Solvay Q1 net profit rises

MOSCOW (MRC)--Solvay's net profit rose in the first quarter of this year amid higher product prices across all of its business segments, said the producer.

Shareholders voted in favor of all the resolutions proposed. More specifically, they approved the payment of a gross dividend of EUR3.75 per share for the year 2018. After deduction of the interim dividend of EUR1.44 gross per share, paid in January 2019, the balance amounts to EUR2.31 gross per share, payable as of May 23, 2019.

During the General Shareholders Meeting, shareholders also approved the re-election of Mrs. Marjan Oudeman as independent director and Mr. Charles Casimir-Lambert as director of the Board, both for a four-year term. The shareholders also confirmed the mandate of Mrs. Ilham Kadri as director. Mr. Yves-Thibault de Silguy has reached the statutory age limit and therefore did not seek re-appointment. The number of directors therefore falls from 16 to 15.

The Board has unanimously decided to appoint Mrs. Amparo Moraleda to chair the Nominations Committee, succeeding to Mr. Yves-Thibault de Silguy.

Solvay is an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company, committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. Solvay innovates and partners with customers worldwide in many diverse end-markets. Its products are used in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, as well as in mineral and oil and gas extraction, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Its lightweighting materials promote cleaner mobility, its formulations optimize the use of resources, and its performance chemicals improve air and water quality.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Honeywell announced that Venture Global LNG, Inc. will use a series of technologies from Honeywell UOP to remove various contaminants from natural gas prior to liquefaction at its Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, said the producer.

Honeywell UOP will provide engineering, procurement and fabrication services for the complex which, when completed, will produce 10 million tons per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export to markets in Asia, Europe and other locations.

"With this project, Honeywell UOP is helping Venture Global LNG build a facility that provides the lowest-cost supply of LNG by using large-scale high-performance equipment,” said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Gas Processing and Hydrogen business. “By delivering this technology in modular form, we can reduce construction and installation costs compared with traditional field-constructed systems."

"Honeywell UOP is an established leader in advanced proprietary technologies for gas pretreatment, and we’re pleased to be partnered with them on this critical project,” said Bob Pender, co-CEO of Venture Global LNG. “These technologies are proven and reliable, and the delivery of those technologies in modular form provides better quality and adherence to delivery schedules," added co-CEO Mike Sabel.

The project will include a Honeywell UOP Mercury Removal Unit (MRU) and three separate trains each consisting of an Acid Gas Removal Unit (AGRU) and molecular sieve dehydration unit. Taken together, these modular units will remove water, mercury, carbon dioxide and sulfur from 1.6 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas so it can be liquefied and safely transported to customers on ocean-going vessels.

Mercury occurs naturally in small concentrations in most natural gas. Effective mercury removal processes are necessary to protect cryogenic equipment used to liquefy natural gas. UOP’s non-regenerable adsorbents in the MRU remove even trace quantities of mercury effectively.

Other naturally occurring contaminants such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, often referred to as acid gases, must be removed from natural gas before it can be liquefied. The natural gas is treated by passing it through an amine solution in the AGRU. After being treated, the natural gas is dehydrated using UOP molecular sieves to remove all the water to prevent freezing in the cryogenic liquefaction process.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The new refinery that Mexico’s government has tasked state oil company Pemex to build will likely cost at least USD2 billion to USD4 billion more than the government estimates due to its “limited know-how,” credit rating agency Moody’s said.

Last week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the refinery, slated to be built at the Gulf coast port of Dos Bocas for USD8 billion, will break ground early next month and be completed by May 2022.

The ratings agency described the decision to build the refinery without private sector expertise as one that would be “costly."

"Given the government’s (and Pemex’s) lack of experience in building refineries, the project is likely to end up costing more and taking longer than the government anticipates, placing further strains on fiscal resources,” Moody’s said in a statement.

The project, one of Lopez Obrador’s top priorities, has been repeatedly criticized by investors and ratings agencies due to concerns it will divert funds away from Pemex’s more profitable exploration and production business.

Moody’s said the decision raised further questions about the predictability of the government’s decision-making, pointing to the negative reaction to Lopez Obrador’s cancellation of a part-built USD13 billion new Mexico City airport last October.

"His government’s pledge to maintain fiscal responsibility appears increasingly in tension with its ambitious social and infrastructure spending agenda,” Moody’s said. The implications for Mexico’s credit profile will partly depend on whether it continues to undermine market confidence, hurting its economic prospects, the agency added.

The leftist president has defended the project as needed to make Mexico more self-sufficient in production of gasoline, and wean the country off growing fuel imports. Earlier on Monday, Lopez Obrador unveiled a new financial package with major banks designed to improved Pemex’s balance sheet and head off a fresh ratings downgrade of the firm.

The measures include USD2.5 billion in debt refinancing and a renewal of USD5.5 billion worth of credit lines.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea's Hanwha Total Petrochemical on Thursday declared force majeure on styrene monomer supply from its 650,000 mt/year No. 2 unit in Daesan, due to an ongoing labour strike, reported Apic-online with reference to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Daesan plant operates two SM units with a nameplate capacity of 400,000 mt/year and 650,000 mt/year, respectively.

The units were shut for scheduled maintenance on March 22, S&P Global Platts reported previously.

The original start-up date for the smaller No. 1 unit had been April 25, but was delayed to May 6, and is currently running at a low operating rate, sources said.

The No. 2 unit was scheduled to resume operations on May 8, but sources said the restart date is unclear amid the strike.

As MRC informed before, Hanwha Total Petrochemical Co Ltd said in December 2017 that it planned to spend USD331.29 MM on a new factory in South Korea to increase polyethylene (PE) output by 400 Mtpy by 2019. The joint venture of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group and French oil and gas company Total SA in a statement said the factory will raise its polyethylene capacity to 1.12 MMtpy when completed by the end of 2019.

Hanwha Group is one of the largest business conglomerate in South Korea. Founded in 1952 as Korea Explosives Inc., the group has grown into a large multi-profile business conglomerate, with diversified holdings stretching from explosives, their original business, to retail to financial services.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shin-Etsu is likely to start maintenance at its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Kashima, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Japan informed that the company has schedule to shut the plant for turnaround in mid-May, 2019. The plant is likely to remain off-line for a period of around two weeks.

Located at Kashima in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 550,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, last year, Shin-Etsu started maintenance at its PVC plant in Kashima in April 2018 for a period of around six weeks. The exact date of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located at Kashima in Japan, the plant has a production capacity of 550,000 mt/year.

Shin-Etsu is the world and US' largest PVC producer.
MRC