Pfizer announces takeover of Therachon

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Under the terms of the deal, Pfizer acquired Therachon for 340 million dollars with an additional 470 million dollars for the achievement of vital milestones in the development and commercialisation of TA-46, said Process-worldwide.

USA – Pfizer has recently announced the successful completion of its acquisition of the privately held clinical-stage biotechnology company Therachon Holding. Under the terms of the transaction, Pfizer acquired Therachon for 340 million dollars with an additional 470 million dollars in additional payments contingent on the achievement of key milestones in the development and commercialisation of TA-46. TA-46 is an investigational medicine for the treatment of achondroplasia, a genetic condition and the most common form of short-limb dwarfism. There are currently no approved treatment options for achondroplasia.

"Therachon becoming part of Pfizer is representative of our Rare Disease team’s 30-year commitment to develop innovative medicines that address significant unmet medical needs of people with rare diseases,” said Seng Cheng, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer’s Rare Disease Research Unit. “With our leading scientific and development capabilities, we believe we can effectively advance the development of TA-46, which has the potential to be a first-in-class therapy for the treatment of achondroplasia."

The transaction is not expected to impact Pfizer’s current 2019 adjusted financial guidance.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oxea plans to build a new large-scale plant for the production of carboxylic acids in Oberhausen. With this project, the company is responding to rising global demand, said Process-worldwide.

Monheim am Rhein/Germany — With the construction of a new plant, Oxea intends to significantly improve the supply base for isononanoic acid. The plant is the sixth of its kind in the company's global production network. After commissioning by the end of 2021, it will double the current production capacity for isononanoic acid and increase the total production capacity for carboxylic acids by more than 30?%.

According to Kyle Hendrix, Global Commercial Director for Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives at Oxea, the Oberhausen site offers decisive advantages in terms of construction time and integration into the existing production network. The manufacturer will also set up its own logistics centre in Asia to support the growth and agility of the Asian market.

The construction of the sixth carboxylic acid plant plays an important role in the company's growth vision. Dr. Oliver Borgmeier, COO of Oxea, added that the production processes in the acid plants are to be further improved and bottlenecks eliminated in 2020 and 2021.

Carboxylic acids are used in the production of synthetic lubricants and as building blocks for the animal feed industry.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The joint venture company, Al Dhafra Petroleum has started production of crude oil from Abu Dhabi’s Haliba field. Initial production from the field would progressively increase to 40,000 bpd by the end of 2019, said Process-worldwide.

Abu Dhabi/UAE –Al Dhafra Petroleum, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the Korea National Oil Company (KNOC) and GS Energy, and one of Adnoc’s youngest operating companies recently announced that it has begun producing crude oil from Abu Dhabi’s Haliba field. The company has also discovered potential resources in three new fields in its concession area. The success of Haliba reinforces the UAE’s and South Korea’s strategic bilateral relations. It also reflects the importance Adnoc places on its long-term partnership with South Korea’s energy sector.

Haliba field, located along the southeast border of Abu Dhabi emirate, is a building block of Adnoc’s oil production capacity growth to 4 million barrels per day by the end of 2020. Adnoc said the initial production from the field would progressively increase to 40,000 bpd by the end of 2019 as Al Dhafra Petroleum further unlocks the substantial potential of the field.

Al Dhafra Petroleum embarked on an extensive appraisal programme in the Haliba field that enabled it to discover 1.1 billion barrels of original oil in place (OOIP), a significant increase from the 180 million initially estimated. At the same time, it discovered potential resources in three new fields – Al Humrah, Bu Tasah, and Bu Nikhelah – following intensive exploration programmes.

This is the first time Al Dhafra Petroleum is producing crude since it was established in 2014 and, to commemorate the milestone, a special ceremony was held at the Adnoc Headquarters, where His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group CEO, hosted a government delegation from South Korea led by His Excellency Ilpyo Hong, Chairman of the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Start-Ups Committee of the National Assembly of South Korea; and included His Excellency Youngjoon Joo, South Korea’s Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy; Suyeong Yang, President and CEO of KNOC; Yongsoo Huh, President and CEO of GS Energy; members of South Korea’s National Assembly; and government officials from South Korea.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: “The start of production from the Haliba field highlights the important role of energy cooperation in strengthening the close and deep-rooted strategic relationship between the UAE and South Korea. Adnoc has a successful history of partnership with South Korea’s energy sector, and we continue to place great importance on this strategic partnership as we accelerate delivery of our 2030 smart growth strategy.

“First oil from Haliba demonstrates our ambition to unlock and maximise value from all of Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas resources to create long-term and sustainable returns for the UAE and our partners as we respond to the world’s growing demand for energy. Adnoc is committed to delivering a more profitable upstream business and expanding our oil production capacity, and the production from Haliba field is an integral part of achieving our targets."

Al Dhafra Petroleum plans to accelerate oil production from these fields by utilising modularised production units that provide swift and innovative production capability and will transport the oil for processing using trucks. This efficient approach can unlock immediate value by reducing the oil’s ‘discovery-to-market’ cycle to less than two years, increasing profitability and shareholder value.

H.E. Ilpyo Hong said: “Given the utmost importance of securing a stable oil supply source to Korea, successful first oil production in the Haliba field is a very meaningful event,” adding that the announcement will strengthen the South Korea-UAE strategic bilateral relationship as the two countries’ mutual interests expand over the long term.

Adnoc said that the Haliba field will serve as the main production hub in Al Dhafra Petroleum’s concession area and enable it to unlock value from other nearby prospects. Al Dhafra Petroleum continues to explore an additional 70 prospects in its concession area.

Al Dhafra Petroleum utilises smart oilfield innovation at the Haliba field to reduce operating costs while maximising value from the development of other nearby marginal fields. Operational data is integrated into a centralised system that allows for remote monitoring of the site and provides unmanned facilities capability.

To optimise Adnoc’s infrastructure, the crude oil produced from the Haliba field is transported to Adnoc Onshore’s Asab Central Degassing Station for processing. After processing, the stabilised crude is then transported via Adnoc Onshore’s existing main oil lines to the marine export terminals for export.

Al Dhafra Petroleum – 60 per cent owned by Adnoc and 40 per cent by KNOC and GSE Energy, which is represented by the Korean Abu Dhabi Oil Consortium (Kadoc) – is focused on exploring and developing its concession areas to assess the commercial value of several promising fields through an agile operating model.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced that it has determined the final Daily VWAP and the Final Price Cap (each as described below) pursuant to its previously announced tender offer to purchase up to 37,000,000 of its issued and outstanding ordinary shares, par value EUR0.04 per share, as per the company's press release.

The final Daily VWAP is USD87.3671 and the Final Price Cap for the tender offer is USD96.1038. As set forth in the offer to purchase, the "Daily VWAP" is the daily per share volume-weighted average price for Shares on the New York Stock Exchange, as defined in more detail in the offer to purchase and the "Final Price Cap" is a price that equals 110% of the Daily VWAP on the Expiration Date of the tender offer.

The tender offer expired at one minute after 11:59 P.M., New York City time, on July 8, 2019.

As MRC wrote previously, in August 2016, LyondellBasell made the final investment decision to build a high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant on the US Gulf Coast. The plant will have an annual capacity of 1.1 billion pounds (500,000 metric tons) and will be the first commercial plant to employ LyondellBasell's new proprietary Hyperzone PE technology. The start-up of the new plant is scheduled for 2019.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The PCK refinery in eastern Germany has halted imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline after once again finding “slightly elevated” levels of organic chlorides, the refinery’s owner Shell told Handelsblatt newspaper on Friday, reported Reuters.

The pipeline, which brings oil from deep inside Russia to much of eastern and central Europe, has been plagued by a contamination crisis that disrupted flows from the world’s second-largest exporter of crude.

Organic cholorides are used in oil production but can damage refinery equipment if not removed.

In April, Transneft, the pipeline’s owner, pumped some 5 million tonnes of contaminated oil through its pipelines, forcing refineries throughout much of central and eastern Europe to suspend or reduce production at a cost of billions of euros.

As MRC informed before, Russia’s state pipeline monopoly Transneft will compensate all parties for losses incurred from contaminated oil, but they must prove the damage, a government official said in May 2019, as the first European refinery declared force majeure.
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