Saudi Arabian petrochemical companies SIIG and Petrochem unveil plan for merger

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Arabian petrochemicals companies Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) and the National Petrochemical Company (Petrochem) said on Tuesday they had signed a non-binding agreement on a proposed merger, reported Reuters.

The deal would consist of a share exchange offer made by SIIG to acquire the remaining 50% of Petrochem that SIIG did not already own, the companies said in separate bourse statements.

SIIG would pay Petrochem's shareholders by issuing new shares in SIIG, which would result in a delisting of Petrochem's shares. Petrochem's shareholders would receive 1.27 shares in SIIG in exchange for each share they owned in Petrochem.

SIIG has appointed HSBC Saudi Arabia as its financial advisor while Petrochem is working with GIB Capital.

The non-binding memorandum of understanding was subject to the companies reaching a final agreement on the terms of the deal, SIIG said.

As MRC informed before, in September, 2020, the two companies began talks over the merger, which would mark further consolidation in the Saudi petrochemicals sector, after oil giant Saudi Aramco bought a 70% stake in Saudi Basic Industries last 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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Petrochem has a market capitalisation of about USD6.3 billion and SIIG of about USD4.8 billion. The Saudi government has a 13.1% stake in SIIG and a 25% stake in Petrochem, according to Refinitiv data.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Arkema announces the proposed divestment of its epoxides business to Cargill, a leader in agricultural products and services. With this project, Arkema is pursuing the repositioning of its portfolio on its core businesses, said the company.

Arkema produces bio-based and specialty epoxides in Blooming Prairie (MN, USA), used as additives or intermediates in the manufacture of lubricants, plastic additives and a wide variety of other applications. Part of Arkema’s Hydrogen Peroxide activity, this business has limited integration with the rest of the Group’s portfolio, generates sales of around US USD40 million and employs approximately 45 people.

By joining Cargill, a global player in bio-based-products, this business of high quality products will benefit from the size and the development strategy of this US Group that will offer new growth potential in the industrial markets.

The offer received values this activity at US USD38.8 million, which is around 10 times historical EBITDA. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

As per MRC, Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022, the company said in a statement. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.

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 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neftekhim Ltd, Kazakhstan's only polypropylene (PP) producer, has shut down its PP production for a scheduled maintenance, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's customers said the Kazakh producer had completely took off-stream its PP output for a planned turnaround by 27 September. The exact dates of the outage have not been announced yet; initially, the repairs were scheduled to be carried out within 28 days.

Neftekhim Ltd was commissioned in 2009. The company produces methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and polypropylene (PP). The plant's PP production with the capacity of 45,000 tonnes/year was launched in 2011; the plant did not have PP granulation unit then, polymer was produced in the form of powder, which limited its field of application.
MRC

1. Indian refiners prepare to change the structure of crude oil imports

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian refiners are gearing up to alter their crude oil import mix in favour of lighter grades that yield more gasoline to meet a surge in demand for the motor fuel in Asia’s third-largest economy, said Reuters. Refiners in the world’s No. 3 oil importer and consumer will increase imports of gasoline-yielding crudes from the United States and West Africa, while cutting heavier sour grades from the Middle East that yield more middle distillates like diesel and kerosene, they said. The move dovetails with an earlier push to reduce India’s reliance on Middle Eastcrudes to enhance energy security. “The gasoline demand is very, very strong, whereas diesel is lagging behind right now,” said Amrita Sen, head of research at Energy Aspects. "Refiners are shifting yields further to gasoline ... I would expect more West African, gasoline-rich crude to flow into India, less sour crude to go in there." Indian refineries are designed to maximise diesel production mostly from Middle Eastern oil, as government-controlled prices made the middle distillate the preferred fuel for industries and trucking firms. But a narrowing price gap between gasoline and diesel, and a consumer switch to personal vehicles instead of diesel-powered public transport since the onset of the coronavirus, are helping to lift gasoline consumption.



MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has announced a force majeure (FM) in China for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) shipments from its plant Nanjing, China, as per the company's press release.

Besides, the FM also includes other products supply from this site, as follows: acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate emulsions and redispersible powders.

Celanese has temporarily shut down its acetic anhydride and VAM production in Nanjing to comply with recent requirements of government departments in order to achieve dual energy consumption targets in the Jiangsu Province in 2021.

Thus, its VAM plan with the capacity of 300,000 mt/year was shut on 17 September, 2021, and its is expected to resume operations in late September.

Meanwhile, Celanese continues to operate its acetic acid production unit in Nanjing.

As MRC reported earlier, in H2 February, 2021, Celanese declared force majeure on its products in the Americas and EMEA region due to the severe winter weather that has heavily curtailed US petrochemicals and refinery production and operations on the US Gulf Coast.

According to MRC's DataScope report, June EVA imports to Russia fell by 18,32% year on year to 2,400 tonnes from 2,940 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation rose in January-June 2021 by 26,19% year on year to 22,020 tonnes (17,450 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020).

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 2020 net sales of USD5.7 billion.
MRC