Celanese Corporation declares quarterly dividend of USD0.62 per share

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of USD0.62 per share on its common stock, payable May 7, 2020, as per the company's press release.

The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of April 27, 2020.

As MRC informed previously, Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has restarted its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit in Singapore. The company has resumed operations at the unit on March 16, 2020. The unit was shut since February 4, 2020 following a fire at the site. Located in Jurong Island, Singapore, the unit has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, February EVA imports to Russia rose by 9,83% year on year to 3,107 tonnes from 2,829 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation increased in January-February 2020 by 8,36% year on year to 6,194 tonnes (5,716 tonnes a year earlier).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian natural gas flows delivering into Germany via the Yamal pipeline have stopped, just days after a long-standing transportation agreement between Russia and Poland expired, data from receiving German Transmission System Operator Gascade shows, said S&P Global.

The former agreement had previously facilitated direct supply to Poland, the transportation of volumes via Poland, and the construction of the pipeline itself, but finally came to end on May 17 after 26 years, with transportation being supported by substantial spot capacity purchases since the agreement's expiration.

Gascade reported that flows has stopped completely at the beginning of gas day May 26, following a ramp-down during the long weekend preceding it, with metered volumes around 21 million cu m/d on May 23, and just 1.1 million cu m/d May 24-25.

Poland's gas market has now entered a new era of liberalization, with capacity markets now governed the European Union's Capacity Allocation Mechanism Network Code, which permits legacy contracts for reasons of infrastructure improvement and security of supply, but forbids the renewal of such agreements.

Market sources have said they had considered the transport route to be Russian gas giant Gazprom's point of portfolio optimization, although the company was not immediately available for comment.

The cessation of flows through Yamal has also affected flows downstream, with Slovakian TSO reporting entries at the Czech Lanzhot border of just 9 million cu m/d, down from 37 million cu m/d on May 22, and Slovakian exit into Austria at Baumgarten dropping to 91 million cu m/d from 121 million cu m/d in the same timeframe.

As MRC reported previously, in early January, 2020, Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia signed an additional agreement to the contract for Russian gas supplies to the Republic of Armenia. In accordance with the agreement, the price of natural gas at the border between Georgia and Armenia will not change starting from January 1, 2020, and will remain at the level of 2019. Gazprom Armenia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom, is focused on natural gas supplies to the Armenian market. In addition, the company transports, stores, distributes and sells natural gas, as well as upgrades and expands the gas transmission system and underground gas storage facilities in the Republic of Armenia. The contract between Gazprom Export and Gazprom Armenia for the supplies of up to 2.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year will be in effect until the end of 2020.

Ethylene is the main feedstock for the production of polyethylene (PE).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis has announced the appointment of Erik van Praet as vice president/innovation and technology effective 1 April 2020. Van Praet succeeds Maurits van Tol, who last year moved to Johnson Matthey as chief technology officer and joined the management committee, said Chemweek.

Van Praet started his career with Borealis in 1995 as development engineer at Zwijndrecht, Belgium, followed by various research manager positions at Porvoo, Finland; Stenungsund, Sweden; and the positions of intellectual property rights manager and technology commercialization manager at Mechelen, Belgium. Prior to joining Borealis, he worked at Desotec, a company specializing in air and water purification.

Most recently, Van Praet held the position of director/strategy and portfolio for over a decade, first at Linz, Austria, and then at Beringen, Belgium. “For many years, Erik van Praet has been a mastermind and key pillar of our ‘Value Creation through Innovation’ strategy, which remains a key differentiator of the Borealis polyolefin strategy,” says Lucrece Foufopoulos, executive vice president/polyolefins, innovation, and circular economy.

As MRC informed earlier, Borealis says it will not proceed with the development of a multi-billion-dollar integrated steam cracker and polyethylene (PE) project in Kazakhstan.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 557,060 tonnes in the first three month of 2020, up by 7% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments rose because of the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. Demand for LDPE subsided. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market was 267,630 tonnes in January-March 2020, down 20% year on year. Homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Covestro’s board of management and employee representatives have agreed a plan to reduce working hours in Germany and to cut salaries of all employees as the company faces the coronavirus 2019 pandemic and a decline in consumer demand, said Chemweek.

These measures are planned for a period of six months starting on 1 June 2020 and will serve as a supplement to the previously planned cost-saving measures. Covestro’s international subsidiaries will implement individual measures for cost reduction on a country-specific level.

The company has not said what the actual salary cuts will be but said that the reduction increases in percentage terms across all salary levels. The board of management as well as the supervisory board will take a salary cut of 15%, which the company says is a larger cut than that applied to other employees. Covestro employed approximately 17,200 people at the end of 2019.

Covestro says that despite the current cost-saving measures, it continues to drive forward its strategic focus of sustainability and innovation. In particular, the company says it plans to transition to a circular economy in order to eliminate the use of fossil resources to the greatest possible extent. It announced today that it wants to accelerate change to a circular economy to align its entire production and product range as well as all areas in the long term to the circular concept.

Specifically, the company plans to convert its production facilities worldwide to alternative raw materials and renewable energy. In addition, over 20 projects are researching new ways for more and better recycling. The company says that the aim is to become a producer and solution provider as well as innovative recycler. Covestro’s products are to be increasingly tailored for later recycling and aligned even more closely with the UN sustainability goals. In addition, Covestro says it wants to cooperate with partners in all areas of the value creation cycle and also to take advantage of new business opportunities of mutual interest.

Covestro launched a strategic program in 2019 to anchor circularity in all areas of the company in a holistic approach. It is now being implemented and backed up with concrete and measurable goals. The company is focusing on four topics: alternative raw materials; innovative recycling; common solutions; and renewable energies.

As MRC informed earlier, Covestro has closed the sale of its European polycarbonates (PC) sheets business to the Munich-based Serafin Group effective January 2, 2020. This includes key management and sales functions throughout Europe as well as production sites in Belgium and Italy.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, overall estimated consumption of PC granules totalled 12,600 tonnes in the Russian market in January-February 2020 (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus), compared to 9,600 tonnes a year earlier. Demand increased by 31%.

Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) is an independent subgroup within Bayer. It was created as part of the restructuring of Bayer AG from the former business group Bayer Polymers, with certain of its activities being spun off to Lanxess AG. Covestro manufactures and develops materials such as coatings, adhesives and sealants, polycarbonates (CDs, DVDs), polyurethanes (automotive seating, insulation for refrigerating appliances) etc. With 2018 sales of EUR 14.6 billion, Covestro has 30 production sites worldwide and employs approximately 16,800 people (calculated as full-time equivalents) at the end of 2018.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese announced it has filed a petition with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade seeking antidumping duties on imports of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) from Korea Petrochemical Industry Co. (KPIC; Seoul) into the European Union, said Chemweek.

“After successfully filing an antidumping case in the US, which the US authorities voted unanimously to continue an investigation into, and in order to further ensure Celanese is able to operate in fair and sustainable industry conditions globally, we were compelled to also file an antidumping case against KPIC in Europe to address their destructive pricing practices in that region which have caused Celanese’s UHMWPE business to suffer significantly over the last several years since KPIC began selling in the region,” said Tom Kelly, senior vice president of the engineered materials business of Celanese.

As MRC informed eartlier, Celanese is currently operating its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit at curtailed capacity levels owing to bearish market conditions. The company reduced run rates at the plant to around 60% levels in late April, 2020. Located in Jurong Island, Singapore, the unit has a production capacity of 210,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, February EVA imports to Russia rose by 9,83% year on year to 3,107 tonnes from 2,829 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation increased in January-February 2020 by 8,36% year on year to 6,194 tonnes (5,716 tonnes a year earlier).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC