Chevron to buy Texas refinery from Brazil's Petrobras

MOSCOW (MRC) - Chevron Corp has agreed to buy a Texas oil refinery with a troubled past and space to handle a coming flow of shale from its West Texas operations, two sources familiar with negotiations said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The U.S. oil major is expected to disclose the deal to acquire a 112,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery in Pasadena, Texas, this quarter, the sources said. The plant is operated by Pasadena Refining System Inc, a Texas-based unit of Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Chevron spokesman Braden Reddall declined to comment on Monday. Carlos Monteiro, a spokesman for Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro, said any communications on an agreement would be disclosed to the market.

A deeply indebted Petrobras put the plant on the market in early 2018 after sinking more than USD1.18 billion into it since it acquired its first stake in the operation in 2006.

Chevron and Petrobras’ negotiations were delayed in part by Brazil’s presidential election and pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc dropping out of talks to operate a terminal at the site as a joint venture, the sources said.

Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Lexey Long declined to comment.

Petrobras has been looking to divest $21 billion in assets to reduce its debt load amid a series of corruption scandals including allegations bribes were paid to executives as a result of the 2006 purchase of the Pasadena plant.

The rapid expansion of U.S. shale production from the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico has stirred demand for new U.S. refining capacity and crude-export facilities. Oil output has soared to an estimated 3.8 million bpd this month, from 1.48 million five years ago.

Chevron, which reported a 150,000 bpd increase in shale production in the third quarter, has said it wants a second Gulf Coast facility to handle that crude and better supply its retail gasoline network. The plant produces mostly gasoline and distillates such as diesel.

The refinery covers 192 acres on the Houston Ship Channel and the purchase includes another 274 acres of terminal and other cleared land available for expansion. The site has storage tanks that can hold 5.1 million barrels and a marine terminal for exports.

The plant’s 300-strong workforce is represented by the United Steelworkers union, and would become Chevron employees once the deal is completed.

There are several small U.S. refineries on the market. Husky Energy Inc earlier this month began marketing a 12,000-bpd refinery in Prince George, British Columbia.

Royal Dutch Shell recently began accepting bids for its 75,000-bpd Sarnia, Ontario, refinery, according to people familiar with the matter. Delta Air Lines Inc last September began marketing a stake in its 185,000-bpd Trainer, Pennsylvania, refinery.

In November, CVR Energy Inc said it may buy out the public holders of its refining unit, CVR Refining GP, which operates refineries in Kansas and Oklahoma. That decision would unwind a partnership making a future sale easier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Exxon Mobil Corp has given final approval to an expansion that would nearly double the size of its 365,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Beaumont, Texas, refinery that could make it the largest in the United States, said two people familiar with the company's plans, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The largest U.S. oil producer has been considering a third processing unit at the plant since at least 2014.

The approval to add 250,000-350,000 bpd of new refining capacity authorizes financing for equipment needed to convert shale crude from Exxon's West Texas oilfields into precursors for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other refined products.

Exxon aims to triple its daily crude production in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico to 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boepd) by 2025.

Last year it agreed to form a joint venture with Plains All American Pipeline LP that would build a pipeline able to carry 1 million bpd of oil to its refineries in Baytown and Beaumont.

"It has been approved," said one of the people familiar with the refinery expansion. Employees have been asked to keep the approval confidential, said the person, who could not be identified because of the restrictions.

Exxon spokeswoman Sarah Nordin said on Monday she had no updates on the status of the project. In October, she had confirmed that site preparation work had begun in advance of a final decision.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical Titan plans to add a naphtha-fed steam cracker with an ethylene production capacity of 1 million mt/year to its petrochemical facility in Merak of Banten province, Indonesia, by 2023, making it an integrated petrochemical complex, as per Apic-online with reference to a company source.

The company currently has two high density polyethylene plants and one linear low density polyethylene plant at the same site, with a total production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

The PE plants source ethylene feedstock from Lotte Chemical Titan's Malaysia facility.

As MRC reported before, in January 2018, the company announced its catalytic cracking reactor within its TE3 expansion project in Pasir Gudang had begun commercial operations. The catalytic cracking reactor, based on KBR's cata-lytic olefins technology, is connected to an existing naphtha cracker plant.

The USD276-million project increased ethylene production capacity by 92,000 t/y, propylene capacity by 170,000 t/y and BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene) capacity by 134,000 t/y.

Besides, in September 2018, Lotte Chemical Titan successfully began commercial operations at its new polypropylene (PP) plant in Pasir Gudang, Johor, Malaysia. The 200,000-t/y facility, known as PP3, will supply PP to the domestic market and for export.

Lotte Chemical Titan produces Malaysia's most comprehensive portfolio of olefins and polyolefins which contribute to the enhancement of everyday life. Lotte Chemical Titan's production site in Malaysia consists of eleven process facilities, two co-generation plants and three tank farms. They are located on 2 sites in Pasir Gudang and Tanjung Langsat in the state of Johor. In 2006, Lotte Chemical Titan acquired PT Lotte Chemical Titan Nusantara, Indonesia’s first and largest polyethylene plant in the country. This acquisition boosted the polyolefins capacity by approximately 50%, thus making the company one of the largest producers in South East Asia. Lotte Chemical Titan was acquired by Lotte Chemical Corp., forming part of the Lotte conglomerate of Korea, in 2010. The company thus became one of Lotte Chemical Corp.’s largest overseas subsidiaries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brenntag Brenntag Specialties, Inc., part of the Brenntag Group, the global market leader in chemical distribution, is now a distributor of Wanhua America Co., Ltd for aromatic isocyanates, polyether polyols, coatings additives, and polyurethane dispersions (PUD), as per the company's press release.

The Wanhua product lines will be utilized in adhesive, coating, elastomer, sealant, and construction applications such as automotive interior, footwear, 3D lamination, and glass and wood coatings. The products will efficiently provide high gloss, excellent chemical resistance, and optimal shear viscosity.

Located in Yantai, China, Wanhua specializes in the formulation and manufacturing of urethane technology raw materials. In addition, Wanhua supplies resins and additives to the coating and construction industries.

"Brenntag’s work with Wanhua continues to demonstrate our commitment to deliver top quality raw materials to our customers," said Ralph Gatti, Director of Marketing-Material Sciences for Brenntag Specialties. "Our team looks forward to working alongside Wanhua to bring new opportunities for urethane technology. These products are a great addition to our portfolio, giving our customers possibilities they’ve been seeking."

Brenntag Specialties will distribute these products to customers in all US states excluding Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

As MRC wrote before, in September 2018, Brenntag North America, Inc., part of the Brenntag Group, was appointed as the exclusive distributor of Valirex catalysts for unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) and Valikat catalysts for polyurethanes from Umicore Specialty Materials Brugge NV in the USA and Canada.

Wanhua is a Chinese company specializing in urethane technologies and raw materials for over 30 years. The main business of Wanhua is the R&D, production and sales of PU series products, like isocyanate and polyol; the petrochemical series products, like PO/AE; the functioning materials of water-based coatings and specialty chemicals. As the largest MDI producer in the world and the biggest TDI supplier in Europe, Wanhua has five manufacturing bases all over the world and has set up more than ten subsidiaries or branches in Europe, Middle-east, America, Japan, Russia, and India.

Brenntag is the global market leader in full-line chemical distribution. Linking chemical manufacturers and chemical users, Brenntag provides business-to-business distribution solutions for industrial and specialty chemicals globally. The value-added services include just-in-time delivery, product mixing, formulation, repackaging, inventory management, drum return handling as well as extensive technical support. Headquartered in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany, the company operates a global network with more than 400 locations in 70 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed two new strategic equity partnerships with Eni and OMV covering both ADNOC Refining and a new trading joint venture, which will be jointly established by the three partners, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The signing of the agreements was witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, His Excellency Giuseppe Conte, Prime Minister of Italy, and His Excellency Hartwig Loger, Austria’s Federal Minister of Finance. The agreements were signed by His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni and Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board and CEO.

In one of the largest ever refinery transactions, Eni and OMV will acquire 20% and 15% shares in ADNOC Refining respectively, with ADNOC owning the remaining 65%. The agreement values ADNOC Refining, which has a total refining capacity of 922,000 barrels per day, and which operates the fourth largest single site refinery in the world, at an enterprise value of USD19.3 billion. As a further part and condition of this agreement, the partners will also establish a trading joint venture, in which Eni and OMV will own 20% and 15% of the shares respectively. Proceeds to ADNOC from the sale are estimated to be USD5.8 billion, subject to completion adjustments. The transaction reflects the scale, quality and growth potential of ADNOC Refining’s assets, coupled with an advantageous location from which to supply markets in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Eni and OMV have strong track records in maximizing value from advanced, complex refinery operations and bring to the partnership extensive operational and project management experience and expertise.

Further value will be created from the new global trading joint venture, which, once established, will be an international exporter of ADNOC Refining’s products, with export volumes equivalent to approximately 70 per cent of throughput. Domestic supply within the UAE will continue to be managed by ADNOC.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, said: "We are delighted to partner with Eni and OMV in our refining business and the new trading company. Such partnerships follow our leadership’s wise guidance to unlock and drive greater value across our business."

Supported by the high cash flow generation capacity of ADNOC Refining, the three partners have committed to substantial growth plans for ADNOC Refining in the short to mid-term. The partners have also agreed to a comprehensive capital allocation framework to achieve self-funded growth, paired with an attractive dividend policy.

These important new agreements build on ADNOC’s expanded approach to long-term partnerships and the more proactive management of its portfolio of assets, as well as its track record of successful partnerships over the last 50 years in both upstream and downstream. The partnerships will support ADNOC as it evolves to become a leading global downstream player, by expanding refining and petrochemical operations at Ruwais and securing greater downstream global market share, as outlined during the company’s Downstream Investment Forum, in May 2018.

Claudio Descalzi, CEO of Eni, said: "These agreements consolidate our strong partnership with ADNOC. In the space of less than one year, we have been able to create a business hub with world-class upstream operations and a material and efficient refinery capacity with further potential growth."

"This transaction, which allows us to enter the United Arab Emirates’ downstream sector and represents a 35% increase in Eni’s global refining capacity, is in line with our announced strategy to make Eni’s overall portfolio more geographically diversified, more balanced along the value chain, more efficient and more resilient to cope with market volatility."

This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Rainer Seele, Chairman of the OMV Executive Board and CEO, who said: "I am pleased to further build on our strategic partnership with ADNOC and Abu Dhabi. With the acquisition of a share in ADNOC Refining and the creation of a global trading joint venture, OMV has established a strong integrated position in Abu Dhabi along the oil value chain, spanning from upstream production to refining & trading and petrochemicals. We are confident that our extensive operational refining know-how and trading experience will contribute to sustainable value creation and profitable growth."

Under the terms of the agreements, ADNOC, Eni and OMV’s trading joint venture will be incorporated at Abu Dhabi Global Markets. Physical and derivative trading will likely begin as early as 2020 when all necessary processes, procedures and systems are in place. Eni and OMV will provide ADNOC with know-how, operational experience and support to accelerate the development of the trading joint venture, enabling ADNOC and its partners to optimize their systems and better manage their international product flows.

Once operational, the trading joint venture will help guide ADNOC Refining’s activity and operational decision-making, ensuring ADNOC secures the best possible value from its refining and trading activity. The stated objective of the trading joint venture is to expand its global presence over time.

The partnerships, announced today, reinforce the growing importance of ADNOC’s Ruwais complex, located in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, in the global refining and petrochemical supply chain and highlight the attractiveness of the UAE as a stable and reliable investment and industrial destination.

As MRC informed before, in May 2017, ADNOC announced that it would work together with the Austrian producer OMV to help grow Adnoc’s downstream businesses.

Besides, we remind that a USD3.1 billion project to introduce crude processing flexibility, at the ADNOC owned Ruwais oil refinery, was announced in February, 2018. Known as the Crude Flexibility Project (CFP), the announcement was another significant step forward as ADNOC accelerates delivery of its Downstream refining strategy that aims to enhance margins by introducing asset flexibility, backed by strong crude and product marketing initiatives.
MRC