Saudi Aramco creates fuel retail subsidiary to expand downstream

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Aramco has announced the creation of the Saudi Aramco Retail Company (RetailCo), a wholly-owned subsidiary established to cater for fuel retailing, creating a sustainable and profitable business that integrates across the hydrocarbon value chain, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company is chartered with owning Saudi Aramco’s fuel retailing, delivering Saudi Aramco brand positioning, innovating retail experience for fuel and associated non-fuel activities and creating an agile business unit that can adapt to retail market’s changing dynamics.

"Integrating fully across the hydrocarbon value chain is key to capturing maximum value from our resources. We are very excited with the establishment of RetailCo. It will leverage synergies in our business model and position us to actively participate in the customer-facing segment of the downstream value chain," said Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco Senior Vice President of Downstream.

RetailCo’s core business and operations will take a phased approach to expand its network of domestic fuel retail stations to cover the Kingdom.

Al-Judaimi added: "By instituting a customer focus culture, combined with premium fuels and services, RetailCo will strive to exceed its customer’s expectations, thereby ensuring its business is sustainable for the long-term. Kingdom consumers will experience the hallmarks of Saudi Aramco’s brand essence which promises quality, reliability and safety, ensuring a vibrant and enriching stopover experience at our network of fuel retail stations. This will uplift the sector standards and provide an enhanced customer experience that will add to ‘Quality of Life’ programs in line with Vision 2030," he said.

This announcement marks the commencement of a series of initiatives and transactions in RetailCo’s journey to become a full-fledged downstream retail entity of Saudi Aramco.

As MRC informed before, Saudi Aramco’s potential acquisition of a stake in petrochemicals maker SABIC would affect the timeframe of its own planned initial public offering, the firm’s chief executive, Amin Nasser, said in a TV interview in late July 2018.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- With the Online Planning Tool, Master Builders Solutions by BASF has developed an innovative specification tool that not only helps construction professionals find the right solutions for their projects quickly and easily, but also adjusts flexibly to changing project requirements and provides crucial information along each step of the project-planning process, said Basf.

The Online Planning Tool is available in local languages in over ten European countries, as well as in English. "The tool has already been successfully used in real-life practical application,” reports Elisabeth Casas Bolivar, Project Manager and responsible for conceptual development of the Online Planning Tool at BASF. “In Spain, for instance, a number of engineering firms have been making very active use of the tool for some time now, and in Italy, Poland and Germany the Online Planning Tool is currently supporting the design stage of infrastructure projects in the water-management sector."

Technical data sheets, specification documents, declarations of performance, certificates, BIM objects, as well as, where available, relevant reference projects and application videos supplement the data. With a single click, product and application pricing information can be requested, and the project report is compiled and immediately made available for download.

Casas Bolivar explains that feedback has been positive throughout: "Our customers praise the straightforward download process for the specific project documentation and pricing information they require, for instance."

The Online Planning Tool is available free-of-charge and can be used anytime, anywhere – on desktop computers as well as on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. The project report can be accessed whenever required, and quickly modified to reflect any new requirements as they arise.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Three years after the takeover of Axson Technologies by the Swiss Sika AG and the subsequent merging with Sika Tooling & Composites under the name SikaAxson, the business unit has been renamed in Sika Advanced Resins to complete its further integration into the Sika Group, according to GV.

The name Sika Advanced Resins is said to reflect the desire to highlight the synergies provided by the Sika Group, a provider of speciality chemicals for the construction and industrial sectors. "This new identity strengthens Sika Advanced Resins' positioning in relation to its competitors, as it gives visibility to the activities of the entire group and allows us to better position ourselves in our markets. Today, the BU is the number one tooling company in Europe and is aiming to become the world leader in the formulation of high-performance epoxy and polyurethane resins for tooling, composites and dielectrics," said Morten Muschak, Head of Sika Advanced Resins.

Sika Advanced Resins remains focused on its core businesses: tooling, composites and encapsulation (electrical/electronic), offering customised solutions to its customers worldwide. Its know-how has applications in the aeronautics, automotive, nautical and rail sectors as well as its subcontractors in foundry, modelling and rapid prototyping. To innovate and develop sustained growth in these sectors, the business unit invests significantly in research and development every year. Its strength lies in its six R+D centres located in France, Germany, China, the USA, Mexico and Japan. Sika Advanced Resins generates an annual turnover of EUR 130 million with 450 employees.

As MRC wrote before, in November 2018, Sika acquired the global Concrete Fibers business from Propex Holding, LLC, which includes a US plant manufacturing synthetic fibers for use in concrete reinforcement, sales operations in Sika’s three geographical regions, and a strong brand, said the producer. The acquired business is a perfect addition to Sika’s concrete systems for high value-added solutions required in the construction of high-rise buildings and demanding infrastructure projects. The acquired business generates annual sales of CHF 30 million.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- McDermott International, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a sizeable technology contract by HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. (HRRL) for the license and basic engineering design of two 490 KTA polypropylene plants in Pachpadra Tehsil, Barmer District, Rajasthan, India, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plants will use Lummus' proprietary NOVOLEN process reactors and proprietary NHP catalyst to produce a full range of leading polypropylene products for the Indian and regional markets.

"This is the largest Novolen licensed polypropylene award to date, and the largest polypropylene plant in India," said Daniel M. McCarthy, Executive Vice President of McDermott's Lummus Technology business. "Our process includes a high degree of flexibility to adjust to market demand, and HRRL will enjoy the full benefits of economies of scale and technology capability for this world-scale plant."

McDermott's Lummus Technology is a leading licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. With a heritage spanning more than 100 years, encompassing approximately 3,100 patents and patent applications, Lummus Technology provides one of the industry's most diversified technology portfolios to the hydrocarbon processing sector.

This award was reflected in McDermott's third quarter 2018 backlog.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF is investing in a new production facility for mobile emissions catalysts at its Pudong site in Shanghai, China, as per the company's press release.

The new 30,000-square-meter facility will house multiple manufacturing lines, providing a full range of emissions control technologies for heavy-duty and light-duty vehicle manufacturers. Construction is underway, with start-up planned for the end of 2019.

The plant will manufacture innovative catalysts for gasoline and diesel vehicles in the growing Chinese market. The catalysts will help automotive customers meet more stringent emission control requirements ahead of China Stage 6 implementation in 2020.

"BASF is committed to supporting customers in China with state-of-the-art environmental catalysts solutions," said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman Greater China, BASF. "We want to greatly contribute to China’s three-year plan to protect blue skies, with advanced mobile emissions catalysts that meet the strictest environmental regulation requirements in China."

“BASF continues to support strong business growth in China through production capacity and innovation capabilities to meet local customer needs," said Dr. Dirk Demuth, Senior Vice President, Mobile Emissions Catalysts, BASF. "Our new facility in China will enable BASF to support our customers in this growing market. The new facility offers flexibility for future expansion and upgrades to adapt to market requirements in the years ahead."

As MRC informed previously, in December 2017, BASF’s Coatings division inaugurated a new automotive coatings plant at its Bangpoo manufacturing site, Samutprakarn province, Thailand. The new plant is the first BASF automotive coatings manufacturing facility in ASEAN, and will produce solventborne and waterborne automotive coatings to meet growing market demand in the region.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of more than EUR60 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS).
MRC