Glencore, four others interested in Hellenic Petroleum sale

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Greece has received five expressions of interest for a majority stake in its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum, reported Reuters with reference to the country's privatizations agency.

Greece last month launched a tender to sell at least 50.1 percent of Hellenic in one of the biggest asset sales under Athens' three international bailouts since 2010.

Initial interest was submitted by Alrai Group Holdings Limited, a consortium comprising Carbon Asset Management DWC-LLC and Alshaheen Group, Gupta Family Group Alliance, Glencore Energy UK and Vitol Holding B.V., the agency said.

Greece and Paneuropean Oil and Industrial Holding are jointly selling a stake of at least 50.1 percent in the refiner.

Hellenic is Europe's third-biggest oil refiner based on its market value of 2.2 billion euros. Paneuropean Oil owns 45.5 percent and the Greek government holds a 35.5 percent stake.

The deadline for making submissions expired at 1400 GMT on Wednesday.

Sources have said that Greece and Paneuropean Oil want to maintain a stake of about 15 percent each in Hellenic. The exact size of the holding to be sold will not be disclosed until short-listed investors are invited to submit binding offers.

The agency said its advisers would evaluate the expressions of interest and make recommendations to its board of directors on the companies qualifying for the next phase of the tender.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Lubrizol Corporation has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, celebrating the successful start-up of its latest TPU capacity expansion in Avon Lake, Ohio, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The expansion is part of Lubrizol's strategic global capacity expansion program supporting the company's Engineered Polymers business and well-known product lines including Estane thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and others.

- Nearly USD30 million investment at Avon Lake site, expected to add 15 local jobs
- Part of Lubrizol's strategic investment in Engineered Polymers, totaling nearly USD80 million across the globe
- New state-of-the-art manufacturing assets are custom designed, based on more than 60 years of deep experience in TPU synthesis, process engineering and applications
- Engineered Polymers' new branding, "Advancing Materials. Elevating Performance." premiered at the event.

Lubrizol's expansion efforts are a direct result of the company anticipating demand for specialty polymers and compounds to grow at double-digit rates. Nathan Deutsch, plant manager for the Avon Lake TPU production facility, notes that the expansion adds significant new capacity. The project was completed on time, on budget and commissioned safely and successfully - all in about 20 months, a remarkable accomplishment.

Bill Snyder, who sponsored the project as global operations director for Lubrizol Engineered Polymers, comments, "I've seen a lot of projects in 30 years and this was, by far, the best, because of the combination of deep experience in process technology, engineering, manufacturing know-how, applications expertise, teamwork, focus and accountability. Today is a fitting celebration for success delivered, without compromise."

Jian-Wei Dong, general manager of Lubrizol Engineered Polymers, remarks, "Lubrizol has been recognized as a market leader since its invention of TPU for commercial use in 1959. Our staged investments, from acquisitions to continued expansion of this important manufacturing site, demonstrate our long-term commitment to innovation, the markets we serve and supporting customer growth. The added capabilities ensure we deliver world-class quality and with more sustainable manufacturing practices."

Mike Vaughn, vice president of operations, HSES and supply chain for The Lubrizol Corporation states, "These investments, the new capabilities, our continued focus on process automation and operational excellence ensure the integrity of our products and improve the safety, reliability and yield at our plant and, in turn, our contribution to the community. These are critical components to Lubrizol's core beliefs and philosophy."

As MRC wrote before, in February 2018, Lubrizol launched two thermoplastic polyurethane resins for hot melt adhesives (HMAs). The products belong to the plasticiser-free Pearlbond 300 TPU series that stands out for its low activation temperatures and good bonding properties to various substrates.

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is an innovative specialty chemical company that apart from its production develops and supplies technologies to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol is providing innovative solutions for its customers high-performance application needs and remains committed to ongoing investment in its CPVC capabilities that support future growth. With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,000 employees worldwide.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Chinese private chemical producer Hengli Group will receive its first cargo of Saudi crude oil by July as it prepares a new refinery for trial runs to be held in October, reported Reuters with reference to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The 400 Mbpd refinery in the northeastern port city of Dalian will become one of the five largest refineries in China and a major Saudi crude oil buyer. The plant is configured to process medium and heavy crude grades from Saudi Arabia.

The first cargo - 2 million spot barrels of Saudi Arab Medium crude - will be loaded in June and imported by Chinese state oil firm Sinochem Corp, said the source, who declined to be named due to company policy.

Hengli and Sinochem will officially open a joint venture trading office in June in Singapore to purchase crude for the refinery and sell oil products produced there, trade sources said.

Hengli expects to import up to 22 million barrels of crude this year for trial runs at the plant, the source said. New refineries typically take up to six months to produce fuel that meet commercial specifications and to ramp up output.

Hengli has received state approval to import 400 Mbpd of crude, but it is still waiting for the Ministry of Commerce to say how much of this quota can be used this year.

Construction of Hengli’s refinery and petrochemical complex is expected to be completed in July and trial runs would start in October, the company has said.

Hengli is also in talks with Saudi Aramco for long-term supplies, the source said. Hengli, Saudi Aramco and Sinochem did not respond to requests for comment.

Hengli is one of three companies in China bringing on new refining capacity in the fourth quarter.

Another private chemical firm, Zhejiang Ronsheng Group, is expected to start operating a new 400 Mbpd refinery in the eastern city of Zhoushan in the fourth quarter, while a 100 Mbpd expansion at China National Petroleum Corp’s (CNPC’s) Huabei refinery will also start up in October.

These refineries together will lift China’s refining capacity by nearly 10 percent and add to a domestic fuel supply glut.

Hengli started as a small chemical fiber maker and now operates the world’s largest purified terephthalic acid (PTA) plant, with a capacity of 6.6 million tonnes a year. PTA is used for producing polyester to make synthetic fiber and water bottles.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russian producers further raised their prices of polypropylene (PP) for shipments to the domestic market. The price increase was from Rb500/tonne to Rb3,000/tonne, depending on the grade and producer, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

PP prices have been going up in the Russian market since the beginning of the year, and June is no exception. Many Russian producers announced an increase in contract PP prices for June shipments to the domestic market, in some cases, the price rise was Rb3,000/tonne. Both the rouble devaluation and higher feedstocks prices also boosted prices.

Homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) accounted for the least price increase. This segment is balanced with a slight surplus of material, despite the shutdowns for maintnenance of two producers - Stavrolen and SIBUR Tobolsk - in April-May.

The extrusion block copolymer of propylene (PP-block) market remained the most deficient one. Producers' shipments often did not meet all the current demand, which let to record high prices. Prices have recently exceeded Rb110,000/tonne CPT Moscow, including VAT, in this segment.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Huntsman Corporation has announced plans to build a new polyurethanes systems house in Dubai, reported PRNewsWire.

Located within the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone (JAFZA), the new facility will strengthen Huntsman's differentiated downstream capabilities in the heart of the Middle East.

Targeted for completion by the second half of 2019, Huntsman's investment will increase the company's systems production capacity in the region and add a new dimension to its polyester polyol capabilities. The Dubai systems house will complement the company's two existing systems houses in the Middle East, in Turkey (Huntsman EMA) and Saudi Arabia (HAPC - a joint venture with the BCI Group of Companies), forming three strong pillars for growth.

Tony Hankins, President Huntsman's Polyurethanes division, said: "This is a bold and timely investment, which will serve as a strategic platform to expand our business in the Middle East and North Africa and build our market leading position. It represents the next step in our plan to strengthen our downstream network. We now have 30 facilities worldwide, which provide innovative solutions in close proximity to our customers."

Steen Weien Hansen, regional Vice President of Polyurethanes, further commented: "The MDI-based systems market in the Middle East has delivered strong growth in the last five years and this trend is forecast to continue at estimated rates of 7% annually. The construction of the new systems house will enable us to supply traditional and high-end rigid polyurethane formulations from a local source. It will also enable us to leverage our development and production know-how in polyester polyol and polyol blends for the fast-growing flexible foam and footwear markets, as well as pre-polymers for adhesives, coatings and elastomers applications."

Gulum Kabil, General Manager of Huntsman Polyurethanes' business activities in the Middle East and Turkey, will manage the new systems house.

As MRC reported before, in March 2018, Huntsman Corporation announced the acquisition of Demilec, one of North America’s leading manufacturers and distributors of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems for residential and commercial applications, from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2017 revenues of more than USD8 billion. Its chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. The company operate more than 75 manufacturing, R&D and operations facilities in approximately 30 countries and employ approximately 10,000 associates within its four distinct business divisions.
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