AkzoNobel, Mercedes-Benz extend partnership agreement in China and Indonesia

MOSCOW (MRC) -- AkzoNobel has extended its partnership with Mercedes-Benz for another four years for works in China and Indonesia, said the company.

The deal was confirmed after extensive testing and analysis of the product assortments and services provided by AkzoNobel’s premium Sikkens brand. “We’re delighted to extend our successful partnership with one of the world’s most renowned automotive brands,” says Patrick Bourguignon, Director of AkzoNobel’s Automotive and Specialty Coatings business. “We believe that our class-leading Sikkens portfolio, digital color tools and services offering can add value to our partner’s after sales network and deliver the best possible support to its customers in China and Indonesia.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Sikkens will continue to be the approved partner for paint repairs in China and the preferred paint partner in Indonesia for the next four years. As well as offering proven performance and a premium quality refinish system, AkzoNobel is a leader in the development of innovative digital color tools. The partnership means customers can benefit from MIXIT, a cloud-based color retrieval application which gives instant access to more than two million color formulas. In combination with the compact, hand-held Automatchic spectrophotometer, any paint job can be done quicker, more accurately and with less waste.

Customers can also benefit from AkzoNobel’s business services, including the Carbeat digital bodyshop workflow solution, which helps to increase production management efficiency and reduces cycle times. Meanwhile, for the Chinese market, the company recently introduced a range of new low VOC products.

“The continuation of our partnership agreement shows great recognition for AkzoNobel’s dedicated vehicle refinish teams in the region,” adds Baron Schreuder, Regional Commercial Director Asia for the company’s Automotive and Vehicle Refinish business. “Asia is an extremely important region for both parties and we’re proud to continue providing a first class service experience throughout China and Indonesia."

The four-year extension means AkzoNobel continues to be a Mercedes-Benz partner in 26 markets: Abu Dhabi, Austria, Bahrain, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, the US and Yemen.

As per MRC, AkzoNobel N.V. no longer intends to acquire Tikkurila following a higher competing offer from US paints and coatings producer PPG Industries. Akzo Nobel submitted a binding proposal to acquire Tikkurila for EUR31.25 per share on January 28, 2021, having conducted customary due diligence to confirm potential synergies. The company no longer intends to pursue this acquisition, following a competing, higher, offer for Tikkurila. Despite a strong cultural fit - and more synergies than any other combination with Tikkurila - the intended transaction no longer meets AkzoNobel’s criteria for superior value creation.

As per MRC, March production of polymers in primary form was 958,000 tonnes versus 861,000 tonnes in February. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 2,740,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 8.5% year on year. 151,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers were produced in March, compared to 141,000 tonnes a month earlier. Overall, Russian plants produced about 447,000 tonnes of synthetic rubbers in January-March 2021, up by 10.2% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Honeywell's cloud-based Honeywell Enraf Inventory Calculation Module (HEICM) has been integrated into Royal Vopak’s MyService Terminal Management System (TMS), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Developed in cooperation with Royal Vopak, MyService is used at Vopak terminals to facilitate the safe, clean and efficient storage and handling of bulk liquid products and gases.

HEICM was developed using agile software development principles. It accurately calculates inventories and product movement quantities for a massive range of liquid products stored at the sites. All the calculations provided meet major international, recognized standards and publications, including those of American Society for Testing and Materials, American Petroleum Institute and Gas Processors Association.

“Integrating Honeywell's measurement modules with our bespoke MyService software is creating a competitive advantage for Vopak's services,” said Leo Brand, CIO Royal Vopak. “Honeywell’s legal metrology expertise and long experience providing compliant, accurate liquid stock accounting made it an ideal strategic partner for our digital transformation program.”

HEICM will enable Royal Vopak terminals to perform consistent and efficient terminal inventory calculations and compliance-related verifications, contributing to operational excellence.

Honeywell plans to make HEICM available to other terminal operating companies around the world for similar TMS integrations, as well as a stand-alone/cloud version which can be used by independent surveyors.

As MRC reported earlier, in Marhc 2021, Honeywell announced that Hengli Petrochemical Co. Ltd. successfully used Callidus burner technology from Honeywell UOP to minimize nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions in China, and reduce the impact of these emissions while ensuring safe and stable operations.

Besides, in November, 2020, Honeywell announced Zhenhua Petrochemical Co. Ltd will use Honeywell UOP’s C3 Oleflex technology for propane dehydrogenation to process 1 million metric tons per year of polymer-grade propylene for a proposed plant in Dongying City, Shandong Province, China.

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

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Finnish energy company Neste warned of a drop in sales and profit for the third quarter as it deals with higher feedstock and crude oil prices as well as planned refinery maintenance, sending its shares down more than 5%, reported Reuters.

Major sources of biofuel feedstock such as waste and residue have seen a steady increase in prices, given the growing emphasis on renewable energy globally. A rise in crude oil prices due to production cuts by the OPEC+ countries and recovering demand driven by the vaccine rollouts is also expected to weigh on its refining business.

The company, however, reported a rise in second-quarter operating profit, which rose to EUR463 million (USD546.2 million) from EUR208 million a year ago on gains in inventory valuations.

The company's revenue also rose 17% to EUR3.02 billion, while analysts had expected it to drop to 2.55 billion euros.

While oil products accounted for just EUR8 million, renewable products, such as biodiesel and aviation fuel, turned an operating profit of EUR443 million.

However, when cleared from inventory valuation gains, comparable operating profit for renewable products fell 5.5% from a year earlier to EUR241 millions.

The oil product unit saw its operating profit fall to EUR8 million from EUR40 million due to a 12-week maintenance turnover at Neste's oil refinery in Porvoo in southeast Finland.

It also said a turnaround at Neste's Singapore refinery will cut operating profit by EUR90 million and a catalyst change at its Rotterdam facility will lower operating profit by EUR50 million.

As MRC informed earlier, Neste and LyondellBasell has recently announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Tatneft and the Hungarian MOL Group have launched a project to build a plant for the production of rubber modified bitumen (RMB) at the TANECO complex, the company said.

For these purposes, the companies agreed to establish a joint venture LLC RMB-Russ. Construction is underway at the Taneco oil complex. Its capacity will be 25 thousand tons of bitumen per season. The launch of the enterprise is scheduled for mid-2023. The total investment will amount to RUB 1.2 billion. "The project is planned to be implemented in part through tender funding from the Hungarian Export Support Agency (HEPA). To support the foreign use of the patented MOL technology, HEPA has allocated a one-time non-refundable grant to reimburse up to 50% of capital costs if the project meets the requirements of structural conditions and profitability," company message.

According to the MOL Group, the new plant will ensure the recycling of up to 500,000 car tires per year. RMB production involves the processing of already used rubber, namely car tires and tire production waste in RMB. It is assumed that the plant will be able to reuse rubber from 500 thousand tires in one road construction season. Eco-friendly bitumen will be used in road construction.

Last week, Lukoil, the second largest oil company in the Russian Federation, began construction of a polymer-bitumen binders production facility launched at the Nizhny Novgorod refinery on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod refinery in the city of Kstovo. The plant's capacity exceeds 150 thousand tons during the production season.

Also last week it was reported that Tatneft plans to launch the production of terephthalic acid (TPA) to provide its Ecopet plant in the Kaliningrad region with raw materials. Tatneft bought Ecopet in June 2021. The deal amounted to RUB 6.4 billion. The company is engaged in the production and sale of polyethylene terephthalate in Russia and Eastern Europe.

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, spot prices for PET from Russian producers remained unchanged this week. There is still no free material on the spot at the Senezh plant. Producer Ecopet also reported a shortage of spot volumes in the current month, which is likely to persist in August.

OAO TATNEFT is part of OAO Tatneftekhiminvest-holding, an industrial and financial company that unites the largest enterprises of the oil and gas chemical complex of Tatarstan. TATNEFT accounts for over 80% of oil produced in Tatarstan. In 2013, the company increased oil production by 0.4% to 26.107 million tons. The main shareholder of Tatneft is the state holding OJSC Svyazinvestneftekhim, which owns 30.44% of shares in the authorized capital of the company. Tatarstan owns the "golden share" of Tatneft.

MOL is the largest Hungarian oil, gas and petrochemical group, engaged in exploration and production, transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the operation of a network of trunk gas pipelines. TVK is a 100% subsidiary of MOL. TVK manufactures HDPE, LDPE, and PP.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- An explosion was heard in Leverkusen on Tuesday, and witnesses reported seeing plumes of smoke at chemicals maker Bayer’s site in the western German city, said Reuters.

The explosion occurred at a chemical plant in the city of Leverkusen at 9.40 am local time. Five staff members went missing, several were injured, two were seriously injured, and Leverkusen residents were told to stay indoors with the air conditioning turned off and the doors and windows closed. Regional emergency services arrived at the scene. According to eyewitnesses, the explosion occurred at one of the sites of the chemical and pharmaceutical concern Bayer.

The Cologne Fire Department, which also dispatched brigades to the site, said that sections of numerous highways in the area had been closed.

Bayer is headquartered in Leverkusen and several other companies including LANXESS, BASF and Covestro also own factories in the area.

Earlier it was reported that Bayer and Lanxess sold their stakes in the Currenta chemical park to funds managed by infrastructure investor Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). Both companies signed related agreements with MIRA in August 2019.

Earlier it was reported that the German concern BASF, the world leader in the production of chemical products in the world, keeps the capacity utilization at the expandable polystyrene (PSV-S) plant at its complex in Ludwigshafen (Ludwigshafen, Germany) at a reduced level in July due to technical problems , the letter says to the company. Thus, a technical malfunction at the reactor of one of the lines of this enterprise with a capacity of 200 thousand tons of PSV-S per year, discovered on July 11, led to a reduction in the production of Styropor F95, Peripor and F15 grades. It is currently unknown how long this line will remain underutilized.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, EPS consumption in Russia amounted to 40,690 tonnes in the first five months of this year, an 18% increase over the same period last year. In May, the consumption of EPS in the country increased by 35% compared to the same month a year earlier and amounted to 8,790 tonnes.
MRC