Praxair, Linde deal receives unconditional antitrust clearance in Mexico

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde plc has announced that the proposed business combination between Praxair (PX) and Linde AG received unconditional antitrust clearance in Mexico, satisfying a closing condition, reported TheFly.

Linde plc is a public limited company formed on April 18, 2017, that will become the parent company of Praxair, Inc. and Linde AG upon the completion of the business combination.

Completion of the business combination remains subject to timely approval by requisite governmental regulators and authorities under applicable competition laws.

The business combination is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.

As MRC informed previously, in March 2018, the Engineering Division of The Linde Group (Linde) and Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) concluded a definitive agreement for the transfer of MCC’s Hydrodealkylation (HDA) technology to Linde.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell Gas Holdings, a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas behemoth Royal Dutch Shell, has completed the sale of its 15% shareholding in Malaysia LNG Tiga to the Sarawak State Financial Secretary for USD750m, as per WebFG.

Shell will net approximately USD640m as a result of the transaction that will also see SFS, an existing MLNG Tiga shareholder, boost its stake in MLNG Tiga to 25%.

Petronas, Nippon Oil, and Diamond Gas, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, are also major shareholders in MLNG Tiga, which operates out of Petronas' LNG complex in Bintulu.

Shell said the disposal was consistent with its strategy to "simplify its portfolio" and reshape Shell into a simpler, more resilient and focused company.

Following the expiry of the MLNG Satu and Dua joint venture agreements, MLNG Tiga was Shell's only remaining interest in the Petronas LNG complex.

"Completion of this sale demonstrates the clear momentum behind Shell's delivery of its global divestment programme," the company said on Wednesday.

"Shell continues to have a strong business in Malaysia and remains committed to the country."

As MRC wrote before, in late March 2018, Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. completed the sale of the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which held its 19.6% stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for $406 million, to a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation. The purchaser has also assumed debt of USD144 million as part of the transaction. The West Qurna 1 venture will continue to be operated by ExxonMobil. Shell’s other businesses in the country are not affected by this divestment.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects.
MRC

MOSCOW (Market Report) - May chemical production index in Russia grew by 0.3% compared to May's indicator a year earlier. This indicator increased by 2.5% in for the first five months, according to Rosstat.

According to the Federal Service of State Statistics of the Russian Federation, May output of basic chemicals increased by 0.3% compared to May of the previous year, the main increase accounted for mineral fertilizers.
In general, the output of basic chemicals increased by 2.5% in January-May of this year, while the output of some products reduced.

May production of ethylene in Russia reached 240,000 tonnes against 244,000 tonnes a month earlier. Russia's production of ethylene reached 1.267 mln in the first five months of the year , down 0.3% year on year.

The output of benzene in Russia last month reduced to 113,000 tonnes against 116,000 tonnes in April. Total production of benzene during the period under review reached 618,800 tonnes, up 3.3% year on year.

May production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) was 97,800 tonnes (100% of the main substance) versus 96,700 tonnes a month earlier, the increase in the output was a result of the gradual reaching of 100% loading after the scheduled shutdown at RusVinyl. Total production of caustic soda rose to 5.235 mln tonnes in January-May, down 0.7% year on year.

May production of mineral fertilizers (in terms of 100% of nutrients) reached 2.006 mln, compared to 1.990 mln tonnes in April. Total production of mineral fertilizers in Russia was about 10.028 mln tonnes in the first five months of this year, up 4.6% year on year. The most significant increase accounted for the production of nitrogen fertilizers, an increase to the previous year - 7.1%.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery operated by Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA in Curacao is working at minimum capacity while awaiting new crude shipments and as a tanker backlog in the country’s ports began to ease, four sources close to the facility told Reuters.

PDVSA’s operations this year have been mired by problems ranging from fast-declining crude production and poor refining due to a lack of equipment to obstacles for exporting oil amid port congestion and financial sanctions.

Only a few units at the Curacao refinery have been operating during U.S. producer ConocoPhillips’ moves to seize PDVSA’s inventories, cargoes and facilities following a USD2 billion arbitration award by the International Chamber of Commerce in April.

No shipments of Venezuelan oil have been sent to Isla since late April and none were planned this month, according to PDVSA internal trade documents seen by Reuters.

But new crude cargoes could be received by Isla through ship-to-ship, or STS, transfers that would add to its existing inventories and be processed in the coming weeks, the sources said.

"PDVSA has promised the refinery that a new cargo of crude will be delivered. It’s an agreement the parties have already reached," one of the sources said.

PDVSA did not respond to a request for comment.

The Aframax tanker Europride, loaded with Venezuelan crude, is about to sail to Curacao, according to Reuters vessel tracking data and a source from a shipping firm working with PDVSA.

It was not clear how much crude Isla is processing, but most units are out of service due to planned maintenance that started in the first quarter, the sources said. The refinery was to fully restart last month.

PDVSA began using seaborne transfers earlier this month to ease a bottleneck of tankers around its main oil ports that has affected crude exports to customers from the United States to China.

As of June 18, 75 tankers were idled in and around Venezuela’s two largest oil ports, Jose and the Paraguana Refining Center, 20 percent of which were waiting to load crude and refined products for export, according to Reuters data.

The delays affect about 17 million barrels for export, compared with over 24 million barrels earlier this month, indicating a slight easing in the port congestion that had raised the prospect of a force majeure declaration by Venezuela if barrels were not shipped.

PDVSA early this month requested customers not send new tankers to Venezuelan terminals until those already in line were loaded. The decision reduced the number of vessels waiting. Customers not receiving June contracted volumes expect to be compensated in the following months, according to traders.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC announced that it has signed an exclusive cooperation agreement with KEM ONE, Europe’s third-largest producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), to support the marketing and licensing of KEM ONE’s Suspension PolyVinyl Chloride (S-PVC) technology, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

PVC is a common plastic used in the construction of pipes, doors, windows, cable insulation and signage.
S-PVC is obtained through the polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer in dispersed water. In the last 10 years, KEM ONE has the largest market share in licensing of S-PVC in terms of capacity.

"We are delighted by the signature of this agreement with today’s leading PVC licensor and are pleased to propose to our clients a global portfolio of high quality technologies for the vinyls chain," Stan Knez, Senior Vice President Onshore Process Technology for TechnipFMC said.

TechnipFMC’s operating center in Lyon, France, a center of excellence for polyolefins, chemicals, petrochemicals and bio-sourced products, is managing the agreement and will support KEM ONE’s licensing efforts and prepare the Process Design Packages.

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 and gas monetization.

Kem One, a fully integrated vinyl production company, was established mid-2012 following the acquisition of Arkema's vinyl products division by the Klesch Group. The company employs 2,600 people at 22 manufacturing sites, primarily in Europe but also in Asia and North America. Europe’s third-largest producer of PVC with revenues in excess of one billion euros, Kem One continues to grow and build on its numerous strengths with a view to becoming market leader for integrated vinyl solutions.
MRC