SABIC in talks to join Shell in Iraq Nebras petrochemical project

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s fourth-biggest petrochemicals company, is in talks to become a partner in Iraq’s Nebras petrochemical project, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said, reported Reuters.

Kadhim Mohammed Jawad Hassan told Reuters on the sidelines of CWC’s Iraq Petroleum Conference in Berlin that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iraq on the project are advanced and at the ministerial level.

He said SABIC would enter as a fourth partner with Royal Dutch Shell, and the Iraqi oil and agriculture ministries.

SABIC was planning to open an office in Iraq late last year.

The Nebras project is still in the pre-FEED (front-end engineering design) stage.

As MRC wrote previously, SABIC continued its global expansion with the inauguration of a new polypropylene (PP) pilot plant in Geleen, the Netherlands, in September 2017, and the announcement of a new investment in a state-of-the-art PP extrusion facility to be built at the same location.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- DowDuPont has announced the corporate brand names that each of its divisions plans to assume once they are separated as independent companies as intended, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

While certain product names will change at separation, many products within each intended company will continue to be sold under their current, widely known brand names.

Ed Breen, chief executive officer of DowDuPont, said, "Our selection of these company names is a major milestone in the process of creating three, strong independent companies, and each name reflects the unique strengths and value proposition of the company it will represent. As we move forward, a critical part of our work will be to build and strengthen the global corporate brands that express the commitment we are making to our customers, employees, investors, and all of our stakeholders, to grow value through innovation."

Andrew Liveris, executive chairman of DowDuPont said, "The Dow and DuPont teams have made incredible progress in six short months and today’s announcement is another demonstration of the unprecedented value creation potential of this historic merge and spin transaction. We are squarely focused on unlocking enhanced cost and growth synergies, delivering on our growth investments and innovation pipeline, and separating into three industry-leading companies on the accelerated timelines we recently announced."

The intended Agriculture company, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, will assume the name Corteva Agriscience, which is based on a combination of words meaning "heart" and "nature."

James C. Collins, Jr., chief operating officer, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, said, "In Corteva Agriscience, we bring together three businesses with deep connections and dedication to generations of farmers. Our new name reflects our commitment to enhancing their productivity as well as the health and well-being of the consumers they serve. Our name reflects our purpose: enriching the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. With the most balanced portfolio of products in the industry, nearly a century of agronomic expertise, and an unparalleled innovation engine, we are creating a new agriculture company that will work together with the entire food ecosystem to produce a secure supply of healthy food sustainably and efficiently."

With more than USD14 billion in 2017 pro forma revenue and USD2.6 billion in 2017 pro forma operating EBITDA, the Agriculture Division has the most comprehensive and balanced seed and crop protection portfolio in the world and a strong pipeline of new products that will enable it to continue to provide substantial value to farmers now and over the long term.

While Corteva Agriscience will be the corporate brand name upon the separation of the division from DowDuPont, the company will continue to offer products under a number of the most recognized and premium brands in agriculture: Pioneer, Mycogen, the newly launched Brevant Seeds, and its award-winning Crop Protection products, such as Aproach Prima fungicide and Quelex herbicide with Arylex active, as well as others it will introduce as it brings new products to market.

With respect to the intended Materials Science company, based in Midland, Michigan, Jim Fitterling, chief operating officer, Materials Science Division of DowDuPont said, "The Dow name and the Dow diamond have an extremely strong foundation from which we will grow and serve our customers. The iconic red diamond logo will serve as a point of continuity for all of our stakeholders as we build the most innovative, customer-centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. We will continue Dow’s long history of innovation and be centred on Dow’s core values of respect for people, integrity, and protecting our planet."

With nearly USD44 billion in 2017 pro forma revenue1 and USD9.1 billion in 2017 pro forma operating EBITDA1, the Materials Science Division is the premier materials science solution provider, leveraging its integration and innovation strengths to focus on three high-growth market verticals - packaging, infrastructure and consumer care.

The intended Specialty Products company, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, will become the new DuPont, reflecting the strength of its technology-driven specialty businesses with highly-differentiated products and solutions that transform industries and everyday life.

With USD21 billion in 2017 pro forma revenue2 and USD5.3 billion in 2017 pro forma operating EBITDA2, the intended Specialty Products company is well positioned for growth opportunities where customer collaboration and innovation are central to value creation.

Additional brand development work for the intended Materials Science company and the intended Specialty Products company is ongoing.

As announced earlier this month, Materials Science is anticipated to separate by the end of the first quarter of 2019, and Agriculture and Specialty Products are expected to separate by June 1, 2019.

As MRC informed before, on 31 August 2017, Dow Chemical Co and DuPont said the companies successfully completed their planned USD130 billion merger to form DowDuPont.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PKN ORLEN made payments for shares tendered by minority shareholders in response to the tender offer for shares in Unipetrol a.s., announced in December 2017, said the company on its website.

The payments totalled PLN 3,5 bn. Thus, PKN ORLEN fulfilled the condition for recognising the tender as effective and achieved a 94.03% ownership of the Czech-based company.

PKN ORLEN offered a price of CZK 380 per Unipetrol share, which is close to the current market price of the stock. As part of the transaction, 826 acceptances were made by natural persons and 126 by legal persons. Together they represented 31.04% of Unipetrol shares. The transaction will be financed with PKN ORLEN’s own funds and with a syndicated loan facility available to the Company. After the buyout is completed, the Group’s net debt will remain at a safe level, with no effect on its credit rating.

Strengthening of PKN ORLEN’s position in the shareholding structure of the largest refining and petrochemical group in the Czech Republic is in line with the Group’s strategy, which envisages integration of refining assets, extension of the petrochemical value chain, and development of the retail network. It will enable more effective use of synergies within the ORLEN Group and consolidation of its competitive position.

Unipetrol a.s owns the refineries in Litvinov and Kralupy, the largest local retail chain Benzina (400 service stations), and Spolana, the sole PVC and caprolactam manufacturer on the Czech market. The company’s core asset is its Litvinov petrochemical operations – now the construction site for a polyethylene unit, the country’s largest petrochemical project to date.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced the expansion of its global slate of EHCTM base stocks with the introduction of EHCTM 120, a heavy neutral Group II base stock. EHC 120 will soon be available in Rotterdam, The Netherlands for distribution in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME), and in Baytown, Texas for distribution in North and South America, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Designed to meet the evolving demands of the global base stocks industry, ExxonMobil’s EHC 120 expands the well-designed EHC Group II slate. By increasing formulation coverage capabilities, the EHC slate is optimal for the cost effective blending of the majority of lubricant applications, including those within the automotive, heavy-duty and industrial sectors.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to grow our Group II manufacturing, we are excited to officially announce the addition of EHC 120 and offer our valued customers high-performance, heavy neutral and light neutral base stocks in three key continents," said Ted Walko, Global Basestocks and Specialties Marketing Manager. "Our EHC Group II base stocks provide a robust set of benefits, and, our newly expanded offering will help formulators further streamline their base stock operations. We’re confident our EHC Group II base stocks are well-positioned to serve as the products of choice for lubricant formulators challenged to meet a wide range of stringent technical requirements, with a single base stock slate."

ExxonMobil’s robust EHC slate already includes EHC 110, a heavy neutral base stock for the Asia-Pacific (AP) market, and three light-to-medium neutrals – EHC 45 and EHC 65, available in the Americas, and EHC 50, for AP and soon for EAME.

ExxonMobil will begin production at its Rotterdam, Netherlands, refinery, following the completion of its hydrocracker expansion project. Startup at Rotterdam is on track to begin in the fourth quarter 2018, with full commercialization of EHC 120 targeted for the first quarter 2019. The company also confirmed its capability to produce EHC 120 in Baytown, Texas, with availability to customers expected in 2019.

"With the addition of EHC 120 Group II base stocks in Europe, the ExxonMobil team is strengthening its efficient and secure global base stocks supply chain," added Walko. "We will continue our dialogue with customers regarding their needs as we increase our supply network. Preserving product integrity and the reliable supply of products from our network of locations is of the utmost importance to our team."

Collaborative work with additive companies during the project pre-marketing period will allow ExxonMobil customers to take full advantage of Rotterdam’s products EHC 50 and EHC 120 as soon as they are commercialized. These approvals include lubricant formulations that comply with the latest industry specifications (e.g. ACEA 16, API CK4/FA4, etc.).

Once the Rotterdam project is complete, ExxonMobil will be the only global Group I and Group II producer with significant manufacturing assets across three continents.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell has announced a new offering as part of Honeywell Connected Plant that allows customers to more effectively manage the maintenance and operations of their industrial equipment, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new Honeywell Connected Plant Asset Performance Insight connects the customers’ assets and equipment to the cloud, and applies analytical models from Honeywell and its partners, so that customers can avoid unplanned downtime and unnecessary maintenance.

New Asset Performance Management (APM) strategies are becoming critical to industrial companies as production demands and the availability of data from devices throughout the facilities increase. Because of this increased demand, any unplanned downtime, equipment failure, or unnecessary maintenance directly impacts the customers’ bottom lines and can be costly.

"In today’s competitive business climate, in which asset capacity is often sold out, equipment performance is key to increased profitability," said Richard Shaw, general manager, Honeywell Connected Plant. "With operational and maintenance-induced equipment failures accounting for most of the unplanned downtime, industrial companies are looking to digital transformation and IIoT to make sense out of huge amounts of data. Honeywell Connected Plant and our new Asset Performance Insight will help our customers operate more strategically and effectively."

Honeywell designed the Asset Performance Insight solution to be rapidly deployed to customers through pre-configured templates. These templates are based on the company’s deep industry experience and real-world customer challenges enhanced with advanced analytics. The offering can also be configured and tailored to customers’ specific needs, making it extremely flexible.

Asset Performance Insight is the latest addition to Honeywell Connected Plant, which turns data into insight that enable plants and businesses to run better. Honeywell delivers this capability through its unmatched domain expertise and advanced analytics capabilities to connect process, assets, people and enterprise to maximize performance. Honeywell’s breadth of cyber-security solutions ensures data stays secure from increasing external threats.
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