Merck KGaA to build life sciences laboratory in Switzerland

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Merck KGaA says it plans to build an EUR18-million (USD20.6 million) laboratory facility at Buchs, Switzerland, to support its rapidly growing reference materials business, according to Chemweek.

The facility will include laboratory and office space in a three-story, 1,125-square-meter building, Merck says. Completion of construction is scheduled for December 2021 and the move to the facility is planned for early 2022, the company says. Merck anticipates that about two dozen jobs will be created.

One of Merck’s life science businesses' most important R&D centers, with 450 employees, has been in Buchs since 1950, the company says. Some of the site's employees will move from this "heavily utilized" building to the new facility, which will offer, to 40 employees, a more efficient way of working in R&D, analytical production, and quality control, Merck says.

“This new laboratory will allow us to continue to drive innovation in diagnostics and testing, and expand our research and development of analytical standards,” says Jean-Charles Wirth, head/applied solutions, life sciences at Merck.

As MRC wrote previously, Merck KGaA has announced the opening its M Lab Collaboration Center in Shanghai, China. Merck Innovation Hub, the first in China, started in late 2019, with the company announcing a 100 million renminbi (USD14 million) seed fund injected into the China Innovation Hub.

We remind that Merck celebrated the opening of its new packaging center at the science and technology company’s headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, in October, 2018. The new 161,458-square-foot facility is dedicated to the packaging and shipping of Merck’s current portfolio of pharma medicines in more than 90 countries and help meet increasing patient needs for flagship medicines Glucophage, Concor and Euthyrox in the areas of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and thyroid disorders respectively. It will also provide capacity for potential future pharma products currently in clinical development such as evobrutinib in the area of neurology-immunology or tepotinib in the area of oncology.

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil giant Saudi Aramco is moving ahead with plans to boost its oil output capacity by 1 million barrels per day (MMbpd) to 13 MMbpd despite spending cuts this year and next year, said Reuters, citing chief executive.

Aramco’s capital spending plan for 2021 will be “significantly lower than previous guidance”, CEO Amin Nasser also said on an analyst and investor call after the company’s quarterly results.

The previous capital spending guidance was USD40 billion to USD45 billion.

As MRC informed earlier, on June 17, Saudi Aramco said it completed the share acquisition of a 70% stake in petrochemicals company Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, or SABIC, from the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, for a total purchase price of Riyal 259.125 billion (USD69.1 billion). However, the transaction terms have been changed to increase the timeline over which Aramco makes the payments by almost three years. An upfront cash payment of 36% of the deal value has also been eliminated from the deal.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MEGlobal announced that its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) will be USD620/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival September 2020, said the company.

The September 2020 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

The price is on a CFR (cost and freight) Asia basis.

As it was written earlier, MEGlobal announced that its Asian Contract Price (ACP) for monoethylene glycol (MEG) will be USD590/MT CFR Asian main ports for arrival August 2020. The August 2020 ACP reflects the short term supply/demand situation in the Asian market.

MEG is mainly used in the production of polyester fibres, resins and films (around 80% of global consumption), followed by use in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin. It is also used as automotive antifreeze.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 367,720 tonnes in the first six months of 2020, up by 19% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material in June.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- State energy giant Saudi Aramco said in July that it will be reorganizing its downstream business to support its global growth strategy, aiming to complete it by the end of this year, reported Reuters.

The downstream model will be divided into four units: fuels including refining, trading, retail and lubes; chemicals; power; and pipelines, distribution and terminals, Aramco said in a statement.

“This reorganisation is designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Aramco’s existing downstream assets, but does not represent a fundamental change in the overall business structure,” Aramco said.

Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producing company, is expanding its downstream, or refining and marketing, business globally. It pumps around 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, of which it exports about 6 million bpd.

The company plans to raise its refining capacity - inside Saudi Arabia and abroad - to 8-10 million bpd, from around 5 million bpd now. Aramco is expanding its refining business at home as well as in new markets, particularly in Asia.

As MRC wrote before, in June, Aramco completed its purchase of a 70% stake in SABIC, the world’s fourth-largest petrochemicals company, from for USD69.1 billion.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia dropped in January-June 2020 by 7% year on year to 328,000 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the main decrease in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia rose in the first six months of 2020 by 21% year on year to 105,300 tonnes. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

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