Total could invest up to USD10B in North Sea over 5 years

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French energy producer Total could invest up to USD10 billion in the North Sea over the next five years but cost discipline must be maintained as a matter of urgency, reported Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne's statement.

As part of its efforts to cut costs the company had looked at joint oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning in the region with peers Shell and BP, Pouyanne told an industry conference in Aberdeen, Scotland.

He added that Total intended to participate in an upcoming offshore wind bid round in Scotland as the firm continues to expand investments in low carbon and renewable energy.

Total was not limited by funds to invest in low carbon power projects, but by the capacity to develop projects, he said.

As MRC informed before, in June 2019, Total started up a biodiesel refinery in La Mede in southern France using palm oil. The start-up of the 500,000 tons-per-year refinery was delayed several times.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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CPS Performance Materials acquired GEO Specialty Chemicals

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CPS Performance Materials, a diversified specialty chemicals manufacturer of performance polymers, fine chemical and chemical illumination solutions, announced today the acquisition of GEO Specialty Chemicals, said the company.

The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

GEO is a diverse supplier of specialty chemicals and materials to the coatings, adhesives, medical, water treatment and construction markets. The company operates in three divisions – Paints & Coatings, Water Treatment and Specialty & Construction - with leading positions in its primary chemistries from 19 production sites in the U.S. and Europe.

In the recent past, GEO has undertaken a number of expansions to increase its presence in the attractive markets of materials for contact lenses, additives for oil and gas drilling, and municipal and industrial water treatment. This builds upon GEO’s already strong position in methacrylate chemistry where it is a leading supplier to the global coatings and adhesives markets. GEO is also the largest U.S. producer of glycine, a key amino acid used in a variety of nutrition and personal care products.

Jeremy Steinfink, President and CEO of CPS, said, “GEO significantly adds to the scale of CPS and positions us well in a number of growing end markets. Our strategy will focus on investing in GEO’s businesses which complement many of CPS’s existing positions in attractive end markets such as CASE additives, specialty chemicals for pharma and medical uses, nutrition, personal care and a wide range of industrial applications. We see opportunities to expand across the portfolio where we can leverage our chemical expertise and continue to be a reliable commerical partner."

Ken Ghazey, CEO of GEO who will join the Board of Directors of CPS, said, “CPS is a great fit for our employees and business partners. I look forward to working with Arsenal and the CPS team to continue to build the platform."

Sal Gagliardo, an Operating Partner of Arsenal and the Chairman of CPS, commented, “The addition of GEO to CPS builds on our strategy to expand the breadth of our specialty chemicals platform with highly complementary capabilities and resources. The acquisition strengthens CPS’s technology offerings to both GEO’s and CPS’s customers and positions CPS for significant growth. We are delighted to have the GEO team join CPS."
MRC

Advanced Petrochemical to expand business range on MSCI inclusion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Advanced Petrochemical Co.’s inclusion in the MSCI EM Index positively contributes to expanding its business range by increasing competition to include local and global peers, the company said in a statement, as per Argaam.

The move serves as an opportunity for the company to demonstrate its capabilities, a matter that boosters a positive image to international investors.

"The company works according to strategic plans set up by the board of directors whether in managing the operational processes of the existing plants or in evaluating and assessing some of the available opportunities for future expansions which maximize the rights of its shareholders and contribute to the development of the Kingdom's national economy," Advanced added.

Several investment projects have been studied by the petrochemical producer locally and overseas, and investment partnerships have been formed with major international firms in the petrochemical industry through the company’s subsidiary, Advanced Global Investment Co.

Advanced Global’s joint venture with South-Korea based SK Gas Co. led to the setting up of SK Advanced Co. to establish, own and operate a PDH plant for propylene production in the Asian country with an annual design capacity of 600,000 metric tons.

The project started commercial operations on May 16, 2016.

SK Advanced has also signed a joint venture agreement with South Korea’s Polymerae Ltd. to establish a polypropylene plant in South Korea with an annual design capacity of 400,000 metric tons. The facility is expected to launch commercial operations in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Ministry of Energy gave a green light to Advanced Global for allocation of the required feedstock to set up a propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit (to produce propylene) and polypropylene unit (to produce PP) with a capacity of 750,000 tons each annually in Jubail Industrial City.

Accordingly, the company signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with SK Gas. The first MoU aims to develop a propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene in Jubail Industrial City, with estimated total cost of USD1.8 billion (SAR 6.75 billion). The second one is for the development of a polypropylene compounding unit.

A third MoU was inked with SK Gas to conduct a detailed feasibility study for a state of the art mixed feed or liquid cracker along with downstream products in Saudi Arabia. “Advanced has a strong financial position and positive financial indicators that enable the company for continuous growth and enhance its position in the local and global markets,” the statement added.
MRC

Celanese raises September VAM prices in China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global specialty materials company, has increased September list and off-list selling prices for Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) sold in China, as per the company's press release.

The price increase was effective for orders shipped on or after 29 August, 2019, or as contracts otherwise allow, and is incremental to any previously announced increases.

Thus, September VAM prices rose for the Chinese region by RMB400/mt.

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese also raised its September VAM prices for Asia (AOC) outside China by USD50/mt.

According to MRC's DataScope report, July EVA imports to Russia increased by 4% year on year to 3,490 tonnes from 3,350 tonnes in July 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-July 2019 by 14, 3% year on year to 22,440 tonnes (26,170 tonnes in the first seven months of 2018).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,600 employees worldwide and had 2017 net sales of USD6.1 billion.
MRC

Saudi Arabia replaces Aramco chairman with MBS ally


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia has removed its energy minister as chairman of Saudi Aramco and replaced him with Yasir al-Rumayyan, head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, ahead of a planned blockbuster stock market listing, said the Financial Times.

The appointment of Mr Rumayyan, a close ally of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, comes as Khalid al-Falih, energy minister and chairman since 2015, has seen his position weakened.

While Mr Falih keeps his official role overseeing oil production policy for the kingdom, last week he was stripped of half of his government portfolio when a new industry and mining ministry was created.

Mr Falih wished Mr Rumayyan success in his new role in a tweet on Monday afternoon, saying it was an important step to prepare the company for an initial public offering.

Global banks have begun pitching for roles on what is expected to be the world’s biggest IPO. The timing is uncertain but Saudi officials have said they would like to proceed in 2020 or 2021. The listing was postponed last year amid concerns about legal risks and doubts over whether it would achieve the $2tn valuation sought by the crown prince.

Mr Rumayyan, who is on the board of Saudi Aramco, has gained in stature and influence in recent years as the head of the country’s Public Investment Fund, the main vehicle through which Prince Mohammed has sought to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil.

The Public Investment Fund is trying to fund Prince Mohammed’s domestic reforms, with international investments that have included ride-hailing company Uber, electric carmaker Tesla and SoftBank’s Vision Fund.

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