Transaction between Wintershall and Statoil completed

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Wintershall (part of BASF), Germany’s largest internationally active crude oil and natural gas producer, is continuing its growth course in Norway. By acquiring shares in the production fields Gjoa (5%) and Vega (24.5%), Wintershall is increasing its production in Norway from about 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to about 60,000 boe per day, as per BASF's press release.

In addition, Wintershall is taking over shares in the Aasta Hansteen development project (24%), the Asterix discovery (19%), the Polarled pipeline project (13.2%) and in four exploration licences near Aasta Hansteen. The shares in the assets encompass reserves and resources (2P/2C) of around 170 million boe. Furthermore, Wintershall will also assume the operatorship of the Vega production field.

The transfer of operatorship from Statoil to Wintershall is planned for the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Wintershall has purchased the shares for USD1.25 billion. The transaction is financially effective retroactively to January 1, 2014.

A further payment of up to USD50 million will be made once Aasta Hansteen has been developed in accordance with the current project plan. Additionally both companies have agreed to work together in developing the exploration potential of the Voring Basin.

"With this transaction, we are taking a major step towards achieving our goal of establishing ourselves as one of the leading oil and gas companies in Norway," said Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall.

As MRC wrote before, in October 2014, Wintershall closed sale of VNG shares to EWE. The transaction closure means EWE Aktiengesellschaft takes over the 15.79% share of Wintershall Holding GmbH in the East German company Verbundnetz Gas AG (VNG).

Statoil ASA is an international energy company with operations in 36 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, it is committed to accommodating the world’s energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. Statoil is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide.

Wintershall Holding GmbH, based in Kassel, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF in Ludwigshafen. The company has been active in the extraction of natural resources for 120 years, and in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas for over 80 years. Wintershall focuses on selected core regions where the company has built up a high level of regional and technological expertise. These are Europe, Russia, North Africa, South America, and increasingly the Middle East region.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation announced that it is taking significant action to improve the global competitiveness of its pigments and additives business, as per the producer's press-release.

As part of a comprehensive restructuring program, Huntsman plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 900 positions. Annual cost savings are expected to be approximately USD130 million and will be achieved by the middle of 2016. Separately, Huntsman is evaluating titanium dioxide (TiO2) capacity reduction options within its pigments and additives business.

Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, commented: "We are in the process of creating a global market leading pigments and additives business with superior technology and cost competitive manufacturing. With the inclusion of the recently acquired Rockwood pigments and additives businesses we have the broadest product offering of specialized pigments in the industry. This restructuring will improve the competitiveness of our global pigments and additives business and allow us to compete more aggressively.

This is not the first time we’ve made significant efforts to restructure. Recently, we successfully completed major restructuring in our Advanced Materials and Textile Effects divisions, the annual benefits of which were approximately USD150 million. We will leverage the learning and know-how from these efforts to deliver approximately USD130 million of cost savings in our Pigments and Additives division. We will carry out these efforts in-line with local procedures and by working with relevant associate representative groups. We are also taking steps that will lead to a successful future initial public offering of our Pigments and Additives division."

As MRC wrote before, Huntsman Corporation announced that it had completed the acquisition of the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) businesses of Rockwood Holdings in the early October 2014.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2013 revenues of over USD11 billion. Huntsman is a global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals. The company's operating companies manufacture products for a variety of global industries, including chemicals, plastics, automotive, aviation, textiles, footwear, paints and coatings, construction, technology, agriculture, health care, detergent, personal care, furniture, appliances and packaging.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's largest refiner and oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation's Rs 34,555-crore 15 million tonnes per annum Paradip Refinery will be commissioned in phases from March 2015 onwards, said chairman B Ashok, as per Economictimes.

The refinery is capable for processing a broad basket of crude oil grades, including cheaper high-sulphur heavy crudes, which will help the company to improve bottomline, Ashok told.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), is conducting feasibility studies to set up a petrochemical complex at Paradip in Odisha for Rs 20,000 crore. The petrochemical complex would be built in the vicinity of the company’s to-be-commissioned 15-mln tpa greenfield refinery at Paradip. The petrochemical complex would be in addition to the already announced Rs 3,150-crore polypropylene project at the same location, the foundation stone for which was laid by MOS for petroleum and natural gas.

The state’s nodal agency for land acquisition and infrastructure development, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has sought approval from the state government to execute a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IOCL.The pact’s objective is to chalk out a roadmap for development of a petrochemical complex at Paradip. The petrochemical complex, to be set up by IOCL, is a part of the PCPIR (petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals investment region) hub.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters in New Delhi, India.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oriental Union Chemical Corp (OUCC) is in plans to shut its monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant for maintenance turnaround, reported Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in Taiwan informed that the plant is planned to be shut in end-December 2014 or early January 2015. It is likely to remain off-stream for around one month.

Located at Linyuan in Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 250,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed previously, on 3 November, Nan Ya Plastics restarted its No 3 monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant in Taiwan. It was under a month-long maintenance turnaround. Located in Mailiao, Taiwan, the plant has a production capacity of 360,000 mt/year.

We remind that Sinopec Hubei Chemical Fertilizer started a new MEG plant on February 8, 2014. Initially the plant was scheduled to start commercial production in late 2013. Located at Zhejiang in Hubei province of China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 mt/year.

Another Chinese petrochemical producer Hubei Chemical Fertilizer started up a new MEG plant in late 2013. Located in Hubei, China, the plant has a production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, announced the acquisition of specialty assets from Accella Performance Materials, a leading North American manufacturer of liquid polymer formulations, as per the company's press-release.

Accella will retain its polyurethanes and rubber products businesses.

The acquired business joins PolyOne's Global Color, Additives and Inks segment, and provides specialty coatings solutions and value-added services in a wide range of applications, including consumer products, interior and under-the-hood automotive parts, outdoor recreational equipment and food packaging.

"We're thrilled to have acquired this specialty business and its innovative technologies, and we look forward to serving our newest customers with increased innovation, delivery, quality and services," said John V. Van Hulle, president, Global Color, Additives and Inks, PolyOne Corporation. "The acquired Accella technology portfolio complements our existing specialty business, and expands our presence in fast-growing end markets that are aligned with key megatrends."

With a purchase price of USD49 million, PolyOne expects the acquisition to add USD35 million to revenues and be accretive to earnings in 2015.

"This is a compelling acquisition that highlights our approach to M&A," said Robert M. Patterson, president and chief executive officer, PolyOne Corporation. "Our invest-to-grow integration playbook is one we have historically executed with great success. We will leverage our best-in-class technical, commercial and operational capabilities to drive growth for this new business, PolyOne, and most importantly our customers."

As MRC informed earlier, in February 2014, PolyOne Corporation announced the addition of new capabilities to its OnColor HC Plus portfolio. These expanded offerings add medical-grade LDPE, nylon, PEBA, PS and PVC to the globally available palette of specialty healthcare colorants, and are pre-certified to meet or exceed biocompatibility requirements for ISO 10993 and/or USP Class VI protocols.

PolyOne Corporation is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC