LyondellBasell announces final results of modified Dutch Auction tender offer

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell has announced the final results of its "modified Dutch Auction" tender offer, which expired one minute after 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on July 8, 2019, as per the company's press release.

Based on the final count by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depositary for the tender offer (the "Depositary"), a total of 35,144,596 shares of LyondellBasell's ordinary shares, EUR0.04 par value per share, were properly tendered and not properly withdrawn at or below the purchase price of USD88.00 per share.

LyondellBasell has accepted for purchase 35,144,596 shares at a price of $88.00 per share, for an aggregate cost of approximately USD3.09 billion, excluding fees and expenses relating to the tender offer. These shares represent approximately 9.5 percent of the shares outstanding as of July 8, 2019.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as dealer managers for the tender offer.

As MRC reported 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) -- McDermott announced the recent "successful" start-up of the "world's largest" catalytic dehydrogenation unit at Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co.'s site in Liaoning Province, China, as per Apic-online.

The single-train dehydrogenation plant, which utilizes McDermott's Lummus Catofin technology and Clariant's Catofin catalyst, has the capability to process 500,000 t/y of propane and 800,000 t/y of isobutene for the production of propylene and isobutylene.

McDermott also supplied the process design package, training and technical support for the facility.

PCN earlier reported that the project was part of a new 20-million-t/y integrated refining and petrochemical complex at Hengli's site that includes a 450,000-t/y polypropylene plant and a 4.5-million-t/y aromatics facility. Completion is expected this year.

"Lummus Catofin technology continues to be the dehydrogenation technology of choice, continually exceeding customer expectations for overall performance," noted Leon de Bruyn, senior vice president of McDermott's Lummus Technology business.

As MRC informed before, in May 2018, INVISTA’s technology and licensing group, INVISTA Performance Technologies (IPT), and Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Co.,Ltd. (Hengli) reached an agreement to license INVISTA’s latest purified terephthalic acid (PTA) process technology for Hengli’s fourth PTA line. Hengli’s first three PTA lines, the first of which began operation in 2012, also utilize INVISTA’s technology and have a combined capacity of 6.6 million metric tonnes per year. The fourth line will have a design capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes per year and will be installed at Changxing Island, Liaoning Province of China.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Petlin Malaysia Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Petronas has set the maintenance shutdown date at its sole LDPE plant in Kertih, Malaysia on 22 August 2019, said Commoplast.

The unit is expected to remain off-line for 30 days, a source close to the company said.

The LDPE plant has an annual capacity of 250,000 tons.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the company is operating its HDPE plant at a lower rate due to a mechanical issue.

As MRC informed earlier, in July 2013, Petlin shut its low density polyethylene (LDPE) plant for maintenance turnaround.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polyethylene (PE) into Ukraine increased to about 131,100 tonnes in the first six months of 2019, up 9% compared to the same period of 2018. The high density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main increase in imports, according to MRC's DataScope report.

Last month's PE imports to Ukraine dropped to 19,800 tonnes from 21,100 tonnes in June, shipments of HDPE decreased. Overall PE imports reached 131,100 tonnes in January-June 2019, compared to 120,500 tonnes a year earlier. Import deliveries of HDPE and linear polyethylene increased, while imports of other types of ethylene polymers decreased.

The supply structure by PE grades looked the following way over the stated period.
Last month's HDPE imports fell to 6,800 tonnes from 8,700 tonnes in June, with pipe grade PE accounting for the reduction in shipments. Overall HDPE imports reached 48,800 tonnes in the first six months of 2019, compared to 37,200 tonnes a year earlier.

June imports of low density polyethylene (LDPE) into Ukraine were about 5,700 tonnes against 5,100 tonnes a month earlier. Overall LDPE imports reached 37,400 tonnes over the stated period, down 5% year on year.

Last month's imports of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) were about 6,400 tonnes, compared to 6,500 tonnes in May. In general, January - June LLDPE imports into Ukraine increased to 38,800 tonnes compared with 36,900 tonnes year on year.

Imports of other grades of polyethylene, including EVA for the period under review reached about 6,200 tonnes against 7,000 tonnes a year earlier.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia oil refining margins have more than tripled in the past four weeks to hit their highest since September 2017, data showed after refiners cut output and tightened fuel supplies, reported Reuters.

The complex refining margin for a typical Singapore refinery had rebounded to USD9.37 a barrel at the close of Asia’s markets on Thursday, up from USD2.74 a barrel on June 21, the lowest for June since 2003.

Profits for gasoline, naphtha, diesel, jet fuel and high-sulfur fuel oil rose this month after several refiners across Asia either reduced output or shut down plants for maintenance from late in the second-quarter after refining margins slumped to their lowest for the season since 2003.

Refinery shutdowns in China also propped up the market as state oil majors cut back exports.

Refineries globally have also started to scale down high-sulfur fuel oil production six months ahead of a switch to lower sulfur marine fuel.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will require ships to burn fuel with 0.5% sulfur instead of the current 3.5% from the start of next year.
MRC