Fire reported at Westlake Chemical plant in Louisiana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters put down a fire early Tuesday morning at a Westlake Chemical production plant in Plaquemine, LA, reported PowderBulkSolids with reference to several local news organizations.

The company issued a statement saying the blaze started in a vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) unit at the facility at about 4:15 a.m. Fire crews contained the flames to the area of the unit and brought the scene under control by 6:30 a.m., CBS News affiliate WAFB reported. A subsidiary of Westlake, Axiall Corporation, appears to be the operator of the Plaquemine plant, according to information on the company's website.

No injuries were logged during the incident, but a road near to the plant was briefly closed as a precaution.

Officials told news broadcaster WBRZ that fence line monitoring devices indicate no harmful substances were released during the fire.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

In February 2018, as MRC informed before, Westlake Chemical announced plans to expand its capacities for the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and VCM at three of its chemical facilities. Two of the plants are located in Germany (Burghausen, Gendorf) and one is located in Geismar, Louisiana. The expansions in Burghausen and Geismar are expected to be completed in 2019. The Gendorf expansions are expected to be completed in 2020 and 2021.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC

Listing to value Spanish oil firm Cepsa around EUR10 bln

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spain's Cepsa will sell a stake of about 25 percent in an initial public offering that sources close to the matter expect to value the company at around EUR10 billion (USD11.6 billion), making it one of the largest oil company listings in a decade, reported Reuters.

The listing, expected in the fourth quarter, will be for a 25 percent stake prior to any greenshoe option whereby more shares could be sold depending on demand, according to the company, owned by Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala.

The price range and implied market value are still to be decided, Cepsa added in a statement.

A recovery in oil prices in recent months, after a deep sell-off that started in 2014, has analysts expecting an acceleration of public listings of oil and gas companies.

Rothschild is the sole financial adviser of the Cepsa deal, while Banco Santander, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, Cepsa said.

The flotation is subject to market conditions, Mubadala said in a separate statement.

Cepsa will also continue with plans for a private placement of shares that could take place alongside the public share sale, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Cepsa employs more than 10,200 people and has fields in Latin America, North Africa, southeast Asia and Spain, with a total production of more than 175,000 barrels a day of oil equivalent.

The company is also a significant player among European oil refiners, with a processing capacity of 483,000 barrels a day in Spain.

Cepsa set aside more than 1 billion euros for new investments in 2018, its chief executive Pedro Miro told Reuters in an interview in November 2017.

After years of stakebuilding in Cepsa, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund bought the remaining shares it did not already own from France's Total in 2011, valuing the Spanish company at around EUR7.5 billion.

As MRC informed previously, in July 2018, Honeywell announced that Cepsa will convert an alkylation unit using hydrofluoric acid to Honeywell UOP’s solid bed Detal-Plus technology at its refinery in San Roque, Spain. The unit produces linear alkylbenzene (LAB), which is used to make a variety of different detergent formulations, including biodegradable household detergents.
MRC

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

Total Lubricants announces Kubota UK partnership

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.
MRC

Magna sells its fluid pressure and controls business for USD1.23 billion

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