Honeywell introduces new enterprise performance management software

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell announced it launched a new category of software, Enterprise Performance Management for Operations Technology, that will improve the way a variety of companies collect, analyze and act on data from their operations, said the company.

The software solution, called Honeywell Forge, will leverage the company’s more than 100 years of expertise in asset and process control technology and will transform the way work gets done by owners and operators of buildings, airlines, industrial facilities and other critical assets and infrastructure.

Honeywell Forge converts massive quantities of data from equipment, processes and people into intuitive, actionable insights that enable monitoring of enterprise operations from a single screen. In turn, this helps customers optimize the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of their business.

Honeywell Forge is designed to be quick and cost-effective to implement, with a hardware- and software-agnostic approach that allows for use of existing systems. Honeywell Forge leverages predictive analytics to help identify maintenance issues before they happen; enable workers to be more productive, proficient and safe; reduce costs; and increase productivity. The company is developing Honeywell Forge to incorporate the latest cybersecurity protections.

“Large enterprises around the world consistently lack top-to-bottom visibility into how their operations are performing, and most lack the ability to derive business intelligence from their disparate data sources. Their existing systems are disjointed and have shortcomings that slow growth and cut into profitability,” said Que Dallara, president and chief executive officer of Honeywell Connected Enterprise. “Honeywell Forge can provide leaders of complex businesses with the visibility they need to transform their operations quickly and efficiently, at every level and with minimum disruption, enabling users to focus resources on innovation and achieving business objectives."

According to a recent Honeywell survey[1], more than 80 percent of C-suite executives and senior decision makers believe it is important to implement a holistic solution as companies look to digitize and better connect their operations. The same survey shows key decision makers believe better enterprise management will offer superior predictive information, leading to safer and more secure facilities, enhanced efficiency and profitability in the supply chain, more efficient use of resources, and better real-time decision making to avoid downtime. Honeywell Forge offers these advantages and more to customers looking for quick adoption and fast payback.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemicals company, may carry out a long-planned initial public offering (IPO) no earlier than 2020 and eyes Moscow as the main venue for the listing, reported Reuters with reference to Sibur's Chief Executive Dmitry Konov.

Sibur had previously said it would be better placed for an IPO, which it last year estimated at as much as $3 billion, after its huge new plant in western Siberia, ZapSibNefteKhim, is launched.

Konov told Reuters on Thursday that Sibur has completed construction of the plant but said he would rather not predict when the plant will start working at full pace.

"We will launch production this year, there will be output. But the exact timing of reaching the projected capacity depends on many factors," Konov said.

Speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum in St Petersburg, Konov said Sibur would prefer listing on the Moscow Exchange to having shares also traded on a bourse abroad. He declined to comment on a possible IPO price.

Speaking about the trade row between the United States and China, Konov warned this could have a negative impact in the long term, while it could provide some opportunities in the near future.

China in May decided to levy an additional tariff of 25% on some US goods including liquefied natural gas, soy oil, peanut oil, petrochemicals, frozen vegetables and cosmetics.

Washington promised to retaliate. This week, US President Donald Trump threatened to hit China with tariffs on "at least" another USD300 billion worth of Chinese goods, a move that crowned trade tensions that have risen sharply since talks aimed at ending a festering trade war broke down in early May.

"Any trade wars and a decline in the international trade entail lower economic growth, which is bad... In the near term, some could make money on changes in (trade) flows," Konov said.

"But that's a win in the short term and a loss in the long term."

Amid global trade issues, Sibur and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a number of cooperation agreements earlier last week to join forces, particularly in processing natural gas into petrochemicals in Russia and China.

The deals were signed on the day that Chinese President Xi Jinping met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow and called him his "best friend". The two leaders are also set to speak at the same panel at the St Petersburg forum on Friday.

Sibur and Sinopec have also signed a distribution agreement to supply polyethylene to China from Sibur's ZapSibNeftekhim site, the plant that plays the milestone role in its IPO plans.

"This agreement hedges us against the way we are doing on other priority markets," Konov said, referring to the polyethylene deal without giving details on how it will affect Sibur's production figures.

SIBUR is a uniquely positioned vertically integrated gas processing and petrochemicals company. We own and operate Russia’s largest gas processing business in terms of associated petroleum gas processing volumes and are a leader in the Russian petrochemicals industry. As of 31 March 2014, SIBUR operated 27 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 large customers engaged in the energy, chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction and other industries in approximately 70 countries worldwide and employed over 27,000 personnel.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The United States targeted Iran's petrochemical industry in new sanctions imposed, including the country's largest petrochemical holding group over its financial support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported Reuters with reference to the Treasury Department's statement.

The new sanctions come as Washington keeps up pressure against Iran over its ballistic missile program and for waging proxy wars in other Middle Eastern countries.

The sanctions target Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC) for providing financial support the economic arm of the IRGC, Iran's elite military unit in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

Treasury also designated the holding group's network of 39 subsidiary petrochemical companies and foreign-based sales agents. PGPIC and its subsidiaries hold 40% of Iran’s petrochemical production capacity and are responsible for 50% of Iran’s total petrochemical exports, it said.

"By targeting this network we intend to deny funding to key elements of Iran's petrochemical sector that provide support to the IRGC," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The Treasury statement said Iran's oil ministry last year awarded the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya, the IRGC's economic and engineering arm, 10 projects in oil and petrochemical industries worth USD22 billion, four times the official budget of the IRGC.

The United States in April officially designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. law already punished U.S. persons who deal with the IRGC with up to 20 years in prison because of the group’s designation under the Specially Designated Global Terrorist list, a different sanctions program.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, in the first half of May 2019, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said there was no link between an initial oil agreement his government was about to sign with Exxon Mobil and its receipt of waivers from the United States exempting it from sanctions on Iran.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A deal to supply Belarus’ Naftan refinery with an additional 200,000 tons of oil this month has not yet been agreed, reported Reuters with reference to state news agency RIA, which quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak's statement.

Russia and Belarus agreed a plan in late May to pump contaminated Russian oil out of Belarus’ pipeline system and provide Naftan with additional supply in June.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, the impact on European refinery throughput in the second quarter of 2019 from contaminated crude on the Druzhba pipeline is seen at roughly 250,000 barrels per day, under 2% of the continent’s product demand, as per the International Energy Agency.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec has announced the production capability of 10 million and 15 million tons of low-sulfur marine fuel oil in 2020 and 2023, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

By January 1, 2020, Zhoushan and other China major ports will be fully covered with SINOPEC product availability, and more than 50 key overseas ports, including Singapore, will be covered with SINOPEC supply ability. The commitment will contribute 600,000 tons of sulfur oxide emissions reduction, equivalent to shutting down over 64 million National IV Standard trucks for a year.

Shipping emissions have become one of the major sources of air pollution in port cities and coastal areas. Data shows while a 10,000 TEU container vessel sails with a 70% load for 24 hours, it produces the equivalent amount of PM2.5 against 210,000 National IV Standard trucks. The IMO appointed research institute has forecasted that the global shipping industry is estimated to consume around 300 million tons of marine fuels in 2020. From January 1, 2020, MARPOL ANNEX VI has nailed the global sulfur-cap on marine fuels at 0.5%, down from the current 3.5%, which is 86% less than current emissions.

The sulfur-cap evokes revolutionary changes to the global shipping industry. The globalenvironment is expected to be improved fundamentally in the aspects ranging from port cities to atmosphere and oceans. Meanwhile, the major refiners are confronting opportunities and challenges. As a Category A Council Members of the IMO, China has marched a pioneer step and advanced one year ahead in implementing sulfur emission control in China's costal areas since January 1st 2019.

SINOPEC actively promotes greener development in the global shipping industry and contributes to the "China Solution". SINOPEC has launched a project in production research and development of the greener low-sulfur marine fuel oil in 2017. In the aspect of production, 10 SINOPEC refineries located in coastal cities have been projected to produce low-sulfur marine fuel oil. Shanghai, Jinling and Hainan, locations of some of the 10 refineries, have successively produced the IMO compliant marine fuel earlier this year. In the aspect of supply network development, the supply chain of SINOPEC's own refined low-sulfur marine fuel oil has already been established in Shanghai and Zhejiang. Prior to January 1, 2020, China's major ports will be covered with SINOPEC's features such as regulatory compliance, sustainable availability, and environmental concern. Simultaneously, the supply chain will reach Singapore, Hambantota, ARA areas and up to 50 key overseas ports around the globe.

SINOPEC has the responsibility, the capability and the advantages to scale up the production and supply of low-sulfur marine fuel oil. "Reduction of shipping emissions is one of the key factors in the Blue Sky Protection Campaign," said Mr.Lv Dapeng, the spokesman of SINOPEC. "The production and supply of low-sulfur marine fuel oil is a green initiative that benefits the whole world and requires concerted global action." Being the largest oil refining company, SINOPEC has advanced refining technology along with the advantage of having main refineries close to the consumption market along the coast and the river. Therefore, SINOPEC has the ability and advantages in realization of the large-scale production of low-sulfur marine fuel oil and is committed to the prevention and reduction of marine and air pollution in China and the world.

SINOPEC has completed the development layout of the low-sulfur greener marine fuel oil supply network globally. Mr. Liu Zurong, the executive director and party secretary of SINOPEC Fuel Oil Sales Co., Ltd (Sinopec Fuel Oil), said that SINOPEC Fuel Oil is the professional business arm with expertise in the global marine fuel business of SINOPEC. A well-established business network that covers China's coastal ports has been set up. Meanwhile, the supply capacity of up to 40 major ports abroad has been developed. SINOPEC adheres to the principle of "every drop of oil counts", with strict quality control in production, making SINOPEC a quality standard leader.

Furthermore, the Great Wall lubricate oil, a sub-brand of SINOPEC, has launched auxiliary products in compliance with SINOPEC low-sulfur marine fuel oil, which has obtained the OEM certification from international marine diesel engine manufacturers.

As MRC reported before, in September 2018, China's Sinopec Corp joined a group planning to build an oil refinery in Alberta, an enterprise that would strengthen demand for the Canadian province's heavily discounted crude. Thus, Sinopec, along with an Alberta indigenous group, China State Construction Engineering Corp and Alberta management company Teedrum, plan to build a refinery to process 167,000 barrels per day of crude into gasoline and other products. The SinoCan Global refinery would cost CD8.5 billion, with a financing plan still to be worked out.

Sinopec Corp. is one of the largest scale integrated energy and chemical company with upstream, midstream and downstream operations. Its principal business includes: exploring, developing, producing and trading crude oil and natural gas; producing, storing, transporting and distributing and marketing petroleum products, petrochemical products, synthetic fiber, fertilizer and other chemical products. Its refining capacity and ethylene capacity rank No.2 and No.4 globally. Sinopec listed in Hong Kong, New York, London and Shanghai in August 2001. Sinopec Group, the parent company of Sinopec Corp., is ranked the 5th in Fortune Global 500 in 2012.
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