DuPont to acquire electronic chemicals maker Laird Performance Materials from private equity

MOSCOW (MRC) -- DuPont on 8 March announced the acquisition of electronic chemicals maker Laird Performance Materials from private equity firm Advent International (New York, New York) for USD2.3 billion, said Chemweeek.

The purchase price represents an EBITDA multiple of about 15 times (x), excluding projected synergies, and will be funded with existing cash balances. Laird is a maker of electromagnet shielding and thermal management products, aimed at managing heat and protecting electronic devices from electromagnetic interference. The company is active in the 5G wireless, automotive and consumer electronics markets, among others. It generated about $465 million in revenue during 2020, and has about 4,300 employees.

The business will become a part of DuPont’s electronics and industrial (E&I) division. “Laird Performance Materials is a strategic and complementary addition to the electronics & industrial (E&I) business, and our applied material science expertise together with Laird Performance Materials’ industry-leading application engineering capabilities further strengthens DuPont as an essential partner for major electronics OEMs and manufacturers,” says DuPont chairman and CEO Ed Breen.

The deal “brings together DuPont’s technology portfolio in films, laminates, and plating chemistry with Laird Performance Materials’ electromagnetic shielding and thermal management solutions," DuPont says. DuPont expects about USD60 million/year in cost synergies to result from the transaction, mostly within 18 months of the deal’s close, which is expected in the third quarter of 2021. DuPont “remains committed to a balanced capital allocation policy that delivers strong returns to shareholders and includes organic growth, targeted M&A, and shareholder remuneration,” Breen says.

J.P. Morgan is DuPont’s financial advisor on the deal, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is its legal counsel. Avent International’s financial advisors are Morgan Stanley and Rothschild & Co., and its legal counsel is Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

As per MRC, Gazpromneft Omsk Oil Refinery (Omsk) in Siberia, Russia significantly lowered its air emissions using BELCO wet scrubbing technology licensed by DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont). Wiith an installed capacity of 22.23 MM tons of oil per year, the Omsk Oil Refinery is one of Russia’s leading oil refineries. The BELCO wet scrubbing technology was installed at Omsk during a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) revamp and efficiently removes process impurities from the flue gas emitted by the FCCU thus reducing air emissions well below detection limits.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Scientific Aviation today announced the launch of Project Falcon, a 6-month joint industry partner study that aims to determine the best way to deploy continuous methane monitoring technology that will allow energy companies to find, detect, and repair methane leaks faster, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, ExxonMobil, Pioneer Natural Resources, Shell and TRP Energy will test Scientific Aviation’s SOOFIE (Systematic Observations of Facility Intermittent Emissions) system, an affordable ground-based technology that measures methane emissions 24 hours a day, in real-world environments, and immediately alerts operators about issues. The tests will be conducted in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas starting in March 2021. The data and results will be made available to the industry, regulators and the public through publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

"As the scientific community, the United Nations, and countless others have issued dire warnings about the impact of greenhouse gases on earth’s environment, the fight to combat this problem will take energy and technology companies working together to accelerate change,” said Dr. Stephen Conley, president of Scientific Aviation. “These companies have determined that doing all they can to protect the environment requires collaboration. We are excited to see how much can be done when the energy industry joins together to tackle a problem as important as protecting the environment."

The foundation of Project Falcon is Scientific Aviation’s SOOFIE system: a self-contained leak detection system in which each sensor contains its own solar panel, battery, cellular or WiFi connectivity, and the ability to take five methane measurements per second. SOOFIE also captures atmospheric conditions that are essential to the calculation of actual emission rates, rather than measuring concentration levels which can be susceptible to producing many false alarms. SOOFIE is also able to measure other gases, such as H2S, NO and NO2.

"Methane emissions detection and reduction should be a shared goal that industry works proactively and collaboratively to achieve, which is why we are proud to support efforts like Project Falcon” said Vanessa Ryan, manager of carbon reduction. “At Chevron we believe the future of energy is lower carbon, and we are actively addressing the reduction of methane emissions by using data, technology and innovation to prioritize the most efficient detection and reduction strategies."

ConocoPhillips has long been committed to reducing emissions from its facilities, including the development of new technologies designed to better detect where the sources of these emissions are and allowing them to prioritize their resources to address larger leaks faster. “To battle fugitive methane emissions from our facilities more effectively, we knew we had to employ the latest technologies and use the best tools available to us” said Khalid Soofi, Geoscience Fellow at ConocoPhillips. “We needed a way to reliably monitor our facilities more effectively, including facilities that aren’t regularly staffed and are often very remote."

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers" inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PQ Group Holdings has announced an agreement to sell its sodium silicate and silica derivatives business, called performance chemicals, to a partnership established by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (New York, New York) and Koch Minerals and Trading for USD1.1 billion, according to Chemweek.

Proceeds from the deal will fund a special dividend of USD2.50-3.25/share that will be paid to PQ shareholders when the deal closes, which is expected later this year.

The divestiture is part of a plan by PQ to focus on the company’s catalysts and refining services businesses. Last year, as part of the plan, PQ sold its microspheres unit, called performance materials, to private equity firm The Jordan Company.

“The plans we set in motion are now coming to fruition,” says PQ Group chairman and CEO Belgacem Chiareg. “At year-end 2020, we completed the sale of the performance materials business as a first step. With this agreement to divest the performance chemicals business, we are accelerating the next and most critical step in our strategic transformation. Our core refining services and catalysts technologies businesses represent a unique opportunity to reposition PQ as a pure play, high growth company.”

The performance chemicals business is PQ’s largest reporting segment. It generated USD685.1 million in revenue and $154.3 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2019. The business operates in diversified end markets, including food and beverage, coatings, and personal care.

Meanwhile, PQ says that on 25 February it agreed to acquire Chem32, a supplier of catalyst pre-activation services, for USD44 million. The deal will complement PQ’s refining services business. Chem32’s products and services are used in traditional and renewable fuels production.

“Chem 32 diversifies our service offerings while giving us exposure to the rapidly growing renewable fuels industry,” says Kurt Bitting, president/refining services at PQ Group.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2019, PQ Group Holdings Inc., a leading, global provider of specialty catalysts, materials, chemicals and services, announced an agreement with INEOS Polyolefin Catalysts to commercialize certain polyethylene (PE) catalysts to customers of selected processes.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Equinor-led Northern Lights venture and Swiss start-up Climeworks will explore the potential for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in Norway, the partners said, said Hydrocarbonprocesing.

Climeworks provides direct carbon capture technology, while Northern Lights, which also includes Shell and Total , plans to store CO2 in a geological formation under the seabed off Norway's coast.

Norway's Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru said the plan responded to a growing list of potential customers for the Northern Lights site which could store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year from 2024.

Direct carbon capture could help to offset unavoidable emissions, such as from agriculture, which cannot be captured by using another method, Climeworks Chief Executive Christoph Gebald said in an online presentation. Northern Lights is a part of Norway's ambition to develop a full-scale carbon capture and storage chain, dubbed Longship after the vessels used by Vikings.

The government will cover about two-thirds of the 25.1 billion crowns (USD2.96 billion) costs. The plan includes a 400,000 tonne-per-year carbon capture installation at a cement plant run by Germany's HeidelbergCement in southern Norway and potentially a second capture plant in Oslo operated by Finnish utility Fortum.

The Northern Lights venture said CO2 storage capacity could be potentially expanded to 5 million tonnes per year in the future, depending on demand. Bru said Norway had hoped the Northern Lights storage could encourage more CO2 capture projects in Europe, helping achieve the climate goals.

As per MRC, Equinor (Stavanger, Norway) confirmed that a fire broke out on Wednedsday at 2.40pm local time in a compressor house at the company's methanol plant at Tjeldbergodden, Norway. Emergency services were dispatched and police, fire, and health services are at the scene, the company says. The fire was put out at 3.40pm, it says.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum Corp is preparing to restart a CDU by early next week at its 585,000 bpd Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

The restart of the 225,000-bpd Pipestill 3B CDU will be the second crude unit restart since the refinery was shut on Feb. 15 by severe cold weather, the sources said. Marathon restarted the 225,000-bpd Pipestill 3A CDU on Sunday.

As MRC informed earlier, most units were shut on Sunday night and Monday morning (15-16 February) at Marathon Petroleum Corp's 585,000 barrel-per-day Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, as temperatures plunged due to a Arctic cold front reaching the Gulf Coast.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.
MRC