Evonik more than doubles venture capital to accelerate innovation

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik has launched its second venture capital fund with a volume of EUR150 million, more than doubling the amount under management to EUR250 million, as per the company's press release.

The new fund will help secure access to disruptive technologies and innovative business models as well as supporting Evonik’s digital transformation and enabling early identification of potential technology acquisition targets.

"Investments in and partnerships with start-up companies generate strategic value and growth opportunities", said Dr. Harald Schwager, Evonik’s deputy chairman of the executive board, who is responsible for innovation. "Our venture capital arm is a vital link to tomorrow’s technologies and way of doing business."

The head of Evonik Venture Capital GmbH is Dr. Bernhard Mohr. "The extension of the fund volume to EUR250 million manifests our ambition to establish Evonik Venture Capital as one of the global leading investors in the specialty chemicals space", said Mohr.

As well as providing capital, Evonik offers start-ups access to the resources of one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies. Since its inception in 2012, Evonik has realized 25 investments. The venture capital unit has a global reach with offices in Germany, USA and China. The investment focus is on business and innovation fields such as Health & Care, Animal Nutrition, Smart Materials and Specialty Additives, which Evonik has already identified as growth drivers.

The portfolio, which is made up of both direct and fund investments, includes companies such as Israeli digital-printing specialist Velox and the biotechnology start-up Numaferm, based in Dusseldorf. The portfolio company Structured Polymers, a US-based business active in 3D-printing technology, was acquired by Evonik in early 2019.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2018, the technology company The Linde Group and the specialty chemicals company Evonik Industries concluded an exclusive cooperation agreement on the use of membranes for natural gas processing.

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. Its activities focus on the key megatrends health, nutrition, resource efficiency and globalization. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Angarsk Polymers Plant (part of Rosneft) has shut down its low density polyethylene (LDPE) production, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said Angarsk Polymers Plant took off-stream its LDPE production due to severe frosts in the region. The exact dates of the forced outage have not been announced so far. The plant's annual production capacity is 80,000 tonnes.

Angarsk Polymer Plant (controlled by Rosneft through OOO Neft-Aktiv) is the only petrochemical full-cycle plant in Eastern Siberia. The bulk of the produced ethylene is used by the plant for the production of LDPE, styrene monomer (SM) and polystyrene (PS). Straight-run gasoline and hydrocarbon gases, mainly produced by OAO Angarskaya NHK, are the feedstocks for the plant.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled about 18,000 tonnes last month, compared to 15,600 tonnes a year earlier. Imports were still scarce, according to MRC's DataScope report.
Russian producers have maintained fairly high exports since last October amid weak demand for SPVC from the domestic market. Exports of Russian suspension were about 18,000 tonnes in the first month of the year, compared to 15,600 tonnes a year earlier and 19,300 tonnes last December. Overall exports of resin from Russia totalled 146,300 tonnes in 2018 versus 100,700 tonnes a year earlier. The increased output and the continuing decline in demand from the domestic market forced Russian producers to export more and more PVC for export.

Indian buyers with a volume of over 66,000 tonnes became the key foreign importers of Russian resin. Belarusian customers with a volume of over 28,000 tonnes were the second largest buyers of SPVC in Russia.

Sufficient supply of PVC from Russian producers led to a multiple decrease in imports. There were almost no foreign SPVC shipments last month. Overall imports totalled 16,100 tonnes in the entire year of 2018 versus 48,900 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Contrary to the seasonal factor, Russian producers of unmixed polyvinyl chloride (PVC) maintain a high level of capacity utilisation. Average January capacity utilisation exceeded 93%, and the total volume of production amounted to 87,760 tonnes, according to MRC' ScanPlast.

January production of unmixed PVC in Russia decreased to 87,760 tonnes, compared with 89,800 tonnes in January 2018 and 87,600 tonnes in December 2018. Thus, despite the relatively low level of demand for PVC from the domestic market, the average capacity loading last month exceeded 93%. Overall PVC production reached 958,600 tonnes in January-December 2018, compared to 906,200 tonnes a year earlier.

The structure of PVC production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

RusVinyl (joint venture of SIBUR and SolVin) produced about 29,500 tonnes of PVC in January, with about 2,500 tonnes of which accounted for emulsion polyvinyl chloride (EPVC), compared to 31,300 tonnes in January 2018 and 29,000 tonnes a month earlier. Total PVC production at RusVinyl in 2018 reached 334,300 tonnes.

SayanskKhimPlast in January 2019 produced 27,700 tonnes of SPVC, while in January and December last year it was 27,100 tonnes and 27,300 tonnes respectively. Total PVC production at SayanskKhimPlast in 2018 was 278,8500 tonnes.

Bashkir Soda Company (BSC) in January produced about 23,000 tonnes of SPVC, compared to 23,300 tonnes in January and 23,700 tonnes in December a year earlier. Total SPVC production at Bashkir Soda Company in 2018 was 253,400 tonnes.

Kaustik Volgograd in January 2019 produced about 7,600 tonnes of SPVC, while in January and December last year it was 8,200 tonnes and 7,700 tonnes respectively. Total PVC production at Kaustik in 2019 reached about 92,200 tonnes.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The government of Curacao is resuming talks with two candidates to operate the nation’s 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery after its preferred bidder withdrew from consideration, reported Reuters with reference to the refinery's statement.

The government-owned refinery has operated under a contract with Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA that lasts through December, but it began a search for a replacement last year after a dispute between PDVSA and US oil producer ConocoPhillips kept the plant idled.

Selection of a new operator has been delayed by an investigation into corruption allegations related to the evaluation process. In its statement, the refinery said that delay and a review of other opportunities led its preferred bidder to withdraw.

"The team in charge of the process is already working together with international experts to quickly take the necessary steps," the Refineria di Korsou, as it is known formally, said in its statement.

Curacao did not identify the preferred bidder in its statement, but local media said it was Motiva Enterprises, the US-based arm of Saudi Aramco.

A spokesperson for Motiva declined to comment.

Motiva last year said it was "actively exploring a number of opportunities and locations" to boost its North American oil refining capacity to as much as 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Its plant in Port Arthur, Texas, is the largest US refinery by capacity, processing 603,000 bpd.

A memorandum of understanding with PDVSA’s replacement was expected to be signed and disclosed in the middle of January, a refinery executive had said late last year.

The Isla refinery is committed to keeping the facility open, and in its statement on Tuesday said that PDVSA has expressed interest in continuing at the site. It did not identify the two remaining candidates in the evaluation of a new operator.

As MRC wrote before, in December 2018, Motiva Enterprises was preliminarily chosen by the government of Curacao to operate the 335,000-barrel-per-day Isla refinery, replacing Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA. The refinery has been idle since May 2018 when a legal dispute between PDVSA and US producer ConocoPhillips forced its closure.
MRC