PKN Orlen launches planned bid for Czech unit Unipetrol

MOSCOW (MRC) — Poland’s biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen on Thursday offered 380 crowns for each remaining share in its Czech downstream oil unit Unipetrol, as per Reuters.

The offer runs until Jan. 30 and values Unipetrol at 68.9 B crowns (USD3.2 B). Unipetrol’s largest minority shareholder said last week it would sell its 20% stake.

Unipetrol’s board said the bid price was “non-problematic and generally acceptable,” adding it was considerably higher than historical prices of Unipetrol shares in recent years.
MRC

January PVC prices increased in Russia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations on January shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) began among Russian producers and converters on 25 December. Some producer announced an increase in prices of Rb1,000/tonne in comparison with the level of December, according to the ICIS-MRC Price Report.

Demand for PVC from the domestic market has seriously decreased in December, although some converters have increased their purchases, believing that in December prices reached their bottom. Producer began to sell excessive volumes to foreign markets actively in November - December, thereby balancing the domestic market.

PVC prices began to rise in China also. Some producers announced an increase in SPVC prices for supplies in January on the back of the lack of supply surplus and the increase in prices in foreign markets.

PVC prices began to rise in December in Asia, and as a result, Chinese producers went for a serious increase in the export prices of acetylene resin. December prices for Chinese PVC for delivery in Russia rose by USD70/tonne in comparison with November, thus forcing Russian companies to suspend all their resin purchases in China, at least until January.

Demand for PVC from Russian consumers under the pressure of the seasonal factor began to decline since November, thereby prompting local producers to more actively exporting to foreign markets. Producers said good volumes of exports will remain in January, which will help to avoid excess supply in the domestic market.

Converters have mixed sentiments for January. Some of them has planned a long preventive maintenance works at their capacities and to limit their purchases of PVC in January. Someone does not plan long turnarounds and intends to keep a good volume of PVC purchase for the current period.

A producer said that at the moment he practically sold more than 70% of the January quota of PVC and therefore raised prices for deliveries in the next month by Rb1,000/tonne. Another producer, on the contrary, decided to roll over the December prices for January supplies.
Overall, deals for January shipments were done in the range of Rb62,000-64,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, for K=65/67 and for volumes up to 500 tonnes. Negotiations over prices for resin with K70 started from Rb62,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, and higher.
MRC

China to invest in Aktyubinsk region in Kazakhstan

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese corporation Tianjin Bohua Petrochemical will invest USD 4 billion in the construction of a factory which is expected to produce polyethylene and polypropylene from natural gas in the Aktyubinsk region of Kazakhstan, as per GV.

The memorandum of cooperation was signed within the framework of the working visit of the Akim of Aktobe region Berdybek Saparbayev to Beijing.

The project is planned to be implemented in two stages - the production of 1.8 million tons of methanol from natural gas with two complex installations a year, as well as 300,000 tons of ethylene, 300,000 tons of polyethylene and 300,000 tons of polypropylene with two complex installations per year.

The construction of the plant will create 3,000 new jobs. The main markets will be China and Kazakhstan. The products can also be supplied to neighboring countries.

Saparbayev and President of Tianjin Bohua Petrochemical (a subsidiary of Tianjin Bohai Chemical Industry Group) Zhou Kai discussed the training of Kazakh personnel in the framework of the project, the use of new technologies, the provision of natural gas and electricity required for the production process, as well as compliance with the environmental legislation of Kazakhstan.

The project is planned to be implemented within two to three years after the preparatory work.

As MRC wrote previously, in early 2016, South Korea's LG Chem said it had decided to drop a plan to jointly build a USD4.2-billion petrochemical complex in Kazakhstan, citing a prolonged slump in oil prices and a sharp increase in facility investments. In 2011, the chemical company said it would construct the complex near the western Kazakh city of Atyrau as part of a 50-50 joint venture with two Kazakh companies. The plan involved building ethylene and polyethylene plants with annual capacities of 840,000 tonnes and 800,000 tonnes.
MRC

Dow inaugurates two prepolymer reactors at PU Systems House in Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Polyurethanes, a business unit of DowDuPont Materials Science, has started up two new prepolymers reactors at its largest PU System House in Ahlen, Germany, as per GV.

According to Dow, with this focused investment the company adds production capacity to its network of Systems Houses around the world, and strengthens its position as a supplier of customised polyurethane solutions to the growing industrial and infrastructure markets.

"Dow continues to see growth of innovative polyurethane solutions for industrial and infrastructure markets," commented Jon Penrice, Vice President Dow Polyurethanes Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI). "This latest expansion of our world-class capabilities represents another significant milestone in Dow’s commitment to invest to support our customers’ growth and their strong demand for tailored formulations and fast response time."

"The design of the new reactor capitalises on Dow’s years of experience and advanced prepolymer production technologies," explained Lorenzo Nicolini, Product Manager (Systems), Dow Polyurethanes EMEAI. "The result is a high-productivity reactor which is fully automated including raw materials integration and packaging, delivering an efficient and safe production of consistent and high quality prepolymers."

Dow is a leading provider of polyurethane solutions to the industry with a global network of system houses. These facilities provide capabilities in which raw materials can be blended to deliver tailored polyurethane systems for the most demanding applications, while also improving the speed of application development and service to customer. In addition, Dow also operates a network of Polyurethane Service Centers globally that will provide customers access to laboratory capabilities and tailored technical service - including product demonstrations, prototype development and mechanical testing of final materials. The most recent one was opened in Brasov Romania earlier in 2017.

Thus, as MRC wrote before, this summer, Dow Polyurethanes announced the opening of a new Polyurethanes Service Center in Romania, expanding its network of more than 20 sites for production, development and technical service across the EMEAI region.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

ABB revamps EPC business to cap year of transition

MOSCOW (MRC) — ABB will reshape its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business—including its biggest but least profitable power grids division—by spinning off and winding down some operations, triggering fourth-quarter charges totaling USD225 MM, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer called the move ABB's final step in a year of transition that would lead into a 2018 when it would benefit from a strengthening economy. "We will always run the business in a way that we are responsibly managing capacity in line with market development," he told reporters on a call, but noted economic conditions were likely to be brighter next year than in 2017.

Last month, ABB said it would revamp its global power grids operations as it responds to the division's sluggish profitability and falling orders. The move came as ABB sought to justify its decision last year to reject calls from Cevian Capital, its second-largest shareholder, to spin off power grids, which has suffered a 9% drop in orders in 2017.

In the Power Grids division, which also makes electrical substations, ABB will form a joint venture with SNC-Lavalin for electrical substation EPC projects, the Swiss technology group said on Wednesday. Canadian-based SNC-Lavalin will have the controlling interest in the venture, it said.

In the Industrial Automation division, ABB's oil & gas EPC business will be transferred into a previously announced joint venture controlled by Saudi-based Arkad Engineering and Construction Ltd in a deal now expected to close this month. In the Robotics and Motion division, ABB is winding down its turnkey full train retrofit business.

"The fourth quarter 2017 results of Power Grids and Robotics and Motion are each expected to be impacted by approximately $75 MM on operational EBITA. The transfer of the turnkey oil & gas EPC business into the JV with Arkad is expected to result in a non-operational pre-tax charge to net income of approximately USD75 MM," the company said.

Spiesshofer said he did not expect negative impact on jobs. ABB is trying to shift its focus to higher-margin services.

Its four divisions cover electrification products, robotics, industrial automation and power grids. Power grids accounted for around 30% of 2016 sales, electrification products 28%, robotics 23% and industrial automation 19%.

ABB shares fell 0.4% in early trading, while the Stoxx European industry sector index was little changed. "We believe that the indicated completion of the (EPC) business model change will be supportive for sales growth rates as well as profitability," Baader Helvea analyst Guenter Hollfelder, who rates the stock "hold," said in a note.

ABB will report these businesses as a non-core operating unit which will manage its backlog of existing business. The new unit will report to finance chief Timo Ihamuotila from the start of next year.

MRC