Ashland names Novo as next CEO

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ashland has named Guillermo Novo, the former CEO of Versum Materials, as chairman and CEO of the company, effective 31 December, as per Chemweek.

Novo, who joined Ashland’s board in May, will replace William Wulfsohn, who is retiring.

Novo was president and CEO of Versum from 2016 to 2019, when the company was sold to Merck KGaA in a deal that closed yesterday. Prior to that, he was executive v.p./performance materials at Air Products from 2012 to 2016, and served in a variety of roles with Dow Chemical and Rohm and Haas from 1988 to 2012.

Jay Ihlenfeld, Ashland’s lead independent director, called Novo “a seasoned executive.” Wulfsohn, who has been CEO of Ashland since 2014, will assist with the transition between now and the end of the year.

Ashland’s board will consist of ten members after Wulfsohn’s departure at the end of December.

As MRC wrote before, INEOS Enterprises announced the completion of the acquisition of the entire composites business from Ashland Global Holdings Inc. on 3 September, 2019. The acquisition also includes a BDO facility in Germany. The businesses included in the transaction have combined sales of more than USD1.1 billion per year. They employ 1,250 employees across 19 sites in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Middle East.

We also remind that in mid-January 2019, INEOS announced Antwerp as the location for its new petrochemical investment. The EUR3 billion investment will be the biggest ever made by INEOS and is first cracker to be built in Europe in 20 years. The investment is a game changer for the chemical sectors and will bring huge benefits to the Belgium and wider European economies.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. is global specialty chemicals company serving customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including adhesives, architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, nutraceuticals, personal care and pharmaceutical.
MRC

Consortium awarded contract for Rovuma LNG project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC announced that JFT – a consortium between JGC Corporation (JGC), Fluor Corporation (Fluor) and TechnipFMC has been awarded an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract by Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A. (MRV) for the Rovuma LNG onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) production complex project located in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, said the company.

MRV, a joint-venture composed of Eni, ExxonMobil and CNPC, holds a 70% interest in the exploration and production concession of Area 4, with Galp, Kogas and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) each holding a 10% interest.

The Rovuma LNG Project will produce, liquefy and market natural gas from three reservoirs of the Mamba complex located in the Area 4 block in the Offshore Rovuma Basin. It includes the construction of two natural gas liquefaction trains, with a total LNG nameplate capacity of 15.2 Mtpa(1), as well as associated onshore facilities.

"We are extremely honored to have been awarded by MRV this new prestigious LNG project along with our long-time partners, JGC and Fluor. This award confirms the market recognition of TechnipFMC’s expertise and track record in gas monetization and, in particular, in the LNG industry. It also reinforces the Company’s positioning in the energy transition journey," Nello Uccelletti, President Onshore/Offshore at TechnipFMC, said. "TechnipFMC is a strong player in Mozambique, a strategic country for the Company, and already present through key LNG and Subsea on-going projects. We are proud to serve our customer for the Rovuma project and will continue to accompany the industrial growth of the country, leveraging its resources and human capital."

As it was written earlier, Technip was awarded by SOCAR a contract for Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for the SOCAR Azerikimya plant, located in the city of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. The scope of work includes: the modernization of the EP-300 steam cracker with construction of new cracker furnaces licensed by Technip, and the installation of a new refinery dry gas treatment unit, new ethylene and propylene storage and related utilities and off-sites facilities.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. Meanwhile, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.Present in 45 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
MRC

Arlanxeo finishes rubber plant upgrade un Germany


MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arlanxeo a leading synthetic elastomers company, is strengthening its market position by investing in its high-performance elastomer products CR (chloroprene rubber) and NBR (nitrile butadiene rubber), laying the foundation for the further increase of production capacity in order to meet the increasing global demand of these polymers, said the company.

The turnaround of Arlanxeo ?s CR plant in Dormagen, Germany, announced in the beginning of 2018, has been successfully completed allowing for a production of up to 70,000 metric tons of CR per year. The multiple million Euro investment to upgrade and modernize the plant is a strong signal of ARLANXEO’s long-term commitment to the CR business, leading to an increased flexibility and capability of the plant to produce specialty products.

In addition to its investment in Dormagen, ARLANXEO has also already made substantial progress modernizing its NBR plant in La Wantzenau, France. The double-digit million Euro investment program started in mid-2018 and aims to bring the plant up to the latest technology standards. Through this investment, ARLANXEO will serve the increasing demand of its high-quality NBR rubbers in the coming years while underlining the company?s long term commitment to NBR and strengthening its position as the leading global NBR supplier. This applies to the traditional business areas and new applications as well as for the use of NBR as raw material for the production of the company’s Therban® (HNBR) specialty products.

Arlanxeo ?s La Wantzenau facility is the world’s largest NBR production site and also the company?s center for research and development activities for NBR. ARLANXEO produces a broad high quality NBR grade portfolio in La Wantzenau which is supplied to more than 500 customers in over 60 countries worldwide.

Arlanxeo is part of Saudi energy major Saudi Aramco. In December 2018, Saudi Aramco completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in Arlanxeo joint venture from German speciality chemicals company Lanxess. Also in Saudi Arabia, Aramco is considering a USD5bn joint venture with France’s major Total for a new complex next to its SATORP refining and chemicals site.

Announced in April 2018, the world-class complex will be located next to the SATORP refinery, operated by Saudi Aramco (62.5%) and Total (37.5%), in order to fully exploit operational synergies. It will comprise a mixed-feed cracker (50% ethane and refinery off-gases) - the first in the Gulf region to be integrated with a refinery - with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year of ethylene and related high-added-value petrochemical units. The project represents an investment of around $5 billion and is scheduled to start-up in 2024.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

MRC

Phippips 66 refinery workers reject contract, citing safety concerns

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Union workers at Phillips 66’s 285,000-barrel-per-day Bayway refinery in Linden, NJ, voted against a three-year contract, raising the chances of a strike or lockout at the largest petrochemical complex on the US East Coast, reported Reuters.

Some 266 of the 429 union workers who voted opposed ratifying the agreement, while 163 voted in its favor, according to a union representative from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 877.

The union intends to continue negotiations with Phillips 66 under a 24-hour rolling contract that has been in place since the previous deal expired on Sept. 30, the representative said.

If an agreement is not reached, the unionized refinery workers could be subject to a lockout, leaving the company without access to certain emergency response systems such as a fire department.

A spokesperson for Phillips 66 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Key provisions of the contract voted on Friday included expanding operators’ responsibilities to include several different operating refinery units, a provision some union members said is a safety concern.

Two sources familiar with the negotiations said that the proposed contract also included an across-the-board 11% raise for refinery workers.

As MRC wrote before, US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,255,800 tonnes in the first seven months of 2019, up by 9% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, the estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 796,120 tonnes in January-July 2019, up by 11% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.
MRC

Chemical activity barometer rises in September in US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Chemical Activity Barometer (CAB), a leading economic indicator created by the American Chemistry Council (ACC), was up 0.1 percent in September on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis following a 0.1 percent decline in August and gains averaging 0.2 percent per month during the second quarter, said Americanchemistry.

On a year-over-year (Y/Y) basis, the barometer was flat at 0.0 percent (3MMA). The unadjusted measure of the CAB was up 0.6 percent in September following a 0.7 percent decline in August. The diffusion index rose to 67 percent in September. The diffusion index marks the number of positive contributors relative to the total number of indicators monitored. The CAB reading for August was revised upward by 0.09 points and that for July by 0.34 points.

“Although one month does not make a trend, the positive September CAB reading and upward revisions in the data are encouraging signs,” said Kevin Swift, chief economist at ACC. “The barometer indicates gains in U.S. commerce into the second quarter of 2020, but at a slow pace."

The CAB has four main components, each consisting of a variety of indicators: 1) production; 2) equity prices; 3) product prices; and 4) inventories and other indicators.

Production-related indicators in September were slightly positive. Housing activity rebounded sharply in August, while trends in construction-related resins, pigments and related performance chemistry were mixed, suggesting slow gains in housing activity. Plastic resins used in packaging and for consumer and institutional applications were mixed. Performance chemistry improved. U.S. exports were mixed, reflecting trade tensions, a high dollar and a weak global manufacturing environment. Equity prices rebounded this month, as did product and input prices. Inventory and other indicators were positive.

The CAB is a leading economic indicator derived from a composite index of chemical industry activity. Due to its early position in the supply chain, chemical industry activity has been found to consistently lead the U.S. economy’s business cycle, and this barometer can be used to determine turning points and likely trends in the broader economy. Month-to-month movements can be volatile, so a three-month moving average of the CAB reading is provided. This provides a more consistent and illustrative picture of national economic trends.

Applying the CAB back to 1912, it has been shown to provide a lead of two to 14 months, with an average lead of eight months at cycle peaks as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The median lead was also eight months. At business cycle troughs, the CAB leads by one to seven months, with an average lead of four months. The median lead was three months. The CAB is rebased to the average lead (in months) of an average 100 in the base year (the year 2012 was used) of a reference time series. The latter is the Federal Reserve’s Industrial Production Index.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia"s output of products from polymers rose in August by only 0.5% year on year. And this figure increased by 1.2% year on year in the first eight months of 2019. According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, August production of unreinforced and non-combined films was slightly over 110,000 tonnes, compared to 112,000 tonnes a month earlier. Output of films products grew in January-August 2019 by 8.5% year on year to 718,900 tonnes.
MRC