PPC Flexible Packaging buys HFM Packaging Ltd

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Custom flexible packaging supplier PPC Flexible Packaging LLC has acquired HFM Packaging Ltd., a manufacturer of packaging for cosmetics, personal care, pharma, food, and industrial applications headquartered in Pewaukee, Wis, said Canplastics.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

HFM produces packaging solutions for cosmetics, personal care, pharma, food, and industrial applications, and is said to be a market leader in the use of labels as peel and reseal closures for personal care markets as well as a converter of pouches.

PPC, headquartered in Buffalo Grove, Ill., supplies flexographic printing and converting of flexible films, bags, and pouches. The firm operates four manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and one in Colombia.

"It’s our goal to leverage HFM’s state-of-the-art reclosable and pouch technologies in both consumer and healthcare markets to an even higher level of growth through new and existing customers across all of PPC’s businesses," Kevin Keneally, CEO of PPC Flexible, said in a statement.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian Oil Corp. (IndianOil) has awarded two engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contracts to L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Ltd. (LTHE) to set up an ethylene glycol (EG) plant, ethylene recovery unit (ERU) and associated facilities at IndianOil's refinery in Paradip, Odisha, India, as per Apic-online.

The lump-sum turnkey contracts involve building a new 357,000-t/y EG unit, based on technology from Scientific Design, and a new 180,000-t/y ERU, based on McDermott's Lummus Technology. A schedule for the project was not available.

In a stock exchange filing last April, IndianOil said the EG unit was estimated to cost Rs 4,221 crore and would help meet the growing domestic demand for EG.

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.

LTHE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Turkish subsidiary of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has completed the integration of STAR refinery and Petkim petrochemical complex, Trend reports citing SOCAR Turkey Energy, as per Azernews.

"By selling 1.303 tons of naphtha produced at STAR refinery to Petkim, SOCAR Turkey Energy completed the integration of the refinery and the petrochemical complex. This sale has been an important step towards the integration," said the company.

The opening ceremony of the STAR oil refinery took place on October 19, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.

The total refining capacity of the refinery will be 10 million tons, and Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is the main supplier of crude for the refinery. The refinery will significantly reduce the dependence of Turkey on imports of petrochemical products.

The refinery worth USD6.3 billion, built by SOCAR in the Aliaga District of Izmir, will produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 1.6 million tons of aviation fuel, 4.8 million tons of low-sulfur diesel, 700,000 tons of petroleum coke, 420,000 tons of mixed xylene and 160,000 tons of sulfur.

SOCAR is represented in Turkey by its subsidiary SOCAR Turkey Energy. So far, SOCAR Turkey Energy has invested over USD14 billion in the Turkish economy. Meanwhile, 5,000 people work in the company, while the annual export potential reaches USD3 billion. Among SOCAR’s current assets in Turkey are the Petkim petrochemical complex, the STAR refinery and the Petlim port.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials company, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share on its common stock, payable on March 1, 2019, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of February 19, 2019.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese Corporation has raised its February list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in Asia Outside China (AOC). The price increase below was effective as of 31 January, or as contracts otherwise allow, and was incremental to any previously announced increases. Thus, Celanese raised VAM list and off-list selling prices by USD50/mt for AOC.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United States has asked Brazil to consider lifting tariffs imposed on its ethanol exports and is hopeful of a positive outcome, reported Reuters with reference to a senior official at the US Department of Agriculture.

US Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney said Brazil has not indicated that they would lift them. "Our hope is that the warm relationship between our presidents and how that cascades down might let us find some relief," he told a conference call.

Brazil currently charges a 20-percent tariff on ethanol imports surpassing 150 million liters a quarter in a bid to shield local farmers from foreign competition.

McKinney said Brazil had previously said it would reassess the tariffs two years from the September 2017 date on which they were imposed. “You can imagine there’s always run-ups to that. Nobody said it is a hard date and that’s another reason we are having a discussion,” he said.

As MRC wrote previously, in February 2018, a significant new player emerged in the Brazilian biofuels industry. A grand opening was held signaling the start of operations at FS Bioenergia, a USD115 million corn-only ethanol production facility located in Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso. FS Bioenergia utilized process technologies from ICM, Inc. of Colwich, Kansas. Since 1995, ICM has provided engineering, construction and operational services for more than 100 ethanol plants in North America.
MRC