Bayer reports sales of EUR11B in Q4, up 28%

MOSCOW (MRC) -- German pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced on Wednesday its sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 stood at EUR11 billion, marking a 28% increase compared to the same three-month period a year ago, said the company.

However, the company reported a loss of EUR4 per share on a net loss of EUR3.92 billion. The number of employees rose by 17% to reach a total of 116,998.

For the whole of fiscal 2018, sales were up by 13% to reach EUR39.59 billion, while net income fell by 77% to hit EUR1.69 billion. The company earned EUR1.80 per share for the full year, 78% less than in 2017.

"Over recent years we have systematically developed into a focused life science company, clearly aligned to the megatrends in health and agriculture and united under the strong umbrella brand Bayer," said Werner Bauman, Bayer's chairman, while also pointing out the company acquisition of Covestro, which "has lifted us to the number one position in this market."
MRC

LyondellBasell technology selected for polypropylene plant in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell, the world’s largest licensor of polyolefin technologies, has announced HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) has selected LyondellBasell’s fifth-generation Spheripol polypropylene (PP) process technology for a 500 KT per year plant in Bathinda, India, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"Recognized companies such as HMEL select the Spheripol process because of the technology’s low capital and operating costs, broad product capability and excellent operability,” said Jim Seward, vice president technology business and sustainability at LyondellBasell. “The Spheripol process has maintained its leadership over two decades through continuous process and product innovation."

Seward added, "The selection of Spheripol technology allows customers to enhance and diversify significantly their PP target product portfolio."

Spheripol is the leading PP process technology with more than 25 million tons of licensed capacity. The latest fifth generation Spheripol includes process improvements that further maximize operational efficiency.

LyondellBasell is a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies with more than 280 polyolefin process licenses.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2018, Yantai Wanhua Chemical Group selected technology from LyondellBasell for a new high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant and PP unit in Yantai City, Shandong Province, China. The complex will include a 350,000-t/y HDPE plant, based on LyondellBasell's Hostalen ACP process technology, and a 300,000-t/y PP unit, which will utilize LyondelBasell's 5th generation Spheripol PP process technology. Cost of the project and a schedule were not given.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

Liwa Plastics project in Oman is on track for 2020 completion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orpic, the nation’s refining and petrochemicals flagship, has revealed that Oman’s most anticipated transformational project, Liwa Plastics Industries Complex (LPIC), is currently 67 per cent complete across all four of its Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) packages, as per GV.

The project is set to improve Orpic’s product mix and business model, double its profit and support the development of a downstream plastics industry in Oman. Taking advantage of the growing global market for plastics, LPIC will create new business opportunities and employment in Oman, and firmly reinforce Orpic as a significant player in the international petrochemicals marketplace as it will bring new business development opportunities for the Sultanate in the fast-growing plastics industry.

Construction is ongoing and is expected to be completed by 2020, said Orpic in a statement. With a total investment of USD 6.7 billion, LPIC is expected to boost Orpic’s contribution to develop In Country Value (ICV) for the national economy.

"With the global market for plastics growing, the Liwa Plastics Industries Complex will firmly reinforce Orpic as a recognized player in the international petrochemicals marketplace - enabling Oman, for the first time, to produce polyethylene… and increased the current production of polypropylene," the state-owned entity said.

Liwa Plastics Industries Complex consists of a gas extraction plant in Fahud, a 300 km pipeline from Fahud to Suhar, steam cracker plant, and polymers plant in Suhar Industrial area. The steam cracker plant will process light ends produced in Orpic’s plants in Suhar as well as rich gas received from Fahud plant. Its concept lies in rerouting high value elements of existing production streams, in combination with additional purchased feedstocks to deliver high value polymer products for the local and international marketplaces.

The primary goal of Liwa Plastics Industries Complex is to further increase the value-added that can be derived from Omani crude oil and natural gas. The project has six core components to it:

1) A natural gas extraction plant in Fahud,
2) 300km pipeline between Fahud and Suhar Industrial Port Area for gas transportation,
3) An 800+kTA Steam Cracker Unit,
4) An HDPE Plant,
5) A LLDPE Plant and
6) A Polypropylene Plant

Following commissioning, plastics production is forecast to have increased by more than 1 million tons, giving Orpic a total of 1.4 million tons of polyethylene and polypropylene production.

With the highly integrated complex in Suhar including the refineries, aromatics plant, steam cracker and the downstream polypropylene and polyethylene plants, the operation will be one of the best integrated refinery and petrochemical facility combinations in the world.

About USD 1.5 billion of the total project, cost is allocated to support ICV. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works lasting for 4 years until the launch of the project in 2020 will lead to a great addition to the ICV platform across the Sultanate through the joint efforts of the Orpic’s ICV team and the key contractors of the four project packages.

Orpic supports ICV by reinforcing & developing businesses and taking human capabilities into consideration. This is achieved by reaching authenticated (made in Oman) products and materials bought by the company and grow the human capital in all Orpic projects by ensuring at least 30 per cent Omanisation in the companies working for the project.

As MRC wrote earlier, in 2014, Orpic selected LyondellBasell's Spheripol polypropylene process technology for a new 300,000 tpy PP plant to be built in Sohar, Sultanate of Oman. Start-up of the Liwa plastics project is planned for 2018.

ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) is one of the leading companies in Oman and has two refineries in that country, in Sohar and Muscat. ORPIC is owned by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman and Oman Oil Company SAOC, the trading company created by the Government of the Sultanate of Oman for managing investments in the energy sector.
MRC

BASF to launch construction chemicals unit sale in spring

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF will launch the sale of its USD3 billion-plus construction chemicals business in the spring, as part of the German chemicals group’s drive to focus on more profitable operations, reported Reuters with reference to people close to the matter.

BASF, which flagged its intention to auction off or merge the unit in October, said on Tuesday it had hired Goldman Sachs to organize the transaction.

"We are still at an early stage of the process," a BASF spokesman said, declining to comment further on the timing.

Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

The world’s largest maker of chemical additives for concrete is expected to fetch roughly 3 billion euros (USD3.4 billion), the sources said.

First information packages are expected to be sent out to prospective bidders in March, the sources said, while one of them added that first-round offers were likely to be due before the summer break.

The company’s new Chief Executive Martin Brudermueller in October unveiled plans to hive off the unit as BASF looks for ways to boost the group’s share price.

The company said at the time that the business, whose products have been used to build major train tunnels in the Swiss Alps and in London, was not deeply integrated into BASF’s production network and that it had fallen short of profitability targets.

It has grown little since BASF purchased it from Degussa in 2006 for 2.7 billion euros including debt. The unit’s need to cater to a large number of small to mid-size builders goes against BASF’s focus on large industrial customers, industry analysts said.

BASF bought seeds and crop chemical assets from Bayer and is seeking to wrap up the purchase of an engineering plastics business from Solvay to bolster margins at a time when its basic petrochemical businesses are slowing down.

Switzerland’s Sika, which is buying French construction chemicals company Parex from CVC Capital Partners, said last month it would be interested in the BASF unit but doubted a deal for all of the business was possible because of antitrust restrictions.

Companies such as LafargeHolcim, Saint Gobain, GCP, RPM and Mapei are also seen as potential suitors for all or parts of the business, as well as buyout groups such as Advent, Carlyle or CVC.

As MRC wrote 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.
MRC

ADNOC taps Korean SK E&C to build world's largest oil storage facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan said in a tweet on Wednesday that state oil firm ADNOC had signed an agreement with South Korea’s SK E&C to build the world’s largest crude oil storage facility in the emirate of Fujairah, reported Reuters.

The storage project will cost 4.4 billion UAE dirhams (USD1.2 billion) and have a capacity of 42 million barrels, he said.

As MRC informed before, in September 2018, ADNOC Refining, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), announced it had reached full production of polymer-grade propylene from its newly commissioned Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, located in the Ruwais integrated refining and petrochemical hub. The PDH unit processes propane from two major sources, ADNOC Gas Processing and Ruwais Refinery West, to produce half a million tons per year of polymer-grade propylene. The standalone unit is part of the recently commissioned Carbon Black and Delayed Coker project.
MRC