Saudi Kayan swings to loss in full year, widens fourth-quarter loss

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Kayan, a Sabic affiliate, has reported an increase in net loss in the fourth quarter of 2019, citing lower average selling prices, which could not be compensated for by lower average feedstock costs, reported Chemweek.

Fourth-quarter net loss rose to SR167.41 million (USD44.61 million) from a loss of SR110.90 million. Sales were down 14.26% at SR2.259 billion.

Kayan’s full-year net loss reached SR636.770 million compared with a net profit of SR1.702 billion in 2018. Sales in the full-year were down 22.2% at SR9.536 billion. The drop in earnings and revenues in 2019 was due to lower average selling prices, and came despite larger production and sales volumes and a decrease in the average cost of feedstocks.

As MRC wrote earlier, in February 2016, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. awarded Taiwan's CTCI Corp. a contract worth USD94.5 million (SAR 354.4 million) to build a new cracker at its complex in Jubail Industrial City. Under the deal, CTCI was to manage the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) for the project, which is located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company is a manufacturing affiliate of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic, 35%). Saudi Kayan is the fifth-largest petrochemical manufacturer by market value in Saudi Arabia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Bostik, part of Arkema, has recently completed the acquisition of LIP Bygningsartikler AS (LIP), the Danish leader in tile adhesives, waterproofing systems and floor preparation solutions, according to Arkema's press release.

Thus, this acquisition, which was completed on 3 January 2020 and which was like the Prochimir acquisition finalized in October 2019, is in line with Arkema’s strategy to continuously grow its Adhesives business through bolt-on acquisitions which complement Bostik’s geographic presence, product ranges and technologies.

As MRC informed previously, Arkema has recently announced the proposed divestment of its Functional Polyolefins business to SK Global Chemical, a subsidiary of SK, the major South Korean corporation. The proposed disposal, which is subject to an information and consultation process involving Arkema’s employee representative bodies and to the approval of the relevant antitrust authorities, is expected to be finalized in second quarter 2020. With this project, Arkema continues its shift towards specialty chemicals and advanced materials.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Arkema is a global manufacturer in specialty chemicals and advanced materials, with 3 business segments - High Performance Materials, Industrial Specialties, and Coating Solutions - and globally recognized brands. The Group reports annual sales of EUR8.8 billion. Buoyed by the collective energy of its 20,000 employees, Arkema operates in close to 55 countries.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Valero Energy Corp. has approved officer promotions, effective Januany 23, 2020, according to Oil&Gas Journal.

Lane Riggs has been promoted and elected president of Valero and will hold the title of president and chief operating officer, reflecting the expansion of his responsibilities to also include renewables and logistics operations.

Gary Simmons has been promoted and elected executive vice-president and chief commercial officer. Gary has lead Valero’s commercial organization since 2014. He will continue in his new role with oversight of the company’s crude supply and products trading, wholesale marketing, transportation, and international commercial operations groups.

Eric Fisher has been promoted and elected senior vice-president of wholesale marketing and international commercial operations.

As MRC wrote before, Valero Energy Corp on Saturday shut a diesel hydrotreater at its 335,000 barrel-per-day (BPD) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. Also, a hydrocracker remains shut at the refinery for repairs.

Besides, last year, Valero Energy Corp restarted the small CDU at its Port Arthur refinery after repairing a valve on 25 September. And in late October 2019, Valero Energy Corp shut the small crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Port Arthur refinery. The 75,000-bpd AVU 147 CDU was shut to repair a heat exchanger.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, the PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem will permanently shut down the smaller of its two chlor-alkali plants, reported S&P Global with reference to the company's statement.

In a notice to shareholders late Thursday, Braskem said it would begin shutting the 41-year-old plant down in April.
The facility in Camacari, Bahia, has a capacity of 79,000 mt/year of caustic soda and 64,000 mt/year of chlorine.

Braskem said Friday the plant makes raw material for customers and third parties, and is not part of the company's polyvinyl (PVC) production chain in the neighboring state of Alagoas.

"The market will not be affected by its closure," the company said. "The main customers were informed in advance and have already sought solutions, such as importing the material."

The company also said in its notice to shareholders that the shutdown was "explained by the end of the facility's useful life."

The shutdown will leave Braskem with no chlor-alkali production in Brazil, and wholly dependent on imports.

In May last year, Braskem shut the larger of its two Brazilian chlor-alkali plants and its sole downstream ethylene dichloride facility in Alagoas. Those closures came shortly after Brazil's Geological Survey issued a report linking Braskem's Alagoas salt mining operation to geological damage in the city of Maceio, including fissures and a small earthquake in March 2018.

Braskem said Friday that the Alagoas plant is in a different system and unrelated to the Bahia plant. The Bahia facility is used to sell raw material to customers and third parties.

The larger chlor-alkali plant has a capacity of 460,000 mt/year of caustic soda and 400,000 mt/year of chlorine, and the EDC plant's capacity is 520,000 mt/year.

Braskem aims to restart those Alagoas plants in the first half of this year, but the company has to find another source of salt to feed the chlor-alkali facility. Braskem said last year that it will permanently shut the Maceio salt mine, and the company is looking into sourcing salt from neighboring Rio Grande do Norte state, or possibly establish a new salt mine in a more rural part of Alagoas.

Braskem had already imported salt to feed the smaller Bahia chlor-alkali plant.

Chlorine mixed with ethylene makes EDC, a precursor to construction staple PVC. Caustic soda, a byproduct of chlorine production, is a key feedstock for alumina and pulp and paper industries.

Brazil is the largest market for US export caustic soda, and last year's shutdowns sharply increased that demand pull.

US caustic soda flows to Brazil from January through October 2019 rose 22.6% to 2.2 million mt compared with the same span of 2018, according to US International Trade Commission data.

Braskem's EDC import demand rose as well so Braskem could maintain downstream PVC production. US EDC flows to Brazil nearly tripled in the January through October period last year to 246,536 mt compared with the same 10 months of 2018, USITC data showed.

As MRC informed before, Brazilian petrochemical producer Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia, announced the company in April, 2019. And the company has been seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker.

According to MRC's DataScope report, exports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) from Russia totalled 193,700 tonnes in 2019, up by 11% year on year. Imports increased more significantly - by 217% year on year - to 50,900 tonnes.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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