Celanese to acquire Nouryon redispersible polymer powders business

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, and Nouryon have announced they have signed an agreement for Celanese to acquire Nouryon’s redispersible polymer powders business offered under the Elotex brand (Elotex business), as per Kemicalinfo.

As part of the acquisition, Celanese will acquire all of Nouryon’s global production facilities for redispersible polymer powders across Europe and Asia, all products under the Elotex portfolio, as well as all customer agreements, technology and commercial facilities globally.

"With this acquisition, Celanese will extend its global leadership position in the VAE emulsions space and continue to support our customers in construction and building materials, where Celanese is already focusing significant product, solution and customer development efforts," said Todd Elliott, senior vice president, Acetyls.

Elotex is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of redispersible polymer powders for exterior thermal insulation composite systems, self-leveling flooring and wall texturing, cement tile adhesives, ypsum plaster and joint fillers, polymer binding systems, and cement and time-based renders.

Celanese expects to integrate Elotex’s redispersible polymer powder product portfolio and production facilities into its global acetyl chain to further meet global product demand. Elotex has production facilities in Europe and China that include Frankfurt, Germany; Geleen, Netherlands; Moosleerau, Switzerland; and Shanghai, China. Elotex has its global headquarters, R&D and Technical Services functions located in Sempach, Switzerland.

As MRC informed before, Celanese Corporation has recently announced preliminary plans to expand its emulsion polymers derivatives business to extend the value of its global acetyl chain.

According to MRC's DataScope report, November EVA imports to Russia dropped by 8,9% year on year to 3,440 tonnes from 3,780 tonnes in November 2018, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation decreased in January-November 2019 by 18,9% year on year to 35,95 tonnes (44,330 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2018).

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 7,700 employees worldwide and had 2018 net sales of USD7.2 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell recorded a fourth quarter reduction in net income of USD80m compared with the same period a year earlier, on the back of weak industrial demand, the US-headquartered company announced.

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) on Friday reported fourth-quarter profit of USD612 million. The Houston-based company said it had profit of USD1.83 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were USD1.91 per share.

The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of USD2.26 per share.

The oil refiner and chemical company posted revenue of USD8.18 billion in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected USD8.43 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of USD3.4 billion, or USD9.58 per share. Revenue was reported as USD34.73 billion.

LyondellBasell shares have decreased 12% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen almost 2%. The stock has declined slightly more than 5% in the last 12 months.

As MRC wrote previously, LyondellBasell shut down its cracker in La Porte (Texas, USA) on 19 September, 2019, because of the flooding, caused by the tropical storm Imelda. According to the company's statement, this plant, which can produce 1,150,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, was shut last Wednesday when water entered a building containing electrical components and damaged critical process control equipment.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

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.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lyondell Basell Industries raised production on the gasoline-producing unit at its 263,776-barrel-per-day (bpd) Houston refinery, reported Reuters with reference to Gulf Coast market sources.

Production on the 90,000-bpd gasoline-producing fluidic catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) had been cut back since early last week because of problems with feedstock supply, the sources said.

Lyondell spokeswoman Chevalier Gray declined to comment.

The increase in FCCU production was slight, the sources said, inhibited by problems raising production on the 120,000-bpd Unit 536 crude distillation unit (CDU), which was cut back to minimum production levels again on Wednesday.

Both Unit 536 and the 147,000-bpd Unit 537 CDU have been operating below their capacities since early last week because of problems with crude oil clogging the desalter section of the CDUs, which break down crude oil into hydrocarbon feedstock for all other units, the sources said.

Because the CDUs are cut back, the supply of gas oil feedstock that the FCCU converts into unfinished gasoline has been reduced, the sources said.

The desalter removes corrosive substances found in crude oil that if processed in the CDUs would damage them.

As MRC wrote previously, LyondellBasell shut down its cracker in La Porte (Texas, USA) on 19 September, 2019, because of the flooding, caused by the tropical storm Imelda. According to the company's statement, this plant, which can produce 1,150,000 tonnes of ethylene per year, was shut last Wednesday when water entered a building containing electrical components and damaged critical process control equipment.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp said on Thursday it will continue exporting very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO), which it previously only sold at home, in response to strong demand driven by new global shipping regulations, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The rules, which came into effect this year, have resulted in levels of demand for VLSFO which have not been seen before.

Weak gasoline prices have led Formosa, which operates one of Asia’s ten largest refineries, to lower throughput at its residue fluid catalytic crackers (RFCC) and, since the fourth quarter of 2019, to start exporting VLSFO.

A spokesman for Formosa told Reuters it may shut a secondary unit sooner than planned if poor gasoline demand persists.

Even before the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China, gasoline profit margins were already weighed down by heavy supplies late last year.

Formosa had initially scheduled to shut an 84,000 bpd unit on March 10 for a 40 to 45-day maintenance.

“If the gasoline cracks (to Dubai) were to remain at an average of USD4 to USD5 a barrel like what they are now, we may bring forward the maintenance by about 10 days to March 1,” K.Y. Lin said, adding that it may extend the shutdown to 50 days.

Formosa will be operating its RFCCs at a reduced throughput of below 80% capacity in February and will be exporting approximately four to five medium range (MR) vessels of VLSFO next month, up from around 3-4 vessels this month.

“We will continue exporting VLSFO as long as gasoline is weak,” Lin said, adding it was hard to predict how gasoline fundamentals will turn out in the next month or so.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak 17 years ago showed that a fast-spreading virus can hit not only transportation demand but the economy as a whole.

Formosa operates two RFCCs, each of which has the same capacity at its 540,000 bpd Mailiao refinery. It also operates three 180,000 bpd crude distillation units (CDUs), two sulfur remover units (RDS) and several other secondary units.

Scheduled maintenance at one CDU and one RDS will still take place from March 10, Lin said.

We remind that, as MRC reported earlier, Formosa has recently started up its new 1.5 million tons/year cracker in Point Comfort, Texas. The company has been ramping up the operating rates of the cracker.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.

Formosa Petrochemical is involved primarily in the business of refining crude oil, selling refined petroleum products and producing and selling olefins (including ethylene, propylene, butadiene and BTX) from its naphtha cracking operations. Formosa Petrochemical is also the largest olefins producer in Taiwan and its olefins products are mostly sold to companies within the Formosa Group. Among the company's chemical products are paraxylene (PX), phenyl ethylene, acetone and pure terephthalic acid (PTA). The company"s plastic products include acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resins, polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and panlite (PC).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Independent US refiner Valero Energy Corp topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit, as it earned more from refining low-cost Canadian heavy crude, reported Reuters.

Refining margins in the company’s biggest segment, US Gulf Coast operations, rose 16% to USD1.64 billion.

"Our refineries operated well at 96% utilization, allowing us to take advantage of wider sour crude oil differentials and weakness in high sulfur residual feedstocks in the fourth quarter," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joe Gorder said.

Most of the US Gulf Coast refiners, including Valero, can process heavy crude to make marine fuels compliant with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) new regulations. Refiners spent heavily in 2019 to refurbish distillation units and cokers to process cheaper, heavy grade crude.

Analysts have highlighted Valero to be a major beneficiary of IMO’s low-sulfur fuel oil mandate.

Excluding items, the company reported a profit of USD2.13 per share beating analysts’ average estimate of USD1.62, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Net income attributable to the shareholders rose to USD1.1 billion, or USD2.58 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from USD952 million, or $2.24 per share, a year earlier.

The San Antonio, Texas-based company’s total revenue, however, fell 3% to USD27.88 billion.

Rival Marathon Petroleum (MPC.N) posted higher adjusted earnings on Wednesday, well-above Wall Street expectations on better-than-expected refining margins setting a positive tone for the entire sector.

As MRC informed earlier, Valero Energy Corp restarted the small CDU at its Port Arthur refinery after repairing a valve on 25 September 2019.

And in late October 2019, Valero Energy Corp shut the small crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Port Arthur refinery. The 75,000-bpd AVU 147 CDU was shut to repair a heat exchanger.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,904,410 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2019, up by 6% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. PE shipments increased from both domestic producers and foreign suppliers. The PP consumption in the Russian market was 1,161,830 tonnes in January-November 2019, up by 7% year on year. Deliveries of all grades of propylene polymers increased, with the homopolymer PP segment accounting for the largest increase.
MRC