Westlake Chemical restarting its PVC complexes in Louisiana post Hurricane Ida

Westlake Chemical restarting its PVC complexes in Louisiana post Hurricane Ida

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical, US petrochemical major, has regained access to industrial gases needed to operate its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) complexes in Plaquemine and Geismar, reported S&P Global with reference to sources familiar with the companies' operations.

That access, plus restoration of electric power, allowed the company to begin restart activities.

Those sources said the restarts would be gradual, as PVC complexes, shut on 29 August in advance of Hurricane Ida, involve multiple plants that have to be restarted one by one while checking for any storm-related, as-yet-undiscovered damage.

The company operates the following plants at these complexes:

- Geismar capacity (tonnes/year): 358,000 caustic soda, 320,000 chlorine, 550,000 EDC, 500,000 PVC, 385,000 vinyl chloride (VCM;
- Plaquemine capacity (tonnes/year): 476,000 caustic soda, 425,000 chlorine, 1.21m EDC, 895,000 PVC, 750,000 VCM.

Besides, Westlake Chemical declared force majeure (FM) on PVC and VCM supplies on August 31, 2021, and on caustic soda deliveries on September 2, 2021.

As MRC informed earlier, Westlake Chemical has lifted its FM on US PVC and upstream VCM, the company announced in a customer letter dated May 17. The letter said the company was "formally lifting the systemwide force majeure condition for PVC and VCM manufactured and shipped from its North American operations that was originally declared on Feb. 19" as a result of mid-February's deep freeze that "resulted in a shutdown/curtailment of our plant operations."

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall production of unmixed PVC totalled 664,100 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Three producers increased their output.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
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Westlake completes acquisition of Dimex

Westlake completes acquisition of Dimex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Dimex LLC, from Grey Mountain Partners, a private equity firm, as per the company's press release.

“The acquisition of Dimex underscores our longstanding commitment to stewardship of the environment and recycling, and to taking actions that contribute to a sustainable, circular economy,” said Robert Buesinger, Executive Vice President, Vinyl Products of Westlake Chemical Corporation. “We are at an important societal inflection point where consumers prefer and are willing to pay for products made with recyclable materials. Dimex produces a variety of consumer products made from post-industrial-recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE) and thermoplastic elastomer materials, which will make this transaction an important piece of Westlake’s growth trajectory and ESG commitment for a long time.”

According to a recent survey of 2,000 US consumers reported by Plastics Today, 59% of respondents appreciate buying items made with recycled materials and are willing to pay more for such products. Recycling reduces landfill waste and saves energy from plastics production.

Buesinger continued, “Dimex has over 30 years of experience and is one of the largest processors of recycled plastic materials in the United States. Dimex also supplies recycled flexible PVC and TPE compounds to other environmentally conscious manufacturers. Because Dimex uses its compounds in its own products, the company is uniquely positioned to understand its customers’ needs and to provide the engineering, manufacturing, and distribution capabilities to meet those needs quickly and effectively.”

Based in Marietta, Ohio, Dimex produces a range of consumer and building products, including landscape edging; industrial, home and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. Following its acquisition by Grey Mountain Partners in 2013, the company expanded its product development resources, which resulted in the introductions of No-Dig Landscape Edging®, MotionTex Fitness Equipment Mats, and GrillTex Under the Grill Protective Deck and Patio Mats. Over the last four years, Dimex has secured 29 US patents for its products.

In addition to providing products manufactured with post-industrial recycled materials, Dimex is engaged in research and development to advance additional opportunities to increase the use of recycled materials. The acquisition expands Westlake’s role in improving how plastic materials are sourced and produced to meet the growing demand for sustainable and durable consumer products.

As MRC reported earler, in July 2021, McDermott International, Ltd has been selected by LACC, LLC, a joint venture between Westlake Chemical Corporation and Lotte Chemical Corporation, to provide engineering, procurement and construction for a seventh heater addition to its LACC Ethane Cracker Facility in Westlake, La.

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.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC Compounds, and PVC building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty components, windows, fence, deck and film.
MRC

U.S. Department of Energy awarded contracts to eight companies for crude oil

U.S. Department of Energy awarded contracts to eight companies for crude oil

MOSCOW (MRC) -- U.S. Department of Energy has awarded contracts to eight companies for crude oil from a previously announced Strategic Petroleum Reserve sale of up to 20 million barrels, the department said, said Reuters.

Contracts went to Atlantic Trading & Marketing Inc; Chevron USA; ExxonMobil Oil Corpn; Marathon Petroleum Supply and Trading; Motiva Enterprises; Phillips 66 Co; Unipec America Inc; and Valero Marketing and Supply Co, the department said in statement dated Sept. 10 that appeared online on Monday.

The department had announced the call for bids Aug. 23 to comply with recent legislation mandating the sale from the nation's emergency oil reserve. Deliveries of the oil are expected from Oct. 1 to Dec. 15.

The sale comes as oil prices are at a one-week high amid U.S. supply concerns over storm damage from Hurricane Ida and the ongoing impact from COVID-19.

As per MRC, most of the nine Louisiana refineries shut by Hurricane Ida have restarted or were restarting, nearly two weeks after the powerful storm came ashore, a Reuters survey showed. Refiners are coming back faster than oil production, a reverse of past storm recoveries. Just three of the nine refineries were completely idled, accounting for about 7% of Gulf Coast refining, compared to shut-ins of two-thirds of oil output.

As MRC informed earlier, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, one of the largest operators in the Gulf of Mexico, declared force majeure on some oil deliveries due to damage from Hurricane Ida, which has crippled U.S. offshore oil production. More than three-quarters of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's offshore oil output remained shut following Ida. Crude buyers said the full restart of production remained unclear due to extensive damage to various facilities. The hurricane was one of the most devastating for offshore producers since back-to-back storms in 2005 cut output for months.

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.

MRC

Azelis targets to raise EUR880m in Brussels IPO

Azelis targets to raise EUR880m in Brussels IPO

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Azelis, an innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients distribution industry, is seeking to raise EUR880m in an initial public offering in Brussels in what will be one of the sector’s largest listings this year, reported Financial Times.

The Antwerp-based company, which is owned by Swedish buyout firm EQT, is targeting a valuation of more than EUR5bn, according to people familiar with the matter.

The IPO would make Azelis the world’s fourth-largest listed chemicals distributor in a highly fragmented EUR117bn market. As well as using the IPO’s proceeds to cut some of its EUR1.6bn of debt, the company also plans to make further acquisitions.

“As a public company, we believe we will be able to fully capitalise on growth opportunities, continuing to complement our strong organic growth with accretive acquisitions,” said chief executive Hans Joachim Muller.

Muller said he hoped to expand operations in Asia and gain a foothold in Latin America, where Azelis does not have a presence.

Demand for chemicals has rebounded rapidly from the pandemic’s initial hit, sending valuations for the sector soaring and handing EQT a chance to capitalise.

Nouryon, the former chemicals arm of Akzo Nobel that was acquired by US buyout firm Carlyle in 2018 in a EUR10bn deal, is also set to go public.

Although Azelis has only a 2% market share, it is enough to make it one of the sector’s largest players alongside Germany’s Brenntag, IMCD from the Netherlands and Illinois-based Univar Solutions. In a sign of investor appetite for the sector, Brenntag’s share price is at an all-time high.

As MRC informed earlier, in June 2021, Azelis announced the extension of its distribution scope with CP Kelco in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. CP Kelco’s product range is a significant addition to Azelis’ portfolio and the new agreement marks an important milestone in the strong and continuously developing collaboration between both companies globally.

Besides, Azelis made two acquisitions in July, 2021, both in South Korea. The most recent agreement, announced on Jul. 14, is the proposed takeover of Seoul-headquartered Coseal, which specializes in the distribution, repackaging and blending of agricultural/horticultural surfactants. This transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, when all of Coseal’s 45 employees, along with its owner and CEO Sang Jin Kang, will transfer to the Belgium-based distributor.

Nearly two weeks earlier, on Jul. 1, Azelis revealed it had purchased MH, a local distributor in the food ingredients market, providing the multinational specialty chemicals distribution group with a foothold in the food and health segment. Also headquartered in Seoul, MH is a family-owned business, supplying products such as gluten, starches, sweeteners and functional food ingredients.

Azelis is a leading distributor of speciality chemicals and food ingredients present in over 50 countries across the globe with around 2,200 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals.
MRC

Phillips 66 shut down refinery for repairs following flooding from Hurricane Ida

Phillips 66 shut down refinery for repairs following flooding from Hurricane Ida

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Phillips 66's 255,600-barrel-per-day (bpd) Alliance, Louisiana, refinery faces a monthslong shutdown for repairs following flooding from Hurricane Ida, sources familiar with plant operations said, said Reuters.

Phillips 66 said it was still assessing the refinery and a timeline for operational restarts was not available. The sources said the company plans to complete its damage assessment next week when floodwaters fully recede. So far, the company still plans to restart the refinery, which in August it announced was up for sale.

"Preliminary assessments at Alliance indicate the refinery’s south flood wall was breached by offsite debris during or after landfall of Hurricane Ida," said company spokesman Bernardo Fallas. "The breach has been secured."

The sources said early damage assessments point to an outage possibly as long as the seven months the refinery was shut following 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

As MRC informed earlier, Phillips 66's decision to market a Louisiana oil processing plant offers a key test of investors' views on the pace of the transition to electric vehicles. Phillips 66, the fourth largest US refiner, on Tuesday said it has put its 255,600 barrel per day (bpd) Alliance plant on the market, citing "the evolving energy landscape." The 50-year-old plant makes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for US and Latin American markets.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Phillips 66 Partners, the company’s master limited partnership, is integral to the portfolio. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,300 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD55 billion of assets as of Dec. 31, 2020.




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