SABIC sees price, margin squeeze in 2020, swings to loss in Q4

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC, the Middle East's biggest petrochemical maker which is being acquired by Saudi Aramco, expects a fall in prices and profit margins in 2020 amid a global oversupply after it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, reported S&P Global.

"New additional supply [is} expected to keep product prices and margins under pressure in 2020," SABIC said in the presentation posted on Wednesday on the website of the Saudi Stock exchange, known as Tadawul.

The company reported a loss of Riyal 720 million (USD192 million) in Q4 2019 due to a drop in average selling prices and impairment provision for a subsidiary.

SABIC's Q4 volumes were unchanged, but prices fell 19% from a year earlier period, the company said in the presentation. It didn't give production figures.

The company, which posted Riyal 3.22 billion profit in Q4 2018, set aside Riyal 1.3 billion for the impairment of subsidiary Ibn Rushd, it said on Wednesday in a statement to Tadawul.

Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producing company, is in the midst of merging with SABIC after acquiring a 70% stake in the petrochemical producer for USD69 billion in 2019.

Both Saudi Aramco and SABIC are boosting their petrochemical footprint and inking agreements within and outside the Gulf state to gain access to feedstock and get closer to their customers.

SABIC in October said it signed an initial non-binding memorandum of understanding with Russian Direct Investment Fund, the country's sovereign wealth fund, and ESN Group to evaluate building and operating a methanol plant with a capacity of up to 2 million mt/year in the Amur region of Russia.

ExxonMobil and SABIC are also going ahead with the development of a newbuild petrochemical complex in Texas, after having received all necessary permits and approvals.

However, European specialty chemicals producer Clariant and SABIC, its top shareholder, said in July they have temporarily suspended talks to form a joint venture due to current "unfavorable" market conditions.

SABIC in September 2018 signed a memorandum of understanding to combine SABIC's specialties business with Clariant's additives and high value masterbatch offerings. SABIC's third quarter profit had plunged 86% year on year to Riyal 830 million due to a Riyal 1.5 billion impairment provision for its 24.99% stake in the Swiss firm.

As MRC wrote before, SABIC took off-stream its SABIC Olefins 4 cracker owing to technical issues on May 10, 2019. Further details on duration of the shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in beek, the Netherlands, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 690,000 mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

Besides, in the first week of September 2019, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of SABIC, started maintenance work at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands. The planned maintenance is slated to last around 2 months. The company operates two steam crackers in Geleen which are capable of producing 1,250,000 tons/year of ethylene and 675,000 tons/year of propylene in total.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 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 Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the worldпїЅs market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nouryon has completed a repricing of its Euro and US Dollar term loans, reducing its annual interest payments by approximately EUR18.5 million, as per the company's press release.

The successful repricing was enabled by the company’s solid financial performance in 2019.

The repricing, which was completed on January 24, covers the company’s currently outstanding EUR1,790 million EUR Term Loan B and USD4,197 million US Dollar Term Loan B, each due October 2025. Interest rates were reduced by 50 basis points on the Euro loan and 25 basis points on the US Dollar loan.

"This has been a very successful repricing with a high level of interest from lenders, reflecting Nouryon’s strong cash generation and growth in EBITDA," said Renier Vree, Nouryon’s Chief Financial Officer.

The repricing follows a previous voluntary debt prepayment of USD110 million (equivalent to approximately EUR100 million) on its US Dollar Term Loan B, made in the fourth quarter of 2019. That amount, combined with scheduled repayments, took the company’s total debt reduction in 2019 to USD143 million (equivalent to approximately EUR130 million).

"We will continue to look at ways to reduce our leverage while maintaining ample liquidity," Vree said. "We will also continue to invest in attractive capacity expansions and selected bolt-on acquisitions to support the growth of our customers," he added.

As MRC wrote previously, in February 2019, Nouryon (formerly AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals) announced that it would license its innovative continuous initiator dosing (CiD) technology to Karpatnaftochim, Ukraine’s largest polyvinyl chloride (PVC) producer. Nouryon’s patented CiD technology allows PVC producers to increase reactor output by up to 40 percent, improve product quality, and make the production process intrinsically safer - all with minimum capital expenditure.

Karpatneftekhim is one of the largest enterprises of Ukraine's petrochemical complex. Currently, the plant can produce annually 300,000 tonnes of PVC, 200,000 tonnes of caustic soda, about 180,000 tonnes of chlorine, as well as 250,000 tonnes of ethylene and 100,000 tonnes of polyethylene.

According to ICIS-MRC Price report, Karpatneftekhim increased capacity utilisation in December, total PVC production had increased to 23,550 tonnes against 21,700 tonnes in November. Overall PVC production in the country was 240,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 15% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) – Dow is announcing price increases for Europe, Middle-East, Africa and India for all polyols, with 100 Euro per metric ton, or equivalent in other currencies, effective February 2020 or as contracts allow, said the company.

The decision is driven by increasing margin compression across key market segments supplied by Dow, including Furniture and Bedding, Energy Efficiency & Construction, Industrial and Consumer markets.

Dow Polyurethanes develops and delivers a broad portfolio of technologies and customized solutions to customers in a variety of industries under its DurableScience, ComfortScience and InsulationScience category brands. Applications range from industrial and infrastructure solutions, to consumer comfort solutions in flooring, furniture, bedding and footwear, to automotive solutions for vehicle interior, and energy-efficient insulation materials. The business manufactures and sells key chemical components as well as fully-formulated polyurethane systems for rigid, semi-rigid and flexible foams, and coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers and composites. Dow is the world's largest producer of propylene oxide (PO), propylene glycol (PG), and polyether polyols, and is a leading producer of quality aromatic isocyanates, such as MDI.

Striving to meet the specific needs of its customers in their local geographic regions, Dow Polyurethanes operates a global network of production sites and systems houses, as well as innovation and service centers. The business has an ongoing initiative to lead the industry in providing high-performance products that meet critical market needs and contribute to a more comfortable, healthier and resilient society.

Dow combines one of the broadest technology sets in the industry with asset integration, focused innovation and global scale to achieve profitable growth and become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow’s portfolio of performance materials, industrial intermediates and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for our customers in high-growth segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 113 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,000 people. Dow delivered pro forma sales of approximately USD50 billion in 2018. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries.

As MRC informed earlier, Dow Chemical, the world's petrochemical major, has put order controls in place for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM). The letter dated January 8 said, effective immediately, volumes will be based on previous monthly averages of purchased volumes, or limited to monthly maximum volumes specified in contracts. The letter does not provide details about how long the order control will be in place.

VAM is the main feedstock for the production of ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA).

According to MRC's DataScope report, November EVA imports to Russia dropped by 8,9% year on year to 3,440 tonnes from 3,780 tonnes in November 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-November 2019 by 18,9% year on year to 35,95 tonnes (44,330 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018).

The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene (PS), polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asahi Kasei Mitsubishi Chemical Ethylene Corp., a joint venture of Asahi Kasei Corp. and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., has restarted its naphtha cracker in Mizushima, Japan, on 28 Jan. 2020, as per Apic-online.

Operations were suspended at the cracker on 14 Jan. 2020, due to a malfunction in its refrigeration system. On 17 Jan. 2020, the company said it would restart the cracker on 24 Jan. 2020. The restart was delayed because of a malfunction in its steam system for irregular operation.

The naphtha cracker has 496,000 t/y of production capacity with turnaround and 567,000 t/y of production capacity without turnaround.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Roehm has planned to take off-stream its Methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in June 2020, said Polymerupdate.

A Polymerupdate source in Germany informed that the company is likely to start turnaround at the plant on June 5, 2020. The plant is expected to remain under maintenance for about 10 days.

Located in Wesseling, Germany, the plant has a production capacity of 95,000 mt/year.

As it was written earlier, in August 2019, Rohm GmbH successfully completed the carve-out from Evonik Industries. Evonik Industries’ Methacrylate Verbund is thus transferred to its new owner, Advent International, as an independent company.

Acrylonitrile is one of the main raw materials for the production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in November ABS imports to Russia amounted to 3,300 tonnes against 3,500 tonnes a month earlier and 4,100 tonnes in November last year. Following the results of eleven months, ABS import into the country slightly decreased compared to the same period last year and amounted to 31,300 tonnes.

Rohm GmbH’s product portfolio includes acrylic glass which is used in cars, airplane windows, screens or displays, as building glazing, noise protection, and in the advertising industry. The indispensable precursor for it is methyl methacrylate.
MRC