MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following the announcement on November 10, 2021 regarding a possible block sale of shares in Aker BP, bp and Aker confirmed on 12 November that they successfully sold 18,010,000 Aker BP shares, representing a combined approximate 5% of shares in the company, at a price of NOK 310 a share, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
bp sold 7,718,571 shares, representing an approximate 2.1% stake in Aker BP, for a total of NOK 2.39 B.
Following the sale, bp now holds an approximate 27.85% interest in Aker BP, Aker 37.14% and the free float of the company has increased to 35%. bp and Aker have entered into a 6-mos lock-up for their remaining shares in Aker BP, subject to certain exemptions.
J.P. Morgan and Pareto Securities acted as Joint Global Coordinators, and Joint Bookrunners with DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, Goldman Sachs International and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc in the sale. Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS acted as Norwegian legal advisers.
As MRC wrote previously, in October, 2021, BP announced plans for a USD269 million investment in three projects at its Cherry Point Refinery in Washington state, aimed at improving the refinery’s efficiency, reducing its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and increasing its renewable diesel production capability. The investment is aligned with bp’s aims to be net zero across its operations by 2050 or sooner and to reduce the carbon intensity of the products it sells by 50% by 2050 or sooner.
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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in around 80 countries, and employing around 85,000 people. BP’s business segments are Upstream (oil and gas exploration & production), and Downstream (refining & marketing). Through these activities, BP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; services for motorists; and petrochemicals products for plastics, textiles and food packaging. It has strong positions in many of the world's hydrocarbon basins and strong market positions in key economies.
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