Cray Valley resins business of Total in France not for sale

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil and gas group Total said its Societe Cray Valley business, the French offshoot of its resins operations, was not up for sale, reported Reuters.

Reuters reported earlier in October that Total was launching a sale of its resins business and had hired Credit Suisse to work on the process. Total declined to comment at that time.

While the Societe Cray Valley, the French operations, are not part of the divestiture plan, its international resins businesses have been put on the block and are attracting interest from private equity buyers, people close to the matter said.

Cray Valley operates the Carling petrochemical complex in eastern France and has operations elsewhere, including in China.

Total said in a statement that "there is no sales process for the "Societe Cray Valley".

The oil company said that it stood by commitments made in 2013 when it restructured the Carling site, shutting down some activities there but investing in resins production.

Total declined to comment further when asked whether other resins operations were affected by a sales process.

As MRC wrote previously, Total has agreed to sell its Lindsey refinery in the UK to fuel trader and marketer Prax Group, as the French oil major focuses on its integrated downstream assets and the coronavirus adds to the uncertainty over long-term demand for fuel.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,496,500 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of all ethylene polymers increased, except for linear low desnity polyethylene (LLDPE). At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 767,2900 tonnes in the eight months of 2020 (calculated using the formula - production minus exports plus imports - and not counting producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply increased exclusively of PP random copolymer.

Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
MRC

1. Facing wave of closures, oil refiners turn to biofuels

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European and U.S. oil refineries face a wave of closures due to plateauing fuel demand, tightening environmental rules and overseas competition, prompting some owners to opt for an easier alternative - converting plants to produce biofuels, said Hydrocarbonprocessing. The shock of the coronavirus epidemic crushed global oil demand and as some producers, including, say it might never recover to pre-crisis levels, the need to close refineries has accelerated. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a recent report that by 2030 around 14% of current refining capacity in advanced economies “faces the risk of lower utilization or closure."




MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BPC has, for the first time, supplied its product to China via the Northern Sea Route, the company announced via a press release issued 5 October, said Chemweek.

"On October 5, two vessels with the Belarusian muriate of potash for the first time arrived from the port of Klaipeda to China over the Northern Sea Route, through waters of the Arctic Ocean and then through the Bering Strait," the company said.

The cargo delivery time was said to be 1.5 times shorter in comparison to the traditional route, with a significant reduction in freight costs. "This bold project underscores the aspiration of BPC toward the ongoing improvement of the service quality and also makes a material contribution to development of the Belt and Road global strategic initiative," the press service said.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in August 2020 by 5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.3% in the first eight months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-July output. August production of benzene fell to 102,000 tonnes from 95,300 tonnes a month earlier due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at several producers. Overall output of this product reached 918,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 0.9% year on year.

At the same time, August production of primary polymers rose to 888,000 tonnes against 838,000 tonnes in July due to increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim, Stavrolen and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 6,630,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 15.2% year on year.

According to MRC DataScope, July imports of polypropylene in Belarus decreased to 7,300 tonnes, while a month earlier this figure was about 11,000 tonnes, local companies reduced the volume of purchases of all types of propylene polymers in Russia. Total PP imports into the country reached 62,800 tonnes in January - July, compared with 64,600 tonnes year on year. The demand for homopolymer PP increased, but demand for propylene copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG Industries reported third-quarter net income from continuing operations up 21% year-on-year (YOY), to $442 million, on sales down 4%, to USD3.69 billion, said Chemweek.

Adjusted earnings totaled ГЫВ1.93/share, slightly ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of USD1.92/share, as reported by Refinitiv (New York, New York). Selling prices rose 1.3% YOY, but volumes fell on continuing negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As reported earlier this month, we delivered record operating results in the third quarter, with both of our reportable business segments delivering higher segment income than the prior year, despite continued, negative pandemic-related economic effects,” says Michael McGarry, PPG chairman and CEO. “Strong year-over-year organic sales growth in global architectural coatings and continued cost management drove earnings growth in our performance coatings reporting segment. In addition, our leading technology and service capabilities benefited us as demand for automotive OEM coatings and general industrial coatings began recovering in the quarter, generating strong PPG operating leverage and boosting earnings in our industrial coatings reporting segment."

Performance coatings segment sales declined 3% YOY, USD2.25 billion, while segment income increased 12%, to USD426 million. Architectural coatings segment sales grew across the world, with the strongest increases in EMEA, where volumes rose by 10%. Volumes in aerospace coatings fell 35% YOY, however, due to lower commercial aerospace demand, and automotive refinish coatings volumes declined 10% YOY but increased sequentially.

Industrial coatings segment sales fell 5% YOY, to USD1.43 billion, while segment income was up 23%, to USD253 million. Segment volumes were down 5% YOY, but increased 40% sequentially as demand improved from the second-quarter’s trough. Volumes improved on a sequential basis in automotive OEM and industrial coatings, though volumes remained down on a YOY basis.

PPG expects fourth-quarter sales volumes to fall by “a low-to-mid-single digit percentage,” with differences by business line and region. Adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter are forecast to total USD1.50–1.57/share. “Looking ahead, we are likely to experience normal seasonal trends in the fourth quarter, especially in our European and North American architectural coatings businesses,” McGarry says. “Even with the continued uncertainty from the pandemic we expect overall economic activity to continue to recover, but in an uneven manner."

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in August 2020 by 5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 5.3% in the first eight months of 2020, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-July output. August production of benzene fell to 102,000 tonnes from 95,300 tonnes a month earlier due to scheduled shutdowns for maintenance at several producers. Overall output of this product reached 918,300 tonnes over the stated period, down by 0.9% year on year.

At the same time, August production of primary polymers rose to 888,000 tonnes against 838,000 tonnes in July due to increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim, Stavrolen and Gazprom neftekhim Salavat. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 6,630,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 15.2% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brenntag says it has agreed to acquire Comelt (Cernusco sul Naviglio, Italy) and its subsidiary Aquadepur (Cogliate, Italy), reported Chemweek.

The businesses focus on processing, marketing, and distribution of activated and reactivated carbon for applications such as water filtration and purification of air and flue gas. Warehouses and a laboratory in northern Italy are included in the transaction.

The acquired businesses generated combined sales of approximately EUR31.0 million (USD36.6 million) in 2019. Closing of the transaction is subject to certain contractual closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected in the fourth quarter.

“With Comelt we have acquired a strong distributor and important market player in the segment of activated carbon,” says Henri Nejade, Brenntag board member and CEO/EMEA and APAC. “The company has an established customer base and broad access to the Italian markets, but also a steady connection to European and Asian suppliers.”

Comelt is a full-service provider for activated carbon, including the collection and reactivation of exhausted activated carbon, according to Brenntag.

“We expect an increasing demand for activated carbon for years to come due to the stricter purity standards for air and water quality,” says Anthony Gerace, managing director/M&A at Brenntag. “(Comelt) has a competitive advantage through its full-service offering regarding activated and reactivated carbon. This is an opportunity for Brenntag to increase our market share in these important high-growth and significant market segments in Italy as well as in other European countries.”

As MRC informed earlier, Brenntag says it has acquired the operating assets of Suffolk Solutions’ (Suffolk, Virginia) caustic soda distribution business. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

We remind that August production of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) in Russia were 99,200 tonnes (100% of the basic substance) versus 89,400 tonnes a month earlier, said MRC analysts. Russia's overall output of caustic soda totalled 837,600 tonnes in the first eight months of 2020, down by only 2% year on year.