CEO of Petrobras objects to delay in Braskem sale

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro said on Friday he wants to sell the company's stake in petrochemical company Braskem within 12 months, adding that he strongly disagreed with reported plans to delay the sale, as per the company's press release.

On Monday, Reuters reported that creditors of corruption-ensnared construction conglomerate Odebrecht SA, which also has a large stake in Braskem, were in advanced talks to delay a sale for up to two years.

"To me, it means they do not want to sell anything," CEO Roberto Castello Branco said during a meeting with investors in London.

As MRC informed before, Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.

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).
MRC

MOL Group completes purchase of Aurora

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group has concluded the acquisition of a 100% interest in Aurora, a recycled plastic compounder based in Neuenstein, Germany, for an undisclosed amount, said the company.

The purchase is in line with MOL's 2030 Strategy, which includes expanding its petrochemicals value chain with higher value-added products.

MOL plans to spend around $4.5 bn until the end of 2030 on petrochemical and chemical growth projects.

Compounding and recycling are among the key areas defined in its strategy.

As MRC informed earlier, MOL Petrochemicals Company (formerly known as TVK, part of the MOL Group), the only Hungarian producer of olefins and polyolefins, on 23 September announced force majeure on the supply of polypropylene (PP) from plant No. 4 at the petrochemical complex in Tiszaujvaros (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.

MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas PLC is an integrated oil and gas company. The Company produces crude oil, petroleum products, bitumens, lubricants and natural gas. MOL owns and operates refineries, oil and gas pipelines, service stations, and natural gas storage facilities.
MRC

U.S. petroleum exports exceed imports in September

MOSCOW (MRC) -- In September 2019, the United States exported 89,000 barrels per day (b/d) more petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) than it imported, the first month this has happened since monthly records began in 1973, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A decade ago, the United States was importing 10 million b/d more petroleum than it was exporting. Long-running changes in U.S. trade patterns for both crude oil and petroleum products have resulted in a steady decrease in overall U.S. net petroleum imports.

Net petroleum trade is calculated as total imports of crude oil and petroleum products less total exports of crude oil and petroleum products. Although the United States currently imports more crude oil than it exports, it exports more petroleum products than it imports, resulting in net total petroleum exports.

As MRC informed earlier, the contract prices of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the US in November fell by 3 cents per pound (USD66 per ton) amid weakening demand and cooling. At the same time, some participants have already concluded 3-month contracts with a decrease of 3 cents per pound. Spot prices also declined. US polyethylene terephthalate PET. Spot and contract resin prices followed a downtrend amid economic uncertainty caused by the protracted trade war between the US and China.
MRC

Linde and Sipchem sign MOU to form industrial gases partnership in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sahara International Petrochemical Co. (Sipchem) and Linde on 3 December signed initial terms to establish a strategic partnership for the supply of industrial gases, to meet growing demand from the refining and chemical industries in Saudi Arabia, reported Chemweek.

The primary focus of the partnership, which is expected to become operational in 2020, will be the connection via pipeline of existing hydrogen and synthesis gas (syngas) plants owned by the two parties at Jubail Industrial City, and the development of new production facilities to supply carbon monoxide, hydrogen, syngas, and associated gases in the industrial clusters in Saudi Arabia. The partnership will leverage the strengths and footprints of both companies. The agreement is valid until the end of March 2020.

"Sipchem is eager to expand its operations to fulfill the growing demand from national refiners and petrochemical plants in the kingdom," said Sipchem CEO Saleh Bahamdan. "This partnership has the potential to blend stable returns with long-term supply commitments, offering us the opportunity to manage the typical cyclicality of the petrochemical industry."

"The combined onsite footprint and operational excellence of the two companies will create a compelling opportunity for us and our customers in Saudi Arabia," said Linde’s executive vice president/EMEA, Eduardo Menezes.

We remind that, as MRC wrote previously, on 29 December, 2014, Sipchem started a new ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) film plant. Located at Hail in Saudi Arabia, the plant has a production capacity of 4,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's DataScope report, September EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,7% year on year to 3,420 tonnes from 4,430 tonnes in September 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-September 2019 by 18,2% year on year to 29,190 tonnes (35,690 tonnes in the first nine months of 2018).

Established in 1999, Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) manufactures and markets methanol, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer. Besides, it has launched several down-stream projects to manufacture ethylene vinyl acetate, low density polyethylene, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, cross linkable polyethylene, and semi conductive compound that are scheduled to start in 2013.
MRC

PKN Orlen plans to take over utility Energa

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PKN Orlen announced that it plans to take over state utility Energa to strengthen its position in the electricity market, said Reuters.

Orlen has announced that it aims to acquire 100% of Energa with a bid that puts the company’s value at around Polish zloty (Zl) 2.9bn (USD749.9m) at Zl 7 per share.

Orlen said that its energy segment, which has 1.9 GWe of installed capacity and is the fourth largest producer of electricity in Poland, already accounts for nearly 15% of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

Both PKN and Energa have heavy and politically-motivated investment projects in their pipelines. PKN, which has a market capitalization of 37 billion zlotys, also wants to take over smaller rival Lotos, with a market cap of almost 16 billion zlotys, a move encouraged by some prominent members of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Orlen is also in the midst of a bid for the country’s second largest refiner, state-controlled Lotos. In August, the European Commission said it opened an in-depth anti-trust investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Lotos by Orlen.

As MRC reported earlier, in September 2019, Honeywell announced that PKN ORLEN had licensed the UOP MaxEne process, which can increase production of ethylene and aromatics and improve the flexibility of gasoline production.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polyprolypele (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,724,670 tonnes in the first ten months of 2019, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. The estimated PP consumption in the Russian market in January-October 2019 totalled 1,066,520 tonnes, up by 7% year on year. Supply of block copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymer) and homopolymer of propylene (homopolymer PP) increased, demand for statistical copolymers (PP random copolymer) decreased.
MRC