Celanese raised VAM prices in Asia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has increased list and off-list selling prices for the following acetyl intermediate product, as per the company's press release.

The price increases below was effective 23 March, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow, and were incremental to any previously announced increases: CNY200/mt for China and USD50/mt for Asia (outside of China).

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation last raised its list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Asia on 9 March 2017.

Thus, VAM prices went up, as follows:

- by Rb200/mt - for China;
- by USD50/mt - for Asia outside China.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco finalised a deal on Wednesday with Malaysian state energy company Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) to invest in a refinery project off Malaysia, reported Reuters.

Saudi oil giant Aramco agreed in February last year to buy a USD7 billion stake in Petronas's Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project, but the issue was then delayed by "technical issues".

RAPID is a USD27 billion project located between the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea, conduits for Middle East oil and gas bound for China, Japan and South Korea.

The two companies said in a statement that they signed the deal on Wednesday but did not confirm the value of Aramco's investment.

Saudi Aramco will supply 50 percent of the refinery's crude oil with an option of increasing it to 70 percent, the statement said.

The development will contain a 300,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery and a petrochemical complex with a capacity of 7.7 million metric tonnes a year. Refinery operations are set to begin in 2019, with petrochemical operations to follow 6-12 months afterwards.

As MRC informed before, in eary October 2017, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PCG) said it had sold 50% of a polymers unit to Saudi Aramco’s wholly owned subsidiary, Aramco Overseas Holdings Cooperatief U.A. for USD900 million. The sale, which was done at cost, was prompted by the desire to share project risk amid plans for Saudi Aramco to invest USD7 billion into a Petronas oil refinery and petrochemical project in Malaysia’s southern state of Johor.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
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MOSCOW (MRC) — TechnipFMC announced that it has completed the acquisition of Epicerol® technology from Solvay SA. The technology converts glycerol to high purity epichlorohydrin (ECH) for use in coatings, composites and adhesive applications in various industries, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Epicerol® offers many advantages compared to the production of ECH from propylene including optimal integration in vinyls facilities for feedstock and recycles. It reduces energy, water and chlorine consumption and minimizes chlorinated by-products.

The technology was developed by Solvay and has been successfully implemented and operated in plants in Europe and Asia, with a proven capacity of 100 Mtpy. Stan Knez, Senior Vice President, Onshore Process Technology for TechnipFMC, stated: “This technology will be of interest to downstream users who are interested in a cost-effective ECH production route while taking advantage of an abundant renewable feedstock to reduce their carbon footprint. Adding this technology is another step in our strategy to expand and differentiate our onshore technology portfolio."

TechnipFMC’s operating center in Lyon, France, a center of excellence for polyolefins, chemicals, petrochemicals and bio-sourced products, will license the Epicerol® technology.

TechnipFMC Process Technology is a global network of centers which look after the company’s expanding portfolio of onshore process technologies in petrochemicals, refining, hydrogen and syngas, polymers, gas monetization and renewables.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- M&G USA Corp. secured a Delaware bankruptcy court go-ahead Wednesday for the more than USD1.1 billion sale of its unfinished Texas chemical plant, after Mexico's export-import bank lost a bid for a hold on part of the proceeds pending resolution of fraud claims, as per Hbmedia.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan L. Shannon also approved a USD57.6 million new debtor-in-possession loan for the business, days ahead of the expiration of its original bankruptcy financing agreement.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced that it has signed two new agreements, with Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. of Japan and SCG Chemicals of Thailand, for a combined amount of up to 1.5 million tons of Naphtha per year, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These deals follow the recent announcement from ADNOC that it had signed a similar three-year agreement with Malaysia’s Lotte Chemical Titan (LCT), one of the largest polyolefin producers in South East Asia, for the sale of up to 1 million tons per year of naphtha.

Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, Director, Marketing, Sales and Trading at ADNOC, said: "As part of ADNOC’s 2030 growth strategy, we are prioritizing the fast-growing markets of Asia, where the demand for refined and petrochemical products is accelerating. These latest long-term deals, yet again, demonstrate how ADNOC is committed to ensuring reliable and secure access to important refined and petrochemical products, as part of mutually beneficial partnerships that create sustainable value."

Both sales agreements were concluded during visits by ADNOC’s Marketing, Sales and Trading Directorate to customers in Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

ADNOC produces more than 12.5 million tons per annum of naphtha, which can be used as a feedstock to produce a variety of petrochemical based products, including plastics. The naphtha is converted to olefins and then further converted to polyolefin resins. The products produced end up in applications including light-weight automotive components, essential utility piping and cable insulation, durable goods, a range of every-day plastics, detergent, CDs, milk bottles and food packaging.
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