Asahi Kasei liquidates affiliate Asahi Kasei Cord

Asahi Kasei has decided to discontinue the business of Asahi Kasei Cord Co., Ltd. and liquidate the company, said the company.

Asahi Kasei Cord was established in 1970 as a manufacturer of nylon yarn for tire cord (reinforcing fabric in tires) and has played an important role as a manufacturing and supply base for Asahi Kasei's nylon filament business. However, the market environment for tire cord in Japan has become increasingly difficult due to the sluggish growth of automobile production as well as increased imports of products from other countries. In addition, the recent sharp rise in raw material and fuel prices has led to increased costs, resulting in a significant deterioration in earnings.

As part of its ongoing business portfolio transformation, Asahi Kasei has decided to shift its nylon filament management resources from general-purpose tire cord applications to airbag and specialty tire cord applications, where further growth is expected, in order to improve profitability and achieve further growth.

The impact on Asahi Kasei's consolidated financial results is immaterial.

We remind, Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical launched a joint demonstration project in April 2023 with the objective of commercializing a chemical recycling process for polyamide 66 using microwave technology.

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Shell has suspended loadings of Nigeria's Forcados crude oil due to a potential leak at the export terminal, a spokesperson for its local subsidiary, SPDC, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Sources had told Reuters that exports of the grade, which was scheduled to ship 220,000 barrels per day (bpd) in July, were halted on Wednesday evening after workers saw fumes near the single buoy mooring that was loading oil onto a vessel.

"The SPDC ... can confirm that injections into the Forcados Oil Terminal were curtailed on Wednesday 12 July 2023, following the report of some sheen in the mooring vicinity," a spokesperson said when contacted by Reuters.

SPDC said investigations were under way.

We remind, Shell (London) has agreed to pay nearly USD 10 mn (EUR 9.3 mn) for breaking emissions rules at its Monaca polyethylene complex in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to the office of governor Josh Shapiro, which said the resin maker had formally acknowledged the violations.

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Asahi Kasei announces that it has joined the Japan Hydrogen Forum (JH2F), which was established to support the decarbonization goals of U.S. federal, state, and local governments, said the company.

The company will advance activities as a member of the Hydrogen Production Committee, one of the five subcommittees of JH2F. JH2F was established by 15 Japan-affiliated companies with hydrogen-related operations in the U.S. to support the decarbonization goals of the U.S.

Activities are performed in five sectoral subcommittees for hydrogen production, land transportation, port decarbonization, power generation, and finance, supported by the Japanese government and affiliated governmental organizations such as the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).

Hydrogen-related business is one of Asahi Kasei's "10 Growth Gears" (GG10), businesses to lead the next phase of growth in fields of focus as part of its medium-term management plan for fiscal 2024 focused on the theme “Be a Trailblazer.” Asahi Kasei is currently advancing its hydrogen-related business centered on the alkaline water electrolysis system for hydrogen production developed utilizing its experience and expertise gained with the membrane process for chlor-alkali electrolysis.

Asahi Kasei installed a large 10 MW-scale alkaline water electrolysis system at the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field (FH2R) as part of a NEDO project,1 and performed several trial operations2 since 2020. Based on the technological achievements obtained at FH2R, Asahi Kasei plans to commercialize a larger-scale alkaline water electrolysis system comprising multiple 10 MW modules through various trial operations in the ongoing NEDO/Green Innovation Fund demonstration project of “Green hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis system,” which was awarded in 2021.

We remind, Asahi Kasei and Microwave Chemical launched a joint demonstration project in April 2023 with the objective of commercializing a chemical recycling process for polyamide 66 using microwave technology.

mrchub.com

The UAE is likely to see the emergence of a new petrochemicals firm if the ongoing negotiations between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Austrian energy firm OMV materialize, said the company.

The two firms have announced that they are currently in talks on the possible creation of a new combined petrochemicals holding entity under their respective existing shareholdings in Borouge and Borealis respectively. The potential merger falls in line with ADNOC’s ongoing value creation and chemicals growth strategy, according to a statement.

Listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Borouge is owned 54 percent by ADNOC, 36 percent by Borealis, and 10 percent held by retail and institutional investors. On the other hand, Borealis is owned 75 percent by OMW and the remaining 25 percent is owned by ADNOC.

While ADNOC is undertaking these negotiations as a majority stakeholder in Borouge, OMV is undertaking the negotiations as a major stakeholder in Borealis. The final decision regarding the proposed merger is subject to Borouge’s and other relevant parties’ governance processes, the statement revealed.

In 2019, OMV announced that it was shifting its attention toward the Middle East in an attempt to make the Austrian oil and gas group a major supplier of plastics, after years of largely banking on low-cost Russia for growth.

At that time, OMV spent more than USD4.5 billion — 40 percent of the group’s mergers and acquisitions budget until 2025 — for oil and gas concessions in the region, a 15 percent stake in ADNOC’s refining business, and a to-be-formed trading joint venture with ADNOC and Italy’s Eni.

“We want to have a fully integrated business model in Abu Dhabi — from the well via the refinery and the petrochemicals all the way to marketing and trade in international markets,” the then CEO of Austria’s second-largest listed company, Rainer Seele, told shareholders.

Founded in 1971, ADNOC seeks to reduce emissions intensity in the UAE by 25 percent by the year 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Its vision is to unlock the full potential of the country’s natural and human resources.

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MEGlobal has nominated its August 2023 monoethylene glycol (MEG) Asian Contract Price (ACP) at USD810/tonne, up by USD20/tonne from its July ACP, the company said.

The price is on a CFR (cost & freight) Asia basis.

Spot MEG prices closed at USD478-487/tonne CFR CMP (China Main Ports) on 14 July.

We remind, MEGlobal nominated its July 2023 monoethylene glycol (MEG) Asian Contract Price (ACP) at USD790/tonne, down by USD50/tonne from its June ACP.

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