ONGC shelves plan to sell stake in OPAL petrochemical complex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has shelved its stake sale plans for ONGC Petro Additions Ltd (OPaL) unable to attract a strategic partner, reported Livemint.

OPaL, a joint venture between ONGC (49.4%), GAIL (India) Ltd (49.2%) and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd (1.4%), has set up a grass root mega petrochemical complex at Dahej, Gujarat.

For over four years, ONGC has maintained that it was in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) and Saudi Aramco for selling a 26% stake in OPaL.

If ONGC converts share warrants worth Rs 2,600 crore (USD363 million) into equity, its share in the project could rise to 70%. Besides, if it also decides to convert debentures worth Rs 7,778 crore (USD1.08 billion) into equity, its share could rise to about 93%. After turning OPaL into a subsidiary, ONGC could consider listing it in two years.

OPaL is a USD4.5 billion petrochemical project. It began operations in 2016-17 and has been ramping up production in phases. OPaL’s complex houses India’s largest greenfield single-location, dual-feed cracker unit. The company primarily manufactures polymer, a chemical compound used in various products ranging from textiles to plastics.

A senior ONGC official said: "Offtake from OPaL is increasing and, even if OPaL is technically a separate entity, all feedstock is taken from ONGC. We see the contribution from petrochemicals to increase (in ONGC’s topline) and, thus, we may convert OPaL into a subsidiary."

Though OPaL was meant to export most of its products, it is currently exporting less than 15%. So, considering the increased domestic demand, ONGC had said in October that it was working towards getting the domestic tariff area (DTA) access against its present Special Economic Zone (SEZ) tag.

Petrochemicals make up nearly 30% of India’s chemicals industry. An increase in plastic consumption has led to domestic demand rising at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-9% over the past decade.

OPaL operates a 1.1m tonne/year ethylene cracker, two 360,000 tonne/year linear low density PE (LLDPE)/high density PE (HDPE) swing units, a 340,000 tonne/year HDPE plant and a 340,000 tonne/year polypropylene line at Dahej, in India’s western state of Gujarat.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.

OPaL is a joint venture between Gujarat State Petroleum Corp (GSPC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) and ONGC.
MRC

Solvay and Anthea to establish JV for flavours, fragrances

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay and Anthea agreed to establish a joint venture to produce catechol derivatives for the flavours, fragrances, agrochemicals and pharmaceutical sectors, said the company.

Through this Joint Venture, the two companies will work together to meet customers’ needs for additional, reliable supply for a range of products including methylenedioxybenzene, heliotropin (piperonal) and helional which are key ingredients for applications in the Flavour, Fragrance, Agrochemical & Pharma industries worldwide.

CATaSYNTH is currently completing a brand-new, world-class manufacturing facility in Mangalore, India which will be fully operational in Q1 2020.

The joint venture is called CATASYNTH Specialty Chemicals and will produce a range of products including methylenedioxybenzene, heliotropin and helional, the companies said in a statement. A production facility in Mangalore, India, is currently under construction. The close of the deal and the start up of the facility are both expected to take place in the first quarter of 2020.

“This partnership is fully aligned with our strategy to reinforce downstream integration,” said Solvay Aroma Performance GBU president Peter Browning.

Solvay also said that it has doubled production capacity for natural vanillin to 120,000 tonnes/year to satisfy demand for natural products and non genetically modified (GMO) products.

As MRC informed earlier, Solvay announces that its subsidiary Solvay Finance SA will exercise its first call option on its EUR700 million hybrid bond after having notified the Luxembourg Stock Exchange where the bond is listed. This perpetual deeply subordinated bond, bearing an annual interest rate of 4.199%, is treated as equity under IFRS rules. Its repayment is due on May 12, 2019 at the end of the first 5.5 years.

Solvay is an advanced materials and specialty chemicals company, committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. Solvay innovates and partners with customers worldwide in many diverse end-markets. Its products are used in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, as well as in mineral and oil and gas extraction, enhancing efficiency and sustainability. Its lightweighting materials promote cleaner mobility, its formulations optimize the use of resources, and its performance chemicals improve air and water quality. Solvay is headquartered in Brussels with around 24,500 employees in 61 countries. Net sales were EUR10.3 billion in 2018, with 90% from activities where Solvay ranks among the world’s top 3 leaders, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 22%.
MRC

Solvay Ventures finalises agreement to sell MultiMechanics to Siemens

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Solvay Ventures, the Venture Capital fund of Solvay, announces the acquisition of its portfolio company, MultiMechanics, by Siemens, said the company.

The integration of MultiMechanics virtual testing software, TRUE MultiscaleTM technology, into Siemens’ Simcenter 3D is a new step for the automotive and aerospace industry to adopt advanced materials for a cleaner mobility.

Solvay is a world leader in metal replacement materials. Solvay Ventures led the investment in MultiMechanics in 2017, to support co-founders Flavio Souza and Leandro Castro in their business development, taking an active role as an investor, and as a strategic partner. “The strategic partnership with Solvay was key to the success of the company. Working hand-in-hand with its Composite Materials division for many years enabled MultiMechanics to improve materials, tailor them to market needs and bring them to the Solvay network,” said Flavio Souza, CTO of MultiMechanics.

The multi-year partnership with MultiMechanics enables to accelerate the development of Solvay’s pipeline of high performance polymer and composite materials for the aerospace and automotive industry while decreasing development costs drastically. “The accuracy and speed afforded by MultiMechanics modeling and simulation software, and its efficient integration with commonly used commercial finite element software packages is changing the way we develop new materials and interact with our customers,” said Mike Blair, Executive Vice President Research and Innovation, Composite Materials GBU at Solvay.

The integration with Siemens brings another level of capability, unlocking the potential of the technology and its applicability. “Leveraging Solvay to create value for our portfolio companies is at the core of our investment strategy. While investing in the next materials frontier, we hope to generate synergies that will benefit all stakeholders: entrepreneurs, investors and the ecosystem,” said Coppelia Marincovic and Matt Jones, with the Solvay Ventures team.
MRC

US crude output rises to record 12.5 Mbpd in Sept

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil production in September rose to a new record of 12.46 million barrels per day (bpd) from 12.397 million bpd in August, reported Reuters with reference to the US government's statement in a monthly report.

The United States has become the world’s largest oil producer as technological advances have increased production from shale formations.

Oil output in Texas rose 72,000 bpd in September, while production in North Dakota and the Gulf of Mexico fell during the month. Production also climbed in Oklahoma and Alaska.

US gasoline demand fell 652,000 bpd in the month to 9.2 million bpd. US demand for distillate fuels, including diesel, fell 87,000 bpd to 3.9 million bpd, according to the report.

Meanwhile, monthly gross natural gas production in the lower 48 U.S. states rose to an all-time high of 104.8 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in September from the prior record of 104.2 bcfd in August, according to the EIA’s 914 report.

In Texas, the biggest gas producing state, output increased 1% to a fresh record high of 29 bcfd in September.

In Pennsylvania, the second-biggest gas-producing state, output rose 0.1% to a record 19.24 bcfd in September from the prior all-time high of 19.22 bcfd in August.
MRC

Global refiners raise cleaner shipping fuel output ahead of IMO 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global oil refiners have upgraded processing units and adjusted operations to raise output of low-sulfur residual fuels and marine gasoil (MGO) to prepare for stricter shipping fuel standards that kick in on Jan. 1, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5% sulfur, compared with 3.5% through the end of December, unless they are equipped with exhaust-cleaning “scrubbers”. The shipping industry consumes about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of marine bunker fuels, and the rule changes will impact more than 50,000 merchant ships globally, opening a significant new market for fuel producers.

The world’s largest refiner, Sinopec Corp has started very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) output at 10 refineries in China. The company plans total VLSFO capacity of 10 million tonnes a year (about 180,000 bpd) by 2020 and build a fleet of 100 barges over the next three years to supply cleaner fuels to ships.

PetroChina (0857.HK) has targeted 4 million tonnes of VLSFO in 2020, while Total (TOTF.PA) plans to supply marine fuel in a joint venture with China’s Zhejiang Energy.

China Marine Bunker, known as Chimbusco, secured at least 4 million tonnes of VLSFO for the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first two quarters of 2020, and has started to supply all major Chinese ports from bonded storage.

At SK Energy’s largest refinery in South Korea, engineers are rushing to complete a new processing unit ahead of schedule. The unit of SK Innovation started supplying MGO from October and is building a vacuum residue desulphurization (VRDS) unit that can produce 40,000 bpd of low sulfur fuel oil due online in March or April.

Japan’s second-biggest refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co is increasing capacity for LSFO, but is also relying on blending to produce IMO2020 compliant bunker fuel. In Japan, Fuji Oil Co Ltd (5017.T), Cosmo Energy Holdings Co Ltd (5021.T) and Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd (5019.T) began shipping IMO-compliant fuels in October.

As MRC wrote earlier, in mid-September 2019, SIBUR Holding (SIBUR) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) signed a framework cooperation agreement to produce SEBS (styrene, ethylene and butylene-based block copolymers). SEBS is a pelletised modifier for thermoplastics used to impart elasticity to plastic materials or as a primary polymer to produce elastic components. SEBS boasts excellent durability and is leveraged across a variety of industries such as plastics and bitumen modification, adhesives, modification compounds, and toys. Under the agreement, SIBUR and Sinopec will establish a 50/50 joint venture (JV) in Russia to produce at least 20 ktpa of SEBS.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The 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.

MRC