Vietnam approves USD11.4-bn plan to expand fuel storage capacity by 2030

Vietnam has approved a plan to expand its national fuel storage capacity by 2030, with investment of up to USD11.4 bn, said Reuters.

The investment would raise the country's crude oil and refined fuel storage capacity to 75 to 80 days of net imports, according to the plan signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on Tuesday and reviewed by Reuters.

We remind, Long Son Petrochemicals, owned by SCG Chemicals, will start commercial production at its petrochemical complex in southern Vietnam in September. The company is in the process of testing each operating unit at the complex, Siam Cement Group's Roongrote Rangsiyopash said on the sidelines of an industry event. Siam Cement Group owns SCG Chemicals. Testing will be completed in July or August, so commercial operations could start around September, Rangsiyopash said.

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Wacker Chemie has to make significant cuts to its annual targets after a weak second quarter, said Marketscreener.

The share price fell by a good two percent on Wednesday. "The decisive factors for our reduced expectations are the persistently weak demand from customers in numerous user industries, ongoing destocking on the customer side and the lower prices for many of our products compared to the previous year," said company CEO Christian Hartel, according to a statement the previous day. The hoped-for recovery in demand has not yet been seen, he added. Instead, the weakness in demand will continue in the second half of the year.

For the full year, the Executive Board now expects sales of 6.5 to 6.8 billion euros instead of the previously targeted 7 to 7.5 billion euros. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) are expected to be 0.8 to 1 billion euros. Previously, the Group's management had forecast 1.1 to 1.4 billion. The new figures are below average market expectations, Wacker announced.

For analyst Markus Mayer of Baader Bank, the lowered annual outlook came as no surprise. He said his estimate was already in line with the midpoint of the new target range for operating profit (Ebitda), but market expectations now had to be lowered by 19 percent. Meanwhile, he said, his talks with many investors in recent days had shown that unofficial expectations for operating profit this year had already been below one billion euros.

Based on preliminary calculations, the group made sales of 1.75 billion euros in the second quarter, down from almost 2.2 billion a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization slumped by almost 60 percent to 255 million euros. The final results are to be published on July 27.

The chemical sector has been suffering massively from destocking by customers since the fall of 2022. On top of this, consumers are less inclined to spend in the gloomy economic environment, which is weighing on demand and prices.

This is making itself felt in the silicones business - these plastics are used primarily in the electronics industry, by textile manufacturers, medical technology companies and in the construction sector. The construction industry, an important sales market for Wacker's polymers, is also feeling the impact of reduced construction activity due to high interest rates. Polymers are a wide variety of chemical compounds; they are the basis for adhesives, for example, but are also added to flooring, paints and concrete to change properties.

In Wacker's Silicones division, operating profit slumped in the second quarter, falling from 277 to 50 million euros. In the Polymers division, operating profit fell 17 percent to 75 million euros. Business with polysilicon for photovoltaic systems also remained under pressure. In the division's day-to-day business, profits shrank by almost 28 percent year-on-year to 155 million euros.

The German Chemical Industry Association (VCI) had also recently expressed little optimism about economic developments.

We remind, WACKER has completed the capacity expansion measures for the produc-tion of vinyl-acetate-ethylene copolymer (VAE) dispersions and VAE dispersible polymer powders at WACKER’s Nanjing site in China.

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Synthomer PLC expects to report lower revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the first half of the year but maintains a hopeful outlook, said Marketwatch.

The Essex, England-based chemicals manufacturer said in the first six months of the year, its revenue was GBP1.1 billion, down 17% from GBP1.33 billion a year prior. Ebitda is expected to be in the range of GBP72 million and GPB74 million, falling from GBP173.1 million the year before.

The company noted that "robust pricing" and a strong focus on margins helped it mitigate "substantially lower volumes." Net debt at June 30 was around GBP795 million.

Looking ahead, Synthomer said it does not anticipate material recovery in customer demand before the end of the year, but is confident of making sequential progress in the second half of the year. The company will report half year results on September 7.

We remind, Synthomer has agreed to sell its Laminates, Films and Coated Fabrics businesses to Surteco North America for a total enterprise value of about USD255m. The divestment is in line with Synthomer’s plans to increase the weighting of specialty chemicals versus base chemicals in its portfolio and create a more balanced geographic exposure, it said. The Laminates, Films and Coated Fabrics businesses, with plants in North America and Thailand, were part of Synthomer’s acquisition of OMNOVA Solutions in 2020.

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State oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Co has increased its buyout offer for Covestro AG to around 11 billion euros (USD12.3 billion), a person familiar with the proposal told Reuters .

ADNOC's latest bid values Covestro at about 57 euros per share, the person said, up from a mid-50 euro per share range. Covestro had rejected ADNOC's initial takeover proposal last month, saying the offer was too low.

A Covestro spokesperson declined to comment, while ADNOC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A combination with Covestro would give energy giant ADNOC, also a maker of refined products and petrochemicals, access to more advanced materials that go into electric vehicles, thermal insulation for buildings as well as coatings, adhesives and engineering plastics.

The move would also support Abu Dhabi's plans to diversify its economy away from energy.

We remind, 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. 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.

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The Chemours Company (Chemours) and Advanced Performance Materials, and Honeywell announced they have engaged with the Interagency for Market Control of the Hellenic Ministry of Development (DIMEA), the Hellenic Police, and Hellenic Customs to stop illegal fluorinated gas (F-gas) refrigerants from entering the European Union (EU) at the Greek border, said the company.

Approximately 15.6 tons of suspected unauthorized refrigerants including R-1234yf used as an automotive refrigerant were seized, tested, and determined to infringe valid patents or deemed illegal in the European Union, according to Greek officials. These illegal products will be safely destroyed before year-end 2023 in a process that protects workers as well as the planet.

Chemours collaborated with Honeywell in the operation to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) of refrigerant innovations owned by both companies and to detect and confiscate illegal F-gases. These efforts are part of an ongoing commitment by Chemours and Honeywell to not only protect IP, but to defend people, businesses, communities and the planet against the ramifications of illegal import activities. As phasedowns of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) progress in the EU, United States, and elsewhere, black market activities of refrigerants are expected to increase exponentially, driving authorities and companies like Chemours and Honeywell to collaborate on educating invested parties as well as strengthening enforcement efforts to deter illegal trade of HFCs.

Reports by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) have shown that in 2021 alone, more than 230 tons of illegally imported F-gases were seized in multiple countries. Illegal trade of F-gas refrigerants poses threats in several areas, mainly because these “products” are unauthorized and may have unknown flammable contents such as hydrocarbons, impurities, and other contaminants. Illegal refrigerants can undermine climate objectives and disrupt the transition to lower-GWP refrigerants, erode the supply chain and economies that surround it, threaten the safety of workers, and compromise rapidly accelerating efforts to achieve a circular economy.

Both Chemours and Honeywell recognize and appreciate the strong efforts by Greek officials and OLAF working with private industry to support patent rights and combat the illegal import of F-gases.

In addition to collaborating with enforcement authorities, the two companies actively communicate with customers, vendors, and other stakeholders to raise awareness about the importance of avoiding illegal and Patent Infringing products. The efforts aim to help businesses protect themselves from the negative legal impacts of buying or selling illegal products and promotes responsible practices in the industry.

We remind, Chemours Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Glycolic Acid business for USD137 M in cash to PureTech Scientific, a company founded and backed by Iron Path Capital, a private equity firm focused on lower-middle market investments across the speciality industrial and healthcare sectors. The Chemours Company is a chemistry company with market positions in titanium technologies, thermal & specialized solutions, and advanced performance materials.

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