SCG Packaging acquired Peute Recycling for EUR78.2 mln

MRC --Thailand’s SCG Packaging has entered the packaging materials recycling business in the Netherlands, via the 100% acquisition of Peute Recycling BV for EUR78.2m, said the company.

The purchase was done through SCGP Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of SCGP, the Thai firm said in a statement on 18 July. Based in Dordrecht, Peute is the largest independent packaging materials recycling and trading company of paper and plastic in the Netherlands, SCG Packaging said.

Peute currently has the ability to competitively source 1m tonnes/year of recovered paper and 100,000 tonnes/year of recovered plastic in Dordrecht. There is an ongoing project to relocate the facility to Alblasserdam, which is near the Rotterdam port, “in order to double the sourcing capacity and improve cost efficiency”, SCG Packaging said.

In 2021, Peute generated EUR3.2m in profit, with revenues at EUR249m in revenues. “The prominent packaging materials recycling and sourcing capabilities from this transaction would allow SCGP to fulfil emerging demand of recycled materials which are driven by changes in customers and consumers’ behaviour,” SCG Packaging said.

In view of SCG Packaging’s expansion of its diversified and integrated packaging business, the company deems recovered paper the key strategic raw material for fibre packaging operations. “At present, SCGP’s annual usage of RCP [recovered paper] reaches 4.4 million tonnes and is expected to increase along with the expansion of packaging paper capacity going forward,” it said.

The Thai firm expects demand for recycled contents will continue to grow on the back of the global surge in sustainability awareness. “The ability to directly access the sources of recovered paper would also provide SCGP the opportunity to enhance the efficiency of recycling operations in ASEAN, with good practices of the advanced waste management model in Europe from the established player in its fields," SCG Packaging added.

As per MRC, SCG Chemicals Pcl, a unit of Siam Cement Pcl, is seeking to raise as much as USD3 billion in what could be Thailand's largest ever initial public offering (IPO). The group submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for approval the proposed listing of up to 3.85bn shares of SCG Chemicals on 27 April. The shares represent 25.2% of SCG Chemicals, which accounted for about 45% and 40% of SCG group’s first-quarter 2022 sales and profit, respectively.
mrchub.com

BASF is moving forward with the final phase of the expansion project for the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) plant at its Verbund site in Geismar, Louisiana, said the company.

With this third step of its multiphase capacity expansion, BASF will increase production capacity to 600,000 metric tons per year by the middle of the decade and support the ongoing growth of its North American MDI customers. The company kicked off the expansion project in 2018 with a staggered approach consisting of three investment phases. The investment in the final expansion phase from 2022 to 2025 amounts to USD780 million.

"This investment underlines our commitment to North America and strengthens BASF’s supply reliability and the competitiveness of our customers’ value chains in the region,” said Michael Heinz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BASF Corporation. “As one of BASF’s Verbund sites, the Geismar location is ideally suited for the expansion of our MDI production thanks to its existing infrastructure, reliable raw material supply, skilled workforce and strong community support."

Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, the expansion will showcase the highest safety standards combined with advanced digitalization in its operations. BASF is now entering the final phase of the expansion, targeted for completion by the end of 2025.

"BASF is committed to growing and partnering with our North American MDI customers, be it in the construction and appliance, transportation, automotive, footwear or furniture sectors,” said Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division. “With this integrated facility, we will continue to support our North American MDI customers by growing our capacity to meet their needs."

The first phase of the expansion project involving the construction of a new MDI synthesis unit was put in operation in October of 2020. The second phase, which started operations in 2021, expanded several existing upstream units. With the third and final expansion phase, which includes several new upstream units and a splitter, the new overall MDI output of the Geismar complex will increase to 600,000 metric tons.

As per MRC, BASF and Sinopec are further expanding their joint Verbund site in Nanjing, China. It is manufactured by BASF-YPC Co., Ltd. (BASF-YPC), a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies. The capacities of several downstream chemical plants will be expanded for the growing Chinese market. This also includes the construction of a new tertiary butyl acrylate plant.

As per MRC, BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
mrchub.com

French company TotalEnergies announced an expansion of its strategic alliance with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which would examine new areas including the supply of diesel from the United Arab Emirates to France, said the company.

“I am pleased that TotalEnergies is reaffirming and expanding its strategic collaboration with the United Arab Emirates through a multi-energy cooperation with ADNOC, our long-standing partner in the UAE. Our partnership across the entire energy value chain allows our two companies to join forces to contribute to the energy supply of global markets, while reducing carbon emissions from our operations”, said Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

“TotalEnergies is a longstanding strategic partner, and we are very pleased to build on our successful partnerships through this agreement as the UAE and France strengthen energy cooperation. The agreement offers the potential to accelerate growth and create greater and more sustainable value for our mutual benefit. We look forward to working with TotalEnergies to unlock the opportunities presented by the agreement across the energy value chain to enable more secure, affordable and sustainable energy for our countries and the world,” said His. Excellency. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies has agreed to transfer its remaining stake in Russia's Kharyaga oil field to the country's state producer Zarubezhneft, the French company told Reuters, in its first major divestment in Russia in the wake of Western sanctions.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have successfully completed the first biofuel bunker operation for a vehicle carrier in Singapore. The local operation was made possible with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The MOL-operated car and truck carrier, Heroic Ace, was refueled by TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel on 11th June 2022 via ship-to-ship transfer, while the carrier performed cargo operations simultaneously. The biofuel has been consumed during the carrier’s voyage to Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates.
mrchub.com

PKN ORLEN has confirmed it is discussing with Aramco and SABIC the possibility of collaborating in investments in various petrochemical business segments, said Euro-petrole.

An existing triparty MoU will be extended to evaluate a potential joint development of a large-scale mixed feed steam cracker and downstream derivatives integrated with the Gdansk refinery. Moreover, PKN ORLEN and Aramco continue to explore areas of cooperation in the field of research and development.

‘Potential investments, the implementation of which we are analysing together with our strategic partners, including the construction of a large-scale steam cracker with derivative installations, generates CAPEX of several billion dollars. We still have a full feasibility and the engineering studies and final investment decisions ahead of us. If they are successful to the satisfaction of all parties, we could ultimately jointly implement projects that will allow us to fully integrate the refining and petrochemical segments and take advantage of the Gdansk refinery’s capabilities.

Combining the experience of PKN ORLEN and Saudi Aramco and SABIC groups, knowledge, technology as well as access to markets and the use of the systematic increase in the demand for petrochemicals will enable us to jointly increase the value of our companies. In this way, we will build lasting foundations for cooperation and development on the petrochemical market of Central Europe and beyond,’ says Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.

‘We look forward to continuing our efforts with PKN ORLEN and SABIC to assess the joint development of a large-scale petrochemical project integrated with Gdansk refinery,’ says Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, Senior Vice President, Downstream, Saudi Aramco.

PKN ORLEN for the last four years has been conducting the largest petrochemical investments in its history. They include, among others extension of the Olefin III Complex at the Production Plant in Plock. It is a key project within the strategic Petrochemical Development Program and the largest petrochemical investment in Europe in the last 20 years. The latest technologies are used in the construction of the complex, which will allow, among others, to increase energy efficiency, including a reduction by 30 percent CO2 emissions per tonne of product.

The investment is part of the merger of PKN ORLEN and Grupa LOTOS, as the Gdansk refinery will be supplier of a large volume of petroleum products for the petrochemicals produced in the Complex. They are to be the basis for the production of all everyday items, including cleaning, hygiene and medical products, as well as synthetic fibers for the production of clothing or protective masks. They are also needed for production of car parts, components of household appliances and electronic devices.

The main element of the investment in the extension of the Olefin Complex will be the construction of a new steam cracker. The capacity of the already existing steam cracker is 640 thousand tonnes. The investment envisages increasing its actual production capacity to 1,040 million tonnes, or about 60 percent. The total production of petrochemicals, which currently amounts to over 5 million tonnes in the ORLEN Group, will increase by over 1 million tonnes.

In turn, in July this year, the company has signed an agreement to take over a part of the business related to the production and sale of LDPE polyethylene belonging to the largest domestic producer of plastics - Basell Orlen Polyolefins, in which it is a shareholder. LDPE polyethylene is a product with a wide range of applications. It is most often used for the production of films, bags, canisters and food packaging. The production capacity of the acquired assets is 100 thousand tonnes per year, which means that PKN ORLEN alone, as the only producer of LDPE polyethylene in Poland, will cover approx. 1/3 of the domestic demand for this product.

The demand for petrochemical products will grow, driven by the growing world population, economic growth and a change in the structure of demand for raw materials used in industry. The upward trend also applies to Poland, which uses more and more every year, and their consumption per capita is still significantly lower than in Western Europe. According to estimates, by 2050, the global demand for high-margin petrochemicals is expected to increase by as much as approximately 80 percent.

As it was written earlier, PKN Orlen is exploring ways to produce polymers using carbon dioxide. New technology to capture, store, reuse or replace carbon pollution is being explored around the world, with some companies working on methods of converting the greenhouse gas into products such as plastic, soap, or fabric.

Under its 2030 strategy, Orlen plans to reduce CO2 emissions from existing refining and petrochemical assets by 20% and by 33% from its power generation business. It has also set a 2050 target date for achieving a net zero carbon footprint.

PKN ORLEN is a Polish company and one of Central Europe’s largest refiners of crude oil. We specialize in processing crude oil into world-class unleaded petrol, diesel, heating oil, and aviation fuel as well as plastics and other petroleum related products.
mrchub.com

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said that he saw no shortage of oil in the market, but a lack of oil refining capacity, making it necessary to invest more in capacity to process crude oil into various oil products, said Reuters.

"As of today, we don't see a lack of oil in the market. There is a lack of refining capacity, which is also an issue, so we need to invest more in refining capacity," Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters in Tokyo.

Global oil prices have soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions on Russian energy stoked supply concerns.

Asked about the kingdom's ties with Moscow, Prince Faisal said Russia remains an important partner, especially in regard to the stability of the oil market.

"Russia is an integral part of OPEC plus, and without cooperation in OPEC plus as a collective, it would be impossible to properly ensure adequate supplies of oil to the international markets," he said.

As per MRC, the recovery in Russian oil production has continued this month as higher domestic demand offset a slight drop in exports to key markets. The nation’s producers pumped 10.78 million barrels a day on average from July 1 to 17, according to data from the Energy Ministry’s CDU-TEK unit that was seen by Bloomberg. That’s 0.6% above the June level, according to calculations based on the data, indicating that the pace of the country’s output recovery has slowed.
mrchub.com