Siemens successfully commissions wet air oxidation unit for olefins plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Siemens Water Solutions successfully installed and started up a Zimpro wet air oxidation (WAO) system at a global petrochemical company’s olefins plant in the Southern US, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The order, received in November 2017, is the second Zimpro wet air oxidation system supplied to the customer. The first system was supplied in 2004.

The Zimpro WAO system will treat spent caustic generated in the production of ethylene by destroying odorous and high chemical oxygen demand (COD) pollutants. The system also generates an effluent that can be safely neutralized and sent to a biological treatment plant, where it is further treated for discharge.

Siemens Water Solutions addresses water and wastewater needs of the oil and gas industry with a portfolio that includes physical and chemical separation, biological treatment, and complex hydrothermal technologies.

As MRC informed before, in April 2019, Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America, entered into an agreement with Siemens to modernize a cogeneration power and steam plant at its Petrochemical Complex in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Completion of the project is expected in early 2021.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Investment banks are scrambling to re-pitch to advise Saudi Aramco on a possible initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter said, with Saudi Arabia’s energy minister confirming plans for the listing to proceed in 2020 or 2021, as per Reuters.

FILE PHOTO: An Aramco oil tank is seen at the production facility at Saudi Aramco's Shaybah oilfield in the Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia, May 22, 2018.

“There is some shifting in terms of what roles the banks might have if IPO talks go ahead.” JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and HSBC were picked to play a leading role in the world’s biggest ever IPO when the plan was first announced in 2016. Boutique investment banks Moelis & Co and Evercore were also hired by Aramco as independent advisers. But plans for a domestic and international listing were later postponed.

The Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih, who also chairs Aramco, said on Tuesday the company was ready to start working on the long-awaited listing, adding it could happen in 2020-2021. “The IPO process was never fully suspended,” al-Falih said.

“We have always been clear that the IPO will happen in the 2020-2021 timeframe. We have never stopped talking about the IPO.”

Al-Falih pointed to Aramco’s USD69.1 billion acquisition of a 70 percent stake in petrochemicals firm Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) along with a recent USD12 billion bonds sale as the main reason for the IPO delay. “Now that all of these issues have been cleared, we are ready to start planning for the IPO,” he said.

Al-Falih confirmed the same timeline that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS, provided on June 16 when he said the government remained fully committed to the IPO project, expecting it to take place between 2020 and early 2021.

MbS’s comments triggered a series of approaches by international investment banks who wanted to be in the driving seat, one of the sources said. The IPO is a centerpiece of the crown prince’s plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil.

“It is a catch 22 situation,” another source said. “After the statement by the Crown Prince, banks have been rushing to Aramco to pitch.

As part of their client coverage, investment banks frequently discuss listing options with Aramco, but no formal IPO process is underway, a third source said.

Bloomberg earlier reported on Tuesday that Saudi Aramco recently held talks with a group of investment banks to discuss roles in its potential initial public offering, citing people familiar with the matter.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Repsol has carried out the industrial production of its Repsol 50RX2805 grade for the manufacturing of bundle shrink film, putting on the market its first material resulting from its Reciclex Project, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The material's formulation consists of a low density polyethylene (LDPE) compound into which a 50% post-consumer plastic waste is incorporated, which ensures the consistency of the material and its functionality for the final application.

This grade is the first derived from its Reciclex Project to become part of Repsol's new polyolefins portfolio incorporating a percentage of post-consumer plastic waste. The new material offers new solutions to boost the circular economy, enabling to incorporate recycled plastic on a commercial scale in an application where its presence was merely testimonial; and it unfolds new uses, without compromising the final application technical requirements.

Repsol 50RX2805, used in bundle shrink films as secondary packaging for transport packs of cans, bottles, bricks or cardboard boxes, allows the converter to incorporate between 25-30% post-consumer recycled content in the formulation of the final film, without altering its mechanical properties Repsol 50RX2805, used in bundle shrink films as secondary packaging for transport of multi-packs of cans, bottles, cartons or cardboard boxes, allows the converter to incorporate between 25-30% post-consumer recycled content in the formulation of the final film, without altering its mechanical properties.

With these new materials, Repsol advances its commitment to the circular economy and its value chain, putting into the market new solutions that will generate additional demand for plastic recycling, in line with its pledge in the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA), launched by the European Commission in December 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China has issued more crude oil import quotas for refiners that will allow them to bring in an additional 56.85 million tonnes for the remainder of 2019, a document reviewed by Reuters showed.

This will bring the total quotas issued this year to 151 million tonnes of crude oil. That is equivalent to 3.02 million barrels per day (bpd), Reuters calculations showed.

As MRC informed earlier, China issued its first batch of crude oil import quotas for 2019 at a lower volume than for the same batch a year ago though expectations are for the volumes to climb later this year. The Ministry of Commerce granted quotas totaling 89.84 million tonnes to 58 companies in its first allowances for 2019.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Polymer maker Synthomer Plc said it has agreed to buy Omnova Solutions Inc (OMN.N) for an enterprise value of USD824 million in a bid to strengthen its global position, said Reuters.

Synthomer is offering Omnova USD10.15 for each share, a premium of 58% to Omnova’s closing price on Tuesday. Shares of Synthomer fell 5% to 352.4 pence, making them the top loser on the FTSE 250 index.

Acquiring Omnova will help Synthomer bolster its footprint in Europe and Asia and help penetrate into China, Synthomer said in a statement.

The deal will be financed through a rights issue of up to USD257 million and is likely to be completed by late 2019 or early 2020.

Upon completion, Synthomer expects the deal to add to its earnings in the first financial year and expects an annual pre-tax cost savings of USD29.6 million by the end of the third year.

Separately, Omnova said its second-quarter profit fell over 33% to USD5.6 million, hurt by volatile markets and challenging economic conditions, it said in a statement.

MRC