Shell Q1 profit surges, LNG sales up

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell reported a 136 percent surge in the profit for the first quarter, boosted by stronger oil and gas prices and improved refining margins, said the company on its website.

Shell’s first-quarter earnings on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis and excluding exceptional items rose to USD3.86 billion compared with USD1.63 billion in the same quarter of 2016.

Cash flow from operating activities for the first quarter was USD9.5 billion, compared with USD0.7 billion in the first quarter last year.

These results are Shell’s fifth following the purchase of BG Group in February last year. The deal between BG and Shell created the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) company.

Following the deal, Shell has been shedding assets worth over USD20 billion as it reshapes its portfolio towards more profitable, lower-cost resources.

“We are rapidly transforming Shell through the consistent and disciplined execution of our strategy. This includes investing around USD25 billion this year and the delivery of new projects, which we expect to generate USD10 billion in cash flow from operating activities by 2018,” Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Shell, said.

Shell said its LNG sales volumes of 15.84 million tonnes increased by 29 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago.

LNG sales volumes mainly reflected increased trading of third-party volumes and higher liquefaction volumes compared with the same quarter a year ago, the company noted in its first-quarter report.

Shell’s first-quarter liquefaction volumes of 8.18 million tonnes rose 16 percent year-on-year due to the start-up of Gorgon in Australia and the contribution of BG assets for an additional month, it added.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Linde Group’s Engineering Division and Sasol South Africa (Pty) Limited have concluded a long-term agreement for engineering services, said Gasworld.

The Professional Services Term Agreement will support engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and construction management and project management services to enable Sasol to meet its local growth, sustainability and environmental requirements through capital projects.

The agreement will leverage Linde’s planning expertise to improve continuity and enhance efficiency across the value chain, ensuring resource planning and management from the earliest project stages. It runs for an initial term of two years with an option to extend.

Linde’s Engineering Division has continuously cooperated with international integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol since the latter’s founding in 1950.

To date, the German corporation has been awarded over a hundred contracts by the South Africa-based business ranging from conceptual engineering work to the complete supply of plants on a lump sum turnkey basis.

Tilman Weide, Member of the Board of Directors at Linde Engineering Division, said the conclusion of the new contract "represents another milestone in the long-lasting and fruitful relationship business relationship" between the two parties.

"This agreement will enable Sasol to expedite the commercial processes preceding the initial work developing the project scope," Weide explained. "In addition, it will allow Sasol to take advantage of synergies offered by us and gain streamlined access to our resource and technologies."

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation’s Pigments and Additives division, now known as Venator, has announced global price increases for all its titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments, said the producer on its site.

The following increases are effective July 1, 2017 or as contracts allow:

- Europe: EUR250/tonne;
- Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East and Latin America: USD250/tonne.

Besides, the company will raise TiO2 prices in Noth America by USD0.08/pound (USD178/tonne) effective June 1, 2017 or as contracts allow.

As MRC infromed before, in October 2014, Huntsman Corporation completed the acquisition of the Performance Additives and TiO2 businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. And, in February 2015, the company announced its plans to reduce its TiO2 capacity by approximately 100,000 tons, representing 13% of Huntsman's European TiO2 capacity. As part of the plan, Huntsman is proposing to close certain operations at its site in Calais, France.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2016 revenues of approximately USD10 billion. The company's chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. Huntsman operates more than 100 manufacturing and R&D facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 15,000 associates within our 5 distinct business divisions including the Pigments and Additives division that the company intend to IPO or spin-off as Venator Materials Corporation.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Moscow oil refinery, halted because of an emergency at the weekend, will resume production within two or three days, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Transneft said that oil loadings from the port of Kozmino, on the Pacific Ocean, resumed after a storm.

The stoppage will not have an impact on fuel supplies in Moscow, the agency quoted the ministry as saying.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik increased sales considerably by 19 percent to EUR3.68 billion in the first three months of 2017. The main growth drivers were higher demand, which boosted sales volumes, and the first-time inclusion of the Air Products specialty additives business, said the company on its website.

"The successful start to the year shows that we are on the right track with our growth strategy," said Klaus Engel, Chairman of the Executive Board. "The combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions has strengthened the company. We are on the road to becoming less vulnerable to economic cycles and having a more balanced portfolio. Demand for our specialty chemicals such as silica, coating additives and pharmaceutical ingredients boosted quarterly earnings."

Adjusted EBITDA rose 8 percent to EUR612 million in the first quarter driven by improved results in the Resource Efficiency and Performance Materials segments. Earnings at Nutrition & Care were significantly below the prior year period mainly because of lower prices for animal nutrition products.

The company’s adjusted net income at EUR260 million remained at about the same level as the first quarter last year with adjusted earnings per share at EUR0.56. Net income was EUR160 million, about EUR80 million less than last year. The decline was primarily due to one-time effects tied to the acquisition of the Air Products specialty additives business.

The specialty additives business acquired from Air Products at the beginning of the year is being integrated successfully and smoothly. The company is still on track to achieve its planned synergies of about EUR70 million by 2020. The acquisition of the silica business of U.S. company J. M. Huber is progressing well and Evonik aims to close the purchase in the second half of the year.

The company’s net financial debt amounted to EUR2.3 billion at the end of the first quarter after payment for the Air Products specialty additives business. "Evonik still has a solid financial position after the biggest acquisition in the company’s history," said Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf. "We are within the framework of a solid investment-grade rating."

MRC