SONGWON enters a new distribution agreement with Biesterfeld Spezialchemie

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd. announced today that it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Biesterfeld France, said the company.

As from May 1, 2020, Biesterfeld France has been exclusively distributing the SONGWON polymer stabilizer range in France.

Based in Rueil Malmaison near Paris, France, Biesterfeld France is part of the German Biesterfeld Group, ranked by ICIS as one of the Top Ten chemical distributors worldwide. The company focuses especially on plastics, rubber and specialty chemicals.

"At SONGWON, we are committed to continually enhancing our product availability and level of customer service. Partnering with Biesterfeld France further strengthens our distribution network and is a significant step toward achieving our aim of delivering solutions that exceed the expectations of our French customers,” said Albert Dantuma, Leader Sales Polymer Stabilizers Greater Europe.

Peter Wilkes, Managing Director, Biesterfeld Spezialchemie GmbH, added: "With our highly experienced and technically qualified sales team, we are well placed to supply customers promptly with SONGWON’s products and provide them with excellent service."

As MRC informed earlier, SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd. said it entered into a partnership with Disheng Technology Co., Ltd, (Jiangsu Province, China) for the production of some of its UVA light stabilizers. Disheng is currently in the process of building a new state-of-the-art factory dedicated to light stabilizers in Fujian Province, China.

As MRC informed earlier, Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2020 by 2.6% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 4.9% in the first six months of 2020. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the output in January-June. Production of benzene was 106,000 tonnes in June 2020, compared to 110,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 721,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 3.9% year on year.

SONGWON will leverage its global reach and leading position in polymer and coatings stabilizers to market the products, while Disheng will focus on managing the manufacturing side. In this way we can make the best use of both companies’ complementary strengths” added Xingping Pan, president of Disheng Group.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SCG, a leading conglomerate in the ASEAN region, has amped up business strategies to triumph in the dragged out COVID-19 battle with agility and solid business continuity management, said Vir.

The group will continue to focus on maintaining long-term business stability with developments of total solutions and innovations to fulfill needs in the new normal, leveraging digital channels to push online purchases to shine in the ASEAN market.

SCG’s profit in the second quarter of 2020 reached VND6.860 trillion (USD297.83 million), up 33 per cent on-year, due to the improved performance at all three of SCG’s key business units – cement-building materials, chemicals, and packaging – driven by cost optimisation efforts and business continuity. Additionally, it reported an increase of 35 per cent on-quarter mainly attributed to improved chemicals business performance.

The group’s sales revenue for the first half of 2020, however, dropped 9 per cent on-year to VND148.6 trillion (USD6.46 billion), due to lower chemicals prices. Profit for the period declined by 13 per cent on-year to VND12.052 trillion (USD524 Million), which is mainly attributed to decreased chemicals margins during the first quarter.

SCG’s revenue from sales of high-value-added products and services (HVA) for the first half of 2020 reached VND67.062 trillion (USD2.9 billion) or 45 per cent of its total sales revenue. As of June 30, 2020, the total assets of SCG amounted to VND530.5 trillion (USD23 billion), while the total assets of SCG in the ASEAN (ex-Thailand) amounted to VND192 trillion (USD8.35 billion), which is 36 per cent of SCG’s total consolidated assets.

Based on its recently-released second-quarter report, SCG in Vietnam owned VND88.8 trillion (USD3.86 billion) worth of total asset, an increase of 59 per cent on-year mainly from its chemicals business. During the period, the group reported sales revenue of VND6.976 trillion (USD303.3 million) which includes sales from both operation in the country and imports from the Thai operations. This represents a decrease of 6 per cent on-year. For the first half of this year, SCG’s Vietnamese market reported revenue from sales of VND13.086 trillion (USD568.96 million), down 5 per cent on-year mainly from all businesses.

Regarding to the current COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, SCG have been continuing on implementing full-blown business continuity management. Regarding to the current COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, SCG have been continuing on implementing full-blown business continuity management. To keep employees and their family safe from COVID-19, SCG has applied a new way of work called "Hybrid Workplace" that allows much greater flexibility for employees.

They can work on site, work from home, or work from anywhere the company considers safe and apply physical distancing guidelines. Furthermore, SCG and its subsidiaries realise that the health and safety of stakeholders are the most important aspect of having a good quality of life in times of COVID-19 pandemic, and so they continuously support communities across the nation by donating 400 tonnes of cement to build 45 playgrounds in the central province of Quang Binh and provided mobile clinics for health checks and safe transportation education programmes for communities in Long Son commune and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in southern Vietnam.

Notably, SCG’s subsidiary Binh Minh Plastic was ranked amongst the Top 50 Best-Performing Companies on the Vietnamese stock exchange in 2019 by by Nhip Cau Dau Tu Magazine for in financial results for three fiscal years in a row, based on three indicators: revenue, return on equity (ROE), and earnings per share (EPS).

As MRC informed earlier, SCG has no plans to delay development projects, including the Long Son Petrochemicals complex in Vietnam, with construction 45% complete. The project is worth USD5.4 billion. The start-up of Vietnam's first fully integrated petchems facility is scheduled for 2023.

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) -- Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical, part of Sinopec Corporation, has brought on-stream its No.1 polypropylene (PP) unit in Guangdong, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in China informed that, the company resumed operations at the unit following turnaround on July 27, 2020. The PP unit was shut on July 15, 2020.

Located in Guangdong, China, the No. 1 PP unit has a capacity of 170,000 mt/year.

As MRC wrote before, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical has brought on-stream its No. 2 low density polyethylene (LDPE) unit in Guangdong. The company resumed operations at the unit on May 22, 2020. The unit was shut for a brief maintenance on May 18, 2020. Located at Guangdong in China, the No. 2 LDPE unit has a production capacity of 280,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's DataScope report, 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.

Sinopec corp. is one of the world's largest integrated energy and chemical companies. Business Sinopec Corp. includes oil and gas exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, oil refining, petrochemical production, production of mineral fertilizers and other chemical products. In terms of refining capacity, Sinopec Corp. ranks second in the world, in terms of ethylene capacity - fourth.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s Energy Ministry said that the country’s oil output in July was unchanged from levels seen in June, in line with an OPEC+ agreement, said Reuters.

The ministry added that its level of compliance with the deal in July was close that recorded in June, when it stood at 99%. Energy ministry data published earlier on Sunday by Interfax news agency showed that Russia’s oil and gas condensate production had increased to 9.37 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, up from 9.32 million bpd in June. Oil output cuts, agreed between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers including Russia, a group known as OPEC+, are due to be eased in August. Under the OPEC+ agreement, Moscow pledged to reduce its output to around 8.5 million bpd in May-July to support oil prices.

The deal does not include output of gas condensate, a light oil. The cuts under the global deal should be eased starting from August because of a recovery in oil prices. Russia has said it would increase its oil production by 400,000 bpd.

The ministry data showed that Russian oil and gas condensate production rose to 39.63 million tonnes in July from 38.16 million tonnes in June, the Interfax news agency reported. Russia usually produces 700,000 to 800,000 bpd of gas condensate. That means that excluding gas condensate, Russia could have produced around 8.57 million to 8.67 million bpd of crude oil in July.

Russian oil exports outside the former Soviet Union stood last month at 15.72 million tonnes, down 27.1% from July 2019. In barrels per day, exports reached 3.72 million, according to Interfax. The news agency also said on Sunday that Russian natural gas output reached 50.33 billion cubic metres in July, down 7.9% from a year earlier.

As MRC informed previously, data collected and tabulated by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) show that due to growth in China, global chemicals production rose by 0.6 percent in June, an improvement from the 0.5 percent decline in May, Production has been declining throughout this year, with the last monthly gain occurring in December 2019. During June, chemical production fell in major regions except Asia-Pacific. Headline global production was off 7.2 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis and was off 7.4 percent from the peak December level. Global output stood at 109.8 percent of its average 2012 levels.

At the same time, Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2020 by 2.6% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 4.9% in the first six months of 2020. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the output in January-June. Production of benzene was 106,000 tonnes in June 2020, compared to 110,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall output of this product reached 721,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 3.9% year on year. June production of polymers in primary form fell to 791,000 tonnes from 820,000 tonnes in May partially because of a scheduled shutdown for maintenance at ZapSibNeftekhim. Output of polymers in primary form totalled 4,900,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 14.8% year on year.

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) -- Celanese Corporation, a global chemical and specialty materials company, has announced that it is establishing a European Compounding Center of Excellence at the Company’s Forli, Italy facility, which includes the intended consolidation of its compounding operations in Kaiserslautern, Germany; Wehr, Germany; and Ferrara Marconi, Italy, according to the company's press release.

Creating a European Compounding Center of Excellence aligns with Celanese’s global compounding model already in place in the Americas and Asia regions. Forli is a viable choice for this model, not only due to having the largest existing infrastructure and capabilities for specialty compounding, but also because of its physical layout which allows for future expansion, paired with existing knowledge and expertise of the Company’s extensive engineering polymers portfolio.

“The Engineered Materials business is a critical growth engine for Celanese and we continue to take the strategic steps needed to ensure the future success and expansion of this business,” said Tom Kelly, Senior Vice President, Engineered Materials, Celanese. “For this reason, Celanese today announced to employees and employee representation bodies the intention to create a European Compounding Center of Excellence in Forli, Italy, and transition the compounding operations from our Ferrara Marconi, Italy; and Wehr and Kaiserslautern, Germany sites, to the Company’s Forli, Italy facility. This action is being taken to further optimize the global manufacturing footprint of our Engineered Materials facilities as part of a long-term strategy to be the preferred partner for our customers, as well as maintain our competitive position in the specialty materials market.”

Celanese intends to consolidate the compounding production volumes from the Ferrara Marconi, Wehr and Kaiserslautern sites to the Company’s manufacturing facility in Forli to improve the overall utilization of compounding assets. Celanese will transfer respective engineered materials product items (SKUs) to the Forli facility depending on customer needs and logistical considerations with the expectation that all compounding volumes from the Ferrara Marconi, Wehr and Kaiserslautern sites will be relocated there.

Celanese expects to complete this transfer and consolidation of compounding operations in the next 12-24 months. During this timeframe inventory build, customer requalification and transfer of compounding assets will take place and key dates will be communicated to customers and employees as the effort progresses.

“We would like thank all employees at our Ferrara Marconi, Wehr and Kaiserslautern sites for the tremendous work they have performed over many years and their ongoing support transitioning the sites while maintaining a safe operating environment,” added Kelly. “We are fully committed to making this transition as smooth as possible and treating our employees with respect and dignity. Our dedicated team will work out a comprehensive social plan together with Works Council and Unions over the coming months.”

As MRC reported earlier, Celanese raised its list and off-list selling Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) prices for Europe, Middle East and Africa on July 1, 2020, by EUR100/mt.

VAM is the main feedstock for the production of ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA).

According to MRC's DataScope report, June EVA imports to Russia fell by 22,5% year on year to 2,940 tonnes from 3,800 tonnes a year earlier, and overall imports of this grade of ethylene copolymer into the Russian Federation dropped in January-June 2020 by 8,16% year on year to 17,440 tonnes (18,980 tonnes a year earlier).

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 2019 net sales of USD6.3 billion.
MRC