Andeavor to run refineries up to 96 pct combined capacity in Q1

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Independent refiner Andeavor said on Friday it plans to run its 10 U.S. refineries up to 96 percent of their combined capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter of 2018, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company also said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts that its refineries ran at 97 percent of their combined crude oil throughput capacity in the fourth quarter of 2017. For all of 2017, the refineries operated at 95 percent of combined throughput.

Andeavor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Goff said the company has a heavy overhaul schedule for 2018. "We are in the final stages of completing a turnaround at Los Angeles that we started some time ago, and we are doing a turnaround at Martinez," Goff said. "So we have a very heavy turnaround year but everything is going well."

Andeavor is integrating refineries into a single plant in Carson and Wilmington, California, adjacent industrial suburbs of Los Angeles. The 269,200 bpd Carson refinery and the 94,900 bpd Wilmington refinery adjoin each other.

Andeavor Chief Financial Officer Steven Sterin said the heavy schedule for refinery maintenance would continue into 2019, in part to prepare for a change in marine fuel formulation to lower sulfur content from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent. "We are managing our turnarounds to have very, very little turnarounds in 2020," Sterin said. "So our '18 and '19 plans include preparation for being able to supply the needs of the market in 2020 for the diesel fuel that we expect to produce."

Goff said Andeavor sees no alternative to its stymied proposal to build a rail-to-marine crude oil terminal that would transfer 11 million barrels of oil a month from trains to tankers at the Port of Vancouver, Washington. Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, on Jan. 31 approved a state board's recommendation denying Andeavor a permit to build the Vancouver Energy Center.

"We continue to scour all ideas and all that but we don't have any immediate plans to do anything differently," Goff said. "The Vancouver Energy project was very attractive primarily because it allows you to take crude produced in the United States with a lower carbon intensity of other crudes that are run by the industry on the West Coast and run those crudes and basically improve the environmental footprint of the fuels that we supply on the West Coast," he said.

In December, Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council unanimously recommended denying Andeavor and partner Savage Cos a permit to build the $210 million center, citing risk of injury to workers and damage to the environment if the center went into operation. Andeavor took a $40 million asset impairment charge in the fourth quarter related to the project.
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Akzo Nobel commissions new powder coatings facility near Mumbai

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s fourth largest paint company, Akzo Nobel India Limited commissioned its new powder coatings facility at Thane (near Mumbai, Maharashtra), as per Indiainfoline.

The company invested Rs65cr in the facility and the same was inaugurated by CEO Thierry Vanlancker. Akzo announced this to the stock exchanges on February 15, 2018.

The powder coatings facility in Thane is intended to boost Akzo’s access to markets in North and West India. It will complement the existing plant in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and will have additional lines in bond metallic powder and pipe and re-bar coatings.

A majority of the company’s revenues comes from industrial coatings while the remainder is from decorative paints. Within decorative coatings, it has the famous “Dulux” brand. Within industrial coatings, it has marine coatings, powder coatings, metal coatings, vehicle refinish and specialty coatings in its product portfolio. The recent quarterly results (Q3FY18) clearly reflected pressure on operating margins of ANIL due to input cost inflation and volatile exchange rate. Future safeguarding of operating margins will require the company to take price hikes. Given the improving demand environment, we feel that this should not be very difficult. Economic revival and focus on housing segment will bring volume growth back to double digit levels in Q4FY18.

Akzo Nobel India Ltd is currently trading at Rs1,805, up by Rs1.75 or 0.1% from its previous closing of Rs1,803.25 on the BSE.

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Deloitte Global 2018 chemical industry mergers and acquisitions outlook

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global chemical mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in 2018 is expected to remain strong, as higher valuations continue to be mitigated by improving global economic conditions, continued inexpensive financing, and an appetite amongst industry participants for growth and transformative M&A transactions, according to Deloitte Global's 2018 chemical industry mergers and acquisitions outlook, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A multitude of mega-deals which resulted in record levels of deal value in 2015 and 2016 were not seen in 2017 (46.4 USD billions). Deal volumes on the other hand were just as strong in 2017 with 637 transactions. "There may be a slight decline in deal volume in 2018 as the dispositions from the mega-deals have subsided, but 2018 is expected to be another robust M&A year in the chemical industry," said Dan Schweller, Deloitte Global M&A leader for the Chemicals & Specialty Materials Sector. "Deal flow remains strong and there remains great interest in turning to M&A to further drive shareholder returns."

In the US, historic tax reform measures that have cut tax rates and increased cash repatriation from international locations may serve to support M&A activity. "US corporate taxpayers will likely benefit from having more cash available to invest in improving their shareholders' value—this could result in additional capital expenditures, increasing buybacks or dividends, or in pursuing M&A activity," said Dan Schweller.

During 2017, the number of USD1 billion deals maintained their volume (number of transactions) but notably failed to deliver the mega-deal values established in prior years, falling below the deal values achieved in both 2015 and 2016. It is not expected that 2018 will deliver such deal values either as many sectors have reached a point where regulatory constraints may challenge further consolidation at a large scale.

However, the rise in the M&A market of state-owned oil and gas enterprises moving downstream, rising feedstock prices, and pressure on margins is likely to propel scale and synergy-driven M&A plays as well as portfolio rebalancing amongst traditional commodity chemical players. Consolidation is also likely to continue in more fragmented sectors of specialty chemicals such as the adhesives and sealants sub-sectors. Meanwhile, strong M&A appetites of large players, competition regulator-mandated divestitures, and portfolio realignment resulting from past mega-deals drive M&A transactions.

Activist investors continue to make their presence known in the industry, making a significant impact on the chemical M&A market, both in terms of shaping deals as well as blocking deals from happening. They are expected to continue pressuring companies to focus on core competencies to achieve additional returns on top of historically high valuations, further fueling M&A activity in 2018.
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Yara International opens the worlds largest Diesel Exhaust Fluid plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yara International has opened the world's largest DEF (diesel exhaust fluid) plant in Brunsbuttel, Germany, under the brand-name AdBlue, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

DEF is a fluid used to remove harmful NOx emissions from diesel engines and Yara is the global leading producer of DEF.

“AdBlue is a fluid used to remove harmful NOx emissions from diesel engines. This project is in line with our mission to protect the planet, and a response to the need for clean air. Yara Brunsbuttel, one of five Yara AdBlue plants worldwide, now has the capacity to remove approximately half a million tons of NOx. This equals the entire NOx emissions from the road transport sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland combined,” says Svein Tore Holsether, President & CEO.

The new production capacity includes a new deep sea ship loading facility, a fully automated truck loading station operating 24/7 with a digitalized unmanned gate and a 17,500 m3 AdBlue tank. This is the world’s largest storage tank for AdBlue. AdBlue is a high quality urea solution that is injected into the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst on diesel vehicles and machinery, turning dangerous NOx emissions into harmless water vapor and nitrogen. It allows truck and car drivers to meet the stringent European Union and US restrictions on exhaust gas emissions.

The increased need for AdBlue in the segment of heavy duty vehicles and passenger cars in Europe and the US makes a reliable supply and on-time delivery crucial for our customers. We are committed to answering their needs. The new facilities confirm Yara’s position as the leading and reliable AdBlue supplier,” says Holsether.

The 28 million Euro investment project was executed according to plan, in less than three years, within budget, and with no safety incidents.

“This has been a true collaboration project involving many Yara segments and more than 50 different external companies. The successful completion means that we from Yara Brunsbuttel now can ensure reliable and continuous supply of AdBlue to Europe and the US. Our fully automated and flexible facility means that customers can get whatever volume and concentration, at any time,” says Julia Lindland, Managing Director Yara Brunsbuttel GmbH.

"With annual DEF demand forecasted to top 1.7 billion gallons by 2026, our ongoing partnership with Yara enables us to offer customers Air1, the highest quality DEF on the market," explains Andy Austin, SVP of Specialty Products for Mansfield Energy. "The completion of this expansive plant demonstrates Yara's ongoing commitment to meet our customers' growing demand across North America."

In 2010, the EPA passed the Clean Air Act which made heavy duty diesel engines comply with stringent emission regulations to reduce NOx emissions. The most efficient way to meet these regulations is to use SCR technology which requires DEF as the operating fluid. Boosting the demand for DEF, virtually all new diesel engines including semi-trucks, off road machinery, boats and an increasing number of diesel passenger cars, will use SCR technology.
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Tasnee plans to complete maintenance at PP plant in Al-Jubail

MOSCOW (MRC) -- National Industrialization Company (Tasnee) is likely to resume operations at its polypropylene (PP) plant in Al-Jubail, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Saudi Arabia informed that the company has planned to turnaround in end-February 2018. The plant was taken off-line for maintenance on February 10, 2018.

Located at Al-Jubail in Saudi Arabia, the plant has a production capacity of 720,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, in 2013, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Tasnee announced the signing of an agreement to establish a masterbatches joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Within the framework of the agreement, through its 100% subsidiary Rowad National Plastic Company Ltd., Tasnee acquired a 40% stake in Clariant’s masterbatches operations in the country, already operating under the name Clariant Masterbatches (Saudi Arabia) Ltd.

Headquartered in Riyadh, Tasnee is primarily engaged in petrochemical, chemical and industrial projects. The
company produces petrochemical products, including polypropylene, polyethylene and acrylic acid, as well as other downstream petrochemical products.
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