Ineos businesses sold to Valtris Specialty Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following clearance from the European Commission, INEOS Enterprises has confirmed it has concluded the sale of INEOS Baleycourt and INEOS ChloroToluenes (ICT) to Valtris Specialty Chemicals for an undisclosed amount, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Valtris is owned by H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a global private equity investment firm with USD25 billion of equity capital under management.

INEOS ChloroToluenes is a leading producer of chlorinated toluenes and related derivatives used in coatings, flavor & fragrance, personal care and pharmaceutical applications. It has production facilities in Belgium and the Netherlands. INEOS Baleycourt produces high-quality products for the polymer additives, lubricant, renewable energy and food markets. It is based in northeast France. The combined businesses employ around 250 people and all will transfer as part of this deal.

Valtris is a leading global manufacturer of specialty chemicals primarily used as additives in the production and processing of plastics worldwide. The company serves diverse end markets including building products, packaging, consumer goods, transportation and oilfield additives. The acquisition of INEOS’ ChloroToluenes and Baleycourt businesses will create a global specialty chemicals business with a broad product portfolio, strong technical capabilities and world-class customer service.

Ashley Reed, CEO of INEOS Enterprises said, "We are proud of the accomplishments of INEOS ChloroToluenes and INEOS Baleycourt as part of the INEOS family. Both businesses have built industry leading businesses with reputations for product quality, service reliability and customer satisfaction. We are confident that the Valtris team are the right partners for both businesses and their employees."

Paul Angus, CEO of Valtris said, "INEOS ChloroToluenes and INEOS Baleycourt are highly strategic acquisitions with strong secular growth drivers that significantly enhance our product portfolio, expand our European presence and strengthen our technology and production capabilities. We are excited to offer our customers an even broader solution offering and pursue the attractive, new growth opportunities that the acquisitions create."

Keval Patel, Managing Director at H.I.G. said, "We are pleased to add ICT and BC to the Valtris platform. Both companies have achieved impressive growth and have capabilities that are highly complementary to Valtris. We look forward to continuing to support the Valtris team and are very excited about the future prospects of the business."

INEOS Baleycourt and INEOS ChloroToluenes are part of the INEOS Enterprises portfolio of business. INEOS Enterprises actively seeks market opportunities to acquire, develop and sell chemical businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Jinxi Petrochemical (part of PetroChina) has brought on-stream its styrene monomer (SM) unit following a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company has completed turnaround at the unit in end-July 2018. The unit remained under maintenance for around two months.

Located in Huludao in Liaoning province, China, the unit has a production capacity of 60,000 mt/year.

As MRC reported earlier, on 10 June 2018, Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company plans restarted its 620,000 mt/year SM plant at Zhenhai in eastern China's Zhejiang province, following planned maintenance. The plant was taken offline April 21, in line with planned maintenance at its upstream naphtha-fed steam cracker over the same period. The cracker is able to produce 1 million mt/year of ethylene, 550,000 mt/year of propylene and 180,000 mt/year of butadiene.

PetroChina has designated three refineries in northeast China - Dalian, Liaoyang and Jilin - as the main receiving points for the increased Russian supply. Liaoyang will begin taking more crude once a major upgrade is completed at the end of this year. The new volumes will flow as a result of Russia and China expanding the East Siberian Pacific Ocean pipeline that starts at Rosneft’s oilfields in East Siberia and enters China at border town of Mohe.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bangkok Polyethylene, a PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) subsidiary, is likely to undertake a planned shutdown at its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company has schedule to shut the plant in early-September 2018. The planned shutdown is expected to remain in force for around two weeks.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, PTT started commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant (MLLDPE) at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018.

Previously, PTT had a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinochem Energy, a unit of China’s state-owned Sinochem Group, has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of about USD2 billion, as the group seeks to raise capital amid a shift to higher-value businesses, including petrochemicals production, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sinochem Energy operates the group’s oil and petroleum products trading, refining, storage and logistics, as well as distribution and retail businesses, but not its struggling upstream business that includes overseas oil and gas production.

Reuters reported in April that the group had hired seven banks for the listing of its key oil assets that was expected to raise about USD2 billion.

The proposed float comes amid a push by Beijing to inject new life into bloated state-owned enterprises by encouraging private capital investment in such enterprises.

China Tower, the world’s largest telecoms tower operator, for example, is raising up to USD8.7 billion in its Hong Kong listing. The state-owned firm has secured USD1.4 billion from 10 cornerstone investors.

Beijing is also looking to create bigger, stronger state firms, and build globally competitive enterprises.

Sinochem Group is set to merge with state-owned ChemChina, which in 2016 agreed to buy Swiss pesticides and seeds group Syngenta for USD43 billion.

The Sinochem-ChemChina deal will create the world’s biggest industrial chemicals firm worth around USD120 billion, to be led by Sinochem Chairman Frank Ning.

Sinochem Energy’s IPO plans have been pushed ahead by Ning, who joined its parent group in early 2016 from food group COFCO, where he was well known for aggressive restructuring and M&A.

Under his leadership, several Sinochem units have been given more leeway in their expansion plans and more support for tapping capital markets for fundraising.

Hit by low oil prices over the last few years, Beijing-based Sinochem Group has aimed to shift from exploration and production to value-added refining and retailing businesses.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Venezuelan-run 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Isla refinery in Curacao is down after an operational problem triggered a blackout, refinery spokesman Earl Balborda said, adding he expected "progress" to reactivate operations this week, reported Reuters.

Isla was only producing some 50,000 bpd before a problem at the unit that supplies the refinery with compressed air, water and power, Balborda added. The refinery has been working far below capacity due to insufficient deliveries of crude from Venezuela, where oil production has fallen.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA did not respond to a request for comment.

As MRC informed before, Curacao’s Isla refinery is considering offers from 15 companies interested in temporarily operating the 335,000-barrel-per-day facility to replace the current operator, Venezuela’s ailing PDVSA state oil company, the refinery and the Curacao government said in a joint statement in late July 2018.
MRC