Merichem to supply LO-CAT sulfur recovery unit for Eni's Gela Refinery in Sicily

MOSCOW (MRC) – Merichem Company, a technology company that licenses processes to remove sulfur from liquid and vapor streams, has won an order to supply a LO-CAT Sulfur recovery unit to Eni’s Gela Refinery in Sicily, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Basic engineering is already complete, and equipment is on order. Completion of the installation is anticipated in the summer of 2018.

Eni’s Green Refinery Project at the Gela Refinery is part of Eni’s commitment to the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive which set challenging targets for reduced emissions by the end of 2020. The Gela Refinery will utilize Ecofining technology developed by Eni to produce green diesel.

The Ecofining unit is part of the conversion of the idle plant to a biorefinery that will produce green refinery products from renewable sources such as palm oil and used vegetable oils. As a byproduct, the conversion process produces small amounts of hydrogen sulfide that must be removed to meet strict environmental standards.

The LO-CAT process is a patented, wet scrubbing, liquid redox system that uses a chelated iron solution to convert hydrogen sulfide to innocuous, elemental sulfur. It does not use any toxic chemicals and does not produce any hazardous waste byproducts. The catalyst is continuously regenerated in the process, so less catalyst is consumed, and more money is saved. The produced solid sulfur “cake” may be used as a fertilizer and soil conditioner.

The LO-CAT process is applicable to all types of gas streams, including air, natural gas, CO2, amine acid gas, biogas, landfill gas, refinery fuel gas, etc. The liquid catalyst adapts easily to variations in flow and concentration. Flexible operation allows 100% turndown in gas flow and H2S concentrations. Units require minimal operator attention.

More than 200 installations around the world depend on the LO-CAT® process to remove hydrogen sulfide from gas streams. The process is reliable, efficient, and economical, and is licensed with guarantees of H2S removal efficiency and sulfur removal capacity.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced that its board of directors has approved a 17 percent increase in the company's quarterly common stock cash dividend, as per the company's press release.

The dividend increased from USD0.46 to USD0.54 per share of common stock on a quarterly basis and from USD1.84 to USD2.16 per share of common stock on an annual basis. The new dividend rate will be effective immediately.

"Increasing our dividend consistently is a key element of our strategy to maximize long-term value for our shareholders. Today's announcement marks the ninth consecutive year of dividend increases, and is both a reflection of our strong cash generation and confidence in the growth prospects for our business. During that period, the cash we have returned to shareholders through dividends has grown substantially to USD241 million in 2017, versus USD23 million in 2009," said Mark Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Rohr continued, "Last year, we committed to increasing our dividend by at least 50% over the three-year period through 2019 with a targeted payout of USD300 million or more in 2019. This increase is the second of three annual steps to meet that goal."

The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.54 per share on its Series A common stock, payable on May 10, 2018 to stockholders of record as of April 30, 2018.

We remind that, as MRC wrote before, Celanese will increase list and off-list selling prices for Ateva EVA polymers sold in the Americas. The price rise below will be effective 1 May, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow. Thus, the company's EVA prices will go up by USD0.05/lb for the said regions.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased in the first three months of 2018 by 2% year on year, totalling 20,500 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market fell to 6,800 tonnes from 8,000 tonnes in February. Local producers of profile-moulded products decreased their purchasing. Overall SPVC imports totalled 20,500 tonnes in January-March 2018, compared to 20,900 tonnes a year earlier, shipments of resin from the USA increased significantly.

The structure of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) imports into Ukraine by countries looked the following way over the stated period.

Last month's imports of US SPVC shrank to 5,500 tonnes from 6,000 tonnes in February. Export prices reached their top in the USA in January-February, and Ukrainian companies reduced their purchasing of North American resin. Imports of North American resin totalled 14,200 tonnes in the first three months of 2018 versus 3,500 tonnes a year earlier.

March imports of European PVC into the Ukrainian market were 1,300 tonnes, compared to 1,200 tonnes a month earlier. Such a low level of imports was caused by high export prices in Europe. Overall imports of European PVC to Ukraine totalled 5,100 tonnes over the stated period, compared to 12,300 tonnes a year earlier.

Since 1 March , the Cabinet of Ministers has introduced a temporary ban on purchasing of resin in Russia, the ban is valid until 31 December 2018. Imports of Russian resin were 1,200 tonnes in the first quarter of 2018 versus 5,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) into Ukraine in Q1 2018 were about 59,1 tonnes, which practically corresponded to the last year's figure. At the same time, a decrease in imports was seen in the segment of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), according to the DataScope.

Last month's PE imports decreased to 17,900 tonnes from 20,600 tons in February, local companies decreased their purchasing of high density polyethylene (HDPE). Overall PE imports reached 59,100 tonnes in January-March 2018, compared to 59,200 tonnes a year earlier, HDPE imports decreased because of higher domestic production, demand for EVA also went down.

Supplies of other ethylene polymers have grown.

The supply structure by PE grades looked the following way over the stated period. March imports of HDPE into Ukraine significantly decreased because of the temporary ban on import of HDPE from Russia (from 1 March to 31 December 2018).

March HDPE imports into the country were about 4,700 tonnes, compared with 8,200 tonnes in February. Overall HDPE imports reached 19,100 tonnes in the first three months of 2018, compared to 24,000 tonnes a year earlier. The most reduction in imports (-60%) accounted in the film HDPE, resulting from the resumption of local production.

March imports of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) grew to 6,400 tonnes against 6,100 tonnes a month earlier, some companies increased purchases of LDPE in Russia. Overall LDPE imports reached 19,400 tonnes over the stated period, up by 19% year on year.

March imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) into the country were about 5,700 tonnes, which was close to the previous month level. In general, January - March LLDPE imports into Ukraine increased to 17,300 tonnes compared with 14,900 tonnes year on year.
Local producers of film products accounted for the main increase in imports. Imports of other grades of polyethylene, including EVA for the period under review reached about 3,400 tonnes against 4,100 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) --- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company, has announced the appointment of Benita M. Casey as chief accounting officer, as per the company's press release.

Casey assumes this role from Kevin Oliver, who, in addition to his chief accounting officer role, successfully served as interim chief financial officer until Scott Richardson's appointment in February. As part of the company's commitment to developing employees, Oliver is relocating to assume the role of CFO of Celanese's European headquarters in Amsterdam.

Casey joined the company in January as vice president, finance and controller. In her expanded role, she will add global responsibility for SEC reporting, internal reporting, accounting, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

"Benita has been a great addition to the team and is the natural choice for the position of chief accounting officer," said Chairman and CEO Mark Rohr. "As we congratulate Benita on her new role, we also celebrate Kevin Oliver who is expanding his experience with an assignment in Amsterdam. We deeply appreciate Kevin's work - including stepping in as interim CFO - and look forward to supporting his ongoing career growth at Celanese."

Immediately prior to joining the company, Casey held the position of senior vice president internal audit with J.C. Penney Company and was vice president corporate audit with Dr Pepper Snapple Group from 2008 to 2014. She also held a number of positions of increasing responsibility over 18 years with the public accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers and during her tenure at PepsiCo. She holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Texas, Austin and is a Certified Public Accountant.

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation will increase list and off-list selling prices for Ateva EVA polymers sold in the Americas. The price rise below will be effective 1 May, 2018, or as contracts otherwise allow. Thus, the company's EVA prices will go up by USD0.05/lb for the said regions.

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.
MRC