Total restarting Normandy refinery after workers suspend strike

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and gas major Total said on Friday it had begun the restart of its 253,000 barrel-per-day Gonfreville refinery in France’s Normandy region after unions suspended a week-long strike that disrupted output and deliveries, reported Reuters.

A Total spokeswoman said deliveries from its refineries and depots had resumed on Friday.

France’s CGT union suspended the strike on Thursday evening.

As MRC informed earlier, in December 2017, Total inaugurated the new units at its Antwerp integrated refining & petrochemicals platform, which had progressively started up in the previous few months.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bayer plans to exit animal health business, consumer health brands Coppertone and Dr Scholl’s, and cut 12,000 jobs worldwide. The company also plans to sell its 60 percent interest in Currenta, a JV with Lanxess, as per Worldofchemicals.

The company aims to strengthen its core life science businesses following the takeover of Monsanto. The job cuts are expected to be complete by the end of 2021 and a significant number of them is in Germany, the company said.

The job cuts will include approximately 900 jobs in pharmaceuticals R&D and around 350 positions in connection with the factor VIII facility in Wuppertal; roughly 1,100 jobs associated with the reorganization at consumer health; around 4,100 positions at crop science as the result of combining Monsanto; and a further 5,500 to 6,000 jobs in the corporate functions.

In addition to the planned portfolio measures, Bayer said that it intends to significantly improve its cost structure. The company aims to further strengthen innovation and productivity, to accelerate access to future technologies, and to further enhance competitiveness and profitability. In this context, the company will seek to achieve greater efficiency across its supporting functions and services.

Including the synergies expected from the acquisition of Monsanto, Bayer anticipates annual contributions of €2.6 billion from 2022 on as a result of its planned efficiency and structural measures.

“These changes are necessary and lay the foundation for Bayer to enhance its performance and agility. With these measures, we aim to take full advantage of the growth potential for our businesses. We are aware of the gravity of these decisions for our employees. As in the past, we will implement the planned measures in a fair and responsible way,” said Baumann.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world, has announced that it has declared a dividend of USD1.00 per share, to be paid December 17, 2018 to shareholders of record December 10, 2018, with an ex-dividend date of December 7, 2018, as per the company's press release.

The company also announced that effective 30 November, Michael Hanley joined LyondellBasell's board of directors, filling the vacancy caused by the previously announced resignation of director Robert G. Gwin. Hanley has more than 25 years of experience in senior management and finance roles, including as Chief Financial Officer of Alcan and as Senior Vice President, Operations and Strategy at the National Bank of Canada. He also serves on the boards of publicly-traded companies BRP, Inc., Industrial Alliance Insurance & Financial Services and Shawcor Ltd.

"As we look to build a future on LyondellBasell's already solid foundation, Michael's perspective and experience will be valuable for our board and company," said Jacques Aigrain, chairman of LyondellBasell's board of directors.

"Michael's deep experience in finance, combined with his international perspective, will benefit LyondellBasell as we drive superior value for our shareholders," added LyondellBasell chief executive officer Bob Patel.

Hanley, 53, holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from HEC Montreal and he is a Chartered Professional Accountant. At LyondellBasell, Hanley will join the Audit and Health, Safety, Environmental and Operations committees of the board of directors.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2018, LyondellBasell announced that Shandong Chambroad Petrochemicals Co. Ltd., (Shandong Chambroad), had selected the LyondellBasell Hostalen "Advance Cascade Process" (Hostalen ACP) technology. The low-pressure slurry process technology will be used for a 350KTA high-density polyethylene (HDPE) unit to be built in their petrochemical complex in Binzhou city, Shandong province, P.R. China.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lomon Billions has expanded and extended multi-year titanium-dioxide (TiO2) supply agreement. Lomon will supply additional quantities of chloride- and sulfate-based TiO2 to PPG, said the company.

In addition, PPG will purchase additional supplies of chloride-based TiO2 from Lomon’s new manufacturing capacity, currently under construction. The plant is expected to be on line in 2019.

“Past six years, Lomon Billions has been an excellent partner as the company has become the fourth largest global supplier of TiO2. This multi-year expansion is a reflection of our continued confidence in the growing capability of Lomon Billions and their commitment to make ongoing investments in additional TiO2 manufacturing capacity,” said Tim Knavish, PPG senior vice president, who oversees supply management function.

"As Lomon Billions continues its growth through investing in innovative manufacturing of chloride- and sulfate-based TiO2, PPG has been one of our most important partners. This multi-year expansion agreement will create additional value for both companies. We look forward to continuing our partnership with PPG,” added Ruiqing Tan, vice chairman of Lomon Billions, who oversees supply and sales functions.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Scientific Design Company, Inc. (SD) today announced that Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd. has selected SD’s EO/EG technology for their complex in Wanhua Yantai Industrial Park, Yantai, P.R. China, said the company.

The project will be composed of a plant having a capacity of 73 KTA Purified EO.

The award includes the license of process technology, the provision of a process design package, technical assistance and start up services and the initial charge of SD’s ethylene oxide catalyst.

SD has licensed over 100 ethylene oxide/monoethylene glycol plants in 25 countries around the
world.

Scientific Design Company, Inc. is a process technology company providing licensing, basic engineering and catalysts for its proprietary processes. The Company is jointly owned by Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Clariant. Since its founding in 1946, Scientific Design has been one of the world’s leading process technology and catalyst development companies. Scientific Design has developed some of the petrochemical industry’s most significant process technologies and catalysts, which are used today to produce millions of tons of petrochemical intermediates in numerous process plants worldwide.
MRC