Petrobras extends period for companies to flag interest in buying its refineries

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said that it would extend the deadline for parties to state their interest in buying four refineries it has put up for sale, based on high investor interest, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Petrobras, as the firm is known, extended the deadline to Sept. 16 for firms to enter the first phase of the sales process, it said in a securities filing. Investors then have until Sept. 27 to sign confidentiality and other agreements required to advance in the sales process.

The oil firm is selling its Abreu e Lima, Landulpho Alves, Presidente Getulio Vargas and Alberto Pasqualini (REFAP) refineries and associated assets.

Together the four refineries represent 37% of Brazil’s refining capacity, according to Petrobras. The deal is expected to raise billions of dollars for the oil firm.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fluor Corporation announced today that it was awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for INEOS’ new processing plant at the Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull, UK, said Fluor.

The plant will produce vinyl acetate monomer, (VAM) a key component for laminated wind screens, toughened glass, adhesives, films, coatings and textiles. Fluor booked the undisclosed contract value in the second quarter of 2019.

"Fluor is pleased that INEOS has chosen us to continue supporting the company’s strategic investment plans with the return of this important VAM processing capability to the UK market,” said Simon Nottingham, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. “Our early involvement in this FEED allows Fluor to optimize cost and schedule certainty by leveraging our in-house construction-driven expertise."

The new plant will be designed to have the capacity to produce 300,000 metric tons of VAM per year. The front-end work will establish the design basis and technology selection for the plant with associated cost and schedule estimates. Fluor’s Farnborough office is leading the work supported by the company’s global experts and with input from INEOS engineers.

Fluor’s UK office serves a wide range of industries including the energy, chemicals, government, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, mining and power market sectors.

Founded in 1912, Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that transforms the world by building prosperity and empowering progress. Fluor serves its clients by designing, building and maintaining safe, well executed, capital-efficient projects around the world. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor ranks 164 on the Fortune 500 list with revenue of USD19.2 billion in 2018 and has more than 53,000 employees worldwide.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refiner Valero Energy Corp said it has started a cost review of a new plant in Port Arthur, Texas, along with food processor Darling Ingredients Inc., according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility, which aims to tap into the growing global demand for renewable diesel, is expected to produce 400 million gallons of diesel and 40 million gallons of renewable naphtha a year.

The final investment decision on the project is expected in 2021. If approved, the construction of the first renewable diesel facility in Texas could begin in the same year, with expected operations starting in 2024.

It will be owned and operated by Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, a joint venture between Valero and Darling.

"We expect low-carbon fuel mandates across the globe to continue to drive demand growth for renewable fuels," Joe Gorder, Valero’s Chief Executive Officer said in a statement.

Production from the plant would increase Diamond Green Diesel Holdings’s annual renewable diesel production to about 1.1 billion gallons, with nearly 100 million gallons of renewable naphtha production, the companies said.

As MRC reported before, in early May 2018, CB&I has announced that its CDAlky technology had been selected by Valero Refining - New Orleans LLC for its St. Charles Alkylation Project located in Norco, Louisiana
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azelis Americas CASE, LLC has agreed with Huntsman Advanced Materials’ for a territory expansion, as per Coatingsworld.

As of Oct. 1, 2019 Azelis will provide its customers access to HAM products in the West Coast and Northeast, complementing its existing relationship in other regions. The new agreement expands the geographic coverage to include the West Coast and Northeast.

Azelis Americas CASE will distribute the Huntsman brands including ARALDITE, ARADUR, ARA COOL, TACTIX, KERIMID, MATRIMID, as well as HAM’s full line of matting agents and accelerators. The expanded product offering allows Azelis to deliver complete formulation services to its CASE customers across the entire U.S.

Customers have access to Huntsman's product line from any Azelis Americas CASE region and applications labs nationwide.

"The expansion of our relationship with Azelis is a terrific opportunity to offer customers improved efficiencies and align our strategies for future growth," said Jim Coneys, distribution manager, Huntsman Advanced Materials. "Its technical sales teams and application labs have delivered exceptional value to users of Huntsman products and we are excited to take this next step with Azelis."

"The combination of HAM’s leading products and technologies with our technical expertise and market intelligence offers the best solutions for the needs of the high performance epoxy market across the country," added Dan Gruber, managing director, Azelis Americas CASE.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam is investigating the alleged dumping of plastic film material from China, Thailand and Malaysia, hurting the local industry, as per GV.

The investigation was initiated Monday (5 August 2019) at the request of two plastic producers, Taiwanese firm Hung Nghiep Formossa and South Korean firm Youl Chon Vina, on biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP), a plastic film material used to make tapes.

They claimed that the imports of plastic products from these three countries have inflicted "significant damage" on local manufacturing, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement. As these firms account for up to 77 percent of the country’s production of related plastic products, they are eligible to represent local manufacturers in requesting an investigation, it said. The firms have proposed respective tariffs of 20.22 percent, 15.12 percent, and 20.35 percent on BOPP materials from China, Malaysia and Thailand.

As MRC informed earlier, the global demand for BOPP film market is anticipated to generate revenue of USD15.55 bln by end of 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 6.3% between 2015 and 2020, as per Zion Research.
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