PPG completes VersaFlex acquisition

MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG says it has completed its acquisition of VersaFlex, a maker of polyurea, epoxy, and polyurethane coatings for industrial and infrastructure markets, for an undisclosed sum, said Chemweek.

The deal was announced last month. VersaFlex has about 130 employees, and generated around USD70 million in revenue during 2020.

As per MRC, PPG Industries announced it will acquired Worwag (Stuttgart, Germany), a producer of liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. Terms of the transaction, including purchase price, have not been disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the first half of this year. Worwag, a family-owned business, has operations in several countries in Europe, the Americas and Africa, and generates about EUR220 million/year (USD269 million) in revenue. It has about 1,100 employees.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in October 2020 by 7.2% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals grew in the first ten months of 2020 by 6.3% year on year, 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-October output. October production of polymers in primary form grew to 857,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in September. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 8,340,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17% year on year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Topsoe joins the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in recognition of the pressing need to reduce carbon emissions and the fact that the chemical sector is responsible for one eighth of global industrial carbon emissions, said the company.

This means that companies in this sector have a crucial role to play in limiting global warming. Topsoe is among 32 chemical companies who have joined the initiative globally and the 31st Danish company to commit. “Our commitment to the Science Based Target initiative goes hand-in-hand with our vision: To be recognized as the global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies by 2024. We support customers in cutting their emissions, and we are determined to cut emissions in our own operations. Short term, our target is a 15% reduction by the end of 2021, compared to 2019. For next year and beyond, we will define long-term reduction targets to be validated by SBTi," says Roeland Baan, CEO of Topsoe.

The SBTi target-setting process involve three categories of emissions as defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Scope 1 and 2 are direct emissions where the company has operational control and indirect emissions from electricity consumption. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, e.g. supply chain operations and end-product usage by customers. Topsoe will report on Scope 1 and 2 emissions in its upcoming Sustainability Report 2020.

Topsoe is committed to contributing positively to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and joined the UN Global Compact in May 2020, pledging to align policies and action with its Ten Principles.

As MRC reported earlier, Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in the Americas and a world leader in the production of biopolymers, and Denmark-based Haldor Topsoe, a global leader in supply of catalysts, technology, and services for the chemical and refining industries, announced in November 2020 that they had achieved their first-ever demo-scale production of bio-based monoethylene glycol (MEG).

MEG is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles, films, packaging containers, in the textile and food industries.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimate PET consumption reached 61,110 tonnes in November 2020, up by 1% year on year. Overall PET consumption in Russia reached 648,110 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020, down by 18% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil Corp has begun restarting its 369,024 barrel-per-day (bpd) Beaumont, Texas, refinery and adjoining chemical plant, a company spokesman said Reuters.

Exxon posted an online notice to nearby residents that the refinery was starting up after a shut-down driven by severe cold weather and the curtailment of natural gas supply.

"We have begun restart activities at our Beaumont facilities," said Exxon spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry. "Our primary focus continues to be the safety of employees, contractors and communities in the region."

Some units at the complex were kept in operation to return power to the grid, Exxon said in an earlier statement, producing 200 megawatts and supplying electricity to 100,000 homes.

As MRC informed before, earlier this week, ExxonMobil Corp said it will close its 72-year-old Altona refinery in Australia, the country’s smallest, and convert it to a fuel import terminal as refiners struggle with low demand.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world"s oil and about 2% of the world's energy.

MRC

1. US polymer-grade propylene prices reach record high on tight supply

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US polymer-grade propylene (PGP) prices have reached a record high as strained supply continues to meet heightened demand, said Chemweek. PGP prices have increased rapidly since the start of February as Enterprise Products took its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas, down for a planned turnaround. Over the first two weeks of this month, PGP increased from its open of 73.375 cts/lb on 1 February to 98 cts/lb by 9 February. As of Tuesday morning, markets were relatively quiet as the impact of Winter Storm Uri was being assessed. Estimated refinery operable utilization rates in the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) were 84.3%, according to EIA data for the week ending 15 January. This is compared to 90.2% last year and 92.9% in 2019, reflecting refinery reductions that continue to linger following the decrease in fuel demand caused by COVID-19.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Exxaro Resources (Pretoria, South Africa), a diversified resources firm, will sell off the bulk of its stake in Tronox in a public offering announced, Chemweek.

The 17-million share secondary public offering will reduce Exxaro’s stake in Tronox to about 1.6% from about 14.6%. Exxaro began selling down its stake in Tronox, which had previously exceeded 40%, in 2017. The company took a stake in Tronox in 2012, in compensation for Tronox’s acquisition of Exxaro’s mineral sands operations. A 2019 deal also saw Tronox acquire Exxaro’s interest in its South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials.

Tronox is also issuing to Exxaro about 7.2 million ordinary shares in the entire company in exchange for Exxaro’s 26% interest in Tronox’s South African subsidiaries, which hold mining licenses for a variety of titanium dioxide raw materials. Those shares are being included as part of the public offering.

The offering effectively completes a series of transactions between Tronox and Exxaro that were agreed to in 2018, covering Exxaro’s stakes in Tronox and in the company’s South African subsidiaries. In 2018, Exxaro "agreed to structure any potential divestiture of [the stake] in a controlled and scheduled manner." The transactions enabled Tronox to carry forward net losses for tax purposes, and to re-domicile in the United Kingdom from Australia.

J.P. Morgan is acting as the stock offering’s joint bookrunning manager, and lead underwriter. BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities and Morgan Stanley are also acting as joint bookrunning managers. The underwriters have an option to purchase an additional 2.55 million shares within 30 days.

Tronox will have about 150.8 million shares outstanding after the offering is complete, and the company will receive no proceeds from the offering. Shares in Tronox closed at USD20.12 on 23 February, but declined in after-hours trading.

As MRC informed before, in late March, 2020, Tronox Holdings provided an investor update in light of the current global pandemic, to emphasize the strength of the company's cash flow, balance sheet, and sources of liquidity. The first quarter was expected to close better than anticipated, due to positive market trends and developments thus far in 2020. The company anticipated adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter to reach USD160–170 million, adjusted earnings per share of USD0.10–0.18, and revenue of USD700–730 million.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of benzene grew to 120,000 tonnes from 106,000 tonnes a month earlier due to higher capacity utilisation of several producers. Overall output of this product reached 1,236,600 tonnes over the stated period, down by 2.2% year on year.
MRC