Chevron reports drop in US refinery processing

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chevron Corp, an American multinational energy corporation, said that its oil and gas business activity is set for a year over year drop in the second quarter as lower crude prices and equipment maintenance takes a toll, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In an interim earnings statement, Chevron, the second largest United States oil company in market value after Exxon Mobil Corp, reported steep drops in the average prices it gets for its oil production. United States natural gas prices were up, but Chevron's production is tilted towards crude.

Chevron's interim report, generally considered an earnings bellwether for the United States oil and gas industry, shows that Exxon and other producers might have been stung by the steep drop in oil prices in April amid concerns about the slow global economy.

Overall, Chevron produced 2.57 MMbpd of oil and natural gas in April and May, down 2.1% from its average production rate in the full second quarter of 2012. The report compares the first two months of the current quarter to the entire second quarter of 2012 and all of the first quarter of 2013.

Production was flat in the United States, but output in its international operations during April and May was 1.91 MMbpd, down 2.8% from the year before because of maintenance work in Kazakhstan, Australia and Nigeria. Demand for oil and gas also fell in Thailand, Chevron said.

As MRC imported previously, Chevron Corp. has completed repairing and rebuilding equipment in its Richmond refinery (California) that was damaged in a fire last year.

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States, and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation. Chevron is one of the world's six "supermajor" oil companies.
MRC

Amcor announces China flexible packaging acquisition

МOSCOW (MRC) -- Amcor announces today an agreement to acquire the flexible packaging operations of Jiangsu Shenda Group for RMB350 million, said Amcor in its press release.

The acquired business has sales of approximately RMB440 million and two plants in the Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Two thirds of it sales are to the pharmaceutical, snacks and culinary end markets. Following the acquisition Amcor will be the market leader in Eastern China with a strong position in both film manufacturing and conversion.

The acquired business is a strong fit with Amcor’s exiting plant in Jiangsu province and enables sharing of overheads, optimisation of production across the sites and operating improvements through sharing of best practice. These opportunities are expected to deliver cost synergy benefits of more than 5% of sales.

Amcor’s Managing Director and CEO, Mr Ken MacKenzie said: "Continued strong growth in consumer spending makes China one of the most attractive markets globally. Amcor has a strong and successful position in the Chinese flexible packaging market with nine plants, covering all the key regions and sales of over Australian dollars 400 million".

"This acquisition establishes Amcor as the market leader in Eastern China, a region that represents approximately 40% of China’s GDP. The busness is a strong fit with our existing operations and offers considerable synergy opportunities."

The agreement is subject to regulatory and other usual conditions and is expected to close in the coming months.

As MRC wrote earlier, the rising Australian dollar and cost pressures have pushed global packaging manufacturer Amcor Ltd. to shut two manufacturing sites and to downsize another site.

Amcor Limited is an Australian-based multinational packaging company. It operates manufacturing plants in 42 countries. It is the world's largest manufacturer of plastic bottles.
MRC

BP announces largest bio-refinery is officially opened in the UK

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BP along with its joint venture (JV) partners AB Sugar and DuPont, has officially opened the GBR350m Vivergo bio-ethanol plant in Hull City, UK, said EBR.

The Vivergo plant is a brownfield re-development project, which has been developed on a 25 acre site within the Saltend Chemicals Park near Hull.

BP claimed the new plant is the UK's biggest bioethanol producer and largest single-source supplier of animal feed providing valuable commodities that the UK would usually import.

The bio-refinery will use animal feed grade wheat to produce bio-ethanol and also 500,000t a year of protein-rich animal feed for the UK market.

BP and its partners have designed the facility to produce 420 million liters of bio-ethanol annually at full capacity, which is equivalent to a third of the UK's current demand. Bio-ethanol is a renewable transport fuel which is added to petrol.

The bio-fuel produced at the facility will provide greenhouse gas savings of more than 50% over standard petrol. BP Alternative Energy vice president Phillip New said the bio-refinery is set to benefit the country environmentally, socially, and economically.

As MRC wrote before, UK supermajor BP said it will start pulling some staff from Egypt as unrest in the North African nation escalated following the military's ousting of president Mohammed Mursi.
MRC

PACCOR invests in Netherlands expansion

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PACCOR Packaging Solutions, has announced further investment plans as part of its development strategy to become a major player in rigid food packaging in both the Food Service and the Consumer Goods market sectors, said Paccor.

The transformation of PACCOR’s Dutch-based business has featured full investment and support in site development, combined with new thermo-forming machinery and state-of-the art automation with advanced data collection technology.

This significant investment, worth GBR9.4 million (EUR11 million), in both Standdaarbuiten and Nijkerk highlights the ambition and growth strategy of PACCOR’s Food Service division, based in the Netherlands.

Chris Hart, managing director for PACCOR Food Service Europe, said: "Our continuing investment demonstrates to the industry that we are now focusing on the future with great optimism. We look to continue our growth and development in the Food Service packaging industry through investment in our people, existing facilities and targeting sustainable growth opportunities".

He added: "We believe that our investments will allow us to increase our significant market share. We will continue to develop new products for the market and to seek out alternative materials that can enhance performance, are environmentally friendly and minimize the risk of continuing volatility of escalating raw material prices".

As MRC wrote before, Polish Synthos has agreed to supply polystyrene (PS) to PACCOR last year.

PACCOR Food Service products include rigid packaging for the food packaging industry, notably salad bowls, meat and fish trays, beer and beverage cups and vending cups for the disposable packaging industry.
MRC

A.Schulman drops bid for Ferro

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A.Schulman, a global plastic supplier, has announced that it dropped its bid for Ferro. The announcement was made about four months after A. Schulman had offered USD563 million for Ferro, according to GV with reference to Reuters.

A.Schulman first contacted Ferro in November 2012 and expressed its interest in Ferro in a letter on February 13, but was rebuffed. A formal offer in March was also rejected. A. Schulman said the acquisition would help cut costs and widen its customer pool.

Reuters cites A. Schulman Chief Executive Joe Gingo: “We have given Ferro's board ample time to come back to us to initiate a discussion…At this time, this has not happened, so we have decided to look elsewhere for acquisition opportunities."

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, in mid-2012 A. Schulman Inc. inked a definitive agreement to acquire ECM Plastics, a privately owned plastics compounder located in Worcester, Mass., for USD36.5 million. Besides, Jeddah-based National Petrochemical Industrial Company (Natpet), a subsidiary of Alujain Corporation, entered into a joint venture agreement with A. Schulman to produce polypropylene compounds.

A. Schulman is a global plastics supplier, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, and a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins, which are used as raw materials in a variety of markets. A. Schulman has 33 manufacturing facilities globally. A. Schulman's fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 69% amid continued sluggishness in European markets and higher-than-expected costs in Latin America, where the company has been consolidating its Brazilian operations.
MRC