Barentz Maroon Group to acquire distributor in US midwest

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Barentz International, through its Maroon Group subsidiary, says it has acquired The Cary Company’s (Chicago, Illinois) raw materials and specialty chemicals distribution business, said Chemweek.

The business operates in the paint, coatings, adhesives, and sealants markets. Terms of the deal, including purchase price, were not disclosed.

"Following the acquisition of Maroon Group in December 2020, we established a platform in North America from which we could pursue targeted growth through strategic acquisitions and expansion opportunities with our principal suppliers," says Hidde van der Wal, CEO of Barentz.

The acquired business will become part of Barentz’s North American coatings, adhesives, sealants, and elastomers (CASE) and plastics unit. Brian Ehlert and its current management team will continue to lead the business on its day-to-day basis. Warehousing and logistics services for the business will continue to be provided by The Cary Company.

We remind that the COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented decline in demand affecting all sections of the Russian economy, which has impacted the demand for petrochemicals in the short-term. However, the pandemic triggered an increase in the demand for polymers in food packaging, and cleaning and hygiene products, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. With Russian petrochemical companies having the advantage of access to low-cost feedstock, and proximity to demand-rich Asian (primarily China) and European markets for the supply of petrochemical products, these companies appear to be well-positioned to derive full benefits from an improving market environment and global economy post-COVID-19.

We also remind that in December 2020, Sibur, Gazprom Neft, and Uzbekneftegaz agreed to cooperate on potential investments in Uzbekistan including a major expansion of Uzbekneftegaz’s existing Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex (SGCC) and the proposed construction of a new gas chemicals facility. The signed cooperation agreement for the projects includes “the creation of a gas chemical complex using methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technology, and the expansion of the production capacity of the Shurtan Gas Chemical Complex".

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

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. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sherwin-Williams (SW) says president and COO David Sewell will step down effective 12 March to become CEO of an undisclosed company outside the coatings industry, reported Chemweek.

Sewell’s position will not be filled immediately, with CEO John Morikis assuming Sewell’s responsibilities in addition to his current role on a temporary basis.

Sewell joined SW in 2006, and was named COO in 2019.

As MRC informed before, in late February 2021, The Sherwin-Williams Company announced it had signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Hempel A/S to divest Wattyl, an Australian and New Zealand manufacturer and seller of architectural and protective paint and coatings with annual revenue of approximately USD200 million USD and 750 employees.

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 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-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Motiva Chemicals has been resuming operations at its mixed-feed cracker in Port Arthur, USA, reported S&P Global.

The process of restart of this cracker with the capacity of 635,000 mt/year of ethylene and 340,000 mt/year of propylene began on 27 February, 2021, and is expected to finish late this week.

The cracker wa shut along with the refinery at the same site on 14 February, 2021, because of the deep freeze.

As MRC informed earlier, the second-largest crude distillation unit (CDU) at Motiva Enterprises 607,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery is operating at 80% of capacity. Motiva is preparing to restart the smallest CDU and the small coker at the refinery

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

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. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 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.

Motiva Enterprises, LLC, is a fully owned affiliate of Saudi Refining Inc. and headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States with revenue of USD24 billion. Previously, it was a 50–50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company (the wholly owned American subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) and Saudi Refining Inc. (controlled by Saudi Aramco).
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical has reportedly restarted the troubled polypropylene (PP) plant in Vietnam over the weekend following an unexpected shutdown on 13 February 2021, reported CommoPlast.

The unit has an annual output of 370,000 tons/year.

A source close to the producer informed that the plant is currently working to stabilize the operating rate, hence still unable to supply adequate allocation at the moment.

As MRC wrote oreviously, in the third week of September 2020, NSRP restarted its PP unit in Vietnam following a 10 days unscheduled shutdown starting 7 September 2020 due to a persistent technical issue.

We also remind that Vietnam’s Nghi Son oil refinery officially began commercial production from 14 November 2018, following months of tests. The USD9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1 percent by PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - The second-largest crude distillation unit (CDU) at Motiva Enterprises 607,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery is operating at 80% of capacity, reported Reuters with reference to sources familiar with plant operations.

Motiva is preparing to restart the smallest CDU and the small coker at the refinery, the sources said.

Motiva did not reply to a request for comment.

The second largest of the three CDUs at the refinery is the 195,000-bpd VPS-2 CDU. The smallest CDU is the 80,000-bpd VPS-2. The small coker is the 54,000-bpd DCU-1.

The refinery was shut on Feb. 15 because of a loss of steam supply in severe cold weather along the Gulf Coast.

As MRC informed before, in H1 September, 2020. Motiva Enterprises restarted the largest and second-largest crude distillation units (CDUs), coker and hydrocracker at its 607,000 brrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. The 325,000-bpd VPS-5 and 195,000-bpd VPS-4 CDUs, 110,000-bpd DCU-2 coker and 105,000-bpd HCU=2 hydrocracker were the first units that restarted as Motiva continued to bring the entire refinery, which is the nation’s largest, back into production following an Aug. 25 shutdown because of Hurricane Laura.

We remind that in the last week of August, 2020, Motiva Chemicals at Port Arthur, Texas, began shutting down light olefin operations Monday to prepare for the arrival of Tropical Storm Laura.

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

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. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 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.

Motiva Enterprises, LLC, is a fully owned affiliate of Saudi Refining Inc. and headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States with revenue of USD24 billion. Previously, it was a 50–50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company (the wholly owned American subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell) and Saudi Refining Inc. (controlled by Saudi Aramco).
MRC