PP production in Russia dropped by 4.5% in Jan-Apr 2019

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia's overall polypropylene (PP) production decreased in the first four months of 2019 by 4.5% year on year to 474,000 tonnes. Four producers out of seven reduced the capacity utilisation, according to MRC's ScanPlast report.

April PP output dropped to 128,000 tonnes from 133,300 tonnes a month, earlier, SIBUR Tobolsk and Nizhnekamskneftekhim reduced their capacity utilisation. Russia's overall PP production reached 474,000 tonnes in January-April 2019, compared to 496,100 tonnes a year earlier. Four producers out of seven, namely, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Poliom, SIBUR Tobolsk and Stavrolen, reduced their output.

The structure of PP production by plants looked the following way over the stated period.

SIBUR Tobolsk reduced its capacity utilisation in April, its total production fell to 48,200 tonnes from 50,600 tonnes a month earlier. The Tobolsk plant's total PP production reached 157,100 tonnes in January-April 2019, down by 9% year on year.

Poliom (Titan Group) produced 18,600 tonnes of PP last month, compared to 19,000 tonnes in March. Overall, the Omsk plant produced 71,500 tonnes of PP over the stated period, down by 2% year on year.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim produced 15,200 tonnes of propylene polymers in April versus 18,300 tonnes a month earlier. The Nizhnekamsk plant's overall output of polymer exceeded 68,800 tonnes in the first four months of 2019, compared to 69,600 tonnes a year earlier.

Tomskneftekhim produced 12,400 tonnes of propylene polymers last month versus 12,800 tonnes in March. The Tomsk plant's PP output reached 49,400 tonnes over the stated period, up by 1% year on year.

Ufaorgsintez's total PP production was 11,100 tonnes in April versus 11,300 tonnes a month earlier. The Ufa plant's overall output of polymer reached 44,800 tonnes in January-April 2019, which virtually corresponded to the last year's figure.

Neftekhimiya (Kapotnya) produced 12,200 tonnes last month, compared to 12,800 tonnes in March. The plant's overall PP output reached 48,700 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8% year on year.

Stavrolen (LUKOIL) increased its capacity utilisation in April, the total production of propylene polymers was 10,100 tonnes versus 8,500 tonnes a month earlier. The Budenovsk plant's overall output of propylene polymers decreased to 33,800 tonnes in the first four months of 2019 from 41,000 tonnes a year earlier.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sika is starting operations at a plant in Doha, Qatar, for the production of concrete admixtures. The country on the east coast of the Arabian peninsula is an attractive market thanks to large-scale infrastructure investment and a number of mega projects, both ongoing and planned, said the company.

Following the establishment of the national subsidiary in 2012, Sika is expanding its presence in Qatar with its own production facility, thereby positioning itself as a provider of high-performance product technologies that are now manufactured on a local basis and close to customers. Alongside production lines for concrete-admixture manufacturing, the main office and a central storage facility will be located at the site.

Ivo Schadler, EMEA Regional Manager: "The optimization of our supply chain will enable us to play an even greater role in major construction projects in Qatar. Having our own production capacities available locally makes it possible for us to lower transportation costs and enhance proximity to customers."

In December 2018, Sika opened a new production plant in Central America, located in Palin in the metropolitan area of Guatemala City.

Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry. Sika has subsidiaries in 101 countries around the world and manufactures in over 200 factories. Its more than 20,000 employees generated annual sales of CHF 7.09 billion in 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Lummus Global LLC (CLG) announced that it has been awarded a contract by HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd. (HRRL) for the license and extended basic engineering design of a 2,400 KTA delayed coking plant at its planned grassroots refinery in Barmer District, Rajasthan, India, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will use CLG’s proprietary delayed coking technology which maximizes valuable liquid products from vacuum residue stream.

As MRC informed before, in Marchl 2019, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC (NSRP) - a joint venture between PetroVietnam, Idemitsu Kosan, Kuwait Petroleum Europe, and Mitsui Chemicals - started up a large residuum hydrodesulfurization (RHDS) unit at its new 200,000 barrels per day refinery in Thanh Hoa Province in northern Vietnam. The 105,000 barrels per day RHDS unit started up in May 2018 and passed performance guarantees in December 2018. The unit is based on CLG’s proprietary RDS technology and was included in the new refinery configuration to process Kuwaiti crude oil into products to help meet Vietnam’s rising demand for transportation fuels and petrochemicals.

Chevron Lummus Global LLC (CLG), a joint venture between Chevron USA. Inc. and McDermott, is a leading process technology licensor for refining hydroprocessing technologies and alternative source fuels, as well as a global leader in catalyst system supply.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Occidental Petroleum snatched up some of the richest shale oilfields in Texas when it beat out rival Chevron Corp in a bidding war to acquire Anadarko Petroleum, said Reuters.

That means the acquisition’s success will depend on how quickly Occidental can sell off some of Anadarko’s assets and focus on optimizing and integrating the assets it keeps - especially prime U.S. shale fields.

Shedding debt will require selling assets when deals have been sluggish, said bankers and merger specialists. The number of U.S. deals has fallen to lows not seen in five years or more as investor demands for capital discipline have driven buyers from the market, said Todd Dittmann, managing director at investment firm Angelo Gordon.

“An acquisition is more often viewed as a confession of poor drilling locations and a failure of prior strategy,” Dittmann said.

Deal-makers say Chief Executive Vicki Hollub’s most likely sale prospects are Anadarko’s offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico and its pipeline business. Her challenge will be to balance such sales with the need for their cash flow to pay debt and dividends.

Hollub already has one big sale lined up: France’s Total SA agreed to pay $8.8 billion for Anadarko’s oil-and-gas producing assets outside the United States, including its biggest future expense, a multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique.

Occidental declined to comment, but CEO Hollub told shareholders and analysts she expects to squeeze $3.5 billion per year in cost savings and capital spending cuts from the deal, and is eager to apply the company’s Permian Basin expertise to Anadarko’s Texas and Colorado oil fields.

“We will make this work,” Hollub vowed. “We will get these synergies.”

In the early May, several major Occidental Petroleum Corp shareholders voiced opposition to the oil company's USD38 billion bid for rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp that now includes a pricey financing deal with billionaire Warren Buffett.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trinseo, a global materials solutions provider and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders and synthetic rubber, has recently announced it has signed a definitive agreement with The Dow Chemical Company to acquire latex production facilities and related infrastructure at Rheinmunster, Germany, as per the company's press release.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2019, following European Union regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Consideration for the transaction is approximately EUR40 million in the form of assumed pension liabilities for transferred employees.

"This acquisition is directly aligned with Trinseo’s strategy to grow its Latex Binders businesses, particularly in applications serving the Adhesives and Construction industry, as well as Specialty Paper," said Frank Bozich, President and CEO of Trinseo. "Taking full control of these advantaged manufacturing assets will allow Trinseo to produce a wider variety of products, invest capital for technology upgrades, and optimize operations for the mix of products and chemistries most needed by our customers."

The transaction includes full ownership and operational control of both latex production facilities at Rheinmunster, as well as site infrastructure and services contracts, and approximately 114 employees who are expected to transfer from Dow to Trinseo.

"This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to our customers, as it will allow us to extend the range of products we can produce," said Hayati Yarkadas, Senior Vice President and Business President, Performance Materials. "Customers will have access to a broader offering in Trinseo’s portfolio of Latex Binders products. The Rheinmunster site is well situated for future expansion, as it is already the home to our Global Research and Development center for Latex Binders, and is geographically central to serve many of our European customers."

The acquisition adds to Trinseo’s grid of production facilities across Europe =-including an existing Trinseo latex production plant in Rheinmunster, Germany, as well as operations in Hamina, Finland; Norrkoping, Sweden; and Terneuzen, The Netherlands. Together this grid of Latex Binders production facilities allows Trinseo to supply customers all across Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa.

As MRC reported earlier, Trinseo and its affiliate companies in Europe has announced a price increase for all polystyrene (PS). Effective May 1, 2019, or as existing contract terms allow, the contract and spot prices for the products listed below increased as follows:

- STYRON general purpose polystyrene grades (GPPS) - by EUR50 per metric ton;
- STYRON and STYRON A-Tech and STYRON X- Tech and STYRON C- Tech high impact polystyrene grades (HIPS) -by EUR50 per metric ton.

Trinseo is a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex and rubber. Trinseo's technology is used by customers in industries such as home appliances, automotive, building & construction, carpet, consumer electronics, consumer goods, electrical & lighting, medical, packaging, paper & paperboard, rubber goods and tires. Formerly known as Styron, Trinseo completed its renaming process in 1Q 2015. Trinseo had approximately USD4.6 billion in net sales in 2018, with 16 manufacturing sites around the world, and approximately 2,500 employees.
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