Traffic to Antwerp port blocked as cargo ship runs aground

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Traffic to and from Antwerp, Europe's second-biggest port, was halted on Monday after a container ship ran aground on the banks of the river Scheldt which connects the port to the North Sea, reported Reuters.

A spokeswoman said workers were trying to tow the 366-m CSCL Jupiter away but could not say when this would be completed.

"We're heading for low tide in the coming hours, that does not make things easier," the spokeswoman said.

Covering a space of 20,000 football fields, the port of Antwerp is the 15th largest container port in the world and handles 214 MMt of maritime freight each year.

As MRC informed before, in September 2016, Borealis (Vienna), a leading producer of polyolefins, said that it plans to study the feasibility of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site at Kallo, Belgium. The study will be carried out over the next nine months with the final investment decision expected in the third quarter of 2018. Potential start-up is scheduled for the second half of 2021.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) has postponed the restart of its high density polyethylene (HDPE) plant for security inspection, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Thailand informed that the company the company has delayed the restart at its plant until end-August 2017. As per earlier plans, the plant was to resume operations in mid-August 2017. The plant was shut for maintenance in July 2017.

Located at Map Ta Phut in Thailand, the HDPE plant has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed before, PTT is on track to start commercial operations at its new 400,000 mt/year metallocene C6 linear low density polyethylene plant at Map Ta Phut, Thailand, in the first quarter of 2018. PTT will start up the plant by the end of this year.

PTT currently has a total capacity of 800,000 mt/year of high density polyethylene (HDPE), 300,000 mt/year of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 400,000 mt/year of LLDPE at the same site.

PTT Global Chemical is a leading player in the petrochemical industry and owns several petrochemical facilities with a combined capacity of 8.45 million tonnes a year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) — US pipeline operator Andeavor Logistics LP said on Monday it would buy rival Western Refining Logistics LP for USD1.5 B as it seeks to expand into the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, said Reuters.

Western Refining unitholders will receive 0.5233 Andeavor Logistics units for each Western Refining unit. The deal values each Western Refining unit at USD25.28, representing a premium of 6.4% to Western Refining Logistics' Friday closing price.

Andeavor, formerly known as Tesoro Corp, bought Western Refining Inc for USD4.1 B in June. Tesoro also acquired a non-controlling stake in Western Refining Logistics as part of that deal.

El Paso, Texas-based Western Refining Logistics owns crude oil pipelines and gathering assets in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Southern New Mexico.

Andeavor Logistics also said it would issue 78 MM of its units to parent Andeavor in exchange for the cancellation of its incentive distribution rights.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indian oil Corp Ltd (IOCL)is likely to complete maintenance at its polypropylene (PP) plant in mid-August 2017, as per Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in India informed that the plant is expected to resume operations following a maintenance turnaround. The company has undertaken a planned shutdown at its plant in mid-July 2017

As per earlier plans, the plant was supposed to shut in early-July 2017.

Located at Panipat in the northern Indian state of Haryana, the PP plant comprising two units has a production capacity of 300,000 mt/year each.

As MRC wrote previously, IOCL shut its PP plant at Panipat refinery in northern India for a two-week turnaround in early September 2016.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Braskem S.A. was downgraded by research analysts at BidaskClub from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday, said Rinconhillneighbors.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. ValuEngine raised Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Zacks Investment Research raised Braskem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a USD24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Braskem from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of USD21.33.

Shares of Braskem traded up 1.51% on Friday, reaching USD24.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 80,052 shares. Braskem has a 1-year low of USD12.61 and a 1-year high of USD25.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is USD22.81 and its 200-day moving average is USD21.25.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Braskem by 5.2% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,010 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at USD122,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Braskem by 1.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 9,889 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at USD211,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Braskem by 15.4% in the first quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,652 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at USD278,000 after buying an additional 1,818 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Braskem during the first quarter valued at $294,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Braskem by 0.9% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,065 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at USD326,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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