Vietnamese Petrolimex proposes halt to JXTG-backed project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam’s top fuel importer and distributor Petrolimex proposes to halt a nearly USD5 billion petrochemical project, jointly developed by Japan’s JXTG Holdings, to "focus resources on executing other projects", a document reviewed by Reuters showed.

Work at the proposed 200,000-barrels-per-day Nam Van Phong Refinery and Petrochemical Complex costing USD4.4 billion-USD4.8 billion should stop, Petrolimex suggested at a meeting with senior government officials last week, the document showed.

Officials from the finance and investment ministries found it logical to halt the project given its lack of competitiveness, concerns about oversupply and uncertainty over tax support from the government, local media reported.

Any halt to the project needs approval from the prime minister or the government.

A Petrolimex spokesman said he had forwarded Reuters’ questions to top officials and will respond once he has answers. The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which holds a majority stake in the company, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

A spokesman for JXTG, which bought an 8 percent stake in Petrolimex in 2016 and signed a memorandum of understanding to work on the Nam Van Phong Refinery in 2014, said the company was aware of media reports but had not heard of any such decision from Petrolimex.

As far as JXTG is concerned, the project is still ongoing, said the spokesman, who declined to be named.

Two of Vietnam’s existing oil refineries, in full capacity, can meet up to 70-80 percent of domestic demand, while imported products enjoy tax cuts from Vietnam’s several trade agreements in the region.

Petrolimex announced plans to build the complex in 2011.

As MRC informed before, late this summer, Huntsman opened a multi-purpose facility at the Amata Vietnam Industrial Park, near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The site is a greenfield investment, will house Huntsman's Polyurethanes and Advanced Materials businesses, and comprises manufacturing, R&D capabilities, a technical service center, warehouse and distribution space, and a commercial office.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total Lubricants (UK) has announced a new partnership with Kubota UK, manufacturer of industrial engines and machines for agricultural, groundcare and construction equipment, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under the long-term agreement, Total has developed a range of approved lubricant and grease products to meet the specifications of Kubota-branded equipment.

Total will also provide ongoing technical, sales and marketing support to Kubota across its nationwide network of UK and ROI dealers.

French oil and gas major Total has made a final investment decision to expand its Texas Bayport Polymers joint venture to double polyethylene production capacity to around 1.1 million tonnes a year.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- The powertrain unit of automotive parts supplier Magna International Inc. is selling its global fluid pressure and controls (FP&C) business to Hanon Systems, a South Korea-based global supplier of thermal and energy management systems for USD1.23 billion, said Canplastics.

Magna’s global FP&C business specializes in the design, manufacture and supply of mechanical and electronic pumps, electronic cooling fans, and other components. The business reported sales of USD1.4 billion in 2017.

The business’s approximately 4,200 workers across 10 facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia will transition to Hanon Systems.

"With this transaction, Magna’s powertrain business will continue to focus on bringing power to the wheels as a full-system supplier of transmission and other driveline-related systems, including electrified versions," Aurora, Ont.-based Magna said in a statement.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In a move that adds six manufacturing locations to its operations, packaging supplier Rohrer Corp. has acquired retail packaging manufacturer Transparent Container for an undisclosed amount, said Canplastics.

Headquartered in Addison, Ill., Transparent Container designs and manufactures blister and club packaging, clamshells, and printed plastic and paperboard folding cartons.

"This acquisition provides [us] with additional thermoforming capacity, expanded product range, and the largest combination run program for printed and thermoformed visual packaging products in the world, all under Rohrer’s ezCombo program," Rohrer said in a statement.

Rohrer is headquartered in Wadsworth, Ohio; the company was founded in 1973. Transparent Container’s chairman Dan Greiwe and president Scott Greiwe will be staying with the company as advisory board members. With this acquisition, the combined Rohrer and Transparent Container organization will be made up of more than 1,000 employees, with 11 manufacturing facilities across North America.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp wants to build or buy a refinery along the US Gulf Coast to process crude oil from its rapidly growing Permian Basin operations, reported Reuters with reference to a senior executive's statement.

The company would like to have refining operations on the Houston Ship Channel, in the western part of the US Gulf, to complement an existing eastern Gulf refinery in Mississippi that makes lubricants and other materials, Pierre Breber, Chevron’s head of downstream and chemicals, said.

"Something on the ship channel side could make a lot of sense for our company," Breber said in an interview on the sidelines of the Oil & Money conference in London.

Chevron is a major oil producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the largest US oilfield. The company’s Permian production jumped 51 percent sequentially in the second quarter to 270,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. By expanding its refining capacity to Houston, Chevron would be able to process its Permian crude closer to where it is produced.

Most of Chevron’s refineries are in California and use a heavier type of crude than the light, sweet kind pumped from Permian shale wells.

"The ingredients to invest in the US Gulf are very sound," said Breber, who assumed his current role in 2016 and previously oversaw Chevron’s pipeline operations.

Rival Exxon Mobil Corp said last year it would invest USD20 billion on US Gulf refining projects.

The Houston Ship Channel links the busiest US petrochemical port to the Gulf of Mexico and is home to dozens of refineries and chemical facilities.

Mike Wirth, who became Chevron’s chief executive earlier this year, formerly ran the company’s refining arm and is widely seen by Wall Street as an advocate for expanding refining operations.

Separately, Berber said Chevron’s existing Mississippi refinery has seen shipments from Venezuela drop 25 percent to 75,000 barrels per day over the last two years. Chevron is the only remaining major US oil producer in the strife-torn country.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Chevron Products Company, a division of Chevron USA Inc., and Novvi LLC announced that they entered into an agreement to jointly develop and bring to market novel renewable base oil technologies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. One of the successor companies of Standard Oil, it is headquartered in San Ramon, California, and active in more than 180 countries. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy industries, including hydrocarbon exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation.
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