Evonik acquires Spanish cosmetics specialist Infintech Activos

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the privately owned technology-driven company Infinitec Activos, with closing expected by July, as per the company's press release.

The Spanish company focuses on the development and production of novel active delivery systems for cosmetic active ingredient applications. Infinitec Activos will be integrated into the Care Solutions business line of Evonik’s Nutrition & Care division complementing the active delivery systems acquired in 2017.

This latest acquisition continues the portfolio shift of Evonik’s life science division Nutrition & Care towards system solutions, which are characterized by high growth prospects and above average margin potential. Nutrition & Care aims to increase the share of system solutions it offers from 20% today, to more than 50 percent by 2030.

With its portfolio of natural-based active ingredients and seven delivery systems, the integration of Infinitec Activos into the Care Solutions business line reinforces Evonik’s position as a sustainable specialties partner, while also further strengthening Nutrition & Care’s wide technology platform. By combining its existing actives portfolio with the new delivery systems, Care Solutions’ capabilities to generate new concepts for scientifically substantiated consumer cosmetic claims are significantly enhanced. The integration and roll-out across the existing platform of cosmetic solutions offers strong synergy potential.

As MRC informed earlier, in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- There were serious breaches of regulations at an Equinor methanol plant that caught fire last year, Norway's petroleum safety watchdog (PSA) said this week, ordering the company to improve maintenance practices and documentation, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

No one was hurt in the Dec. 2 fire at Tjeldbergodden, western Europe's largest methanol plant. It was caused by a runaway steam turbine when its shutdown valve malfunctioned, Equinor's own investigation concluded in May. The blaze shut the plant in central Norway for around 12 weeks.

"The PSA's assessment is that the incident had a major accident potential and could have caused serious personal injury or death as well as substantial financial loss," the regulator said in a report. "The PSA's investigation has identified serious breaches of the regulations," it added.

Coming just months after a fire that incapacitated Equinor's Hammerfest liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, the Tjeldbergodden incident led to questions over whether the company's staffing and training had been adequate. Maintenance issues were a common factor of the two fires, PSA chief Anne Myhrvold told a news conference.

Equinor last month said it would recruit more engineers for a range of onshore facilities. "We've already embarked upon an extensive learning and improvement effort at the plant to prevent similar incidents from ever occurring again," an Equinor spokesperson said on Thursday.

The report found Equinor had failed to properly identify and classify equipment that was critical to plant safety and also criticised the facility's maintenance and technical documentation. "The investigation confirms that this was serious, and maybe even more serious than first assumed," Myhrvold said.

The agency ordered Equinor to ensure that any equipment that has a safety function at Tjeldbergodden is identified and classified to enable correct follow-up and proper handling.

The methanol plant accounts for more than 25% of European production and has an annual capacity of around 900,000 tonnes, according to Equinor data. The Norwegian firm owns an 82% stake while ConocoPhillips owns the remaining 18%.

We also remind that BP and Equinor confirmed they are shutting in production on their platforms, while Chevron, BHP and others said they are evacuating some personnel and considering decisions on production reductions.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Global oil consumption is set to return to pre-pandemic levels by the first quarter of 2022, driven by a strong expansion in global manufacturing and freight transport as well as the gradual re-opening of major economies, reported Reuters.

Booming consumption from miners, manufacturers, shipping and trucking firms, as well as private motorists, is expected to offset the continued loss of jet fuel consumption from quarantine restrictions on passenger aviation.

Global liquids consumption (including biofuels) is forecast to reach 100.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in March 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

For the first time since the onset of the epidemic, consumption will surpass the level for the corresponding month in 2019.

Global consumption will have bounced back in less than two years, after falling by almost 20% or 20 million bpd at the worst point of the epidemic and lockdowns in April 2020. The remarkable recovery in economic activity and oil consumption is mostly the result of a rapid deployment of effective vaccines in Europe and North America and strict quarantine controls in China and other parts of Asia.

In wealthier economies, ultra-low interest rates, unprecedented government spending, and generous support for businesses and households have also helped heal the oil market far quicker than seemed likely at the height of the epidemic.

But in the five years before the coronavirus, global consumption was growing at an annual rate of just over 1% or a little over 1 million b/d per year. Even after the expected strong rebound, global consumption is still expected to be more than 2% or 2 million b/d below its pre-epidemic trend at the end of 2022.

The gap between forecast and pre-epidemic trend consumption is an indication of the long-term scarring caused by the coronavirus and associated infection controls.

We remind that as MRC wrote before, Formosa Plastics USA, part of Formosa Petrochemical, began restarting its No. 3 cracker in Point Comfort, Texas on June 23 and was expected to ramp up through last week. The Formosa OL3 cracker with the capacity of 1.25 mln tonnes of ethylene per year was shut on June 4, 2021, owing to technical issues.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US refining capacity last year fell 4.5% to 18.13 million barrels per day (bpd) from a record 18.98 million bpd a year earlier, the US government reported, reflecting weak demand for motor fuels during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters.

It was the first annual decline since 2018, when capacity fell by 18,530 bpd and the largest since 2012, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. That year capacity shrank 414,192 bpd following the Great Recession.

US refiners last year suffered deep financial losses and closed five facilities as the pandemic slashed fuel sales. Average U.S. gasoline consumption fell 13% last year with gasoline and diesel prices hitting a four-year low, according to government figures.

Five refineries, with a combined capacity of 801,146 bpd, permanently shut following the 1.3 million-bpd drop in gasoline consumption as businesses closed and consumers stayed home. The closings drove capacity down to a level comparable to 2016's 18.3 million bpd.

The nation’s largest crude oil refiner Marathon Petroleum shut three refineries while energy major Shell and independent refiner HollyFrontier each shut one in 2020.

Marathon converted one refinery to a renewable diesel plant and is converting another to produce renewable diesel. HollyFrontier also plans to convert its idled refinery into a renewable diesel producer. The fire-ravaged Philadelphia Energy Systems refinery was sold last year to a developer who plans to demolish it.

As MRC informed before, this year, the 200,000-bpd Limetree Bay refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, shut in May under orders from the US Environmental Protection Agency. On Monday, owner Limetree Bay Energy said the plant would not restart. The EIA does not count the Limetree Bay refinery as part of total US refining capacity.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Versalis, Eni's chemical company, and Saipem, an engineering and technological platform for sustainability, have signed an agreement to internationally promote PROESA, Versalis’ proprietary technology used to produce sustainable bioethanol and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass, said the company.

Versalis and Saipem will provide integrated and technologically advanced solutions for the sustainable production of bioethanol. The PROESA process does not use crops intended for human consumption as a raw material, but rather produces second generation bioethanol (referred to as advanced biofuel by EU) through a process of hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation of agricultural biomasses available in abundance, such as agricultural waste, wood chips and energy crops.

Versalis will manage the commercial aspects relating to the granting of licence rights of the PROESA technology and will provide engineering, assistance, and training services. Saipem will be responsible for all the stages of production plants development, from design to construction. Furthermore, the two companies will collaborate with a dedicated joint team to further developments in the industrial process. The Versalis plant in Crescentino (Vercelli), where the PROESA technology was developed, will be the reference plant for international marketing by the two companies.

Versalis, in line with Eni's broader decarbonisation strategy, has launched a transformation plan that aims for its activities and products to be increasingly diversified and sustainable, providing a technological contribution to the circular economy. The agreement represents a unity of purpose with Saipem, a partner recognised worldwide in the field of design and in the construction of complex, reliable and optimised industrial plants.

Saipem, which has launched a strategy focused on energy transition, is expanding its offer of "green" chemical technologies with this agreement, meeting the growing national and international demand for sustainable and low environmental impact processes.

Adriano Alfani, CEO of Versalis commented: "The agreement signed with Saipem will play a fundamental role in the international positioning of Versalis' proprietary technology, developed entirely in Italy, in the field of chemicals obtained from renewable sources. The objective is for this innovative technology, which is an integral part of our sustainable transformation plan within Eni's broader decarbonisation strategy, to contribute to the development of renewable products in a globally growing chemical sector".

Francesco Caio, Saipem CEO, commented: "The global demand for bioethanol is expected to grow in the coming years and with Versalis we intend to meet it by leveraging a technology that is among the most promising. This agreement represents an opportunity for both companies in terms of growth and competitive advantage and is a further example of our strategy focused on the development of "green" technologies for the energy transition".

It was written earlier, Saipem has been awarded an E&C onshore engineering, procurement and construction contract for the expansion of the Versalis plant in Ferrara, Italy, worth approximately EUR200 million. The project encompasses the construction of a fourth production line to operate alongside the three existing lines, in addition to increasing their production capacity and upgrading the plant's auxiliary systems. The project will enable the Ferrara site’s production capacity of EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber to be significantly increased up to 130 thousand tons per year.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC