Magna invests USD11.3 million to build new mirrors facility in Morocco

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aurora, Ont.-based automotive parts supplier Magna International Inc. has begun construction of a new facility in Kenitra, Morocco, to supply global automakers with exterior and interior mirror systems, as per Canplastics.

The 61,400-square-foot facility represents an investment of USD11.3 million by Magna and is expected to create up to 275 jobs. Production at the new plant is scheduled to begin in spring 2020.

"Expanding into Morocco is a strategic move for Magna, as our customers continue to grow in the region,” John O’Hara, president Magna Mechatronics, Mirrors and Lighting, said in a statement. “We also value the high level of skilled employees and engineering talent in the region, and we look forward to building a strong and capable team."

Morocco offers a "competitive export-focused production base” for global automakers, Magna’s statement also said. “The country’s government has a stated goal of building one million vehicles per year by 2025 and has been successful in attracting automakers and investment in new production plants to achieve that goal."

The facility in Kenitra will be Magna’s second location in Morocco, following the formation of a Casablanca-based engineering joint venture with Altran Technologies SA in October 2018.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp has told Petrobras it wants proof a Pasadena, Texas, refinery will function as promised before it will take possession of the facility, reported Reuters with reference to sources.

Chevron announced in January it would buy the 112,229 barrel-per-day (bpd) Pasadena Refining System Inc (PRSI) refinery owned by Petrobras for USD350 million.

The transfer of ownership to Chevron was put on hold on April 2, one day after planned overhauls began on the refinery, the sources said.

Representatives of Chevron and Petrobras were not immediately available to comment.

PRSI filed a notice on Friday with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) that it was restarting the 56,000 bpd gasoline-producing Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit.

But, also over the weekend the catalytic reformer was shut at the refinery, the sources said. The reformer converts refining byproducts into octane-boosting components blended with gasoline.

As MRC wrote before, in May 2018, Chevron Products Company, a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Novvi LLC announced that they had entered into an agreement to jointly develop and bring to market novel renewable base oil technologies.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Inc locked 226 employees out of its Houston-area chemical plant in Deer Park, Texas, after United Steelworkers union (USW) workers rejected the latest labor contract proposal, reported Reuters with reference to USW officials.

“Our Deer Park site will continue to operate in the safe and reliable manner our neighbors, employees and customers have come to expect of us; but it will be without the United Steelworkers after 2 p.m. on April 22nd," Dow spokeswoman Ashley Mendoza said on Monday.

Dow has twice made contract proposals it called “last, best and final.” The first was rejected by 96 percent of the membership and the second by 98 percent, said Lee Medley, president of Local 13-1, which represents the Dow workers.

USW District 13 Director Ruben Garza said overtime distribution, as well as fatigue and safety due to understaffing, were at the heart of the dispute.

"The USW is committed to making sure that we have consistent and safe staffing levels,” Garza said in a statement. “These negotiations are about more than just money. We also must consider the safety and well-being of the workers and the entire community."

Mendoza said Dow and the USW had reached an impasse.

"Although we have made progress on many elements, we have come to an impasse on others," she said. "Harmonization of collective bargaining agreements within Dow across North America is critical."

As MRC reported earlier, Dow plans to invest in an alkoxylation facility on the US Gulf Coast. Upon completion, this new facility will support global growth in Dow’s core end-markets related to infrastructure and home and personal care, as well as additional end-markets where Dow continues to strengthen its position for the TRITON, TERGITOL, ECOSURF and CARBOWAX SENTRY brands.

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel on Wednesday met analyst expectations with a 19 percent increase in core profit to 248 million euros (USD278.2 million), as higher prices and cost savings offset raw material inflation, said the company.

Revenues were flat at 2.19 billion euros, despite falling sales volumes in China and other regions, while Akzo said it was on track to meet its financial targets set for 2020.

“We’re encouraged by the underlying business performance during this seasonally low quarter,” CEO Thierry Vanlancker said in a statement.

Raw material inflation cost 77 million euros in the first quarter and will continue in the first half of 2019, the company said, but at a lower rate than last year.

Akzo maintained its target of increasing return on sales to 15 percent by 2020, as the margin improved to 9.1 percent in the first three months of the year. Overall cost savings were on track to reach 200 million euros next year, Vanlancker said.

Akzo sold its specialty chemicals unit last year for 10 billion euros to a group of buyers led by Carlyle Group, after a bitter fight with shareholders to prevent an unwanted takeover by U.S. rival PPG Industries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) said Monday it has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group for liquefied natural gas or LNG supply, noting that the agreement demonstrates it's commitment to help meet China's natural gas demand, Rthnews.

Under the agreement, Zhejiang Energy is expected to receive 1 million metric tons per annum of LNG over a period of 20 years. Zhejiang Energy will build a Wenzhou LNG receiving terminal.

"ExxonMobil shares Zhejiang Energy's vision in developing a major LNG gateway in the Ningbo-Zhoushan region. We look forward to continuing our support for Zhejiang Energy during the construction, commissioning and operation of its Wenzhou LNG receiving terminal," said Peter Clarke, senior vice president of LNG at ExxonMobil.

As MRC wrote earlier, 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.
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