First Cobalt seeks government backing to restart Canadian refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- First Cobalt Corp is in advanced talks with Canada’s Ontario province to finance the USD37.5 million required to restart its idled cobalt refinery, President and Chief Executive Officer Trent Mell said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

If successful, such a deal would reduce First Cobalt’s funding reliance on Glencore Plc, which in July agreed to extend $45 million in loans to develop the project in stages.

The plant, located about 600 kilometers (373 miles) from the U.S. border in Cobalt, Ontario, would be the sole North American producer of refined cobalt for the electric vehicle market and lessen dependence of U.S. end-users on China, where most of the world’s cobalt refining capacity is located.

"We’re trying to bring our own sources of capital to the table, and we’re talking to the Ontario government to see if there’s an opportunity to ... get some kind of support under the umbrella of the Ontario and North American automotive supply chain," Mell said.

He did not indicate what form that might take but said loan guarantees are a possibility. First Cobalt has also tapped Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to find potential partners for the project, Mell said, although those discussions are at an earlier stage. "I think everything’s on the table for us right now," Mell said.

Representatives for Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and its Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines did not immediately respond to an email. CIBC did not respond to a request for comment.

Canada, the United States, Australia and other western countries are keen to reduce their reliance on top supplier China for rare earths, a group of minerals used in everything from smart phones to electric vehicles. First Cobalt has said it will decide whether to restart the plant in the first quarter next year, with initial throughput of 12 tonnes per day targeted for late 2020.
MRC

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

Sinopec Maoming eyes maintenance at No. 2 PP unit in China

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

Linde raises full-year EPS guidance for the third time

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

Synthos reduces November GPPS and HIPS prices for Ukrainian buyers

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