Agilyx raises USD33 million in private placement

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Agilyx says it has raised about 300 million Norwegian krone (USD33 million) through a private placement implying a pre-money equity value for the company of Nkr1.3 billion (USD144 million), according to Chemweek.

The company, which is developing technologies for the chemical recycling of plastic waste, expects to have its shares admitted to the Merkur Market, a multilateral trading facility operated by the Oslo Stock Exchange, with trading to begin on or about 30 September.

The placement was about 10 times oversubscribed, excluding Nkr100 million in shares preallocated to cornerstone investors, says Agilyx, which intends to use the proceeds for project development and delivery, pipeline development and European expansion, R&D expansion, and development of Cyclyx International, a new feedstock management business.

As MRC reported earlier, Agilyx (Tigard, Oregon) and TechnipFMC said this summer they had agreed to collaborate exclusively on the joint development of a process to purify styrene oil into high-purity styrene. The collaboration is the result of over a year of evaluation, and the desire of both companies to expand their energy transition and circular economy offerings, Agilyx says. The aim is to “enable a new production path of styrene via post-use polystyrene (PS) products,” it says.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated consumption of PS and styrene plastics was 225,870 tonnes in the first half of 2020, down by 8% year on year. PS consumption in the Russian market increased by 2% year on year in June 2020, totalling 39,590 tonnes.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The European Parliament says that the EU should become more self-sufficient in medicines and medical equipment so that affordable treatments are available at any time, said Chemweek.

It calls for priority to be given to boosting domestic production of essential and strategic medicines because currently 40% of medicines marketed in the EU originate in non-EU countries and 60-80% of its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) supplies are produced in China and India.

The COVID-19 health crisis has emphasized the need to return API production to Europe and the EU Parliament has welcomed the EU health program EU4Health, which it says has the potential to ensure safe medicines in Europe can be made available, accessible, and affordable. Meanwhile, members of the European Parliament have asked the European Commission to examine ways to restore pharmaceutical manufacturing in Europe, as part of the EU4Health strategy.

Cefic welcomed the EU4Health program in July because it supports the relaunch of the EU's production of APIs and strengthens procurement of vital medicines, medical devices, and personal protective equipment. EU4Health is a dedicated funding program for 2021-27 to build resilient health systems in the EU that includes investments of EUR9.4 billion (USD11.1 billion), the Commission says.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US propane and propylene inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels (bbl) to 96.1 million bbl in the week ended 11 September, reported Chemweek with reference to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s statement on Wednesday.

The result stood in stark contrast to expectations for an average build of 1.3 million bbl, based on an OPIS poll published Tuesday.

Exports increased 146,000 barrels per day (b/d) last week to 950,000 b/d. Imports increased 6,000 b/d to 89,000 b/d.

Product supplied, an indicator of implied demand, increased 382,000 b/d to 1.478 million b/d. Refinery and blender net production increased 38,000 b/d to 2.163 million b/d.

Gulf Coast (PADD 3) stocks plunged 2.1 million bbl to 54.9 million bbl. Midwest (PADD 2) stocks rose by 900,000 bbl to 27.3 million bbl. PADD 1 inventories dropped 100,000 to 8.6 million bbl. PADD 4 and 5 inventories increased 100,000 bbl to 5.3 million bbl.

Propane markets were unmoved by the latest round of EIA data. TET propane prices ranged from 50.75–51.00 cents/gallon, with non-TET at 50.50–51.25 cents/gallon. Conway propane was last seen at 44–45 cents/gallon.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
MRC

1. China key oil product exports set to fall in 2020 amid tepid international demand

MOSCOW (MRC) -- China is set to register a sharp decline in oil product exports for calendar 2020 and oil companies may fail to fully utilize their export quotas as they find sales in the international market difficult during the coronavirus pandemic, said S&P Global. Over January-September, China was likely to export about 36.2 million mt of oil products, S&P Global Platts estimated based on recent customs data and company export plans. This could mean that Chinese oil companies would have to offer about 20 million mt of oil products into the international market in the fourth quarter if they are to fully use up their quotas.


MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical is likely to undertake a planned shutdown at its monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit, according to Apic-online.

A Polymerupdate source in South Korea informed that the company has planned to take its unit off-stream for maintenance in mid-October, 2020. The unit is expected to remain off-line for about two weeks.

Located at Daesan in South Korea, the unit has a production capacity of 400,000 mt/year.

As MRC informed earlier, Lotte Chemical's second-quarter net profit fell 88.7 percent from a year earlier due to low demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. For the April-June period, Lotte Chemical posted a net profit of 30.6 billion won (USD25.8 million), compared with a profit of 271.2 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

MEG is one of the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

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 in June.
MRC