WR Grace reaches standstill agreement with 40 North

MOSCOW (MRC) -- WR Grace entered into a letter agreement with 40 North on Monday, after it announced its decision to discuss a sale to 40 North’s upped bid of USD65 per share, said the company.

Under the confidentiality agreement, 40 North agreed to refrain from taking certain actions in respect to WR Grace and the common stock of the company until 31 March. WR Grace can still accept offers to acquire the company.

In addition, the catalyst producer agreed to provide 40 North with the opportunity to nominate director candidates to the Board of Directors. 40 North can nominate candidates for the company’s 2021 annual meeting, scheduled to be held on or before the 15th day following the expiration of the standstill agreement.

If 40 North nominates a candidate on or before the deadline, following the expiration of the standstill they will hold the meeting 60 days from the date of the nomination notice.

As MRC informed previously, in April 2018, W. R. Grace & Co. completed the USD416 million acquisition of the Polyolefin Catalysts business of Albemarle Corporation.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated polyethylene (PE) consumption totalled 1,990,280 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, up by 1% year on year. Only high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 090,900 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020). Supply of exclusively PP random copolymer increased.

WR Grace produces catalysts that are used to make fuel and polypropylene (PP).

40 North is a privately held investment firm that is part of Standard Industries and owns a 14.9% stake in WR Grace. Standard Industries describes itself as the world's largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer, with other businesses that make building materials.
MRC

Private equity consortium to acquire DuPont Clean Technologies

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A consortium of private equity firms, including BroadPeak Global, Asia Green Fund, and Saudi Arabia’s Dussur, says it has agreed to acquire DuPont’s Clean Technologies business for USD510 million, reported Chemweek.

DuPont Clean Technologies is a maker of fuel and pollution control catalysts, with a focus on sulfur removal applications for transportation and industry. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

“DuPont Clean Technologies is a leader in the sulfuric acid, alkylation, and scrubbing sectors, with world-class products and aftermarket services,” says Nadim Qureshi, co-founder and managing partner at BroadPeak Global. “We intend to build on this strong foundation and further expand the business with the support of management and our strategic partners.”

DuPont Clean Technologies’ products can “play an instrumental role in helping countries across the world and particularly Asia Pacific tackle environmental issues, push toward carbon neutrality, reduce pollution from mining, oil refining, and chemical industries and upgrade fuel quality,” says Bo Bai, chairman and CEO of Asia Green Fund.

Eli Ben-Shoshan, global business director of DuPont Clean Technologies, will become the independent company’s CEO when the deal closes.

Tensile Capital Management (San Francisco, California) is providing equity financing for the deal, while Credit Suisse is providing debt financing. Clearview Partners acted as financial advisor to DuPont on the deal, while Ballard Spahr acted as legal advisor.

As MRC wrote previously, in January, 2021, Chilean oil refiner ENAP Refinerias S.A. selected BELCO scrubbing technology, licensed by DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont), to improve emissions control from its 31,449 BPSD fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit at the Aconcagua refinery.

We remind that DuPont is investing USD400 million in the production capacity of Tyvek nonwoven fabric made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) at its site in Luxembourg. A new building and a third work line at the production site will be constructed. The launch of new facilities is scheduled for 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, November estimated HDPE consumption in Russia rose to 125,950 tonnes from 58,330 tonnes a month earlier. ZapSibNeftekhim reduced its export polyethylene (PE) sales. Overall HDPE shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,096,510 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, up by 5% year on year. Production and exports grew significantly, whereas imports fell by 31%.

The DuPont Corporation, founded in the USA in 1802, operates in more than 70 countries. The company produces specialty chemicals, offers goods and services for agriculture, food production, electronics, communications, security and protection, construction, transport and light industry. In Russia, DuPont has 100% control over the DuPont Khimprom plant since 2005, and in 2006 established a joint venture between DuPont - Russian Paints and Russian Paints.
MRC

BASF raises plastic additives prices worldwide

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF has hiked its prices globally by up to 10%, effective immediately or as existing contracts allow, for products in its additives portfolio for plastic applications, said Chemweek.

The price rise is in response to higher costs for raw materials and logistics, it says. BASF’s plastic additives business is part of its performance chemicals division.

As MRC reported before, BASF says it has shut down an unspecified unit at its 420,000-metric ton/year steam cracker site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, due to a technical defect. Unscheduled flaring started on 13 January at the northern part of the Ludwigshafen site and is expected to last until 17 January, it says. “At around 4pm (local time) there was an outage at a unit at the northern part due to a technical defect. The unit will be partially shut down to repair the defect,” it says.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
MRC

Clariant licenses sunliquid technology to Chinese firm

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Clariant, a focused, sustainable and innovative specialty chemical company, today announced that it has signed a license agreement with Harbin Hulan Sino-Dan Jianye Bio-Energy, a Chinese green energy company for its sunliquid cellulosic ethanol technology, said Chemweek.

Harbin Hulan Sino-Dan Jianye Bio-Energy, a subsidiary of the Sino-Dan Jianye Group was formed in the early 2010s and has been involved in the second generation (2G) biofuels business and research for almost a decade making them one of the frontrunners in this field in China.

The project development and plant operation will be performed by Harbin Hulan Sino-Dan Jianye Bio-Energy at a corn-rich greenfield site near Harbin City in the Heilongjiang Province, in Northeast China, utilizing available land and existing infrastructure owned by the Sino-Dan Jianye Group. The annual production capacity is planned to be 25,000 tons of cellulosic ethanol, processing more than 125,000 tons of locally sourced corn stover, making it one of the first 2G biofuel plants to be built in the Heilongjiang Province so far.

The project is comprised of a license for a basic sunliquid® engineering package, the provision of technical services, as well as the supply of starter cultures from Clariant’s proprietary enzyme and yeast platform to process Harbin Hulan Sino-Dan Jianye Bio-Energy’s feedstock into cellulosic ethanol. Detailed project evaluations and preparations for the engineering phase are well underway.

"The announcement of the second license deal for our sunliquid® technology in the region emphasizes that China continues to be a growth market for Clariant. Especially at this point in time as China is investing more and more in innovative and sustainable technology solutions. Clariant is well positioned to capture these promising business opportunities", said Hans Bohnen, Clariant’s Chief Operating Officer.

"China intends to establish a nationwide mandate to achieve a 10% renewable ethanol content in transportation fuels with several provinces such as Heilongjiang having a binding mandate already in place. The project with Harbin Hulan Sino-Dan Jianye Bio-Energy will strengthen our position in the national 2G biofuels market while helping China to achieve its decarbonization targets in the transport sector", comments Christian Librera, Vice President and Head of Business Line Biofuels and Derivatives at Clariant.

"Cellulosic ethanol technology is a new-generation fuel ethanol technology that is strongly encouraged and supported by the Chinese government. Moreover, it is one of the important technical means by which to realize the goals raised by President Xi Jinping to peak its carbon output by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2060. Sino-Dan is delighted to cooperate with our esteemed partner Clariant on the cellulosic ethanol project. I’m certain that our collaboration will not only make an impactful contribution to the advanced biofuel industry in China, but also deepen the long-standing friendship between China and Europe”, emphasized Wang Jianye, Founder and President of the Board of Sino-Dan Jianye Group.

For the Heilongjiang Province, the project represents a significant investment in sustainable technologies, which is strongly supported by the provincial government. The region is characterized by the agriculture sector resulting in abundant feedstock resources, and is also known as the largest province for first generation (1G) bioethanol production in China. By using locally sourced feedstock, in this case corn stover, greenhouse gas savings can be maximized and additional business opportunities along the entire value chain will arise.

The produced cellulosic ethanol will be utilized in the Chinese regional fuels market as a gasoline additive, or as E85 (85% ethanol content) gasoline substitute to fulfill the provincial blending mandate. Cellulosic ethanol is an advanced, truly sustainable, and carbon-neutral biofuel that can be readily blended into conventional fuel and can be used in today’s car infrastructure.

As MRC reported earlier, in October 2020, Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland) announced the construction of a new state-of-the-art catalyst production site in China. This project represents a significant investment which further strengthens Clariant’s position in China and enhances its ability to support its customers in the country’s thriving petrochemicals industry.

The new facility will be primarily responsible for producing the Catofin catalyst for propane dehydrogenation, which is used in the production of olefins such as propylene. Thanks to its excellent reliability and productivity, Catofin delivers superior annual production output compared to alternative technologies, resulting in increased overall profitability for propylene producers, says the company. Construction at the Dushan Port Economic Development Zone in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province was scheduled to commence in Q3 2020, and Clariant expects to be at full production capacity by 2022.

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

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Clariant AG is a Swiss chemical company and a world leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the textile, printing, mining and metallurgical industries. It is engaged in processing crude oil products in pigments, plastics and paints.
MRC

Lukoil commissions new production complex at Volgograd refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District Vladimir Ustinov, Russian Minister of Energy Nikolai Shulginov, Governor of the Volgograd region Andrei Bocharov and President of Lukoil Vagit Alekperov took part in the opening of a high-viscosity index oils production complex at the Volgograd refinery, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The production facility includes a de-asphalting unit and a fractionation unit for unconverted oil. The construction of the complex started in October 2018. This project is a part of Lukoil's program to upgrade its lubricants production assets. Implementation of the program will provide consumers with efficient high-tech products that hold up to the best international standards.

Use of advanced high viscosity base stocks renders possible production of engine oils suitable for modern industrial vehicles and cargo trucks that function in rough environments and cold weather. Another major advantage of these oils is their increased oxidation resistance, which provides for longer drain periods. Lukoil's cumulative investment in the new facility amounts to 10 billion roubles.

The company also continues construction of the second stage of the solar power plant (SPP) with installed capacity of 20 MW at the Volgograd refinery. Its launch, set for 2021, will increase the SPP total capacity up to 30 MW.

Commissioning of the second stage of the SPP will also provide additional 24 million kWh of green energy per year, which is equal to an annual reduction of CO2 emissions by 12 thousand tons.

"Today we are here to launch a unique production facility, and it is not just about equipment, it is about people. Over 4 thousand employees work here. Therefore, this launch affects not only production, but also social sphere. I have been to the Volgograd refinery a number of times and each time I see changes, I see something new. Congratulations on opening the new complex and thank you for everything you do," said Vladimir Ustinov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District.

"Lukoil is a leader in modernization of refineries. Between 2011 and 2020, the company invested over 163 billion roubles under four-way agreements. Ten secondary processing units were commissioned at Lukiol refineries. This year, an isomerization unit is set for launch at the refinery located in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region. All this enabled Lukoil to become the first Russian company that produces only fuels compliant with class 5 environmental standards," said Nikolai Shulginov, Russian Minister of Energy.

"Lukoil is a strategic partner of the Volgograd region. The company carries out many large-scale investment projects and honours its commitments. With the opening of the new complex, the Volgograd region and the whole of Russia will receive products that hold up to world's highest standards, and this will directly support import substitution. The launch of the project will also decrease energy demand, lessen environmental load and improve quality of the products," noted Andrei Bocharov, Governor of the Volgograd region.

?"The Volgograd refinery is one of the most efficient in Russia. Over the years, Lukoil invested 172 billion roubles in its modernization, thus increasing depth of refining to 96.7%. Nowadays, despite the pandemic, we carry on with selected investment projects to further enhance the product range of our refineries. For example, this year we plan to commission a delayed coking unit at our Nizhny Novgorod refinery," noted Vagit Alekperov, President of Lukoil.

As MRC informed earlier, Russian energy major Lukoil (Moscow) is studying several potential petrochemical projects in Russia and Bulgaria, with investment decisions expected to be made on two of them in 2021.

Thus, Lukoil announced an investment decision in June, 2019, to proceed with a 500,000-metric tons/year polypropylene (PP) plant at its Kstovo refinery. In September this year it selected Lummus Technology’s Novolen PP technology and basic design engineering for the facility’s production unit. Kstovo is one of Lukoil’s largest crude refineries in Russia with a throughput of 17 million metric tons/year, with the company recently adding a catalytic cracking unit that almost doubled the refinery’s production of propylene feedstock to 300,000 metric tons/year.

At Budennovsk in Russia’s far south west, the company’s Stavrolen petchems complex currently has the capacity to produce 350,000 metric tons/year of ethylene, 300,000 metric tons of polyethylene (PE), 120,000 metric tons/year of PP, and 80,000 metric tons of benzene. Lukoil has for several years been considering construction of a new gas chemicals plant at Stavrolen to crack more ethane extracted from associated petroleum gas produced by its oil and gas fields in the north of the Caspian Sea. The potential new plant would raise Stavrolen’s ethylene and PE output to around 600,000 metric tons/year each, and increase PP production to 200,000 metric tons/year.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Lukoil is one of the leading vertically integrated oil companies in Russia. The main activities of the company include exploration and production of oil and gas, production and sale of petroleum products. Lukoil is the second largest privately-owned oil company in the world in terms of proven hydrocarbon reserves. Lukoil's production capacities include polyethylene polypropylene. The structure of Lukoil includes one of the largest petrochemical plant in Russia - Stavrolen.
MRC