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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp’s Australian unit said it would buy the domestic commercial and retail fuels business of Puma Energy for AD425 million (USD288 million), marking a return to the country’s fuel distribution market, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The sale by Singapore-based Puma Energy, 49%-owned by commodities trading giant Trafigura, comes as Puma pushes to rebalance its books after a decade-long spree snapping up oil assets. It reported a net loss of USD463 million in the first nine-months of the year.
For Chevron, the deal marks a return to a sector it left in March 2015 after selling its half-share in refiner Caltex Australia for USD3.7 billion. Puma has more than 270 retail sites, 20 depots and 3 bulk seaboard terminals across Australia and delivers more than 1 billion litres of fuel a year.
"The acquisition will provide Chevron with a stable market for production volumes from our refining joint ventures in Asia and create a foundation for sustainable earnings growth," Mark Nelson, Chevron’s executive vice president for downstream and chemicals said in a statement.
The deal is expected to complete by the middle of next year.
Last month, sources familiar with the sale told Reuters that Trafigura would accept a hefty discount to the price it paid and that the assets would likely fetch no more than USD500 million, which they said would be a sharp drop in price.
Puma, which said it was retaining its bitumen business in Australia, entered the country in 2013 with the purchase of Ausfuel, Neumann and Central Combined Group assets. Media reports at the time said it paid around $850 million for the Ausfuel and Neumann assets.
Despite the potential scale of the price tag difference, some investors said the sale would be welcomed by Trafigura, which last week reported its lowest annual net profit in nearly a decade after a string of losses in its physical asset portfolio.
"It’s a pretty good deal for Trafigura," said a Melbourne-based fund manager, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
It is the second major sale for Puma this year. The firm announced the sale of its Paraguay business for USD200 million in early October to a Trafigura joint venture. Puma also sold its small business in Indonesia for USD3 million and it is still evaluating its portfolio.
Puma’s other shareholders include Angola’s state oil firm Sonangol with 28% and Cochan Holdings, which is run by a former Angolan general, with 15%.
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.
We also remind that in March 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, part of Chevron Corp, successfully introduced feedstock and commenced operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown, Texas. At peak production, the unit will produce 1.5 million metric tons/3.3 billion lbs. per year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
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.
Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
MRC
Chevron returns to Australia fuel retail with USD288 M asset
The best specialists of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim had the honor of winning an award
MOSCOW (MRC) -- The best specialists of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim had the honor of winning an award. 35 employees of PJSC Nizhnekamskneftekhim had the honor of winning state awards, said the company.
Awards presentation took place on December 2, the celebration was timed to the 90th anniversary of N.V. Lemaev, the first General Director of the petrochemical enterprise. Azat Bikmurzin, the General Director, rewarded the best petrochemists.
"We decided to present state awards in a new format and this will become a good tradition. I appreciate many years of your diligent work for the benefit of our company. I wish you good health and further achievements in your work and life".
Among those awarded are managers and workers, engineers and specialists. “Your work is aimed at further development of Nizhnekamskneftekhim, increase in output of high-quality, competitive products in order to further improve the living standards of petrochemists and their families, " stated the Head of the Company said in his speech.
5 employees of the Company were awarded the honorary title “Honored Chemist of the RT”, 3 - “Honored Power Engineer of the RT”, 1 - with the medal “For Valiant Labor”. 15 specialists were awarded with diplomas and thanks of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation. The best petrochemists were also noted with letters of gratitude from the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Ministry of Transport and Roads of the Republic of Tatarstan, and letters of commendation from the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Tatarstan.
According to Price Report ICIS-MRC, Nizhnekamskneftekhim in 2019 produces exclusively linear polyethylene (LLDPE). LLDPE shipments to the Russian market increased in the first seven months of 2019 by 8% year on year to 234,130 tonnes. Local producers increased their production by 24%.
PJSC "Nizhnekamskneftekhim" (NKNH) is one of the largest Russian producers of petrochemical products. The production complex of the company includes ten factories of the main production and ten departments (railway transport, ethylene pipelines, etc.). NKNH produces more than 120 types of chemical products, including synthetic rubber, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and surfactants. Nizhnekamskneftekhim is a member of TAIF Group of Companies.
MRC
Sinopec Qilu plans to shut cracker in Tianjin for repairs in June
This cracking unit with a capacity of 900,000 tonnes of ethylene per year and 480,000 tonnes of propylene tons per year will be closed for scheduled repairs until 24 June, 2020. Earlier it was reported that Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical in March closed for repair a plant for the production of aromatic substances in Zibo (Zibo, Shandun Province, China).
Maintenance at this enterprise, which can produce 340 thousand tons of benzene, 280,000 tonnes of toluene and 240,000 tonnes of xylene per year, lasted until March 23.
Ethylene and propylene are the main raw materials for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to ScanPlast of Market Report, the estimated PE consumption in Russia amounted to 1,589,580 tonnes in the first nine months of this year, which is 7% more than a year ago. Shipments of all PE grades increased.
Calculated 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 corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC
Penoplex opened a thermal insulation plant in Uzbekistan
MOSCOW (MRC) - Penoplex, the largest Russian producer of extruded polystyrene foam, has opened a thermal insulation plant in Uzbekistan, the company said.
The new production site was commissioned in the city of Angren in the Tashkent region, 80 km from the capital of Uzbekistan, on the territory of the Angren free economic zone, where more than 50 industrial enterprises of various directions already operate. The plant operates a modern line of European production with a capacity of 500 kg / h.
This will satisfy the demand for Penoplex insulation in the construction market of Uzbekistan, as well as in other countries of Central Asia - Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
The Angren plant became the tenth for Penoplex, which today also has eight production sites in Russia and one in Kazakhstan.
In July of this year, Penoplex Spb launched a new production of extruded polystyrene foam in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The capacity of the new production line reaches 500 thousand cubic meters of expanded polystyrene per year.
Penoplex is a large Russian producer of polymer-based building and decorative materials. The company began its activity in 1998 with the launch of Russia's first line for the production of heat-insulating materials from extruded polystyrene foam under the PENOPLEX trademark. The company has eight production sites, seven of which are located in Russia and one - in the Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty region), with a total production capacity of 4 million cubic metres.
MRC
BASF to sell construction chemicals business to Lone Star Funds
MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF SE announced that it has entered a deal to sell its construction chemicals business to Lone Star Funds, a global private equity firm for EUR3.17 billion (USD3.5 billion), reported Kemicalinfo.
The deal, which has immediate effect upon BASF’s reporting, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, according to the statement.
The deal is subject to competition authority approval, BASF said in a joint statement with the PE firm.
"Our aim was to find a new home for our Construction Chemicals business where it can leverage its full potential," said Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Construction Chemicals business. "Under the umbrella of Lone Star, the Construction Chemicals team can focus on a growth path with an industry-specific approach."
"The business complements Lone Star’s portfolio of investments in construction materials," said Donald Quintin, President of Europe at Lone Star.
BASF’s construction chemicals unit is the world’s largest maker of additives for concrete. It also offers a range of substances including concrete repair fillers, grouts and sealants under a business dubbed Construction Systems, where BASF is the No. 4 player globally. The business unit has more than 7,000 employees, operates in over 60 countries and generated sales of about EUR2.5 billion (USD2.77 billion) in 2018, according to the statement.
BASF announced a strategic review of the division last year. Lone Star entered exclusive talks with BASF after beating out a rival consortium that included Cinven and Bain Capital.
As MRC informed earlier, BASF, the world's petrochemical major, restarted its No. 1 steam cracker on September 30, 2019, following a maintenance turnaorund. The plant was shut for maintenance in mid-August, 2019. Located at Ludwigshafen in Germany, the No. 1 cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 235,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 125,000 mt/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
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.
BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries. BASF generated sales of around EUR63 billion in 2018.
MRC