt of oil products per year.

Bokarev owns 74% and oil trader Gunvor holds the remainder. Transneft confirmed that it was buying the stake in the terminal but did not disclose the seller or price.

Bokarev was not available for immediate comment. Gunvor told Reuters that it was not selling its stake.

Gunvor built the terminal and sold a 74 percent stake in the terminal to Bokarev in 2015. Analysts at the time estimated the value of Gunvor's deal with Bokarev at USD1.9 B–USD2.2 B at current exchange rates.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - DowDuPont, formed through the merger of chemical giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, said it expects third-quarter net sales of USD15.4 billion when it reports results as a new company next week, as per Reuters.

On a proforma basis, net sales are expected to be USD18.3 billion, up 8 percent. The company expects earnings per share of 55 cents a share on an adjusted proforma basis, up 10 percent from last year.

DowDuPont is expected to report third-quarter results on Nov. 2.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant’s Healthcare Polymer Solutions group has introduced new solutions for controlling moisture in pharmaceutical packaging, while Clariant Masterbatches introduced important new anti-static masterbatches for pharmaceutical films suring this global conference, which rook place this year at Messe Frankfurt from October 24-26, as per the company's press release.

The Clariant Healthcare Packaging business line manufactures controlled atmosphere packaging materials that help to protect healthcare products from humidity and oxygen. At CPhI Worldwide Frankfurt, the company announced expansion of its Equilibrium stabilizer products line, which maintain a specific, equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) range in drug products or ingredients. The company announced an expanded line of EQ-Pak packets, which join other solutions including EQ-CAN canisters, EQ-Stopper caps, and the EQ-Bag for bulk packages containing empty capsules, powders, or other moisture-sensitive product ingredients.

Clariant Masterbatches introduced a new amide/amine-free anti-static masterbatch concentrate, MEVOPUR PEAM 176045, for polyethylene films used in pharmaceutical applications. The new anti-stat is important and timely due to coming regulatory changes, specifically the need to comply with the new USP<665> regulation by 2020.

The rule will limit the acceptability of many of the currently used films that rely on ‘food-grade’ amide- and amine-based anti-stats. At that time, USP<665> will require plastics used in pharma manufacturing, including anti-static films, to comply with the same standards as plastics packaging used for finished pharmaceuticals. The new PEAM 176045 additive masterbatch concentrate is part of MEVOPUR brand of ‘Controlled, Consistent and Compliant’ products for plastics applications in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

As MRC wrote previously, in March 2017, Clariant announced that it had been 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. The Dongguan plant will be one of the largest single-train dehydrogenation units in the world. Clariant's technology partner CB&I will base the plant's design on its Catofin® catalytic dehydrogenation technology, which uses Clariant's tailor-made Catofin catalyst and Heat Generating Material (HGM).

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.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Repsol announced the launch of its new Healthcare portfolio, including a total of 28 grades comprised of polypropylene, polyethylene and EVA copolymers, according to GV.

Repsol says the new product offering is based on its existing strengths, including its experience in manufacturing products with the maximum cleanliness, in food contact packaging as well as its commitment to continuous improvement.

In addition, the company’s propylene glycol USP/EP (pharmaceutical grade) is qualified for use as an excipient in pharmaceutical products.

For Repsol, adding the "Guarantee, Commitment and Service component" (GCS) to its products is key to supplying to the pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices segments, adapting to their respective levels of risk through specific service packs. The company’s "Pharma facilities" are located in the Tarragona and Puertollano sites in Spain.

As MRC reported earlier, in Q2 2016, Repsol completed the construction work of its new metallocene polyethelene plant at its Tarragona site. Repsol also started up the plant and began production and marketing of this new product in Q2 2016. Metallocene linear low density polyethylene (mLLDPE) offers very appealing features when transformed into film, such as high transparency and high gloss. Due to its extraordinary tear and puncture resistance it is ideal for packaging applications. Metallocene linear low density polyethylene enhances the wide range of products already offered by Repsol adding to its low and high density polyethylene, EVA and EBA copolymers as well as polypropylene grades. With this new investment, Repsol reinforces its commitment to its customers by offering differentiated products that provide high added value and boosts their strengths to increase their competitiveness.

Repsol S.A is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 28 countries. The bulk of its assets are located in Spain.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petrobras’s (Rio de Janeiro) minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica have been excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program, according to a government decree published in Brazil’s Official Gazette last week, as per Borderless.

The decree prevents Petrobras from immediately selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced this year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.

Petrobras’s board earlier approved a strategic plan for 2017-21 that included the divestment of all petrochemical interests.

Petrobras began negotiations with Odebrecht (Salvador, Brazil) in July to promote the revision of the terms and conditions of the Braskem shareholders’ agreement, Petrobras said in a securities filing at that time. The shareholders’ agreement dates from February 2010. Odebrecht holds 50.1% of Braskem’s voting capital and 38.3% of the total capital. Petrobras holds 47% of Braskem’s voting capital and 36.1% of the total capital.

Braskem’s shares also trade on stock exchanges in Brazil and the United States. "The revision aims to improve Braskem’s corporate governance and the corporate relationship between all of the parties," the filing stated.

As MRC informed before, in January 2016, it became known that Brazil's state-controlled oil producer Petrobras was seeking to sell its 5.8 billion Brazilian real (USD1.4 billion) stake in petrochemical producer Braskem SA. Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) hired Brazilian bank Banco Bradesco SA as a financial adviser and started to pitch the sale to foreign investors. Petrobras owns a 36 percent stake in Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical producer.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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