Lotte Chemical exits PTA business with sale of Pakistan subsidiary

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korean producer Lotte Chemical is exiting the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) business with the sale of its 75.01% stake in LCPL (LOTTE CHEMICAL Pakistan Ltd), said Koreanpost.

This divestment is part of the company’s medium-term strategy to strengthen its high value-added specialty materials business.

LCPL, which produces 500,000 tonnes/year of PTA at Port Qasim in Karachi, will be sold to Pakistani chemical company Lucky Core Industries (LCI) for Korean won (W) 192.4bn (USD156m) – more than 13 times Lotte Chemical’s acquisition cost in 2009.

The buyer LCI is formerly known as ICI Pakistan, which produces polyester – a derivative product of PTA.

It produces 122,000 tonnes/year of polyester polymer and 135,000 tonnes/year of polyester fibres in Lahore; and 225,000 tonnes/year of soda ash in Khevra, according to ICIS Supply and Demand Database.

In South Korea in July 2020, the company ceased producing PTA at its 600,000 tonne/year plant in Ulsan, and converted it into a facility producing purified isophthalic acid (PIA).

The Ulsan plant’s current PIA capacity is 520,000 tonnes/year.

By 2030, the company is targeting high value-added specialty and eco-friendly material business to account for 60% of its total projected sales of W50tr (USD41bn).

Lotte Chemical plans to become carbon neutral in the same year, with plans to invest W4.4tr over 10 years on hydrogen production, in line with its target of supplying 30% of South Korea’s demand for the clean fuel.

We remind, Since the beginning of September 2022, Lotte Chemical has reduced the load on PP production in Yeosu and Daesan (Yeosu and Daesan Gudang, South Korea) by 20% since the beginning of September 2022. The total PP production capacity in Yeosu and Daesan is 1.23 million tonnes.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Turkey’s Sasa Polyester has announced a licensing deal with Honeywell UOP for a 1m tonne/year propylene production plant based on propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology, said the company.

The agreement also covered technical service and warranty aspects of the USD1.5bn project to be constructed in the Yumurtalik investment area in Turkey’s southern province of Adana, Sasa added, when filing details of the deal with the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Sasa said that it expected the contribution of the planned investment to its turnover would be USD1.2bn.

The targeted completion date for the plant was the first half of 2026, the company also said.

We remind, Sasa Polyester Sanayi increased the loading of PET production in the city of Adana (Adana, Turkey) up to 100%. Previously, the capacity of this plant with a capacity of 365,000 tonnes of PET per year was reduced in October last year due to low demand.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- One of the world’s leading energy companies, Masdar has signed joint development agreements with Azerbaijan’s State Oil Company SOCAR, for onshore wind and solar projects and integrated offshore wind and green hydrogen projects, with a total combined capacity of 4 gigawatts (GW), said Ceenergynews.

“These agreements will serve to strengthen the already powerful relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Azerbaijan and are a testament to our shared commitment to diversifying our energy mix and developing low- and zero-carbon solutions,” said HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate and Chairman of Masdar.

“Masdar sees Azerbaijan as a key strategic partner, one we are proud to support in its clean energy journey,” added Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar. “This signing marks a milestone on the development and delivery of a significant collaboration that will advance Azerbaijan’s renewable energy goals and support its ongoing sustainable economic development."

Indeed, Azerbaijan aims to increase the shares of renewables in its energy mix by up to 30 per cent by 2030.

“Azerbaijan’s main priority now is the generation of electricity and hydrogen from renewable energy sources, their integration into the country’s energy system, as well as their transportation to more European markets,” stated Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov on the occasion of his participation in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the United Arab Emirates.

In June last year, Masdar signed implementation agreements with Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy to develop a renewable energy program on a bilateral basis, with a total capacity of 10 GW across multiple technologies. The above-mentioned 4 GW projects are part of the first phase of the agreements signed last year.

We remind, Romgaz said it signed the first individual contract for gas deliveries from Azerbaijan, with Azeri national oil company Socar. The contract allows for scheduled gas deliveries through the Southern Corridor starting January 1, using the transportation capacities of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB) , as well as those of the Bulgarian and Romanian transmission systems, Romgaz said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Novatex Limited has withdrawn its public announcement of intention (PAI) to acquire 75.01% shares of Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM), said Pakistantoday.

The announcement was made by the manager of the offer, Arif Habib Limited (AHL), to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). According to the notification issued by the manager of the offer, the PAI was withdrawn because the parties were unable to agree on the terms of the transaction. The initial acquisiton announcement was made six months ago on July 13, 2022.

The share price of LOTCHEM closed at Rs 24.85 on Monday, down 4.64%.

LOTCHEM was incorporated in Pakistan on 30 May 1998. The principal activity of the company is the manufacture and sale of Pure Terephthalic Acid (PTA).

Lotte, the South Korean conglomerate, acquired the majority shareholdings in Pakistan PTA Limited (PPTA) in September 2009. Subsequently, the name of the company was changed to Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd. The corporation is the single largest shareholder of LOTCHEM with a 75.01% shareholding.

We remind, Lotte Chemical is exiting the purified terephthalic acid (PTA) business with the sale of its 75.01% stake in LCPL (LOTTE CHEMICAL Pakistan Ltd). This divestment is part of the company’s medium-term strategy to strengthen its high value-added specialty materials business. LCPL, which produces 500,000 tonnes/year of PTA at Port Qasim in Karachi, will be sold to Pakistani chemical company Lucky Core Industries (LCI) for Korean won (W) 192.4bn ($156m) – more than 13 times Lotte Chemical’s acquisition cost in 2009.

The buyer LCI is formerly known as ICI Pakistan, which produces polyester – a derivative product of PTA.

The company has the capacity to produce 520,000 tonnes of PTA annually through its state-of-the-art plant located at Port Qasim, Karachi. The plant at the port was built using ICI’s state-of-the-art technology when it was commissioned in 1998. It produces Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA), an essential raw material for Pakistan’s textile and PET packaging industries, and forms the backbone of the polyester chain, including Polyester Staple Fibre, Filament Yarn and PET (bottle grade) resin.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Trafigura Group said it has completed the sale of its 24.5% indirect minority stake in downstream energy and petrochemicals company Nayara Energy to Hara Capital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mareterra Group, said the company.

Nayara operates the second largest single site refinery in Vadinar, India, and will be entering into the petrochemicals sector with a new 450,000 tonnes/y polypropylene plant that is currently being built at Vadinar and expected to start up by 4Q 2023.

We remind, Trafigura has sold its 24.5% stake in Russia-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy to a Rome-based energy investment group, following on from a deal on Monday where a group of firms backed by the commodity trading company agreed to buy Lukoil's Italian refinery. Trafigura said it had completed the sale of its "indirect minority interest" in Nayara Energy to Hara Capital Sarl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mareterra Group Holding formerly known as Genera Group Holding. Reuters reported in 2021 that the global commodity trader was looking to sell its stake in the Indian oil refining joint venture with Russia's Rosneft to an Italian group Genera.

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