MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow Inc has agreed to divest some of its U.S. Gulf Coast marine and terminal operations to a joint venture owned by Royal Vopak and BlackRock's Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund for USD620 million, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The deal with Vopak Industrial Infrastructure Americas includes marine and storage terminal operations and assets at Dow’s sites in Plaquemine and St. Charles, Louisiana, and Freeport, Texas, the company said. Dow expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter, following regulatory approvals from the United States and the European Union.
In July, Dow agreed to sell its rail infrastructure assets at six North American sites to transportation service firm Watco Companies LLC for about USD310 million. In its earnings report in July, Dow laid out cost-cutting plans to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic, adding that it was taking other actions to exit non-competitive assets.
The company also said it was evaluating its ownership of non-revenue generating assets across its global portfolio. Goldman Sachs acted as a financial advisor to Dow and Mayer Brown provided legal support.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC