Solvay suspends its operations and new investments in Russia

Solvay suspends its operations and new investments in Russia

Belgian chemicals group Solvay is suspending operations and new investments in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement on Monday.

“Solvay has decided to suspend its operations and new investments in Russia,” CEO Ilham Kadri said in a statement, citing the conflict in Ukraine.

The suspension is temporary and will be reviewed in due course, a spokesperson said, adding that the company had put a task force in place to manage the impact of the measures.

The company has 26 employees in Russia who will continue to receive salary and benefits during the suspension.

Solvay’s direct sales in Russia account for less than 1% of the group’s total revenue and its core profit from Russia and Belarus this year is projected at EUR100 MM (USD109 MM), the company said.

As MRC reported earlier, in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
MRC

U.S. to ban Russian oil imports

U.S. to ban Russian oil imports

U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to announce a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports on Tuesday in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with the matter said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The White House said Biden was scheduled to announce actions at 10:45 a.m. (1545 GMT) on Tuesday against Russia over Ukraine, but did not specifically mention oil imports. Oil prices jumped on the news, with Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 for May climbing by 5.4% to USD129.91 a bbl by 1345 GMT.

Biden has been working with allies in Europe, who are far more dependent on Russian oil, to isolate Russia's energy-heavy economy and President Vladimir Putin. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday the United States may move ahead with a ban on Russian oil imports without the participation of allies in Europe.

The U.S. imported more than 20.4 MM bbl of crude and refined products a month on average from Russia in 2021, about 8% of U.S. liquid fuel imports, according to the Energy Information Administration, and any ban is likely spike gasoline prices and inflation even further. The U.S. also imports a negligible amount of coal from Russia.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons said the administration was coordinating with European allies "and making sure that we've done the groundwork to understand how to effectively implement a ban on Russian energy." "We are going to see increased gas prices here in the U.S. In Europe, they will see dramatic increases in prices. That's the cost of standing up for freedom and standing alongside the Ukrainian people, but it's going to cost us," Coons told CNN.

The White House was previously coordinating with U.S. congressional leaders working on fast-tracking bipartisan legislation that would ban Russian imports; any White House ban of Russian imports would make any such bill moot. Republican lawmakers took to social media to welcome the decision, while criticizing Biden's green energy policies, and calling for the administration to support more oil and gas production at home.

U.S. Representative Susan Wild said Americans need to realize the larger sacrifice needed. "Obviously nobody wants to pay more for gas," Wild, a Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, said on MSNBC.

As per MRC, the U.S. took aim at Russia's oil refining sector with new export curbs and targeted Belarus with sweeping new export restrictions, as the Biden administration amps up its crackdown on Moscow and Minsk over the invasion of Ukraine. The new round of sanctions announced by the White House ban the export of specific refining technologies, making it harder for Russia to modernize its oil refineries. The White House also applied a sweeping set of export restrictions levied against Russia last month to Belarus, arguing the controls would help prevent the diversion of items, including technology and software, in the defense, aerospace and maritime sectors to Russia through Belarus.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil said it will exit a major oil and gas project and cease investing in Russia, making it the latest western oil company to cut ties with the country following its invasion of Ukraine. The Texas-based energy supermajor said it was “discontinuing operations” at the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far east, one of the largest foreign-operated oil and gasfields in the country. Exxon follows BP, Shell and Norway’s Equinor, which have said they will dump stakes in projects and sell out of Russian state-backed energy groups after Moscow was hit with a barrage of western sanctions.
MRC

Reliance, Sanmina create joint venture for electronics manufacturing in India

Reliance, Sanmina create joint venture for electronics manufacturing in India

Reliance Industries has formed a new joint venture with California -based logistics and manufacturing solutions company Sanmina Corporation to create a electronic manufacturing hub in India, said Thehindubusinessline.

Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, will invest in Sanmina’s existing Indian entity - Sanmina SCI India Private Ltd (SIPL)- which runs a manufacturing unit in Chennai. Globally, Sanmina was founded in 1980 and it had revenues of USD6.76 billion for the fiscal year 2021. The company has global footprint of manufacturing operations in 20 countries on 6 continents. The Sanmina Chennai facility provides complete design and manufacturing solutions for leading telecommunications, medical, storage & computing, avionics, industrial and multimedia companies.

RSBVL will hold a 50.1 per cent equity stake in the joint venture entity, primarily through an investment of up to ?1,670 crore in new shares in Sanmina’s existing Indian entity. Sanmina will own the remaining 49.9 per cent. As a result of the investment, the joint venture will be capitalised with over $200 million of cash to fund growth, the companies said in a statement.

All the manufacturing will initially be done at Sanmina’s 100-acre campus in Chennai, with the ability for site expansion to support future growth opportunities as well as to potentially expand to new manufacturing sites in India over time based on business needs.

The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close no later than September 2022.

As MRC informed before, in November 2021, Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco decided to re-evaluate their agreement for the Middle Eastern producer to buy a stake in the refining and petrochemical business of India"s biggest private refiner, and both companies would look at broader areas of cooperation due to the changing energy scenario.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.

mrchub.com

India refiner Nayara to find funding harder due to Rosneft link

India refiner Nayara to find funding harder due to Rosneft link

Indian refiner Nayara Energy, part-owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft, could find it harder to raise funds for expansion as a result of Western sanctions in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

"We are cautious even if there is limited exposure and in this case they have a majority Russian exposure via Rosneft and a Cyprus based fund, so it makes sense to put these loan disbursals on hold and to play safe," one banking source said. Nayara said in response to questions about its funding plans that it did not have any direct dependence on banks for the expansion of its retail network as the majority of its outlets are owned and operated by dealers.

"Some banks do provide working capital financing facilities to some of our dealers, which is governed by the bi-lateral agreement between the bank and the franchisee, without any recourse to Nayara," it said in a statement on Thursday. Nayara is in the process of rebranding its fleet of more than 6,000 retail fuel stations in its own name from Essar Oil as it was formerly known, and plans another 3,000 outlets.

Dealers who want to set up Nayara's fuel stations and those rebranding their facilities, are facing difficulty in getting funds from banks, the sources said. Rosneft owns a 49.13% stake in Nayara, which was formerly known as Essar Oil, while a similar-sized holding is split between global commodities trading house Trafigura and Cyprus-based Russian investment group United Capital Partners.

Indian banks are awaiting clarity from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and the central bank on assets and payment settlements relating to Russia, which has meant putting loans to businesses related to Nayara on hold, the sources said. Nayara operates the 400,000 bpd Vadinar refinery in India's western Gujarat state and has plans to raise its petrochemical capacity in phases.

Last year, Nayara raised 40 B rupees (USD528 MM) for its planned USD850 MM polypropylene plant, which is to be funded through a mix of debt and equity. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it could be difficulty for Nayara to raise funds in the next round for expansion if sanctions against Russia continue.

We remind, in December 2021, Rosneft backed Nayara Energy, earlier known as Essar Oil, has chalked out massive expansion plans for India which include setting up of a greenfield petrochemical complex and ramping up its existing refining capacity from 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 46 mtpa at Vadinar near Jamnagar in Gujarat. The total envisaged investment for expansion, of which a major part is towards building a new petrochemical complex, is about Rs.1.5 lakh crore, they said. The expansion plans also include increasing its retail presence and additional investment at the captive port of Vadinar.

As per MRC, Nayara Energy hopes to operate its 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) refinery in western India at close to 100% capacity in 2021 as fuel demand is picking up, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing with reference to Chief Executive Alois Virag's statement at APPEC 2021 conference. Nayara, part owned by Russian oil major Rosneft, cut rates at its Vadinar refinery in Gujarat state last year.
mrchub.com

Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material to install Sulzer PLA technology

Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material to install Sulzer PLA technology

Sulzer has been awarded by Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material to supply technology and key equipment for its polylactic acid (PLA) production facility in Jiangsu Province, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The facility will have a production capacity of 30,000 tpy. The plant will be able to produce a large portfolio of PLA grades serving a broad range of end-use applications from food packaging to kitchen utensils or toys. Replacing traditional plastics with non-fossil based plastics directly contributes to an improved carbon footprint.

The versatility of Sulzer’s PLA technology allows the production of a large range of molecular weights and stereoisomer ratios, while meeting product high-quality standards. To meet Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material’s requirements, Sulzer Chemtech will design and provide its lactide purification, polymerization, devolatilization and post-reaction proprietary technologies. The licensing agreement framework also includes extensive service support from engineering to technical assistance and field services.

"This new facility will allow us to enter the fast-growing bioplastic market," said Zhang JianGang, President of Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material. "We consider Sulzer an extremely valuable partner in this project. The company’s comprehensive technical services and cutting-edge production technologies for PLA will help us to effectively produce sustainable plastics and meet our customers’ strategic demands."

"We are excited to support Yangzhou Huitong Biological New Material in their flagship project," said Torsten Wintergerste, Division President of Sulzer Chemtech. "Our PLA technologies are currently used in most PLA facilities worldwide. We couldn’t be prouder to be supporting customers with monomer purification and polymer production units that are helping advance the sustainable and circular plastics sector."

As per MRC, Sulzer Chemtech has finalized an agreement with Encina Development Group, LLC to provide technology to recover high purity circular aromatics from cracked oil products derived from Encina’s mixed-plastics-to-aromatics catalytic conversion platform. Encina’s 1000 tpd waste plastics recycling facility will be located in Northeast US, and is expected to be operational in 2024.

As MRC informed before, India’s national objective of achieving self-sufficiency in energy and reducing its fossil fuel footprint is being supported by Sulzer’s expertise in pump manufacturing and refinery processes. The country’s first bio-refinery, Assam Bio Refinery Pvt Ltd., built by Chempolis' technology, is a ground-breaking JV that will be the only refinery in the world to create bioethanol from bamboo - available in abundance in north-eastern India. To help realize this pioneering endeavor, Sulzer is delivering a range of engineered application pumps as well as core technology such as column internals for the refining process.
MRC