Borealis to acquire Austrian plastics recycling company Ecoplast

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced that it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH, an Austrian plastics recycler, as per the company's press release.

This transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Based in Wildon, Austria, Ecoplast processes around 35 000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic waste from households and industrial consumers every year, turning them into high-quality LDPE and HDPE recyclates, primarily but not exclusively for the plastic film market.

"It is a logical next step for us to expand our mechanical recycling capabilities, which are key to our sustainability and circular economy efforts. Borealis wants to be a provider for circular economy plastic solutions and we see Ecoplast as an important complement to mtm in Germany. mtm’s focus is on rigid, injection moulding solutions. Ecoplast’s core competence is recycling flexibles from highly contaminated household and commercial waste into a product that is suitable for thin film production," says Borealis Chief Executive Alfred Stern.

As MRC informed earlier, in March 2018, Borealis and United Chemical Company LLP (UCC) signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of a world-scale polyethylene project, integrated with an ethane cracker, in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed to cooperate on a 500 ktpa polypropylene project that is currently being implemented by Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund and is under construction.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade will respond to a request from the Nghi Son oil refinery to export fuels such as gasoline and diesel "soon", reported Reuters with reference to a statement.

Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical LLC, the owner of a 200,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in northern Vietnam, has requested to export oil products in what would be a first for the country, a net importer of oil, Reuters reported last week.

"The refinery has the right to export its oil products if they meet standards requirements and in accordance with the ministry’s plan," it said in an emailed statement, without giving a timeframe for a response to the request.

Nghi Son, the country’s second refinery, made the request to export fuels as local traders and consumers have been unable to absorb fuel sales from the plant as it ramps up toward commercial operations in November.

Most local buyers have already procured supplies under long-term contracts, limiting what they can take from the plant.

Nghi Son, and the 130 Mbpd Dung Quat refinery that started production in 2009, are expected to jointly meet about 70 percent of the country’s refined oil product demand.

Nghi Son is located 260 km (160 miles) south of Hanoi.

The USD9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum 25.1 percent by PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

As MRC informed previously, Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical started up on Feb. 28, 2018. The USD9 billion plant, co-owned by Kuwait Petroleum Europe BV and Japanese firms Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemicals , is designed to help Vietnam cope with a shortage of refined oil products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Diversified Engineering & Plastics LLC is adding new equipment and making improvements to its 70,000-square-foot facility in Jackson, Mich, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility — known as "Building 3" by the injection molder — is getting a new roof. In addition, employee restrooms on the shop floor will be remodeled as well as the production office, which houses supervisors and process technicians, according to Nick Quillen, DEP's general manager who also oversees business development.

"Those are the big projects, so a complete remodel," he said in an Aug. 8 phone interview. "Basically, demoing the existing space and starting new."

Office space near the front of the facility will also get a slight remodel, with the company opting for a more open and collaborative work environment in lieu of "lots of walls" and closed off areas, Quillen explained.

"Big, open spaces — that's the vision," he said. "It's kind of a work in progress. We've got some drawings and designs, but it's not anywhere close to being complete."

Quillen said the goal is to have the work completed within the next year. He estimated the company's investment in the improvements to be around USD1 million.

At the start of 2018, DEP purchased three new robots as well as some conveying and auxiliary equipment that are currently up and running in Building 3. The three-axis robots are from Yushin America Inc.

"The idea is just so a lot of our operators are focused more on the quality of a part versus moving parts around," Quillen said of the automation equipment.

Within the next six months, DEP also plans to add a total of five workers. Two of which — an engineering manager and a process technician — have already been hired.

And in the next two years, Quillen said the company plans to add an additional 10 workers, depending on overall growth.

"We're constantly adding, whether it's molding operators or higher level technical people, so really the goal is to continue hiring, looking for people who are going to work on the manufacturing floor, but also have the technical skills," he said.

DEP, which primarily serves suppliers to the automotive and heavy truck industries, is also eyeing growth in other markets, such as consumer products, as it looks to diversify its customer base. The company's overall business strategy includes bringing on a minimum of three new customers in the next two years.

Quillen said the company is already ahead of schedule with that goal and is set to work with a new customer in the automotive and aerospace industries early next year.

And in September, DEP is starting production on a program for a part that will ship to a Tier 1 supplier and end up on the 2019 Ford Ranger midsize pickup.

"Sales have been very steady and very good, and 2019 is looking even brighter with our new supplier," Quillen said. "It's a lengthy process to bring on new suppliers, but we're feeling really positive about the outlook."

DEP employs 75 workers and operates out of two other facilities at the Jackson site: a roughly 65,000-square-foot building and an adjacent 15,000-square-foot building.

The company joined Plastics News' annual listing of North American injection molders this year, ranking No. 287 and reporting sales of USD15 million in 2017.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese state-run oil and chemicals group Sinochem is in advanced talks to transfer its 33.6 percent stake in a debt-laden refinery to state giant PetroChina, part of Sinochem’s plan to shed non-core assets ahead of a USD2 billion listing of its energy arm, reported Reuters with reference to people briefed on the matter.

The move is in line with a transformational strategy pushed by Sinochem chairman Ning Gaoning to zero in on core assets as it finalizes a merger with ChemChina that will create the world’s biggest industrial chemicals firm, worth around USD120 billion.

It isn’t yet clear what the valuation of the stake in the export-focused 200,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) West Pacific Petrochemical Corp (WEPEC) refinery will be, the people said.

Two sources, who have knowledge of WEPEC’s finances, estimated the refinery’s debt exceeded assets of around 10 billion yuan (USD1.45 billion) by nearly 50 percent at end-2017, due to deep losses in 2008 and 2014, even after refining margins improved over the past few years.

PetroChina has a stake of about 28 percent in WEPEC.

Though advanced, the talks on a deal may still take months or longer to reach a conclusion, they said, declined to be named as the discussions were not public. Majority control of WEPEC could help PetroChina consolidate its dominance in the northeast China fuel market and pave the way for future plant upgrades.

Both Sinochem and PetroChina declined to comment.

"Sinochem has two main reasons to leave (WEPEC) - the plant’s poor balance sheet, which is not going to help Sinochem’s (energy unit) IPO," one person said. "Despite being its single-largest shareholder in the refinery, Sinochem does not have a domestic offtake deal to manage its share of fuel production, leaving it primarily as a financial investor."

PetroChina manages and operates WEPEC, based in northeastern port city Dalian. As well as Sinochem, other stakeholders include France’s Total, with 22.4 percent, and local firms backed by the Dalian government.

Total itself previously sought to exit WEPEC after nearly two decades of investment, according to people familiar with the matter, and industry sources close to Total said the French firm still intends to pull out. A Total official in Beijing couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

In exchange for its exit, Sinochem has asked for a role as WEPEC’s agent for crude oil imports and refined fuel exports under a 10-year deal, according to four people briefed on the talks.

Sinochem’s plan comes with private chemicals giant Hengli Group set to start up a mega-refinery and petrochemical complex also in Dalian later this year. That facility, costing some USD10 billion, consists of a giant 400,000-bpd crude oil processor and a 1 million tonne-per-year ethylene plant.

The Hengli venture, to be followed by a similar integrated complex being built by private group Zhejiang Rongsheng Group on the east coast, is set to shake up the country’s refining industry, long-dominated by state giants like PetroChina.

Reflecting the changing landscape, Sinochem last January teamed up with Hengli to procure crude oil and marketing refined fuel for the private upstart. It also plans to expand its fully owned Quanzhou refinery in south China, a top source of profits over the past two years.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said his administration will invest more than USD11 billion to boost refining capacity in order to curb growing fuel imports, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Lopez Obrador, who will take office on Dec. 1, told reporters his government plans to invest USD2.6 billion to modernize existing domestic refineries owned and operated by national oil company Pemex and spend another USD8.4 billion to build a new one within three years.

The USD8.4-billion figure is higher than a USD6 billion estimate provided by a key energy advisor during the campaign.

Lopez Obrador, set to become Mexico’s first leftist president in decades, did not detail how the projects would be financed or whether private capital would be involved, but he has often said he will not raise taxes or grow government debt.

Mexico is among Latin America’s largest crude exporters but is also the biggest importer of U.S. refined products. The country’s next president has pledged to lift refining capacity, which he says has declined due to corruption and neglect.

Pemex, formally known as Petroleos Mexicanos, has six domestic refineries with a total processing capacity of some 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), but the facilities are only operating at about 40 percent of capacity so far this year. Meanwhile, gasoline and diesel imports have sky-rocketed in recent months amid planned and unplanned refinery stoppages.

Pemex has posted losses in its refining division for years but Lopez Obrador aims to boost crude processing enough to halt imports within three years.

Lopez Obrador also said he plans to invest another $4 billion to drill new onshore and shallow-water oil wells in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapas.

Pemex production has consistently declined in recent years to fall below 2 million bpd after hitting peak output of 3.4 million bpd in 2004.

President Enrique Pena Nieto passed a reform to open up Mexico’s state-run energy industry to private producers, which has led to a series of competitive auctions that have awarded more than 100 oil exploration and production contracts.
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