GAIL to take over debt-laden JBF Petrochemicals in a rare deal for a PSU

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Government-backed GAIL (India) emerged as the successful bidder for debt-laden JBF Petrochemicals, said Livemint.

GAIL's resolution plan received a 100% vote of the committee of creditors of JBF and thereby the approval has been granted. GAIL was among a host of major companies like ONGC, Reliance, Indian Oil and others that showed interest in JBF Petrochemicals which has defaulted against a bank loan of around ?5,000 crore.

GAIL participated in the process of Request for Resolution plan for JBF Petrochemicals in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC).

In its regulatory filing, GAIL said, "the Resolution Professional in the matter of CIRP has informed that GAIL (India) Limited has been declared a Successful Resolution Applicant and GAIL's Resolution Plan received the affirmative vote of 100% of the members of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) by value and has been approved as per the requirements of the IBC."

Incorporated in September 2008, JBF Petrochemicals was set up with a view to commission a 1.25 million tonnes per annum capacity Purified Terephthalic Acid plant at Mangalore Special Economic Zone.

As per the JBF Industries website, the expected project cost stood at $750 million. The project received debt financing of USD464 million via ECB which was underwritten by IDBI Bank. Also, KKR invested USD150 million for the completion of the project.

However, the company is currently undergoing CIRP following the extant provisions of IBC and other relevant rules and regulations notified in the order dated January 28, 2022, of the NCLT Ahmedabad bench.

JBF Petrochemicals has defaulted against debt to the tune of around ?5,000 crore. IDBI Bank is said to have the highest exposure in the defaulted loan, while among other lenders are Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, EXIM Bank and Union Bank of India.

As MRC reported earlier, GAIL (India) Ltd, India’s principal gas transmission and marketing company under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is on track to start up its propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility and polypropylene (PP) plant in Usar, Maharashtra by 2024. GAIL has recently chosen Lummus Technology’s CATOFIN process and Clariant’s tailor-made catalysts for India’s first PDH plant. Its upcoming 500 kiloton per annum PDH facility in Usar will be integrated with the downstream polypropylene (PP) unit. The cost of PDH-PP project is estimated at USD1.2 B.

GAIL India Ltd is the country’s largest natural gas company, and one of seven Maharatna Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Government of India. Founded in 1984, the Delhi-based company operates in India and abroad in various segments such as transmission services, natural gas, petrochemicals, liquefied petroleum gas and other liquid hydrocarbons.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Rosneft will parnter with Indonesia to contribute USD24 B on a greenfield refinery in East Java province, according to Global Construction Review, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refinery will have 14 refining units for vehicle fuels as well as seven units for petrochemicals. The purpose is to construct a facility which can process heavy crude oil and high sulfur crude oil.

Per the publication, "Kilang Pertamina International (KPI), Pertamina’s refining subsidiary, set up a joint venture with Rosneft in 2016 to develop the project, but the pandemic delayed work and the engineering design was not finalised until August this year. That work was done by Spanish contractor Tecnicas Reunidas.

The scheme is expected to break ground in the third quarter of next year, with completion due in 2027. Pertamina will hold a 55% stake in the asset and Rosneft 45%."

The hope is to secure a contractor for an EPC and to increase capacity by 300,000 bpd to 1.15 MM bpd by 2024.

We remind, Poland will only help supply oil to Germany's PCK Schwedt refinery if Russia's Rosneft is completely removed as a shareholder, Poland's climate ministry said, raising pressure on Germany to completely nationalize the refiner. Germany took control of the Schwedt refinery, which was majority owned by Rosneft Deutschland, last Friday as Berlin strives to shore up energy supplies. It put Rosneft Deutschland under a trusteeship of the German industry regulator but Rosneft still holds 54% of the company's shares.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- PPG announced that Tim Knavish, chief operating officer, has been named president and chief executive officer (CEO), effective Jan. 1, 2023. Knavish will join the company’s Board of Directors, effective October 20, 2022, said the company.

Knavish, 57, who has served as PPG’s chief operating officer since March, will succeed Chairman and CEO Michael McGarry, 64, in the role of CEO. McGarry, who has served as CEO since September 2015, will become Executive Chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2023. McGarry also has announced to the PPG Board of Directors his intention to retire as Executive Chairman and as a director of the Company, effective October 1, 2023.

McGarry has served as chairman and CEO of PPG since September 2016. During his more than 40 years with PPG, he has served in a variety of key business and functional leadership roles in the U.S., Europe and Asia, and led several strategic actions that transformed PPG’s business portfolio. McGarry currently serves on the board of directors of United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X), Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., and the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a former member of the board of Axiall Corporation, and former chairman of the board of directors of The American Coatings Association (ACA).

Knavish joined PPG in 1987 at PPG’s global headquarters in Pittsburgh. He advanced through roles of increasing responsibility in several key businesses and functions, including serving as plant manager for the East Point, Georgia, architectural coatings manufacturing facility. In 2005, Knavish moved to Australia as managing director, Australia and New Zealand coatings, and general manager, automotive refinish. In 2007, Knavish returned to the U.S. where he assumed responsibility for automotive coatings, Americas, and in early 2010, he was named a vice president. In 2012, he was appointed global vice president, protective and marine coatings and in 2016 became senior vice president, automotive coatings.

Knavish was named senior vice president, industrial coatings in 2017. In addition to global leadership of PPG’s industrial coatings, packaging coatings and coatings services businesses, Knavish was responsible for the global procurement function and for PPG’s Asia Pacific region. In January 2019, he was appointed senior vice president, architectural coatings and president, PPG Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Prior to being named chief operating officer, Knavish served as executive vice president beginning in October 2019, where he was responsible for PPG’s global architectural coatings businesses; the global automotive refinish business; the Latin America region; and the digital and information technology functions.

A native of Pittsburgh, Knavish earned both a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He currently serves on the board of directors of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

We remind, PPG will invest USD11 million to double the production capacity of its powder coatings plant in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. The expansion project is expected to be completed by mid-2023 and will allow the plant to meet the expected future demand for powder coatings in Mexico.

PPG is a leading supplier of powder coatings to the automotive, transportation, appliance, furniture and other markets. The company expanded the business with its 2020 acquisition of Alpha Coating Technologies, which manufactures powder coatings for light industrial applications and heat-sensitive substrates, and its 2021 acquisition of Worwag, which makes liquid, powder and film coatings for industrial and automotive applications. PPG recently agreed to acquire the powder coatings business of Arsonsisi, including a manufacturing plant in Verbania, Italy.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Workers voted to end a strike at TotalEnergies' Donges refinery on Wednesday, bolstering the government's hopes the supply situation at petrol stations around the country will rapidly improve, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

A CGT union representative told Reuters industrial action was continuing at three other TotalEnergies' French refineries - La Mede, Feyzin and Normandy - as well as at the Dunkirk fuel storage site. But, with an eye on the autumn school break that starts at the end of the week, members of the French government, who forced some fuel depot staff to return to work earlier this week, repeated that a back to normal situation was within reach.

TotalEnergies has been hit by strikes at its refinery sites in France for nearly a month, as workers seek higher salary increases they say would better reflect rising inflation. The protests have disrupted the supply of petrol to service stations, leading to long lines of motorists queuing to fill up cars and causing general public anger.

Government spokesperson Olivier Veran said earlier the number of French petrol stations facing supply problems due to the strike was now down to 21% versus almost a third over the weekend. "We are doing everything we can to get back to a normal situation. The way things are evolving these last days suggest that may happen soon," he told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher also pointed at signs of a general improvement in the supply of petrol to service stations in the country but said the situation in the Paris/Ile-de-France area remained difficult. "We are doing all we can to ensure the situation gets better," she told French radio. Energy company EDF, which the French government is in the process of fully nationalizing, has also been affected by strikes at its nuclear reactors.

France's national grid operator RTE warned on Tuesday that those prolonged strikes at EDF could have "heavy consequences" for the country's electricity supplies over the coming winter. Pannier-Runacher said EDF remained in talks with trade unions to try and resolve that dispute.

We remind, the Flemish government recently awarded TotalEnergies the contract to install 1,500 electric vehicle charging points in Antwerp. In the heart of Europe and in Belgium's most populous city, the company is reinforcing its commitment to offering and developing sustainable mobility, with the aim of becoming Belgium's leading company in the public charging market by 2024.

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Enterprises has announced an agreement to acquire ASHTA Chemicals Inc, from Bigshire Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. The deal, which consists of a 100ktpa Potassium Hydroxide (KOH)/65 ktpa Chlorine plant, is targeted to close before the end of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals, said the company.

ASHTA Chemicals manufacture and market chlorine and a range of potassium-based chemicals to a wide variety of end use markets including liquid fertilizers, runway de-icers, food ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural applications. The business employs around 110 people at its site in Ashtabula, Ohio, close to the INEOS Pigments operations, from where it operates a recently commissioned membrane cell technology chlor-alkali unit.

Commenting on the agreement, Ashley Reed, CEO INEOS Enterprises said “Once completed we believe the deal presents an excellent strategic fit for the long-term local supply and use of chlorine between ASHTA and INEOS Pigments. In addition, ASHTA Chemicals will bring a well-established and respected North American potassium hydroxide business into the INEOS Enterprises portfolio."

Ruy Zavala, CFO of Bigshire Mexico said “ASHTA has undergone significant investments in the past few years under Bigshire’s ownership, most notably the construction and commissioning of a modern membrane cell chlor-alkali plant which utilizes INEOS’ BichlorTM technology. We believe the next phase of ASHTA’s development can be well progressed under INEOS ownership and the complementary strategic fit that will be created will further improve the long-term sustainability of the company and its employees."

We remind, INEOS O&P Europe has announced today a EUR30 MM investment in the conversion of its plant in Lillo, at the Port of Antwerp, to enable its existing capacity to produce either monomodal or bi-modal grades of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This will allow INEOS to meet the strong demand for durable high-end applications such as cable ducts and pipes used to transport green energy sources such as renewable power and hydrogen, whilst enabling the business to follow market trends as society reduces single use packaging.

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