Shell completes sale of retail and lubricants businesses in Russia

Shell Overseas Investments B.V. and B.V. Dordtsche Petroleum Maatschappij, subsidiaries of Shell plc, have completed the sale of Shell Neft LLC, Shell’s retail stations and lubricants business in Russia, to PJSC LUKOIL, said the company.

This follows the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. The sale agreement was announced on May 12, 2022. All people currently working for Shell Neft, more than 350 in total, will remain employed by Shell Neft, which is now owned by LUKOIL.

The transaction is part of Shell’s wider withdrawal from all Russian hydrocarbons which is being conducted in a phased manner, in line with its announcement in early March. The sale has been carried out in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

As per MRC, Shell withdrew from the authorized capital of the Gydan Energy joint venture with Gazprom Neft on the Gydan Peninsula. How specified in the document, on May 19, Gazprom Neft became the only participant in Gydan Energy with a 100% share. Previously, the partners each owned 50% in the authorized capital of the enterprise. Shell and Gazprom Neft set up a joint venture in November 2021 in the Yenisei project on the Gydan, which includes two license blocks, Leskinsky and Pukhutsyakhsky.

In addition, Shell in its reporting for the first quarter of 2022 recognized the cost of leaving Russian assets at USD 3.9 billion after taxes. Earlier, she informed that the losses could amount to USD 4-5 billion.

Shell is a British-Dutch oil and gas concern engaged in the extraction, processing and marketing of hydrocarbons in more than 70 countries.
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ExxonMobil Corp shareholders on Wednesday backed the energy company's energy transition strategy, voting against most proposals related to accelerating carbon emission cuts, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Major oil producers in the U.S. and Europe faced less hostile investor votes tied to climate change this year compared to a year ago as energy security and rising fuel prices overshadowed environmental concerns.

In a preliminary voting session with more than 80% of Exxon's investors, shareholders voted against a resolution filed by activist group Follow This, urging faster action to battle climate change.

Only 28% of the participants backed the proposal for setting and publishing medium and long-term targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from Exxon's operations and products as well as reducing hydrocarbon sales.

A proposal calling for a report on low carbon business planning was not approved, with only 10.5% votes in favor. Investors also gave a no vote for a report on plastic production, with 37% voting for it. Shareholders approved a proposal for the company to create a report on scenario analysis for climate change.

We remind that in February, 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC successful started up Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas, shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
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Evonik Industries AG (Essen, Germany) is selling the TAeTTOOz materials technology for printable rechargeable batteries to the InnovationLab GmbH, said the company.

The InnovationLab specializes in the development of printed and organic electronics and offers individual overall solutions from the first concept draft to the industrial production. Creavis, as the strategic innovation unit and business incubator of Evonik, has developed the TAeTTOOz technology. In the future, however, Creavis will focus stronger on concepts for resource-conserving and sustainable production, as well as high-growth solutions that enable industries to become independent of fossil raw materials.

Redox polymers form the basis of the printable rechargeable batteries. The new materials can be processed into very thin, flexible battery cells using common printing processes. In the process, they allow developers a high degree of design freedom. In addition, battery cells manufactured with TAeTTOOz® technology do not contain liquid electrolytes and therefore cannot leak.

The company has previously cooperated with InnovationLab to develop new applications for materials technology. Dr. Michael Kroger, Managing Director at InnovationLab, is very pleased with the development: “The technology enables more efficient supply chains and innovative wearable devices for medical diagnostics. We are very confident that we will successfully commercialize the technology independently at the InnovationLab. “Dr. Michael Korell, responsible for the development of TAeTTOOz at Evonik, said: “The technology has great potential that can be utilized in the best possible way under the leadership of InnovationLab, which focuses on printed and organic electronics."

As per MRC, Evonik, one the world's petrochemical majors, is embarking on the next phase of its strategic transformation. Sustainability is being integrated fully and systematically into all elements of the strategy: portfolio management, innovation, corporate culture.

We remind that in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The company is active in more than 100 countries around the world and generated sales of EUR12.2 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of EUR1.91 billion in 2020. Evonik goes far beyond chemistry to create innovative, profitable and sustainable solutions for customers. About 33,000 employees work together for a common purpose: to improve life today and tomorrow.
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SK Capital Partners, LP, a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, announced the hiring of Richard Jackson as Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets, said the company.

Mr. Jackson will be based in New York and brings three decades of investment banking and deal making experience across Europe and the US to SK Capital. In this newly established role, Mr. Jackson will lead the firm’s efforts in obtaining committed financing for new platform investments and be responsible for managing the capital structures of the existing portfolio companies as well as the refinancing of existing debt, IPO related activities and supporting the financing of portfolio company add-on acquisitions.

“We are pleased to welcome Richard to the SK Capital team. He brings the experience, knowledge and track record to successfully navigate the complexity in today’s Capital Markets, but more importantly we view him as an integral part of the firm’s growth,” said Jamshid Keynejad, Co-Founder of SK Capital.

Prior to joining SK Capital, Mr. Jackson was Managing Director and Head of Leveraged & Acquisition Finance for the Americas at HSBC Group, where he led a team of professionals focused on managing the origination and distribution of flow and acquisition debt financing, including Leveraged Loans and High Yield Fixed Income, across the full credit spectrum of HSBC’s client base. Mr. Jackson spent almost 30 years at HSBC in a career that encompassed senior roles across the firm’s Investment Banking business in London and New York.

“I am excited about the opportunity to join the team at SK Capital. I have been fortunate to support the firm on a number of recent transactions within the current portfolio of companies and look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for me on the buy-side,” said Mr. Jackson.

As per MRC, Honeywell revealed SK Innovation and Energy, a Korea-based energy refining company, has selected Honeywell UOP for a feasibility study to retrofit SK’s hydrogen plant with carbon capture. SK will explore capturing and sequestering 400,000 t of CO2 from existing hydrogen production assets at its refinery in Ulsan, Korea using a range of Honeywell UOP technologies. The CO2 will be re-injected into depleted natural gas reservoirs, beginning in 2026.

SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, specialty chemicals, and pharmaceuticals sectors. The firm seeks to build strong and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating, and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth, and profitability, as well as lower operating risk.
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SABIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Yanbu Chamber of Commerce and Industry to continue enabling the objectives of local content, business development and technology transfer, said the company.

The MoU was signed at Yanbu Chamber headquarters on May 23 in the presence of Prince Saud bin Khalid Al-Faisal, Deputy Governor of the Madinah region.

The MoU was signed by Eng. Abdullah Saif Al-Araifi, Vice President, SABIC’s Local Content and Business Development Unit, and Ahmed bin Salem Al-Shaghdali, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yanbu Chamber, in the presence of a number of officials from SABIC and Yanbu Chamber.

It is meant to promote cooperation to develop local content initiatives in targeted sectors, promote job creation, localize industries and technologies, and share expertise.

The signing of the MOU with the Yanbu Chamber demonstrates the commitment of SABIC – through its Nusaned™ initiative – to support the national workforce and competencies and develop local content to promote the national industry in the Kingdom. The aim includes creating job opportunities, developing innovation and advancing industrial production, which eventually contributes to achieving the goals of the Saudi 2030 Vision.

The MoU sheds light on the various initiatives and investments introduced by SABIC to serve the community by training and empowering the youth and developing the efficiency of the Saudi workforce and entrepreneurs. It is also a part of SABIC’s national initiative (Nusaned™), which is meant to support small and medium-sized local manufacturing companies to contribute to developing local content.

As per MRC, SABIC has completed the acquisition of Clariant’s 50% stake in specialties company Scientific Design. The purchase makes SABIC a 100% shareholder of Scientific Design, which is a licensor of high-performance process technologies and catalysts producer.

As MRC informed previously, in January 2022, ExxonMobil and SABIC announced the successful startup of Gulf Coast Growth Ventures world-scale manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas. The new facility will produce materials used in packaging, agricultural film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The operation includes a 1.8 MM metric tpy ethane steam cracker, two polyethylene (PE) units capable of producing up to 1.3 MM metric tpy, and a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit with a capacity of 1.1 MM metric tpy.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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