Yokogawa acquires stake in APB

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it has acquired capital in APB Corporation (APB), a pioneer in the development of a next-generation lithium-ion battery called the "All Polymer Battery," with the aim of growing Yokogawa's energy management system (EMS) business, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The two companies have agreed that Yokogawa will provide energy management technology needed for the efficient operation and optimization of large-scale storage batteries.

Yokogawa engages in broad-ranging activities in the areas of measurement, control, and information. The industrial automation business provides vital products, services, and solutions to a diverse range of process industries including oil, chemicals, natural gas, power, iron and steel, and pulp and paper.

APB is a Japanese startup working toward the practical application of their All Polymer Battery. The battery that APB has developed delivers high energy density and has high flexibility in shape and size, so it can be used in a wide range of applications, starting with the large-scale storage batteries required by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power generation systems.

Through the agreement, Yokogawa will provide its EMS for use with the energy storage systems (ESS) that APB will build and sell, and will also collect the condition data of individual cells or modules and the operation data of the ESS to optimize these systems and deliver efficient operation plans.

As the adoption of renewable energy continues to grow, the market for large-scale fixed storage batteries that enable the efficient use of power is expanding. Yokogawa is leveraging its control and information technologies in a range of businesses related to the efficient production and use of energy, such as the plant energy management business, which includes the optimized control of wind and biomass power generation systems and the efficient operation of boiler, turbine, and generator (BTG) equipment, as well as the virtual power plant (VPP) resource aggregation business. By acquiring a stake in APB, Yokogawa will be able to apply the optimization and efficient operation technology it develops to a range of large-scale storage batteries and develop its business for the distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) that utilize these batteries.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2019, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) announced that it had entered into a strategic alliance framework agreement to accelerate collaboration with Yokogawa Electric Corporation. The agreement includes selection of Yokogawa as a preferred supplier of control systems.

We remind that SABIC took off-stream its 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, SABIC Europe, an affiliate of SABIC, conducted maintenance works at its cracker No.3 at Geleen site in the Netherlands this autumn. The planned maintenance started in September and lasted 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 polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.

Yokogawa established Yokogawa Saudi Arabia in 2006 and Yokogawa Service Saudi Arabia in 2007. Yokogawa engages in broad-ranging activities in the areas of measurement, control, and information. The industrial automation business provides vital products, services, and solutions to a diverse range of process industries including oil, chemicals, natural gas, power, iron and steel, and pulp and paper.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic is good for the environment because competing products including paper packaging and fiber-based textiles are worse, said Bloomberg, citing Exxon Mobil Corp.

"From a sustainability viewpoint, plastic packaging beats alternatives," Jack Williams, a senior vice president at Exxon, said at an investor presentation in New York Thursday.

Manufacturing plastics takes less energy than other products, he said, citing a study by researcher Franklin Associates and sponsored by the American Chemistry Council industry group. Alternatives generate five times the amount of waste and use more water, Williams said.

"Bottom line: plastics provide a net benefit to society and to the environment," he said.

Exxon’s comments come in marked contrast to cities, governments and companies that are taking action against single-use plastics including bags, straws and coffee cups due to their impact on the environment. Total plastic waste in the oceans is expected to more than double by 2030 without significant policy changes, the International Energy Agency said in a 2018 report.

Williams acknowledged that plastic waste is “an important societal issue” that must be addressed. Exxon is exploring ways to use more recycled material in its chemicals production and is funding efforts to improve waste management.

As MRC informed before, in September 2019, ExxonMobil announced plans to spend GBP140 million over the next two years in an additional investment program at its Fife ethylene plant, which has a capacity of more than 800,000 t/y.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum Co, the largest US independent refiner, is exploring the sale of assets of its pipeline subsidiary MPLX LP worth as much as USD15 billion, reported Reuters with reference to people familiar with the matter.

The divestment would give the Findlay, Ohio-based company a cash boost at a time when a looming economic slowdown triggered by the global coronavirus outbreak and lower oil prices are weighing on its prospects. Marathon’s shares have lost half their value in the last three weeks.

Marathon is exploring a sale of MPLX’s gathering and processing (G&P) business, which transports hydrocarbons from drilling sites to major pipelines, the sources said. Intrepid Financial Partners is advising on a sale process for the business, which is at its early stages, the sources added. If there is a deal, it could involve divesting a majority or minority stake in that business, according to the sources.

The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Marathon, MPLX and Intrepid did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Marathon had previously said it had formed a special board committee to explore options for its midstream operations, but had not announced a specific course of action.

Marathon Petroleum shares ended trading down 9% in New York, giving it a market value of USD20.3 billion. Its debt obligations totaled USD29 billion as of the end of December, USD20.1 billion of which stemmed from MPLX and its subsidiaries. MPLX shares ended trading down 8.7%, giving it a market value of USD16.3 billion.

Under pressure from activist shareholders, including hedge funds Elliott Management Corp and D.E. Shaw Group, Marathon announced in October it would explore options for its pipeline and storage operations, and look at spinning off its retail gas station business Speedway.

Marathon held negotiations to sell Speedway to Japan’s Seven & i Holdings Co for more than USD20 billion, but the talks collapsed earlier this month after banks balked at financing the 7-Eleven convenience store operator’s bid, one of the sources said. A sale of the MPLX assets could help compensate for that abandoned divestment.

MPLX’s G&P assets generated earnings before interest, tax, amortization and depreciation of USD1.75 billion in 2019, according to the company’s full-year results statement.

MPLX is structured as a tax-efficient master limited partnership, in which Marathon is the general partner. It is not clear whether Marathon would choose to keep MPLX’s logistics and storage businesses should the G&P assets be successfully divested. One option would be to move MPLX up to Marathon, the sources said.

Marathon, which every day processes 3 million barrels of crude oil capacity across 16 refineries, is also currently looking for a replacement for its CEO Gary Heminger.

As MRC wrote previously, a portion of Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 363,000 barrel-per-day Carson refinery in California was shut in late February 2020, following a fire.

We also remind that the gasoline-producing unit at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 585,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, remained shut for six weeks for repairs in late Juney-early August 2019. The 140,000-bpd gasoline-producing Fluidic Catalytic Cracking Unit 3 (FCCU 3) was shut on June 29 2019 to repair a leak. The refinery’s 65,000 bpd reformer, called Ultraformer 4, was also shut down.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Cepsa achieved a net profit of 820 million euros in 2019, 1.2% less than a year earlier, while the adjusted net result CCS (discounting the variation in the value of inventories) fell 19%, to 610 million, due to the lower refining margins and the decrease in the price of crude oil, said the company.

On the other hand, the adjusted gross operating profit (ebitda) increased by 17% and stood at 2,058 million, thanks, fundamentally, to the good performance of the Exploration and Production and Marketing businesses, according to the accounts published this Friday by the oil company, controlled by Mubadala Investment Company.

The Exploration and Production business increased its adjusted EBITDA by 48%, to 963 million, driven by the start of operations of the SARB and Umm Lulu fields (in Abu Dhabi), acquired in 2018. These fields allowed to increase the production by 11%. Cepsa production, up to 92.6 million barrels per day.

On the other hand, the adjusted net profit fell 17% (194 million) due to the drop in Colombia’s contribution due to lower sales prices and higher depreciation and taxes.

Refining activity contributed an adjusted gross operating result of 433 million, 25% less, and cut its adjusted net profit by 52%, to 124 million.

According to Cepsa, this decrease, experienced by the market in general, was due to the lower refining margins, impacted by the cracks of light and medium distillates in the Mediterranean; as well as higher supply costs due to the rise in premiums for high sulfur crude.

The level of utilization of refinery distillation capacity was 89%, in line with 2018.

The Marketing business generated an adjusted EBITDA of 463 million, 35% more, thanks to the good performance of the service station network, the bioenergy business and the increase in sales volumes and margins in the asphalt business, as well as to the application of the new accounting standards on rentals (75 million).

The adjusted net profit of this area stood at 221 million euros, 17% higher than the previous year.

Chemistry activity achieved an adjusted gross operating result of 246 million, in line with 2018, while the adjusted net profit fell 3% (107 million) due to the deterioration of international margins of some products and despite the fact that it was recorded 26 million due to the entry into force of IFRS 16.

In 2019, Cepsa extended the average life of its debt to more than 5 years and managed to cut its net debt by 11%, to 2,746 million, thanks to the cash generation, according to the same source.

Investments during this period amounted to 924 million euros, compared to 2,255 million in 2018, and the free cash flow was 1,152 million euros (before the payment of interest and dividends).

As MRC informed earlier, Cepsa Quimica (Shanghai), a joint venture between CEPSA, a Spanish petrochemical company, and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp, has lowered phenol and acetone production in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. Capacity utilization at this enterprise with a capacity of 250 thousand tons of phenol and 150 thousand tons of acetone per year was reduced due to lack of raw materials.

Phenol is one of the main feedstocks for the production of bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used for the production of polycarbonate (PC).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) totalled 78,500 tonnes in 2019, up by 15% year on year (68,100 tonnes a year earlier).

Cepsa is controlled by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment. Since October last year, US private equity firm Carlyle Group holds a 37% minority stake in Cepsa.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rotational molder Tank Holding, the parent company of intermediate bulk container (IBC) manufacturer Snyder Industries, has acquired the IBC manufacturing assets from material handling container provider Hoover Ferguson, said Canplastics.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. In a March 9 statement, Tank Holding said that the purchase “further strengthens [our] market position as the leading North American manufacturer of reusable and returnable IBCs, also known as portable tote tanks, used to transport chemicals and food products."

Headquartered in Houston, Hoover Ferguson is a global provider of material handling container solutions for the energy, petrochemical and general industrial markets, including the rental and other integrated services of IBC products, which is a market they will continue to serve, as a customer of the IBCs manufactured by Snyder Industries.

"We are excited about expanding our IBC manufacturing capacity and footprint, and look forward to serving Hoover Ferguson and their customers with the full breadth of our IBC product portfolio, as well as other Tank Holding products," Tank Holding COE Greg Wade said in the statement.

"The sale of Hoover Ferguson’s IBC manufacturing assets will enable our company to increase our strategic focus, energy, and resources on the rental and integrated services of IBC products,” said Kevin Friar, CEO of Hoover Ferguson.

The Hoover Ferguson announcement represents Tank Holding’s eighth acquisition in about 16 months, but it’s the first over this timeframe to involve another manufacturing process, besides rotational molding. The Hoover Ferguson plant is a steel manufacturing facility, located in Houston, TX, which reflects part of Tank Holding’s strategic desire to expand the company’s manufacturing process capabilities to better serve both new and existing customers.

"Strengthening our manufacturing platform and process knowledge is a part of our overall growth strategy, investing in our core product segments across multiple manufacturing platforms will allow us to deliver more value to our extensive customer base," said Wade.

Said to be North America’s largest polyethylene tank and container manufacturer, Tank Holding also includes the brands of Norwesco, Snyder Industries, Chemtainer, Bonar Plastics, Bushman, and Stratis Pallets. It currently operates 24 manufacturing plant locations and employs approximately 750 people throughout North America.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,093,260 tonnes in 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments rose from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,260,400 tonnes in January-December 2019, up by 4% year on year. Supply of almost all grades of propylene polymers increased, except for statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers).
MRC