Ineos in exclusive talks with ConocoPhillips for North Sea assets

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ineos, the privately owned energy and chemicals group run by Britain’s richest man, is in exclusive talks with US oil major ConocoPhillips to acquire its assets in the North Sea, reported FT.

The potential deal, which has a price tag of more than USD3bn according to industry sources, could transform Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company into a major operator in North Sea oil and gas production, building on other acquisitions and its ownership of infrastructure, refineries and chemical plants fed by the basin.

People familiar with the sale process said Ineos had paid ConocoPhillips a "substantial" deposit to give it exclusivity over the talks for three months, fearing competition from other buyers including private equity companies that have a growing role in the North Sea.

The ConocoPhillips assets are one of a handful on the block that give companies an opportunity to acquire a substantial North Sea footprint at a time when the energy majors, particularly from the US, have been scaling back in the mature basin to focus on the US shale sector and other prospects.

A spokeswoman for ConocoPhillips said it was in "exclusive negotiations with Ineos" for its UK assets, excluding the Teesside oil terminal and London.

If a deal is reached it would be the latest audacious move by Sir Jim who has built his business empire by borrowing to fund acquisitions in the last decade. Ineos is Britain’s biggest privately owned company with sales of USD60bn and earnings before interest, tax and other charges of USD7bn last year.

Sir Jim founded the company in 1998 and owns a majority stake in the business. The company has expanded from its petrochemicals roots into an industrial conglomerate with positions in other industries including shale exploration, automotive and fashion. Last week Ineos added the resins business of US-based Ashland Global Holdings in a USD1.1bn deal.

Ineos also owns the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical sites in Scotland’s central belt, and the associated Forties Pipeline System that delivers much of the North Sea oil and gas to shore.

The ConocoPhillips assets include a 7.5 per cent interest in the Clair field, which the US company had already disposed of a 16.5 per cent stake in July through an asset swap with BP.

Neptune Energy, a private equity backed energy company run by former Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw, is said to have also been in the running for the ConocoPhillips assets. Chrysaor, another private equity backed group that bought a host of North Sea assets from Royal Dutch Shell last year, was also in the running, people familiar with the talks said. Both companies declined to comment.

Ineos confirmed on Sunday it was in talks with ConocoPhillips, which were first reported by the Sunday Times, but did not comment on the exclusivity arrangement.

As MRC informed before, in November 2017, Ineos completed its acquisition of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) and associated pipelines and facilities from BP. The 235-mile pipeline system links 85 North Sea oil and gas assets to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth, Scotland, delivering almost 40% of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
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MAN Cryo to design and deliver LNG regasification terminal

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MAN Energy Solutions has won the contract to design and deliver an LNG regasification terminal for the Forchem company in Rauma. Forchem, an innovative and industry-leading company producing chemical and Animal feed products from tall oil, has chosen to convert the boiler for generating steam for the refinery processing to natural gas/ bio-gas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

MAN Energy Solution will deliver a tailormade installation, including offloading skid for LNG trailers, vertically standing, vacuum-insulated tank and vaporizer unit.

The installation will be located besides Forchems plant, enabling Forchem to receive deliveries of LNG and LBG (Liquified Bio Gas) via tank-truck deliveries. It is designed specifically for Forchem’s requirements considering local climate conditions, minimum maintenance requirements and long lifetime. MAN Energy Solutions was chosen as supplier owing to its extensive experience with cryogenic solutions, a well-thought-through design, and a global aftermarket support through MAN PrimeServ.

"LNG has become very attractive and competitive compared to other fuels and is low in emissions. We see a growing market for small scale LNG solutions for both captive and grid connected applications and are currently commissioning a similar project, where MAN Energy Solutions has provided highly efficient gas and dual fuel engines for a new power plant to secure the future energy supply in Gibraltar. Also many regions in South East Asia may profit from the flexibility such solutions can offer", says Carsten Dommermuth, Senior Manager International Business Development at MAN Energy Solutions.

The company is also happy to grow its presence in the Finnish market with this project, adds Roger Gothberg, Managing Director MAN Energy Solutions in Finland and Sweden. "We see growth potential both within the industrial and marine segments. Having established the Finnish Branch office in 2017, we are now seeing a growing interest in our solutions."

The Finnish company, Wega Group, assisted Forchem with the procurement of the LNG regasification terminal. Wega is an independent energy company, specialised in smart-energy sourcing. Wega has experience from several LNG projects and sees a growing demand for LNG in industrial applications, shipping and road transport in Finland.
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Air Products Luan Coal Gasification Project in China fully onstream

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Products announced its Lu’an coal gasification project, located in Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, China, has come fully onstream to supply syngas and other industrial gases to Shanxi Lu’an Coal-based Clean Energy Co., Ltd.’s (Lu’an Clean Energy) syngas-to-liquids production, said the company.

The successful startup of Air Products’ first-of-its-kind project further reinforces its leadership and operational excellence as the premier gasification company in the world.

The world-scale gasification project involves four large air separation units (ASUs), four gasifiers and two syngas clean-up systems which have operated at full capacity to support one of China’s landmark clean energy demonstration projects. The gasifiers, which represent the largest pulverized coal gasifiers adopting Shell’s proven gasification technologies, have been delivering outstanding performance in feedstock input, gases output, carbon conversion rate and operational efficiency.

Air Products signed an agreement with Lu’an Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. in 2013 to build, own and operate the four ASUs capable of supplying over 10,000 tons per day (TPD) of oxygen, over 6,000 TPD of nitrogen and over 700 TPD of instrument air to its subsidiary Lu’an Clean Energy in Changzhi. In September 2017, the company formed a joint venture with Lu’an Clean Energy, holding a 60 percent stake, to own and operate the ASUs, and gasification and syngas clean-up systems at the Changzhi site, extending Air Products’ industrial gas supply scope to include coal gasification and syngas supply.
MRC

WorleyParsons awarded the PMC for hydrocracking complex in Egypt

MOSCOW (MRC) -- WorleyParsons has been awarded a four-year project management consultancy (PMC) contract for the new Assiut Hydrocracking Complex (AHC Project) in Egypt, by Assiut National Oil Processing Company (ANOPC), reported Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The contract is part of the upgrade of the refining capacity and efficiency in the Upper Egypt area. Under the contract, WorleyParsons will oversee the basic engineering phase, open book estimate, detailed design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the AHC Project.

It is estimated the new complex will process the conversion of 2.5 million tonnes per year of heavy fuel oil into high quality petroleum products such as diesel, liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha, kerosene and gasoline.

"We are pleased to continue our relationship with ANOPC and support Egypt’s vision to further expand their downstream oil industry," said Andrew Wood, Chief Executive Officer WorleyParsons.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, in June 2016, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. announced that it had received a contract to provide detailed engineering and procurement assistance services to TCI Sanmar Chemical for its PVC-2 polyvinyl chloride plant expansion project in Port Said, Egypt. When complete, the PVC-2 facility’s production capacity is expected to be 200 kilo-tonnes per annum (KTPA). Combined with its other global facilities, this takes TCI Sanmar’s total PVC production capacity to 400 KTPA, strengthening the company’s position as one of the largest PVC producers in the Middle East and North Africa.
MRC

LyondellBasell close to binding offer for Brazil's Braskem -sources

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell Industries NV is close to presenting a binding offer to acquire control of Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem SA, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to Reuters.

LyondellBasell is discussing the extension of a long-term naphtha supply contract with Petroleo Brasileiro SA seen as pivotal to valuing Braskem, and talks between the companies are expected to finish over the next days, the sources said, asking for anonymity because talks are private.

A binding offer could be delivered as soon as the end of this month, the people said.

Once a long-term supply contract is established, LyondellBasell is expected to bid for control of Braskem, first through an offer to controlling shareholder Odebrecht SA. Odebrecht, a Brazilian conglomerate involved in the country’s widest-ever corruption probe has been forced to sell assets over the last two years.

The offer will include cash and shares, the people added. The same value per share would be extended to Petrobras, the Brazilian state-controlled oil company, which is a minority shareholder in Braskem, as well as a supplier.

One of the people said Petrobras is still discussing whether to sell its full stake in Braskem or hold onto shares in the combined company. If concluded, the deal would create the world’s largest petrochemical company.

Odebrecht, LyondellBasell and Petrobras did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the matter.

As MRC informed before, in October 2017, Petrobras’ (Rio de Janeiro) minority stakes in Braskem and Deten Quimica was excluded from Petrobras’s divestment program. The decree prevents Petrobras from immediatyly selling its minority stake in Braskem, which had been announced last year. A new decree will be required to release the stock sale.

Braskem S.A. produces petrochemicals and generates electricity. The Company produces ethylene, propylene, benzene, toluene, xylenes, butadiene, butene, isoprene, dicyclopentediene, MTBE, caprolactam, ammonium sulfate, cyclohexene, polyethylene theraphtalat, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its 13,000 employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, and improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road. LyondellBasell sells products into approximately 100 countries and is the world's largest licensor of polyolefin technologies.
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