Tilley-Phoenix acquires Callahan Chemical

MOSCOW (MRC) --Tilley-Phoenix Group, a US-based specialty ingredients distributor and services provider, has acquired Callahan Chemical Company for an undisclosed sum, said the company.

Callahan, with operations in the Philadelphia and Boston areas, is a regional distributor of ingredients and compounds.

The company serves customers in end markets such as food and beverage, personal care and cosmetics, pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals, HI&I (household institutional and industrial) and CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers).

Baltimore, Maryland-based Tilley-Phoenix is a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners, which announced the acquisition in a statement earlier this week.

As per MRC, US thermoplastic compounds company Teknor Apex has completed a new 50,000 square-metre facility at Rothenburg ob der Tauber, southeast of Frankfurt, Germany, to produce thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) and engineering thermoplastics (ETPs) compounds. The Rothenburg facility produces thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) and engineering thermoplastics (ETPs), ranging from general-purpose compounds to highly specialized formulations. An extensive laboratory will be used for developing new compounds and providing customers with design support, application development, as well as product and process training.

As MRC wrote previously, in May 2018, Teknor Apex announced that it had developed a series of flexible PVC injection moulding compounds that have been used successfully in automotive window encapsulation.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- TechnipFMC plc has announced the sale of 9 MM Technip Energies N.V. shares through private sale transactions, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The sale price of the shares in the sale is set at EUR13.15 per share, yielding total gross proceeds of EUR118.4 MM.

Upon completion of the sale, representing approximately 5% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital, TechnipFMC retains a direct stake of approximately 7% of Technip Energies’ share capital.

The sale was conducted without a public offering in any country and included the following parties: Settlement for the sale is expected to take place on or around January 14, 2022.

TechnipFMC is subject to a 30-day lock-up for its remaining shares in Technip Energies that expires on February 9, 2022.

As MRC reported earlier, in December 2021, Technip Energies provided the technology licensing and process design to SP Olefins (Taixing) Co. Ltd., for China’s first gas-cracking ethylene plant in Taixing, Jiangsu Province, China. The 780,000 tpy plant successfully started up in August 2019, reaching on-spec olefins shortly thereafter. Earlier last year, the plant passed all performance guarantees, and the final acceptance certificate was recently issued, which was delayed due to COVID-19. The Taixing plant is not only the first gas-cracking ethylene plant in China, but also the first plant to use imported US ethane as feedstock.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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1. Essar to transition existing assets towards green economy and invest in clean energy ecosystem

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy and infrastructure conglomerate Essar will transition existing assets towards a green economy and invest in businesses that will transform sector landscapes from carbon to a clean energy ecosystem, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to the company"s promoter director Prashant Ruia" statement in late December, 2021. As the world welcomes the new year, the group announced the launch of its campaign #KalKeLiye with a vision to ensure a cleaner and greener tomorrow. With this campaign, Essar embarks upon building a much greener and cleaner business portfolio for the new-age shared economy.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Petrochemical Co. has registered its highest-ever estimated annual profit since its incorporation in 2021, amid higher polypropylene (PP) sales, according to ARAB NEWS.

The Jubail-based company’s net profit rose by 37% to SR815 million (USD217 million), compared to SR596 million a year earlier, it said in a bourse filing.

This was mainly driven by a 51% increase in sales of PP - used to make packaging as well as a wide array of consumer products.

Total comprehensive income surged to SR985 million, up 56% year-on-year, due to unrealized gains on equity investment during the period.

The hike came despite some drawbacks including a decline in its stake in South Korean affiliate SK Advanced Co. and higher prices of propane and outsourced propylene, among other factors that led to an increase in expenses.

As MRC wrote previously, in April, 2021, Advanced Petrochemical Co. announced that it had resumed operations at two plants in Jubail, Saudi Arabia after the completion of a scheduled turnaround. Thus, operations at the company's polypropylene (PP) plant began on 28 March, 2021, whereas operations at its propane degydranation (PDH) unit restarted on 11 April, 202. Both plants were shut for repairs on 11 March, 2021. The maintenance works were implemented in line with the occupational safety and health standards, despite the COVID-19 outbreak.

We remind that SK Advanced started up a new PP plant in Ulsan, South Korea on 23 March, 2021, and managed to produce on-specification PP at this plant in the week ending 9 April, 2021.The PP unit is a joint venture between PolyMirae and SK Advanced, using the “Spheripol” process of LyondellBasell, and have an annual output of 400,000 tons/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell along with its partners, OQ and Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas LLC have signed a concession agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals on behalf of the government of the Sultanate of Oman to develop and produce natural gas from Block 10, said the company.

The parties also signed a separate gas sales agreement for gas produced from the block. The two agreements follow an interim upstream agreement signed in February 2019. Shell’s entry into this block signifies a further commitment to Oman, while enhancing and diversifying Shell’s gas supply.

"These agreements represent a major step for Shell and for our relationship with Oman. They generate value and strengthen our Integrated Gas business, which we need to deliver the energy Oman and the world need today. And we are looking at how Shell can help Oman with developing low-carbon energy in the future,” said Wael Sawan, Shell Integrated Gas, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director.

The concession agreement establishes Shell as the operator of block 10, holding a 53.45% working interest, with OQ and Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas LLC holding 13.36% and 33.19% respectively. For the initial phase, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is building the infrastructure for the project, including the main pipeline to the Saih Rawl gas processing facility, on behalf of the Block 10 venture partners. The venture will drill and hook up wells to maintain the production beyond the initial phase. The block is expected to reach production of 0.5 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (bscf/d). Start up is expected within the next two years.

In addition, Shell and Energy Development Oman (EDO) signed an agreement to process the natural gas from Block 10 in EDO’s Saih Rawl facility. H.E. Dr Mohammed Al Rumhi, Minister of Energy and Minerals in Oman said: “We share a long and strategic collaboration with Shell and our other partners. This project will further maximise the potential of Oman’s energy industry, in line with the Sultanate’s strategy to create growth opportunities across all energy streams and in line with Oman’s Vision 2040 priorities."

Shell and the government have agreed that, in parallel to the development of Block 10, Shell will develop options for a separate downstream gas project in which Shell could produce and sell low-carbon products and support the development of hydrogen in Oman. Any project would be subject to further agreements and future investment decisions.

As per MRC, Royal Dutch Shell on 8 December shut down its cracking units and a number of petrochemical plants in Deer Park (Deer Park, Texas, USA). It is currently unknown how long the olefin complex with a capacity of 1.67 million tonnes of ethylene per year and the petrochemical plants will remain closed. The reason for the stop is also not indicated.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Royal Dutch Shell is an Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague (Netherlands). Shell conducts geological exploration and production of oil and gas in more than 80 countries around the world. The company fully or partially owns more than 30 oil refineries. In addition, Shell owns a significant number of chemical plants, as well as the production of solar panels and other alternative energy sources.
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