Energy trader Gunvor mulls asset sales after first annual loss

MOSCOW (MRC) - Energy trader Gunvor Group is considering selling non-core assets in Russia and finding a strategic partner for its German refinery as it tries to recover from the first-ever annual loss it suffered in 2018, trading and banking sources said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Four sources familiar with the development said the plan had been discussed in recent meetings between Gunvor’s majority owner Torbjorn Tornqvist and Gunvor’s main lending banks.

The sources asked that neither they nor their banks be identified because they were not allowed to speak to the media. The plan and losses had not previously been reported.

Gunvor, formed at the start of the century by Tornqvist and his former Russian partner Gennady Timchenko, first specialized in Russian crude and product sales. It became at one point the biggest seller of Russian oil thanks to what it described as excellent Russian connections.

Its role in Russian oil shrank earlier this decade and the trading house diversified into other areas and products. Last year was widely considered to have been difficult for merchants as traders lost money on sharp, unexpected price swings in oil benchmarks such as Dated Brent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate.

Sources said Gunvor’s underlying trading business remained profitable and strong in 2018. However, the trader suffered losses due to one-off factors that will not be repeated this year, the sources said.

Those included a write-down of several tens of millions of dollars because of an abandoned upgrade of its Rotterdam refinery, a write-down relating to the Lagansky Caspian Sea oil block in which it no longer holds an interest, and provisions for legal cases that remain open.

Gunvor told its bankers that 2018 losses would be non-recurring, the sources said. Final 2018 results will not be published before April. Preliminary nine-month results for 2018 showed a loss in excess of USD100 million due to the one-offs, two of the four sources said.

Gunvor declined to discuss the plan and financial performance. “Gunvor has proactively addressed challenges it faced in 2018 by making decisive, strategic adjustments, including restructuring, trimming costs, and investing in its trading platform,” a company spokesman said.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Aramco has agreed to deliver more than 500,000 barrels of crude oil every month to Egyptian refineries starting in January, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The minister told Reuters that the agreement would be effective for a period of six months.

As MRC informed earlier, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's Reliance Industries Limited or RIL will make its first term paraxylene (PX) export to China from the second phase of its new 2.2 million mt/year plant at Jamnagar in late April, as per Apic-online with reference to industry sources.

Of the 35,000 mt of PX due to load from Sikka in Gujarat on the MT Bunga Angelica, 15,000 mt will be discharged at Dalian in China under term contracts, sources said. The rest will form part of Reliance's regular shipments to the region.

The volume en route to China is output from the second phase of Reliance's aromatics plant, which a source close to the company said had been ramping up since early April and was operating at a "fairly high rate now."

The first phase of the plant was commissioned last December.

In addition, 10,000 mt of benzene output from the plant was heard to have been sold on a spot basis for May loading, industry sources said, although further details could not be verified.

The No.2 Reliance plant at Jamnagar has a nameplate production capacity of 2.2 million mt/year of PX and 500,000 mt/year of benzene.

It more than doubles RIL's PX production capacity to 4.2 million mt/year, making it the world's second-largest PX producer with 9% of global PX capacity and 11% share of global production, the company said in a statement announcing the commissioning the first phase of the plant last December.

As MRC informed before, in February 2016, RIL was awarded a contract worth Rs. 100 crore to Petron Engineering Construction Ltd for its linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) plant in Gujarat. The LLDPE plant is part of RIL's J-3 project in Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The J-3 project boasts of a petroleum refinery and allied petrochemical plants for the production of plastics and fibre intermediates.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. Thus, the company produces among others polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Invistaб a world leader in fibers, resins and chemical intermediates, and the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) have signed a memorandum of cooperation related to Invista's new adiponitrile (ADN) facility planned to be built in Shanghai, China, according to Apic-online.

The 400,000-t/y ADN unit, on which engineering has already begun, is estimated to cost over USD1-billion. Construction is expected to begin in 2020 with start-up by 2022.

According to the memorandum of cooperation, Invista will advance its internal decision-making process for the project with strong support from the Shanghai government and SCIP, including commitment to intellectual property protections and joint efforts to execute an investment agreement.

"With this memorandum of cooperation and a commitment to work toward an investment agreement, we are pleased to be taking the next step toward finalizing the investment and its location," noted Invista Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Gentry.

"Shanghai is an attractive location in part due to the benefits of integrating the new facility into our existing HMD (hexamethylene diamine) and polymer plants at SCIP."

As MRC informed before, to combat a global shortage of nylon 6/6 resin, materials firm Invista will build a USD1 billion plant in Shanghai making adiponitrile, a key nylon 6/6 feedstock that’s been in short supply, said producer in August 2018. Construction of the plant would begin in 2020, with production starting in 2023, officials with Wichita, Kan.-based Invista said in an Aug. 8 news release. They added that they’ve started the project "to satisfy the strong, local demand for the nylon 6/6 intermediate chemical."

Invista is one of the world's largest integrated producers of polymers and fibers, primarily for nylon, spandex and polyester applications. With a business presence in over 20 countries, Invista's global businesses deliver exceptional value for their customers through technology innovations, market insights and a powerful portfolio of global trademarks.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it expects to decide by mid-2019 how to finance the acquisition of Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), reported Reuters.

"The decision on financing the SABIC acquisition is expected to be taken in the first half," said Amin Nasser, chief executive of Aramco.

"We have internal resources, then of course there are banks and the bond market, which we are evaluating at the moment," he added.

As MRC informed before, in October 2018, Saudi Aramco signed an agreement to invest in a refinery-petrochemical project in eastern China, part of its strategy to expand in downstream operations globally.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco"s value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
MRC