Sherwin-Williams decreased Q3 sales guidance

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) lowered its net sales guidance for the third quarter of 2021, while keeping its full-year net sales and net income per share view unchanged, said the company.

The company lowered its third-quarter consolidated net sales guidance to be up or down by a low-single digit percentage over third-quarter 2020 from its prior view of up mid-to-high single digit percentage.

The full-year 2021 consolidated net sales guidance remains unchanged at up a high-single to low-double digit percentage over 2020 levels.

The full-year net income per share guidance remains intact in the range of USD8.01-USD8.31 per share, including 80 cents per share for acquisition-related amortization expenses and a loss of 34 cents per share on the Wattyl divestiture.

The company stated that it is witnessing strong demand across the pro architectural and industrial end markets it serves. However, sustained and industry-wide raw material availability issues have not improved as expected, affecting its ability to fully meet high demand.

It now expects raw material availability, including the unfavorable impact of Hurricane Ida, to affect its third-quarter consolidated sales by a high-single digit percentage. Its total cost basket— including raw materials, transportation and labor— continues to move upward, the company noted.

As per MRC, the Sherwin-Williams Company will acquire the European industrial coatings business of Sika AG. The acquired business will become part of the Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings segment and that includes approximately 130 Sika employees. The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of 2022.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in June 2021 by 10.2% year on year. However, production of basic chemicals increased year on year by 8.2% in the first six months of 2021, according to Rosstat's data. June production of polymers in primary form was 937,000 tonnes versus 956,000 tonnes in May. Russia's overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 4,460,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 12.8% year on year.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical has cut output at its refinery for the second time in a month and could see operations suspended due to weak domestic fuel demand, as per Reuters.

The 130,000-barrel-per-day refinery in central Vietnam has cut output to 80% of capacity, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported, after a reduction last month to 90% of capacity as a worsening coronavirus outbreak hurt demand.

A new wave of infections since late April saw Vietnam impose movement restrictions in a third of its cities and provinces and forced many companies to suspend operations.

"If the restrictions in the southern provinces continued into October, the refinery would probably have to suspend its production," the newspaper cited an unnamed executive of the company as saying.

The plant's refined fuel inventories have more than doubled from a month ago to 410,000 cubic metres, the executive was quoted as saying, adding that monthly sales have halved from pre-pandemic volumes to 300,000 cubic metres.

Binh Son has had to sell 1 million barrels of crude oil and is considering selling another 1 million barrels to free up its storage capacity, the report added.

Contacted by Reuters, a company source, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media, said: "We are operating at the lowest capacity possible and are seeking measures to keep our supply chain from being disrupted."

As MRC wrote before, Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical took off-stream its PP plant in Vietnam for a maintenance turnaround in June 2017 for a period of around 7 weeks. The exact date shutdown could not be ascertained. Located in Vietnam,the plant has a production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical (BSR) is a subsidiary of state-owned oil firm PetroVietnam.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil producer Talos Energy Inc said the company's assets were not the source of an oil spill in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico around Louisiana, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company said it was notified of an oil release observed on Bay Marchand Block 5 in Louisiana state waters on Aug. 31, due to its status as a prior lessee of the block, but it ceased production from the block in 2017.

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it was investigating nearly 350 reports of oil spillage in and along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida.

Clean-up crews and a dive team were at the leak site in the Bay Marchand area on Sunday seeking to contain the spill and pinpoint its source and location.

A miles-long black streak of oil in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana was visible from the air after Hurricane Ida tore through the region a week ago.

As it was written earlier, Talos Energy said on Sunday that the rate of oil flowing from a spill of unknown origin in U.S. Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida appears to have decreased. Clean-up crews and a dive team were at the leak site in the Bay Marchand area of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday seeking to contain the oil and pinpoint its source and location. A miles-long black streak of oil in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana was visible from the air after Hurricane Ida tore through the region a week ago.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Talos Energy is a technically driven independent exploration and production company focused on safely and efficiently maximizing long-term value through its operations, currently in the United States and offshore Mexico, both upstream through oil and gas exploration and production and downstream through the development of future carbon capture and storage opportunities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The world's largest plant that sucks carbon dioxide directly from the air and deposits it underground is due to begin operating, the company behind the nascent green technology said.

Swiss start-up Climeworks AG, which specializes in capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air, has partnered with Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix to develop a plant that sucks out up to 4,000 tons of CO2 per year. That's the equivalent of the annual emissions from about 790 cars. Last year, global CO2-emissions totalled 31.5 billion tons, according to the International Energy Agency.

Direct air capture is one of the few technologies extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and is viewed by scientists as vital to limit global warming, blamed for causing more heatwaves, wildfires, floods and rising sea levels.

The Orca plant, a reference to the Icelandic word for energy, consists of eight large containers similar in looks to those used in the shipping industry, which employ high-tech filters and fans to extract carbon dioxide.

The isolated carbon is then mixed with water and pumped deep underground, where it slowly turns into rock. Both technologies are powered by renewable energy sourced from a nearby geothermal power plant. Direct air capture is still a fledgling and costly technology, but developers hope to drive down prices by scaling up as more companies and consumers look to reduce their carbon footprint.

There are currently 15 direct air capture plants operating worldwide, capturing more than 9,000 tons of CO2 per year, according to the IEA. U.S. oil firm Occidental is currently developing the largest direct-air-capture facility, to pull 1 MMtpy of carbon dioxide from the open air near some of its Texas oilfields.

Climeworks, which recently signed a 10-year carbon removal purchase agreement with major insurance firm Swiss Re, also offers a subscription service, which allows consumers to pay for carbon removal through monthly payments.

As per MRC, Equinor-led Northern Lights venture and Swiss start-up Climeworks will explore the potential for capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere in Norway, the partners said. Climeworks provides direct carbon capture technology, while Northern Lights, which also includes Shell and Total , plans to store CO2 in a geological formation under the seabed off Norway's coast.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Climeworks is a Swiss company specializing in technologies for capturing carbon dioxide in the air. The company filters CO? directly from the ambient air through an adsorption-desorption process.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis is continuing to significantly boost the share of renewable energy used in its Belgian operations with the signing of a nine-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Axpo, Switzerland’s largest producer of renewable energy and an international leader in energy trading and the marketing of solar and wind power, as per the company's press release.

Under the agreement announced today, Axpo will supply Borealis with green electricity generated by two Belgian wind farms.

The PPA covers the entire output of two wind farms located in Hannut and Beaumont which are part of the portfolio managed by Axpo in Belgium, and includes the annual purchase and supply of up to 100,000 MWh of wind power to Borealis over the next nine years. Delivery will begin in January 2022.

With the signing of the contract, both companies are making a significant next step in the energy transition. By increasing the share of renewable power in its overall energy consumption at its Belgian production facilities, Borealis moves another step closer to sourcing at least 50% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources for its Polyolefins and Hydrocarbons & Energy business areas. The renewable electricity generated within the framework of the PPA with Axpo will reduce Borealis’ indirect carbon dioxide emissions at its Belgian operations by approximately 20,000 ton/year.

“Thanks to this agreement with Axpo, Borealis is moving again closer to achieving its ambitious Energy & Climate targets,” says Wolfram Krenn, Borealis Executive Vice President Base Chemicals and Operations. “Our target of sourcing 50% of renewable electricity for our operations by 2030 has become yet another step more tangible. We are proud to have signed this PPA with Axpo as strong partnerships will enable a carbon-neutral future. This is how we re-invent for more sustainable living.”

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, Borealis commenced a new project to secure an increased supply of chemically recycled feedstock for the production of more circular base chemicals and polyolefin-based products. A feasibility study for a chemical recycling unit to be established at the Borealis production location in Stenungsund, Sweden, is now underway.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report,Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries. In 2020, Borealis generated EUR 6.8 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 589 million. OMV, the Austria-based international oil and gas company, owns 75% of Borealis, while the remaining 25% is owned by a holding company of the Abu-Dhabi based Mubadala.
MRC