Tronox seeks permission for its pending Cristal acquisition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tronox Limited, a global mining and inorganic chemicals company, announced it has filed a motion with respect to its proposed acquisition of the TiO2 business of The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited (Cristal), seeking permission to present a proposed remedy transaction to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), said the company.

The motion outlines a proposed $700 million divestiture of the two-plant Ashtabula TiO2 complex to INEOS Enterprises A.G. (INEOS), a unit of INEOS, one of the world's largest chemicals companies and the 50th largest business in the world, with a focus on serving the developing needs of its customers from its 171 sites in 24 countries. Under the Company's proposed remedy, the Ashtabula complex, along with all of its associated assets – including research and development, sales, intellectual property and operations expertise – would be held separate during a short interim period while the proposed divestiture is pending.

"INEOS is an experienced and sophisticated purchaser of chemical operating assets, with dozens of successful acquisitions in the last two decades, particularly in chemical carve-out acquisitions. I believe this ideally positions the Ashtabula complex and INEOS to flourish as a stable and competitive new entrant into the TiO2 market," said Jeffry N. Quinn, president and chief executive officer of Tronox. "The proposed consent decree eliminates the competitive concerns alleged in the FTC's original complaint and it does so while providing the necessary foundation for the divested assets to be commercially successful."

Regulators in eight non-U.S. jurisdictions, including the European Union, have approved Tronox's proposed acquisition of Cristal. Approval by the FTC would allow Tronox and Cristal to close the transaction. Because the FTC took the unusual step of challenging the merger in its own administrative court, pursuant to "Part 3" of the FTC's rules and regulations, Tronox is unable to present the proposed remedy transaction to the FTC Commissioners unless consent is granted by the FTC's administrative law judge.

The motion asks the Court to make a written determination, within the five-day period provided by Rule 3.25(c), that there is a reasonable possibility of settlement and certify the proposed consent decree for the FTC Commissioners' consideration with a recommendation that the FTC Commissioners accept the proposed resolution of the case. Tronox's filing also requests that the FTC withdraw this matter from the Part 3 adjudication for the purpose of considering the proposed consent decree.

Under the proposed acquisition of the Ashtabula complex by INEOS, the competitive dynamics in North America would remain unchanged. Tronox's and Cristal's North American TiO2 production assets would continue to be operated by two different companies. There would be no increase in industry concentration, thereby eliminating the risks of anticompetitive effects alleged in the FTC's original complaint that initiated the Part 3 proceeding. The proposed remedy transaction would preserve the rest of Tronox's global acquisition of Cristal, which would enable Tronox to increase global manufacturing output and efficiency from Cristal's non-North American manufacturing assets, while entirely divesting Cristal's North American business to a new market entrant. Staff at the FTC have indicated that they would not recommend the proposed remedy transaction to the FTC Commissioners.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based PLASTIC ENERGY Ltd., a pioneer in chemical plastics recycling, for the supply of feedstock to support SABIC’s petrochemical operations in Europe, as per the company's press release.

SABIC and PLASTIC ENERGY intend to build a first commercial plant in the Netherlands to refine and upgrade a valuable feedstock, known as TACOIL, a patented PLASTIC ENERGY product, which will be produced from the recycling of low quality, mixed plastic waste otherwise destined for incineration or landfill . The plant, which is anticipated to enter commercial production in 2021, is a significant milestone for SABIC towards the company’s commitment to establishing a circular economy and, more broadly, its sustainability goals.

"Sustainability is a core value at SABIC and the circular economy is a cornerstone of our strategy as evidenced by this unique agreement", said Frank Kuijpers, General Manager for Corporate Sustaina-bility, SABIC. "SABIC is proud to be the first petrochemical company to implement a project for the chemical recycling of challenging plastic waste into feedstock for steam crackers. This exciting project is testament to our commitment to scale up advanced chemical recycling processes of plastics back to the original polymer."

"We are delighted to be working with SABIC on this exciting project to support their petrochemical operations in Europe", said Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of PLASTIC ENERGY. "We have already two industrial plants in Spain operating 24/7 and a technology team with more than 10 years of expe-rience developing this patented technology. Our advanced expertise will promote this new opportunity to turn plastic back into plastic as part of the circular economy."

PLASTIC ENERGY has successfully commercialised a patented thermochemical conversion technology to convert a wide range of end-of-life, dirty and contaminated plastics, hardly recyclable for conventional processes, into usable feedstock. Plastics are melted in an oxygen free environment and then broken down into synthetic oils at which point the oils need to be refined and upgraded as feedstock for traditional petrochemical uses.

As MRC wrote previously, in October 2016, the first product of a new generation of low density polyethylene (LDPE) foam grades from Sabic was designed to increase production efficiency at the foam manufacturer.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s latest policy to boost biofuels use has improved the outlook for ethanol production and should attract new investment in plants, reported Reuters with reference to BP Plc’s chief executive for biofuels, Mario Lindenhayn.

Brazil is advancing with additional regulation for the policy, called RenovaBio and expected to be enacted in 2020, Lindenhayn said, adding that he does not see signs that the government of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, which kicks off in January, would put up obstacles.

"We are very positive. This is a very important signal the country is giving, creating a stable regulatory environment that will allow companies to invest," Lindenhayn told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy presentation at the company’s corporate office in Sao Paulo.

RenovaBio will mandate fuel distributors to gradually increase the amount of biofuels they sell. The program aims to double the use of ethanol by 2030 from around 26 billion liters currently. The program also targets increases for other renewables such as biodiesel.

BP has three ethanol mills in Brazil, crushing 10 million tonnes of sugar cane per year. It formed a venture last year with Brazil’s Copersucar, a leading global ethanol seller, to jointly operate one of the largest fuel terminals in the country located in Paulinia, in Sao Paulo state.

Lindenhayn said the program provides an opportunity for mills in Brazil, which have experienced stagnation caused by years of low sugar prices and a long period of subsidized gasoline prices that led to the closure of many firms.

"If the program advances as planned, it will be a large opportunity. There are no greenfield projects around, and the country is a net fuel importer," he said.

Asked if BP would be interested in increasing ethanol capacity via acquisitions, since there are several assets being offered in Brazil by companies with financial difficulties, Lindenhayn said: "We will see, we will consider."

On Wednesday, Brazilian oil and fuels regulator ANP published in the official gazette another part of RenovaBio complementary legislation, with rules for biofuel companies to obtain certification.

With that, the plants will be able to issue and trade emissions reductions credits, called CBios, that fuel distributors could buy to comply with targets in case they fall short. It would be Brazil’s first emissions reductions market, although limited to the fuels industry.

As MRC informed previously, British oil and gas company BP will increase investment in the United States after the lowering of tax rates under President Donald Trump, Chief Executive Bob Dudley said in February 2018.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde and PBF Energy announced that the companies and their guests broke ground for a new hydrogen plant that is being built in Delaware City, DE, in partnership with PBF subsidiary Delaware City Refining Company (DCRC), as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Delaware Gov. John Carney; U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Chris Coons (D-DE); Delaware City Mayor Stanley E. Green; and other dignitaries joined executives from Linde, PBF Energy, and DCRC in the groundbreaking ceremony. Also in attendance were Kevin Herbein, President of United Steelworkers Local 4-898, and James Maravelias, President of the Delaware State AFL-CIO and Delaware Building Trades Council.

Investments by Linde and DCRC in this project, which include a 25 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) hydrogen plant and supporting infrastructure, are expected to exceed US USD100 million. As part of this initiative, Linde will design, build, own and operate the hydrogen plant, which is targeted for start-up during the second quarter of 2020. The hydrogen plant project will generate about 80 to 100 construction jobs at peak workload, seven permanent positions, and 25 to 30 local contractor employees during major turnarounds.

"Our partnership with Linde has allowed us to progress this attractive project, which will make our Delaware City Refinery even more competitive," added Tom Nimbley, PBF Energy’s Chairman and CEO. "The refinery already features complex crude processing flexibility, and the new hydrogen plant will expand our ability to convert our heavy feedstock slate into cleaner, higher-value products, including marine fuels that meet new global, ultra-low sulfur standards established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that go into effect in 2020."

Dr. Raghu Menon, Vice President of Onsite Investment Projects for Linde Americas, remarked, "Linde is committed to development and delivery of exceptional value for our customers. Linde customized our solution to meet PBF’s and DCRC’s criteria, including critical parameters such as plant efficiency, project schedule and environmental performance. Our plant will include a Steam Methane Reformer with a proprietary Linde design and a Selective-Catalytic Reduction process unit that will reduce plant emissions and deliver excellent environmental performance."

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2018, The Linde Group and the specialty chemicals company Evonik Industries concluded an exclusive cooperation agreement on the use of membranes for natural gas processing.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- India’s top refiner, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), has issued a global tender to charter scrubber-fitted oil tankers for at least five years to import Iraqi oil, a tender document seen by Reuters showed.

The tender says Indian shippers will be given first right of refusal for the contract as the nation seeks to boost its shipping industry. It is seeking bids from vessels that are less than 10-years old.

A scrubber is a product that strips out sulfur emissions and, in doing so, can allow shippers to use dirtier fuel oil but still meet new global requirements for lower emissions.

IOC and the country’s second biggest state-owned refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), last year also issued similar tenders seeking vessels for five years.

The two refiners, however, could not award the tenders as there were very few bids by shippers because at the time they were seeking clarity on the new fuel emissions requirements.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is introducing the rules on marine fuels from the beginning of 2020, limiting the sulfur content to 0.5 percent, down substantially from the current 3.5 percent, to curb shipping pollution.

IOC’s tender document is seeking global bids for a very large crude carrier (VLCC) capable of carrying Iraqi Basra Light and Basra Heavy crude for five years and grants Indian shippers the right of first refusal.

BPCL will soon issue a domestic tender seeking to hire Suezmax tankers capable of carrying up to 1 million barrels of oil for a five-year period, two industry sources said.

The IMO says that when the new rules come into force it will ban ships that do not have scrubbers from carrying any fuel oil, making it easier to catch cheaters.

The duration of the IOC contract can be extended by another two years to a total of seven, the tender document showed. The tender will close on January 7 and bids will remain valid until March 11, the document showed.

As MRC wrote before, Indian Oil Corporation's Rs 34,555-crore 15 million tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery was commissioned in phases from March 2015 onwards. Indian Oil Corporation was conducting feasibility studies to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Odisha for Rs 20,000 crore. The petrochemical complex will be built in the vicinity of the company’s to-be-commissioned 15-mln tpa greenfield refinery at Paradip. The petrochemical complex will be in addition to the already announced Rs 3,150-crore polypropylene project at the same location, the foundation stone for which was laid by MOS for petroleum and natural gas.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
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