Linde launches new ASU in Central Malaysia to supply to Nippon Electric Glass

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde Malaysia, the leading gases and engineering company, has announced it has started up a new gas and liquid producing air separation unit (ASU) supplying oxygen, nitrogen and argon to leading Japanese glass manufacturer, Nippon Electric Glass (NEG) and other customers located at the Hicom Industrial Estate (Hicom) in central Malaysia, as per Linde's press release.

This new ASU expands Linde’s existing production capacity at its Hicom facility by 60 percent and will meet the growing demand from its customers in the electronics, healthcare, metallurgy, glass and food and beverage industries.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony, Binod Patwari, Linde’s Regional Managing Director for ASEAN said, "We are pleased to have started supplying NEG while expanding our industrial gas capacity and pipeline supply network in central Malaysia. This plant will increase our network density, ability to reliably supply and support the growth of our other customers within central Malaysia."

The new plant will be integrated into Linde’s Remote Operating Centre (ROC), which is also located at Hicom. Through remote network access, employees at the ROC monitor, operate and control systems and equipment at 128 Linde plants across the ASEAN, South Asia and South Pacific regions, resulting in greater operational efficiency, optimisation of resources and reduced downtime.

"Linde’s long-term investment in Malaysia has benefitted our economy, industries and people through technology transfer, talent development and job opportunities. The company’s adoption of digital solutions to create value for its customers and the industry sets a good example and supports Industry4WRD, our National Policy on Industry 4.0, to drive technological transformation of the manufacturing and manufacturing related services sectors in Malaysia. I look forward to seeing more businesses follow Linde’s lead." said Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Deputy Minister, Yang Berhormat Dr Ong Kian Ming.

"Linde’s long-standing presence in Malaysia and the opening of the new air separation unit embodies how manufacturing industries are consistently moving up the value chain by adopting digital solutions and Industry 4.0. InvestKL is confident that Linde’s investments will add great value to the local economy, and at the same time spur positive impact on our local talent and digital ecosystem. We are thrilled to support Linde’s expansion in Greater KL and Malaysia and we will continue to facilitate high-value activities and services from global multinationals such as Linde," added InvestKL Acting Chief Executive Officer, Muhammad Azmi Zulkifli.

As MRC reported before, in June 2018, The Linde Group and the specialty chemicals company Evonik Industries concluded an exclusive cooperation agreement on the use of membranes for natural gas processing.

Linde is a leading industrial gases and engineering company with 2018 pro forma sales of USD 28 billion (EUR 24 billion). The company employs approximately 80,000 people globally and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Linde delivers innovative and sustainable solutions to its customers and creates long-term value for all stakeholders. The company is making our world more productive by providing products, technologies and services that help customers improve their economic and environmental performance in a connected world.

Linde has been present in Malaysia since 1960. A leading industrial gas supplier in Malaysia with close to 60 years of experience in the industry, it combines local knowledge with global expertise and resources in the areas of technology, research and development, gas applications, engineering and best operating practices.

Linde Malaysia is the specialist in the provision of total gas solutions to a variety of industries. It manufactures and distribute industrial, specialty and medical gases and provide a range of related services including installation of gas equipment, pipelines and associated engineering services. In addition, it supplies packaged chemicals, welding and consumables products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF plans to invest in a second production plant for tert-Butylamine (tBA) at BASF Specialty Chemicals Co. Ltd (BSNJ) in Nanjing, China, said the company.

With this expansion, BASF’s global annual production capacity of tBA will increase by more than 30%. The plant is planned to start up in 2022 and will adopt advanced BASF technology which generates a minimal amount of by-products in an advanced production process. BASF also operates tBA production plants in Antwerp, Belgium, and Geismar, Louisiana, USA.

"China is the largest chemical market and the growth driver for global chemical production. It is also the global hub of the tire manufacturing industry. We are excited to be part of this dynamic market and fulfill our customers’ needs through the investment in a new tBA plant in Nanjing, China," said Dr. Stephan Kothrade, President Functions Asia Pacific, President and Chairman, Greater China, BASF.

"As Asia remains the key growth region for tBA, the new plant underlines our strong commitment supporting the growth of our customers in the rubber and tire industry as well as the agricultural and pharmaceutical markets,” said Vasilios Galanos, Senior Vice President, Intermediates Asia Pacific, BASF. “We further strengthen our production capabilities in delivering consistent and reliable supply to our customers in this fast-growing region, solidifying our position as a leading supplier to the global rubber and tire industry."
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed a Comprehensive Strategic Framework (CSF) with Indonesia’s energy company, PT Pertamina (Persero) to explore opportunities for collaboration across the oil and gas value chain in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and globally, reported Reuters.

The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Force and His Excellency, Ir. H. Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, and Nicke Widyawati, President Director & CEO of Pertamina signed the agreement.

As part of the CSF, ADNOC and Pertamina will evaluate collaboration opportunities across the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. The scope of projects under consideration includes participation in the UAE’s upstream oil and gas sector, as well as refining and petrochemicals, LNG, LPG, aviation fuel and fuel retail opportunities in Indonesia. In addition, the two partners will explore other forms of strategic collaboration with respect to opportunities across transportation, trading and storage in the UAE, Indonesia and globally.

Pertamina is the state-owned energy company of Indonesia. The company operates an integrated business in the energy sector in Indonesia and is expanding its overseas presence. The company produces and distributes energy products such as fuel, lubricants, LPG, LNG, and petrochemicals. Currently, Pertamina owns six oil refineries in Indonesia with a combined production capacity of 1.1 million barrels of oil per day (mmbpd). At the same time, the company is developing renewable energy from many potential resources in the country.

H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: "We are pleased to sign this agreement with Pertamina today, building on the strong existing relationship between our two countries. Indonesia has a thriving industrial base and is a rapidly growing market for energy. We see significant opportunity for collaboration between our two companies and the development of projects that meet our joint strategic objectives."

He added: "This collaboration with Pertamina further demonstrates ADNOC’s drive to unlock value from across our entire portfolio and our ambition to expand our international investments to become a truly global energy company."

Nicke Widyawati said: "Pertamina plans to develop an additional 1 mmbpd of refining capacity through the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and Grass Root Refineries (GRR) projects. Therefore, partnership with ADNOC will be an important milestone for Pertamina to secure energy supplies from overseas. ADNOC’s interest to participate in Indonesia’s oil and gas landscape is monumental to support Pertamina in ensuring the availability and accessibility of energy for Indonesian people."

Working groups from each side will be meeting over the coming months to evaluate and shortlist key areas for strategic collaboration across both companies’ extensive asset and project portfolios. It is expected that specific collaboration options will be agreed for execution by the end of 2019.

This new partnership marks another step in ADNOC’s group-wide transformation and value creation program that addresses the evolving energy and petrochemicals landscape and ensures ADNOC remains a resilient and flexible company able to take full advantage of emerging market opportunities and trends. The Group’s transformation is driven by an expanded approach to strategic partnerships and co-investments as well as the more proactive management of ADNOC’s portfolio of businesses, assets and capital.

As for Pertamina, the collaboration supports its ambition to embark into the global energy arena and acts as a stepping stone to achieve greater competitiveness to compete with international energy players.

As MRC informed earlier, last week, ADNOC said its Ruwais Refinery West Cracker is offline for maintenance.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - French energy giant Total will sell about USD5 billion of assets, mostly from its exploration and production business as it sharpens its focus on low-breakeven projects that can weather weak oil prices, said Reuters.

The announcement followed a 19% drop in second-quarter adjusted net profit to USD2.9 billion, which it attributed to unfavorable market factors including low oil prices, sharp declines in gas and sliding refining margins.

Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne pointed to continuing volatility in markets. Though Brent crude averaged USD69 a barrel in the second quarter, up 9% on the previous three months, natural gas prices fell 36% in Europe and 26% in Asia, he said.

The company has been on an acquisitions spree as Pouyanne has overseen its expansion in gas and electricity in particular and said it is now preparing for the future by focusing on core strengths in the gas and deep offshore segments.

Though gas prices tumbled, Total said operating cash flow before working capital changes in its gas, renewables and power business surged 42% thanks to 8% production growth and a 10% increase in liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales.

Total’s Paris-listed shares were down 1.6% by 1405 GMT.

Total said its strategy would be complemented by the sale of assets that only break even at high oil and gas prices, such as the recent disposal of mature assets in the British North Sea.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SIBUR Holding, an integrated petrochemicals company, today publishes its operational and financial results for the three and six months ended 30 June 2019 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), said the company.

Revenue increased by 3.3% year-on-year to RUB 266.3 billion due to an increase in all reporting segments.
EBITDA decreased by 3.4% year-on-year to RUB 86.1 billion mainly due to a decrease in Plastics, Elastomers and Intermediates EBITDA.

EBITDA margin totaled 32.3%, remaining at a consistently high level relative to industry average. Net profit increased by 69.2% to RUB 77.6 billlion, largely on the back of the revaluation of the Company’s FX-denominated debt.

Total debt increased by 10.6% to RUB 367.6 billion with Net debt/EBITDA ratio standing at 1,76х.

At the ZapSibNeftekhim complex, the main construction and installation works have been completed, commissioning is in progress: test volumes of polypropylene are being supplied to customers, the first batches of polyethylene have been received.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded SIBUR’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BB+’. The Outlook is Stable.
In July, SIBUR and Gazprom Neft have consolidated 100% of the authorized capital in Poliom, a polypropylene plant in Omsk.

SIBUR and Sinopec signed a distribution agreement to supply polyethylene to China from SIBUR’s ZapSibNeftekhim plant, and a Term Sheet regulating key principals of a potential joint venture (JV) for development and operations of the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC). Subject to SIBUR's final investment decision, Sinopec is expected to participate at a 40% share stake in the JV (June 2019).

In 2018, SIBUR reported revenue of USD 9.1 billion and EBITDA of USD 3.2 billion. Over the past 10 years, SIBUR has implemented a number of large-scale investment projects worth more than 850 billion rubles. Each year, the Company spends no less than 70% of its EBITDA to finance the investment program, while maintaining a balanced debt burden.

SIBUR is the leader of the Russian petrochemical industry and one of the largest companies globally in this sector. It has more than 26,000 employees. The Company’s unique vertically integrated business model allows it to create highly competitive products consumed in the chemical, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), automotive, construction, energy and other industries in 80 countries worldwide.
MRC