Maire Tecnimont awarded EPC contract worth USD65 M for the reinstatement of an existing PP plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. has announced that its subsidiary Tecnimont S.p.A., through its affiliate Tecnimont Arabia Company Limited, has been awarded a reimbursable EPC contract by National Petrochemical Industrial Company (NATPET) for the reinstatement of the existing Polypropylene (PP) Plant located in Yanbu Industrial City, on the west coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The overall value of the contract is about USD 65 million on a reimbursable basis. The project scope of work entails Engineering and Procurement Services, Material Supply, Construction Supervision Services and Construction Works. The project has an estimated execution schedule of about seven months, up to Ready for Start-Up.

Pierroberto Folgiero, Maire Tecnimont Chief Executive Officer, commented: “With this award, we further consolidate our industrial footprint in Saudi Arabia leveraging our strong capabilities in carrying out revamping projects, as part of our business strategy. We are honored to put our technological know-how at the service of a prestigious client such as NATPET”.

As MRC wrote previously, in early April 2017, NATPET shut its PP plant in Yanbu for a maintenance turnaround. The plant remained off-line for around 4 weeks. Located at Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, the plant has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

This plant is producing a wide range of PP product mix of (homopolymers, random & heterophasic copolymers) that is suitable for a wide variety of applications. Natpet has acquired state of the art Spheripol process to produce polypropylene from LyondellBasell, which is the world leader in polypropylene technology.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total has announced that it has acquired Synova, a French leader in manufacturing high-performance recycled polypropylene for the automotive sector, as per the company's press release.

Synova produces 20,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene (PP) that meets the highest quality standards of original equipment manufacturers and automakers from recycled plastics.

Combining Synova’s recycling expertise and Total’s polymers know-how will increase the supply of recycled polypropylene for automotive applications that deliver the same performance as virgin polymers.

"By contributing to the lighter weight of vehicles, plastics improve their energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Producing them from recycled materials will also meet the challenge of managing their end of life," explained Bernard Pinatel, President Refining & Chemicals, Total. "The acquisition of Synova is a concrete proof of our commitment to developing plastic recycling. It reinforces the activities we already carry out in recycling and contributes to Total’s ambition to be the responsible energy major."

As MRC informed earlier, in April 2015, Total announced that its proposed new ethane cracker near its refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, is being designed to have a capacity of 1 million tpy.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Negotiations over March shipments of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) began in the Russian market on Tuesday. As reported earlier, producers announced a further price increase for shipments to the domestic market, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Prices of Russian polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have already risen twice since the beginning of the year, and March is most likely not to be an exception. Producers' stocks are small, there are no large quantities of import material. And these are the main factors for further price increases. Russian producers announced price increases of Rb1,000-2,000/tonne for March deliveries, depending on the resin.

The current situation is similar to the last year’s trend, when PVC prices rose monthly for Russian consumers until September. And converters were forced to transfer this upward trend to the finished products market.

Russian producers' capacity utilisation at PVC plants is quite high and exceeds 90%, but the excess resin is actively shipped for export. Although it is worth noting that export sales have begun to decline gradually since February. Because of exports, stocks are at a safe level, while some producers manage to contract all their monthly quotas in the first week of trading.

Large quantities of imported material are not available for Russian consumers. Some buyers nevertheless said there is a possibility of small and inexpensive PVC shipments from Europe and China. But they are not able to significantly increase and completely replace Russian resin.

Thus, the key suppliers in the past - producers from the north of China - have been limited in preferential supplies of acetylene PVC to Russia since last year. In fact, only one of the three manufacturers is able to partially offset costs for resin delivery to Russian consumers. And already for March shipments, the entire limit has been used, in fact, in March, we can only talk about April shipments.

Deliveries of acetylene PVC from China without benefits are unprofitable even taking into account the planned March price increase from Russian producers.

Converters’ attitude regarding March purchasing were mixed. Some companies do not intend to increase their purchases in comparison with February, whereas other converters still intend to raise their purchases, despite weak demand for finished products. Thus, converters intend to partially hedge themselves from risks of possible price increases in April.

Overall, March deals for resin with K=64/67 were negotiated in the range of Rb74,000-76,500/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, up by Rb1,000-1,500/tonne from February, for quantities of up to 500 tonnes. For special grades, particularly, with K=58/70, some producers intend to achieve a price increase of Rb1,500-2,000/tonne.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Gurit reported net sales ofCHF 425.3 million for the full year 2018, said the company.

Gurit achieved an operating profit of CHF 28.6 million (6.7% of net sales) and net profit amounted toCHF 19.9 million in 2018.

Gurit`s Composite Materials Business achieved solid results in its various market areas. Wind material demand grew by 3.1% in 2018 over 2017 in reported Swiss Francs and was able to increase its sales in the second half of 2018 by 13% versus the first half. Demand in Europe and especially North America was good, while in China and India wind industry demand was soft. The Marine superyacht and leisure markets witnessed healthy growth. The same applies to Industrial markets, mainly supported by good demand in North America and Europe. In total, net sales in the Composite Materials Business increased by 6.1% (currency-adjusted: 4.1%) year-on-year from CHF 198.9 million in 2017 to CHF 211.1 million in 2018.

The newly acquired JSB business unit, now Gurit Kitting, contributed CHF 28.9 million to the 2018 net sales for a period of 2.5 months since the acquisition in mid-October 2018. This contribution represents the major share of the acquisition effect for the Gurit net sales growth reported.

Gurit`s Tooling Business reported yet another excellent year. Winning a new major global customer and solid sales in the existing customer base created this sales momentum. Net sales increased by 29.1% (currency-adjusted: 27.0%) to CHF 118.5 million in 2018 compared to net sales of CHF 91.8 million in 2017.

Gurit’s Aerospace Business reported net sales of CHF 49.9 million, which represents an increase of 5% (currency-adjusted 2.6%). Slower build rates of a major European OEM recovered in the second half-year and have been supported by increasing demand from an American OEM.

Gurit`s Composite Components Business reported net sales of CHF 16.9 million in 2018 compared to net sales of CHF 22.3 million in 2017. This represents a sharp decrease of 24% in reported Swiss francs (-26.5% on a currency-adjusted basis). The abrupt demand decline in Gurit’s biggest car part volume program in the first six months and the slow start-ups of several new programs in the second half year of 2018 caused this sales reduction versus 2017. As communicated on December 19, 2018, Gurit decided to re-structure and divest its Composite Components Business. This decision was taken due to the growth momentum in the automotive market – in particular automotive light weighting – has not been as dynamic as expected and Gurit has decided to further focus its business portfolio.

Sales of material and part supply showed Europe once again as the largest destination for goods delivered, but the sales ratio in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has been almost matching Europe in 2018. Deliveries to Europe accounted for 37.6% of total Group sales in 2018 (2017: 40.1%); sales in APAC increased to 36.6% of total Group sales in 2018 from 35.8% in 2017. Goods delivered to the Americas accounted for 19.1% of total Group sales in 2018 (2017:19.3%) while supply to the rest of the world amounted to 6.7% (2017: 4.8%).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol beat forecasts with a 7.5 percent increase in fourth-quarter adjusted net profit on Thursday, boosted by higher oil and gas prices and increased production, and said its strategic plan was on track, said the company.

Repsol started new projects in Algeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Britain, Peru and Malaysia during 2018, and benefited in October-December from an annual rise in prices and lower exploration costs. The company said it was on track to deliver its 2018-2020 strategic objectives, which include 15 billion euros (USD17.1 billion) in spending, cutting debt and investing in renewables.

In the fourth quarter, recurring net profit adjusted for one-off gains and inventory effects (CCS net profit) came in at 632 million euros compared to 588 million euros last year. The company had provided a forecast, based on analysts' projections, of 601 million euros.

Brent crude is currently trading around USD66 a barrel, off last year's highs but well above the USD50 on which Repsol's targets are based. The realization price for a barrel of oil was USD60.4 in the fourth quarter compared with USD56.6 the year before, Repsol said, while gas prices also rose.

Closing a deal to buy electricity assets in the quarter helped push net debt up to 3.44 billion euros at the end of December from 2.30 billion euros at the end of September.

Long a headache for Repsol, total net debt on its books has now fallen from 6.27 billion euros at the end of 2017.

Buying the electricity assets from fellow Spanish firm Viesgo was part of a bid among refiners across the world to lower carbon emissions and help meet U.N.-backed goals to limit global warming.
MRC