Officials object to PES refinery sale process

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US and local officials are opposing the sale procedure for the bankrupt Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery, arguing the plan discourages bidders and keeps the city locked out of the process, reported Reuters with reference to federal court filings.

The proposed PES sale plan does not give potential buyers of the fire-damaged refinery enough time or information to outbid a stalking-horse bid chosen by PES, U.S. Trustee Andrew Vara argued in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on Thursday.

Companies often select what is known as a stalking horse to start an asset sale. Other parties then submit bids, which, if for more money or better for some other reason, would win out.

PES’s proposal sets a stalking-horse deadline one day before final bids are due, which “will create confusion, delay and may tend to discourage bidders” who might not know what they are attempting to outbid, said Vara, who is appointed to oversee the bankruptcy case.

The city of Philadelphia, which is a creditor in the bankruptcy case and a regulator of the refinery, also objected to the sale process in a filing with the court on Thursday.

It is asking PES to disclose the identities of qualified bidders and allow the city to attend the refinery auction, which it would be excluded from under the current plan, Philadelphia’s deputy city solicitor, Megan Harper, said in the objection.

PES was not immediately available for comment.

The refiner filed for bankruptcy on July 21 and closed the 335,000 barrel-per-day refinery a month after a fire and explosions at the plant.

Roughly a dozen parties have shown interest in buying the refinery, pitching various uses for the facility, which has been used to store and process fossil fuels for the last 150 years.

Any change to the use of the more than 1,300-acre PES site near downtown Philadelphia could require city-issued rezoning and additional cleanup of the deeply contaminated area, Harper said.

"Development and operation of the site by any one of the variety of market players expressing interest in the debtors’ assets will not occur in a vacuum," the city’s filing said.

"Coordination with city, state and federal authorities will be necessary to revitalize the site, return it to its status as a significant contributor to the local and regional economy and ensure that public health, safety and wellbeing of city residents are protected," it said.

The PES bankruptcy hearing was scheduled for Nov. 14.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sinopec Maoming has planned to take off-stream its No. 2 PP unit for a maintenance turnaround, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that the company is likely to halt operations at the PP unit over the priod of May-June 2020. The unit is expected to remain off-line from May 5 to June 13, 2020.

Located in Guangdong, China, the No. 2 PP unit has a capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, tThe estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 976,790 tonnes in January-September 2019, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of PP block copolymer and homopolymer PP increased.

Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical Company (Maoming Company) - a subsidiary of Sinopec- is located in Maoming, Guangdong and was founded in May 1955. The company now has a crude oil processing capacity of 13.5 million t/a and an ethylene production capacity of 1 million t/a. Maoming Company has turned out to be a large-scale integrated refining and chemical enterprise with refining as the leading business and petrochemical sector as the mainstay.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Limited is a Chinese oil and gas company based in Beijing, China. It is listed in Hong Kong and also trades in Shanghai and New York . Sinopec is the worlds fifth biggest company by revenue.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde plc, the world’s largest supplier of industrial gases raised its annual earnings per share (EPS) growth forecast for the third time this year to 17-18%, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The supplier of gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals expects adjusted pro forma EPS growth of between USD7.25 and USD7.30, up from previous guidance of USD6.95 to USD7.18.

Analysts expect growth of nearly 15% or USD7.12, I/B/E/S Refinitiv data shows.

Linde’s third-quarter adjusted pro forma EPS of USD1.94 beat expectations while sales of USD7.00 billion were slightly below expectations of USD7.12 billion.

As MRC wrote previously, German chemical company BASF and The Linde Group’s Engineering Division are collaborating to serve natural gas processing applications using BASF’s absorbent technology and Linde’s adsorption and membrane technology. With the combined capabilities of materials expertise from BASF and engineering expertise from Linde, the two companies are well positioned to expand their global leadership position in natural gas applications. The collaboration is a strong signal to the natural gas industry and will open access to previously inaccessible gas compositions for treatment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Synthos SA, Poland's largest petrochemical producer, has reduced its November offer prices of general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene (HIPS) for the Ukrainian market, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

Thus, this month' GPPS shipments to Ukrainian buyers will be done at EUR1,080-1,100/tonne FCA Oswiecim, excluding VAT, whereas Polish producer's HIPS quantities will be sold in the region at EUR1,170-1,190/tonne, FCA Oswiecim, excluding VAT, in November.

As reported earlier, Nizhnekamskneftekhim (NKNH, part of the TAIF group) significantly reduced its HIPS and GPPS shipments to the Ukrainian market in November. Thus, some market participants said the plant would not ship HIPS and GPPS to Ukrainian traders. Moreover, a major increase in available quantities for Ukrainian buyers are not expected in December either.

Synthos SA is one of the largest producers of petrochemical products in Poland and is the largest producer of emulsion rubbers in Europe. Besides, it is the third largest European EPS producer.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Overall imports of PC granules to the Ukrainian market rose in the first ten months of 2019 by 13% year on year to 3,300 tonnes, according to MRC's DataScope report.

This figure was 2,900 tonnes in January-October 2018.

Last month's imports of material to the Ukrainian market fell by 17% to 341 tonnes from 410 tonnes in September, with German and Dutch material accounting for the main decrease in shipments.

In terms of technology, the share of injection moulding PC grades decreased to 52% (1,700 tonnes) in January-October 2019 from 63% (1,800 tonnes) a year earlier. The share of extrusion grade PC grew significantly: from 15% (425 tonnes) of the total imports to 30% (980 tonnes), with the share of blow moulding grades decreasing by 3% to 19% and totalling 620 tonnes.

Covestro and Sabic with the share of about 84% of the total imports were the key suppliers of resin to the Ukrainian market in the first ten months of 2019.

Thus, imports of Covestro's PC to the Ukrainian market increased over the ten months of 2019 by 48% year on year: from 1,600 tonnes in January-October 2018 to 2,300 tonnes. Covestro's material accounted for 71% of the total PC imports to the country in the first ten months of 2019 versus 54% a year earlier. The company's shipments of material to Ukraine were 280 tonnes last month, compared to 230 tonnes in October 2018.

At the same time, Sabic's deliveries material fell in January-October 2019 by 37% year on year: from 690 tonnes to 440 tonnes. Sabic's PC granules accounted for 13% of the total imports to the country in the first ten months of 2019 versus 24% a year earlier.

MRC