Total buys German EV charging-point business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Total SE has acquired Charging Solutions, a German business that operates electric-vehicle charging infrastructure, report market Watch with reference to the French energy company's statement.

The acquisition of the Munich-based business from Viessmann Group provides Total with a network of 2000 charge points in the country. The points are installed at the sites of private businesses, with some accessible to the public, Total said.

The company provided no financial details of the deal, but said that the integration of Charging Solutions into its German affiliate Total Deutschland was effective as of Nov. 1.

Alexis Vovk, Total's president for marketing and services, said the company's ambition was to operate 150,000 charge points in Europe by 2025.

As MRC wrote earlier, within the framework of its net zero strategy, Total will convert its Grandpuits refinery (Seine-et-Marne) into a zero-crude platform and will invest more then EUR500 mln into this project. By 2024 the platform will focus on four new industrial activities: production of renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation industry, production of bioplastics, plastics recycling and operation of two photovoltaic solar power plants.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

IMCD to acquire the personal care business of Turkish distributor Ejder Kimya

MOSCOW (MRC) -- IMCD N.V., a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and ingredients, has announced that it has successfully signed an agreement to acquire the personal care business of Ejder Kimya, according to the company's press release.

Ejder Kimya was founded in 1999 and is a Turkish chemicals distributor of raw materials for personal care and pharmaceutical products and food additives. It has a strong and solid position in the personal care market in Turkey. Ejder Kimya’s personal care business generated a revenue of EUR4.7 million in 2019.

Aylin Zakuto, Managing Director IMCD Turkey, comments: “This acquisition is a solid step to strengthen IMCD Turkey’s footprint in the personal care market in line with IMCD’s global growth strategy. Adding Ejder Kimya’s personal care market expertise and extensive portfolio to IMCD will expand our offered solutions to customers and accelerate the growth of our suppliers in the personal care market”.

Pervin Ejder, CEO and owner of Ejder Kimya, adds: “I am very excited and proud to hand over the value created by Ejder Kimya to the safe hands of IMCD. IMCD’s decisiveness to invest and grow in the personal care market enabled us to do this transaction. I am very confident that both our customers and suppliers will benefit from this transaction”.

The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval and is expected to take place in early January 2021.

As MRC reported previously, SIMONA AG plans to acquire 70% of the ownership interests in MT Plastik AS, Duzce, Turkey. Established in 2007, MT Plastik is Turkey's market leader within the area of PVC foam sheets. The products are used primarily in the field of digital printing, advertising and structural engineering. MT Plastik is a private owned company, employing around 50 people and generating revenue in excess of EUR11 million. The company exports approx. 60 per cent of its revenue, mainly to Europe. The planned acquisition is to be seen in the context of SIMONA's strategic realignment in Europe and will help to strengthen the Group's market position within the area of PVC foam products.

Accoring to MRC's DataScope report, imports of suspension polyvinyl chloride (SPVC) into Russia totalled 38,500 tonnes in the first ten months of 2020, down by 16% year on year. At the same time, exports decrease by 1%.
MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 30.11.2020

1. Two-thirds of Canadian business owners negatively impacted by COVID-19

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two-thirds (68%) of Canadian business owners continue to feel the negative impacts of COVID-19, a new study from CIBC finds, with more than half (57%) believing businesses in their area are in crisis mode and 43% believing businesses are in recovery mode, said Canplastics. According to the study, top concerns are a reduced demand for their products and services (37%) and worries about the overall viability of operations (23%). Despite this, the majority (75%) of business owners remain optimistic they will rebound once the pandemic subsides.

MRC

ExxonMobil plans full turnaround in 2022 at UK butyl rubber plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The ExxonMobil-operated, 110,000-metric tons/year butyl rubber plant at Fawley in the south of the UK is set for a full-scale turnaround in 2022, according to sources with links to the plant, said Chemweek.

The unit is one of the largest producers in the world of halobutyl rubber, supplying one third of all ExxonMobil's global output, according to IHS Markit. "We are the major European manufacturer of halobutyl rubber, which is used to line tires—the majority of tires manufactured in Europe contain some Fawley halobutyl rubber," the ExxonMobil website states.

Fawley typically produces 750,000 metric tons/year of chemical products, according to ExxonMobil. Halobutyl rubber and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) are the main products produced at Fawley's chemical operations. The 135,000-metric tons/year MEK unit went offline in September 2019 for maintenance work.

Fawley's chemical division has helped ExxonMobil to offset a difficult year for the neighboring 270,000-b/d refinery, which sends feedstock to the integrated site's chemical operations. Sources at Fawley say that its chemical plants operated at a combined utilization rate of just over 90% in the first eight months of this year—above the annual averages seen in the previous two years that were slightly below 90%. By contrast, the refinery operated at just over 60% of capacity over January-August, amid poor oil product demand and dismal refining margins, according to the Fawley sources.

When asked to confirm both the 2022 maintenance work and the utilization rate at the Fawley chemicals units, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil told OPIS, "We never comment on turnarounds before they are underway." Output rates are "commercially confidential," the spokesperson added.

We remind that ExxonMobil has undertaken a planned shutdown at its cracker in Singapore. The company halted operations at the cracker for maintenance on September 14, 2020. The cracker is expected to remain off-line till end-October, 2020. Located at Jurong Island, Singapore, the cracker has an ethylene production capacity of 1 million mt/year and a propylene production capacity of 450,000 mt/year.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

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

Petronas warns of challenging fourth quarter amid volatile oil prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petronas warned on Friday that the remainder of the year would remain tough due to prolonged low oil prices and moderate demand recovery hampered by the coronavirus, as it recorded a third-quarter loss, reported Reuters.

“Amid the fluid operating environment brought about by the pandemic as well as prolonged volatility of oil prices, Petronas is adopting a cautious outlook and anticipates that the remainder of 2020 will be challenging,” said Tengku Muhammad Taufik, president and group chief executive officer.

“We expect our performance to be continuously affected by the volatility of oil prices aggravated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” he said in a statement.

Petronas, or Petroliam Nasional Berhad, said it would continue to uphold “disciplined capital and operational spending” and preserve liquidity to ensure business sustainability.

The world’s fourth-biggest LNG exporter said its Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) will be operational by early next year, with the Atmospheric Residue Desulphurisation Train 1 and Train 2 expected to be ready-for-start-up (RFSU) by the beginning of 2021.

The Diesel Hydro Treating unit is expected to be RFSU in the fourth quarter of 2021, while the restart-up of the Refinery and Petrochemical plants is planned for the first quarter, the firm said.

Petronas reported a post-tax loss of 3.4 billion ringgit ($835.8 million) for the July to September period, against 7.4 billion ringgit in the same quarter last year.

Its second straight quarterly loss was attributed to a higher impairment loss on assets and higher tax expenses as a result of the lower oil and gas price outlook.

Revenue fell 25% to 41.1 billion ringgit.

As MRC reported earlier, in June 2019, Malaysian state oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, and Saudi Aramco started operations at their new 1.2-million-tonnes-per-year naphtha cracker. The cracker is part of the USD2.7 billion joint-venture oil refinery and petrochemical project known as RAPID - or Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development - located in Pengerang in the state of Johor, at the southern tip of peninsular Malaysia.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia"s estimated PE consumption totalled 1,594,510 tonnes in the first nine months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high denstiy polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 880,130 tonnes in the nine months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production minus exports plus imports, exluding producers" inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Petronas, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The Group is engaged in a wide spectrum of petroleum activities, including upstream exploration and production of oil and gas to downstream oil refining; marketing and distribution of petroleum products; trading; gas processing and liquefaction; gas transmission pipeline network operations; marketing of liquefied natural gas; petrochemical manufacturing and marketing; shipping; automotive engineering; and property investment.
MRC