Saipem awarded a new Onshore E&C contract in Oman

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saipem has been awarded a new contract in the onshore E&C sector worth approximately USD 750 million. Work involves engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning under Package 3 "Offsite Facilities" in the framework of the development of the Duqm Refinery situated near the coast in the north east of Oman, as per the company's press release.

The contract was awarded by Duqm Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Company L.L.C, a Joint Venture between the Oman Oil Company (OOC), the national oil company, and Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI). Once completed, the refinery will have a capacity of around 230 Mbpd.

Stefano Cao, Saipem CEO, commented: "We welcome with particular satisfaction the awarding of this new contract which signals the relaunch of our activities in Oman, a country in which Saipem has operated successfully in the past".

As MRC informed before, in June 2016, Saudi Arabia's PetroRabigh awarded a construction contract for its II expansion project to Italian oil service group Saipem. PetroRabigh, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical, said the total cost of the 30-month contract to expand its petrochemicals complex was 782 million Saudi riyals (USD208.5 million). The contract includes a plant to process and recover vanadium and a unit to dispose of caustic soda. The contract also includes some other facilities to handle and store chemicals.

Saipem is one of the world leaders in drilling services, as well as in the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of pipelines and complex projects, onshore and offshore, in the oil & gas market. The company has distinctive competences in operations in harsh environments, remote areas and deepwater. Saipem provides a full range of services with "EPC" and "EPCI" contracts (on a "turn-key" basis) and has distinctive capabilities and unique assets with a high technological content.
MRC

KBR to build new polycarbonate plant for Cangzhou Dahua

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR, Inc. announced today it has been awarded both a license and engineering (LBED) and a proprietary equipment supply contract by Cangzhou Dahua New Materials Co., Ltd.(CDNM) to build a new polycarbonate plant in Cangzhou City, China, as per KBR.

Under the terms of the two contracts, KBR will provide its proprietary PCMAXTM technology, basic engineering design package and proprietary equipment supply for a 100,000 metric tonnes per annum single train plant in Cangzhou. CDNM intends to expand annual production at a later stage to 200,000 metric tonnes.

The plant will utilize KBR's phosgene-based interfacial polycarbonate PCMAXTM technology. KBR's unique PCMAXTM technology offers a wide range of high quality product grades with minimal capital investment.

"KBR has been our most trustworthy partner for decades," said Xie Huasheng, Chairman of CDNM. "The polycarbonate market in China is booming, and we believe that by choosing KBR's advanced technology, we can achieve the best quality of products and place ourselves in the leading position in this new market."

"We are extremely pleased and honored to be CDNM's strategic partner," said John Derbyshire, President, KBR Technology and Consulting. "China is one of our most important markets and KBR is excited to be a part of this significant project."

KBR globally licenses and designs polycabonate synthesis and compounding plants as well as complementary phenolic technologies, including phenol/acetone, and bisphenol-A (BPA) . KBR's integrated phenolics offering provides advantages in raw materials, utilities, OPEX and maintenance costs.

Revenue associated with this project was booked into backlog of unfilled orders for KBR's Technology and Consulting Business Segment in the fourth quarter of 2017.
MRC

PTTGC starts maintenance at HDPE plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) has undertaken a planned shutdown at its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company has commenced turnaround at the plant on February 15, 2018. The plant is expected to remain under maintenance until end-February 2018.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene (MLLDPE) plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT started up the plant by the end of last year.

Before the start-up of the new plant, PTT had a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of HDPE, 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

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

Schur Flexibles Group acquires manufacturers of premium packaging

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Schur Flexibles Group, Baden/Austria, continues to grow and acquires from the Clondalkin Group, Utrecht, Netherlands, the following producers of premium packaging: Cats-Hansel with the two sites Cats Flexibles Packaging B.V., Rotterdam/Netherlands and Hansel Flexible Packaging GmbH, Freital/Germany, as well as Nimax B.V., Elst/Netherlands, said the company.

Through this Schur Flexibles strengthens its position in the sector of premium packaging for the confectionary and tea market. The three locations with about 135 employees generate a sales volume of over 30 million euros (2017). With these acquisitions, turnover is likely to grow to over 400 million euros in 2018. In the segment wax, paper and film packaging for confectionery alone, Schur Flexibles thus achieves a turnover of over 80 million euros and is among the largest providers in Europe in this sector. "These companies fit perfectly into our growth strategy. In parallel, we are investing in our plant network to build up our highly specialised production locations further and thus creating additional added value for our customers," says Michael Schernthaner, Managing Director of the Schur Flexibles Group.

The intended transaction is subject to internal and external approvals including the approval by the relevant competition authorities.


MRC

Borealis showed stable net profits and higher sales in 2017

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Healthy integrated polyolefin margins and a strong profit contribution by Borouge have kept annual profits for Borealis (Vienna / Austria) above EUR 1 bn in 2017, as per company's press release.

The major polyolefins producer announced a net profit of EUR 1.1 bn, which was roughly in line with 2016’s result, with net sales climbing 4.8% to reach nearly EUR 7.6 bn.

For the fourth quarter, Borealis posted a net profit of EUR 247m, which was about 3% up on the same quarter in 2016. Net sales rose by 2.7% to EUR 1.85 bn.

The company announced several major projects last year. “During 2017 we continued to transition into a new phase of growth and global outreach with a veritable feast of major growth projects over the next few years,” said CEO Mark Garrett.

These include the signing of a preliminary agreement with Nova Chemicals (Calgary, Alberta / Canada) and Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA (Houston, Texas / USA) to build a joint light feed cracker and “Borstar” PE plant in Bayport, Texas.

Another investment in the US was the decision to build an automotive PP plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina. In Europe, Borealis announced the front end engineering design (FEED) of its proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant in Kallo / Belgium – as well as plans to debottleneck its PP assets.

With regard to joint venture Borouge, Borealis and Abu Dhabi National Oil (Adnoc, Abu Dhabi / UAE) signed a framework agreement in 2017 on two key projects, namely the construction of Borouge 4 and an additional PP plant (PP5) to be integrated within the Borouge 3 complex. In addition, the “Anteo” range of LLDPE packaging grades was launched.

Looking ahead, Garrett remains confident that 2018 will be a solid year. He says, “With upcoming significant global capacity expansions, we expect some softening of polyolefin prices in Europe but believe that improved performance in fertilisers will compensate the price pressure in polyolefins, at least to a certain extent.”
MRC