U.S. court upholds Conoco USD8.7 B award for loss of Venezuela assets

A U.S. court upheld a tribunal's USD8.75 B award to U.S. oil producer ConocoPhillips over the expropriation of its Venezuelan oil assets, granting a default judgment in the case, said Reuters.

The decision gives the U.S. company new authority to collect on a 2019 award by a World Bank tribunal. The award includes interest that adds at least USD1 B to the amount owed to Conoco.

The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes awarded Conoco USD8.75 billion over the 2007 expropriation of three of its oil projects in the country. Conoco had sought up to USD30 B for the takeover.

Venezuela's government rejected the court's decision in a statement issued by the president's office on Monday evening, saying the country would continue to take legal action to "preserve its patrimony." "This unfair decision has been forged by violating... Venezuela's right to defense," the statement said.

It added that the decision was in "complicity with Venezuelan extremists, including (opposition leader) Juan Guaido." Guaido didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela seized Conoco assets during late President Hugo Chavez's nationalizations of oil, electricity and steel industries.

The country was bound by the terms of the ICSID Convention and Conoco had properly notified the country of its lawsuit through the U.S. Department of State, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols said in his decision. ConocoPhillips said it plans "to pursue all available legal avenues to obtain a full and fair recovery," but did not comment on planned actions.

Conoco previously has used legal seizures of Venezuelan oil assets to enforce its claims. Its share price rose less than 1% to USD105.24 on a day in which the broader market fell sharply.

Venezuela's main foreign asset is U.S.-based Citgo Petroleum, an oil refiner that split from its parent in 2019 and has been operating under legal protections from creditors issued by the U.S. Treasury Department.

We remind, ConocoPhillips submitted a plan to develop an oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea for 10.5 B Norwegian crowns (USD1.10 B), the first of an expected rush of new petroleum projects to be launched in Norway this year. Known as Eldfisk North, the development is part of the wider Ekofisk area, where ConocoPhillips has pumped hydrocarbons for more than 50 years.

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Lummus Technology announced two major technology awards from Fujian Eversun New Material Co., Ltd. Fujian Eversun selected Lummus' CATOFIN technology for a new 900,000 tpy propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit and Lummus' Novolen technology for a new 800,000 tpy polypropylene unit at its complex in Fujian Province, China, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Lummus' scope includes the license for the CATOFIN and Novolen technologies, basic design engineering, training, services and catalyst supply. At 900, 000 tpy, the CATOFIN unit will be the world's largest PDH unit alongside another unit in China that Lummus also licensed.

"CATOFIN and Novolen have very strong market positions due to their high reliability, lower capital and operating expenses, exceptional environmental performance and simple processes," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. "In addition to these competitive and cost advantages, Fujian Eversun will benefit from Lummus' unique integrated technology offering providing a single-point performance guarantee during the entire life cycle of both units, from the feed in to product output to ongoing operations."

CATOFIN is an industry-leading method for light paraffin dehydrogenation that delivers excellent annual production output compared to alternative technologies. The process operates at thermodynamically advantaged reactor pressure and temperature to maximize conversion of propane to propylene, while reducing investment and operating costs.

Lummus Novolen Technology GmbH has added capacity of more than 7,300,000 tpy since 2020, making it the most licensed polypropylene technology in the world during this time period. Novolen also offers an expanded line polypropylene reactor, related engineering, technical support and advisory services, and catalysts for the production of high-performance polypropylene grades.

As per MRC, Lummus Technology announced the launch of a major enhancement to its leading ethane feed steam cracker that is capable of achieving zero CO2 emissions from an ethylene plant. Lummus developed this next generation design as part of its comprehensive strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all of its technology offerings. The cracker, which is the industry's first, is now available for commercial use to decarbonize a process in petrochemical manufacturing that is very carbon intensive. It can be incorporated into both new and existing ethane crackers, and at sites and facilities of different sizes.
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SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has announced that its SABIC SK Nexlene Company (SSNC) joint venture with SK Geo Centric (formerly SK Global Chemicals) in South Korea will expand the capacity of their plant in Ulsan for production of advanced material solutions using NEXLENE technology, said the company.

The plant, operated by Korea Nexlene Company (KNC), supports the production of SABIC’s broad portfolio of COHERE™ metallocene polyolefin plastomers (POP), SUPEER™ metallocene linear low density polyethylenes (mLLDPE) and FORTIFY™ polyolefin elastomers (POE).

The capacity expansion will become operational in the second quarter of 2024 to meet a growing demand for NEXLENE based polyolefin solutions in several differentiated high-end market segments. Target applications include encapsulant film for use in photovoltaics, enabling energy transition, as well as innovations in new mobility, lighter weight & resilient footwear applications and enhanced packaging solutions to reduce food wastage.

Sami Al-Osaimi, Vice President of PE & Sales, SABIC, and Board Chairman for SSNC said, “We have identified a strong trend towards customized and high-performance polyolefins, especially metallocene polyethylene materials, in several important new technology markets.” He added, “Our COHERE POP, SUPEER mLLDPE and FORTIFY POE polymers are ideally positioned to meet the needs of our global customers for enhanced toughness, flexibility, elasticity, heat-sealing properties, and optical properties, amongst others. The KNC plant capacity increase will provide the operational efficiency to boost the growth of these NEXLENE based materials. At the same time, it will give us a significant competitive edge to strengthen the market penetration of our brands."

The innovative NEXLENE technology combines a bimodal solution process with a proprietary metallocene catalyst to yield state-of-the-art ethylene copolymers with tailored molecular weight distribution and modality.

As per MRC, SABIC is looking at building a plant in Port Arthur, Texas, with process units for polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene (PE) using SK Global Chemical’s Nexlene technology. Sabic filed a Chapter 313 application with the state of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for tax breaks from the local school district. According to the application, Sabic will build a 400,000 tonne/year PP unit, a 400,000 tonne/year HDPE C4/C6 bimodal unit and a 400,000 tonne/year PE unit using the Nexlene technology.

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Record natural gas pricing for Poland-based chemicals producer Grupa Azoty has driven the company to halt some caprolactam (capro), polyamide 6 (PA6), and nitrogen fertilizers production, the firm said.

The company is planning to halt production of nitrogen fertilizers, PA6, and capro at its Grupa Azoty SA division – the overall company parent, based in Tarnow, Poland – and reduce production at its Pulawy site in the country.

The temporary shutdowns at its Grupa Azoty SA operations are expected to come into effect from Tuesday (23 August), the company said, driven by “record” natural gas prices.

Azoty estimates that its natural gas pricing has increased from EUR72 per megawatt hour (MWh) on 22 February to EUR276/MWh on 22 August.

Azoty is understood to have already reduced production of melamine, ammonia, and urea in July.

The company had not responded to requests for comment on the extent of the production cuts at its Pulawy operations at the time of publication.

Earlier it was reported that Grupa Azoty Zak plans to shut the production of dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) at its plant in Kedzierzyn (Poland) in the second half of August for repairs. Grupa Azoty intends to close this production facility with a capacity of 65 thousand tons of DOTP per year in Kedzierzyn by the second half of August.

Grupa Azoty S.A. - a large diversified chemical holding, is the fifth largest producer of polyamides in Europe, the only Polish producer of polyoxymethylene and one of the leading producers of mineral fertilizers in the European Union. The largest shareholder is the State Treasury of Poland (32.05%), the rest of the owners are institutional investors. Grupa Azoty Tarnow is engaged in the production and distribution of building plastics, as well as raw materials for their production and mineral fertilizers.
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European recycling group GreenGroup has acquired Lithuanian low-density polyethylene (LDPE) recycling company UAB Ecso, said Packaging-gateway.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Founded in 2009, UAB Ecso claims to be one of Lithuania’s leading polyethylene recyclers, with an annual film waste processing capacity of 20,000t.

The company converts film waste from household and industrial post-consumption into recycled LDPE granules. The acquisition is part of GreenGroup’s mergers and acquisition (M&A) strategy and marks the company’s entry into the polyolefin recycling market.

It is also expected to help the group expand in the LDPE sector across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Over the coming years, the company plans to invest between €150m and €200m to strengthen its position as an integrated recycling group in the CEE region.

GreenGroup board chairman Constantin Damov said: “The Lithuanian model proved to be a local success for closed-loop resourcing of plastic waste, aligned with the circular economy objectives. “With this investment, we are positioning the Group as the first line of defence for limiting the environmental impact of single-use plastics – a group fitting both PET and polyolefins. “Our objective is to scale this model in the region and other countries as well.”

Abris Romania partner and head Adrian Stanculescu said: “This latest acquisition consolidates GreenGroup’s recycling activities over the past 20 years and is a decisive step in the Group’s strategy to become a key player in polyolefins recycling in the region.

“Furthermore, it is a strategic investment that reinforces the Group’s commitment to sustainability and to tackling the most pressing environmental issues, such as plastic pollution and reducing carbon footprints.” The deal with UAB Ecso comes nearly a month after GreenGroup acquired SIGAD, a Romanian company that develops environmental reporting software.

Acording to ICIS-MRC Price Report, Kazanorgsintez shut down one of its two reactors of the third LDPE production line on 10 August due to technical problems. The downtime is expected to last for two weeks. The Kazan producer also intends to shut down the second LDPE production line (the 108 grade) for scheduled maintenance from 20 September till 12 October.

The group is backed by Abris Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Poland.
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