Investment firm Graham Partners acquires fourth thermoforming company

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Private equity firm Graham Partners has bought its fourth U.S.-based thermoforming company with the acquisition of James L. Villa Inc., of Oldsmar, Fla., said Canplastics.

The terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The James L. Villa purchase comes on the heels of Graham Partners’ acquisition of platform company EasyPak near the end of 2017 and subsequent purchases of Tray-Pak Corp. and Nuconic Packaging LLC.

In a statement, Newtown Square, Pa.-based Graham Partners said that it considers thermoformed packaging to be an “attractive niche market” that is benefiting from increasing consumer demand for sustainable packaging options and freshly prepared, on-the-go meals.

Founded in 1979, James L. Villa is a third-generation family owned and operated business that specializes in custom thermoformed and injection molded packaging for fresh food products in supermarkets.

The addition of that business will enable EasyPak to strategically expand into the southeast while providing additional customization capabilities and scale to EasyPak’s business, Graham Partners said. "James L. Villa boasts an impressive roster of loyal, long-term customers in the grocery channel,” said Dave Furstoss, CEO of EasyPak. “We are excited to partner with the business to expand our thermoformed platform presence in the southeast. We initially acquired EasyPak with the intention to build a top-tier mid-sized thermoformer. With three subsequent complementary acquisitions completed to date, we are well on our way to achieving this vision."
MRC

PetroChina to build three new HDPE units using LyondellBasell technology

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) announced that PetroChina will use the LyondellBasell Hostalen “Advanced Cascade Process” (Hostalen ACP) technology to produce 1,100,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) capacity, said Chemengonline.

Licensor selection has been done by China HuanQiu Contracting & Engineering Co., Ltd. (HQC), a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroChina. The low-pressure slurry process technology will be used for a 300,000-m.t./yr high density polyethylene (HDPE) unit to be built in Korla City, Xinjiang Province, a 400,000-m.t./yr plant in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province and a 400,000-m.t./yr plant in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province in the P.R. China.

With these new capacity additions, LyondellBasell has licensed over 7,700,000-m.t./yr of benchmark multi-modal HDPE resins.

“LyondellBasell is pleased to further strengthen our long-standing relationship with PetroChina by licensing three new HDPE plants in China,” said Jim Seward, vice president technology business, sustainability at LyondellBasell. “PetroChina’s selection again confirms the trust customers have in our advanced polyolefins technology."

Mr. Liu Jun, vice president of PetroChina Refining & Chemicals Company stated: “The market demands high-performance HDPE products and LyondellBasell’s multi-modal technology effectively meets these needs. Selecting LyondellBasell’s low-pressure slurry process for our petrochemical growth projects will enable us to produce high-quality products on a very sustainable, reliable and economical basis."

Mr. Wang Zhuoyan, vice president of HQC stated: “The licensor has been selected through an international bidding process. We trust in LyondellBasell’s ability to deliver world-class technology and we believe that successful cooperation can bring sustainable, long-term economic benefits to the PetroChina companies."

The PetroChina HDPE plants will commence operations using Avant Z 501 and Avant Z509-1 catalysts to produce a full range of multi-modal HDPE products.
MRC

Refinery in Turkey at full capacity in May, adding to Urals shortage

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azerbaijan’s state-owned SOCAR plans to reach full oil refining capacity of 200,000 barrels per day at its Turkish STAR plant in May, three industry sources said, adding to shortages of Russian Urals crude in southern Europe, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

STAR, SOCAR’s $6 billion Turkish oil refinery launched last year, can process Russia’s flagship Urals blend, Iraqi Kirkuk and similar grades but has only bought Russian crude so far, according to industry sources and Refinitiv Eikon data.

"STAR is working in a test mode so far, in April we will supply it with the same amount of oil as in March,” a source in SOCAR Turkey told Reuters. “Yet in May, the plant will start processing oil at its full capacity."

According to data from Refinitiv Eikon and trading sources, STAR processed around 700,000 tonnes of oil, or 166,000 barrels per day, in March. A second source, familiar with the plant’s plans, confirmed STAR is due to process 200,000 bpd next month.

The SOCAR Turkey source said STAR planned to continue processing solely Urals in the coming months, as in the past. This means that STAR alone will consume almost a half of the Urals grade offered in the Mediterranean, Reuters calculations showed.

Urals differentials in the Mediterranean have traded at a premium to dated Brent in January-February and reached the highest premium since 2013 earlier this year due to limited exports of the grade and a shortage of sour grades due to a lack of Iranian crude because of sanctions.

And as the sanctions waivers by the United States on Venezuelan oil sales expire later in April, demand for Urals, coupled with the need for more volumes at STAR, is going to tighten Russia’s oil supply in southern Europe, traders say.

The SOCAR Turkey source said thus far, the company regards Urals price as acceptable but if it rises any further, it may consider buying other oil grades. SOCAR did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment.
MRC

ExxonMobil announces 13th discovery offshore Guyana

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said it made a new oil discovery offshore Guyana at the Yellowtail-1 well, marking the 13th discovery on the Stabroek Block, reported Reuters.

The discovery adds to the previously announced estimated recoverable resource of approximately 5.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels on the Stabroek Block. Yellowtail-1 is the fifth discovery in the Turbot area, which ExxonMobil expects to become a major development hub.

"Similar to the Liza area, successive discoveries in the Turbot area have continuously grown its shared value," said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of ExxonMobil Exploration and New Ventures. "Our success here can be attributed to our industry-leading upstream capabilities, the strength of our partnerships and our ongoing commitment to growing Guyana’s offshore potential."

Yellowtail-1 encountered approximately 292 feet (89 meters) of high-quality oil bearing sandstone reservoir and was drilled to a depth of 18,445 feet (5,622 meters) in 6,046 feet (1,843 meters) of water. The well is located approximately 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of the Tilapia discovery. The Noble Tom Madden began drilling the ellowtail well on March 27. It will next drill the Hammerhead-2 well.

Exploration and development activities continue at other locations on the Stabroek Block. The Stena Carron is currently completing a well test at the Longtail-1 discovery and upon completion will next drill the Hammerhead-3 well. Later in 2019, the Stena Carron will drill a second well at the Ranger discovery. The Noble Bob Douglas drillship is currently completing development drilling operations for the Liza Phase 1 development. ExxonMobil is also evaluating plans to add another exploration drillship, bringing the number of drillships offshore Guyana to four.

ExxonMobil has previously said there is potential for at least five floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels on the Stabroek Block producing more than 750,000 barrels of oil per day by 2025. Startup of the Liza Phase 1 development is on track to begin by the first quarter of 2020 and will produce up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day utilizing the Liza Destiny FPSO, which is expected to arrive in country in the third quarter.

Liza Phase 2 is expected to startup by mid-2022. A final investment decision is expected soon subject to government and regulatory approvals. Upon approval, the project plans to use the Liza Unity FPSO to produce up to 220,000 barrels per day. Sanctioning of a third development, Payara, is also expected in 2019, with startup projected for 2023.

The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres (26,800 square kilometers). ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45 percent interest in the Stabroek Block. Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. holds 30 percent interest and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CNOOC Limited, holds 25 percent interest.

As MRC informed before, in October 2017, ExxonMobil Chemical Company commenced production on the first of two new 650,000 tons-per-year high-performance polyethylene (PE) lines at its plastics plant in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The full project, part of the company’s multi-billion dollar expansion project in the Baytown area and ExxonMobil’s broader Growing the Gulf expansion initiative, will increase the plant’s polyethylene capacity by approximately 1.3 million tons per year.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

Ukrainian PVC imports decreased by 44%, exports decreased by 2% in Q1

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Ukraine decreased by 44% in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2018 and reached about 11,600 tonnes. Also during the period under review, export sales of Ukrainian PVC decreased, according to MRC DataScope.

Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market dropped to 3,700 tonnes from 4,100 tonnes in February, with US resin accounting for the main decrease. Overall SPVC imports reached 11,600 tonnes in January-March 2019, compared to 20,500 tonnes a year earlier. A temporary decrease in the capacity utilisation of Karpatneftekhim due to a fire in ethylene production did not lead to an increase in import volumes. At the same time, the reduction in production volumes led to a decrease in export sales by 2%.

Structure of PVC imports into Ukraine over the reported period was as follows.
Last month's SPVC imports to the Ukrainian market dropped to 3,700 tonnes from 4,100 tonnes in February, with US resin accounting for the main decrease. Overall SPVC imports reached 11,600 tonnes in January-March 2019, compared to 20,500 tonnes a year earlier.

A temporary decrease in the capacity utilisation of Karpatneftekhim due to a fire in ethylene production did not lead to an increase in import volumes. At the same time, the reduction in production volumes led to a decrease in export sales by 2%.
MRC