Valero signs long-term agreements to supply refined products to northern Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Marketing and Supply de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Valero Energy Corporation, has announced that it has signed long-term agreements to directly supply refined products into northern Mexico from its Corpus Christi and Three Rivers, Texas, refineries via a pipeline and terminal expansion in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, recently announced by NuStar Energy, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This transaction enhances Valero’s existing infrastructure for supplying northern Mexico and improves the efficiency of fuel delivery into this area. The company expects to begin delivering products through this expanded facility by year-end. "This agreement is another step in our strategy to extend Valero’s supply chain," said Gary Simmons, Senior Vice President Marketing & Supply. "This transaction combined with our agreements to supply central Mexico demonstrates our commitment to efficiently supply gasoline and diesel to the growing Mexican markets and will further strengthen our distribution presence, including branded sales."

In August 2017, Valero announced a long-term agreement with IEnova to import refined products at the new Port of Veracruz and distribute into central Mexico. IEnova won the Port of Veracruz’s bid for a 20-year concession to build and operate a new terminal with 1.4 million barrels of storage capacity, which has since expanded to 2.1 million barrels.

In addition, IEnova is building two inland storage terminals strategically located near Puebla and Mexico City that will be supplied by rail. Valero has exclusive use of all three terminals. IEnova expects the Veracruz terminal to start operations by the end of second-quarter 2019, with the inland terminals coming online in third-quarter 2019.

As MRC reported before, in early May 2018, CB&I has announced that its CDAlky technology had been selected by Valero Refining - New Orleans LLC for its St. Charles Alkylation Project located in Norco, Louisiana
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel reported a larger-than-expected 28 percent drop in first-quarter core profit, as sales in the marine and oil industry continued to decline, as per Reuters.

Akzo reported adjusted operating income of 149 million euros (USD182 million) for the first three months of the year, while analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a result of 181 million euros.

The results excluded Akzo’s speciality chemicals unit, which the maker of Dulux paints last month agreed to sell for 10.1 billion euros to a group of buyers led by Carlyle Group.

Akzo Nobel N.V., trading as AkzoNobel, is a Dutch multinational, active in the fields of decorative paints, performance coatings and specialty chemicals. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company has activities in more than 80 countries, and employs approximately 55,000 people.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invista Performance Technologies (IPT) has announced the success of its latest P8 PTA technology deployed on Jiaxing Petrochemical’s second PTA Line, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Started up in record time in December 2017, the plant is now consistently operating at 100 percent design rate with a variable cost performance better than the target, firmly establishing Jiaxing Petrochemical’s second PTA Line as the global leader in terms of raw material and utility consumptions.

"It is a proud moment for IPT, seeing our P8 PTA technology demonstrate the productivity and variable cost performance that we promised to the market and our loyal customer, Jiaxing," Mike Pickens, President of Invista Performance Technologies said. This would not have been possible without the excellent teamwork and meticulous efforts put in by Jiaxing Petrochemicals and IPT teams."

Mr. Xu, President of Tongkun Group, is appreciative of the performance of Jiaxing Petrochemical’s second PTA line. He said, "The second PTA line is running well, and we look forward to continued support from Invista for further optimization of the plant. This represents yet another major achievement by IPT in the innovative development and successful deployment of industry-leading PTA technologies aimed at creating a competitive advantage for our global customers.

Invista’s latest P8 PTA technology is available as a license package from INVISTA Performance Technologies. For more information, please visitwww.ipt.invista.com.

As MRC wrote previously, Invista successfully started up a new 215,000-t/y hexamethylene diamine (HMD) facility at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in China.

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, Invista's global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia's state energy firm PT Pertamina will consider looking for a partner to upgrade its Balikpapan refinery in East Kalimantan, acting Chief Executive Nicke Widyawati said, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We are doing it ourselves for now, but along the way, we are open to the option of partnering," Widyawati told reporters, adding that a few foreign companies have expressed interest.

Pertamina had started upgrading the refinery last year and hopes to finish construction by 2021.

As MRC reported earlier, in 2016, PT Pertamina and Russia’s Rosneft OAO signed a cooperation agreement that includes a plan to build a new oil refinery in the Southeast Asian nation.

Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation based in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin (established 1961) and Permina (established 1957). Pertamina is the world's largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fair trade regulator CCI has approved the German giant Bayer’s proposed USD66 billion acquisition of U.S.-based biotech firm Monsanto, subject to certain modifications to the long-pending deal, reported Bloomberg.

The approval to the deal, announced in September 2016, assumes significance in the wake of Monsanto facing opposition from various quarters within India over promotion of genetically modified crops, as also over royalty and patent issues.

The clearance from the Competition Commission of India is one of the several regulatory approvals required by Bayer in various countries to close the deal.

Announcing its approval last week, the CCI tweeted that it has cleared "acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer AG, subject to compliance of certain modifications". Mergers and acquisitions beyond a certain threshold require approval of the CCI.

India is one of the 30 countries whose approval is needed for the merger of worldwide operations of the two companies. The major approvals still required are from the U.S. Department of Justice as also regulators in Canada and Mexico.

After getting the CCI nod, Bayer said in a statement that the CCI has conditionally approved its proposed acquisition of Monsanto.

The acquisition of Monsanto will create a global leader in agriculture with a broad portfolio, providing superior product offerings and tailor-made solutions to farmers across all crops, in all geographies, the German chemical and pharma firm said.

In January, CCI had launched a public consultation process to determine whether the merger between the global giants, to create the world’s largest seeds and pesticide firm, will have any adverse impact on competition in India.

In India, both entities have presence in production and sale of vegetable seeds, cotton seeds as well as in production and sale of non-selective herbicides, according to that public notice.

Both companies have presence in India, with the U.S. firm selling genetically modified cotton seeds in the country for more than a decade.

The Bayer group is present in India since 1896 and it has two divisions - crop science and pharmaceuticals. The group has one listed entity in India - Bayer CropScience Ltd that posted a revenue from operation of nearly Rs 3,000 crore last fiscal.

Bayer India had an annual revenue of 600 million euros (about Rs 4,700 crore) in 2017, Richard van der Merwe, the senior Bayer representative, South Asia, had said in January this year.

Monsanto would add seed business to Bayer’s already significant crop science and pharmaceutical business in India.

As MRC informed before, in the second half of March 2018, Bayer received the green light from the EU to buy Monsanto, after promising to sell off substantial parts of its business, clearing a major hurdle to the last of a trio of mega-mergers consolidating the global agrochemical industry.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech polymer materials. As an innovation company, it sets trends in research-intensive areas. Bayer's products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen.
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