SK Capital completes acquisition of Apotex

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Apotex Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. announced that its acquisition by an affiliate of funds advised by SK Capital Partners, LP has closed, said the company.

The Company also announces that experienced pharmaceutical executive Allan Oberman has been appointed President and CEO and member of the Board of Apotex.

Allan brings four decades of experience in corporate leadership to Apotex, including 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as CEO of Concordia International Corp. and CEO of Sagent Pharmaceuticals Inc. Prior to these positions, he served as President and CEO of Teva Canada (formerly Novopharm Limited), COO of Teva International Group, President of Teva EMIA and President and CEO of Teva Americas Generics. Mr. Oberman has almost three decades of corporate governance experience, having served on numerous boards, including as Chairman of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, and Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Association for Accessible Medicines. He has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University, and a BA from Western University.

“As a competitor to Apotex for many years, I am very familiar with the company and have admired its people, long-term track record of innovation and commitment to making medicines affordable to patients in Canada and worldwide,” stated Allan Oberman, President and CEO of Apotex. “I’m excited to join the team and build on that legacy.”

“We welcome Allan to the Apotex team. His experience leading major Canadian and international pharmaceutical companies and delivering enhanced shareholder value will benefit Apotex as we grow into a Canadian-based global health company,” said Aaron Davenport, Chairman of the Board of Apotex and Managing Director at SK Capital. “SK Capital looks forward to working with Apotex as it moves into its next phase of growth, leveraging its iconic brand, broad product portfolio, international presence and skilled team.”

Jeff Watson, Apotex’s CEO since 2018, will join the Apotex Board of Directors. “We thank Jeff for his leadership and welcome him to the Board, where we will continue to benefit from his stewardship and counsel,” added Mr. Davenport.

We remind, Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced an integrated technology award from SP Chemicals and its subsidiary SP Olefins. SP Chemicals will license Lummus' CATOFIN technology for a new 800 KTA propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, and SP Olefins will license Lummus' Novolen technology for a new 400 KTA polypropylene (PP) unit. Both units will be located at SP Chemicals' complex in Jiangsu Province, China.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, announced Monday an order to be booked in the first quarter of 2023 with longtime partner QatarEnergy to supply two main refrigerant compressors (MRCs) for the North Field South (NFS) project, which will be executed by Qatargas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The MRCs are part of two LNG “mega trains” representing 16 million tons per annum (MTPA) of additional capacity that is estimated to further boost Qatar’s LNG production capacity to 126 MTPA, helping to propel Qatar as a leader in global LNG production by 2027.

The order reflects more than two decades of trust and successful collaboration between Baker Hughes, QatarEnergy and its various operating companies across the energy value chain. Most notably, Baker Hughes has supported Qatargas since the early 1990s with core LNG liquefaction technology. This most recent contract, which builds upon a previously announced award for North Field East (NFE) expansion in 2020, will bring the overall number of LNG “mega trains” driven by Baker Hughes’ leading energy solutions to 12.

“We are pleased to be a long-time partner to Qatar, helping to position the country as a leading supplier of LNG and helping to unlock more global capacity,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes. “LNG will enable the energy transition by acting as a more reliable, affordable and flexible energy source alongside other new energy sources, including renewables and hydrogen. As an LNG technology leader, Baker Hughes is committed to supporting the sector to capture, transfer and transform gas in a way that meets rising energy demand and reduces emissions.”

Like the trains supplied for the NFE project, Baker Hughes’ LNG technology will contribute to improving the energy efficiency of the project through enhanced machine performance. Each MRC train will consist of three Frame 9E DLN Ultra Low NOx gas turbines and six centrifugal compressors across two LNG “mega trains” for a total scope of supply of six gas turbines to drive 12 centrifugal compressors. Packaging, manufacturing and testing of the gas turbine/compressor trains, a unique Baker Hughes offering, will take place at Baker Hughes’ Gas Technology facilities in Italy and leverage its service site in Ras Laffan, Qatar, for maintenance and technical assistance services.

Maintaining over 45 years of presence in Qatar, Baker Hughes has three service facilities, one research and development center and more than 450 employees. In 2019, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with QatarEnergy for TAWTEEN in-country value program, with the aim to further drive localization and growth in Qatar.

We remind, the North Field is the world’s single largest non-associated natural gas field. The NFS project, owned by QatarEnergy in partnership with a number of international oil companies, and operated by Qatargas, is the second phase of the North Field Expansion Project, which was announced in 2017. When fully completed, it will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 110 MTPA, which will be achieved by the end of the first phase North Field East expansion in 2025, to 126 MTPA by 2027.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR announced that its Canadian entity, KBR Industrial Canada Co., has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) from Equinor Canada for the front-end engineering design (FEED) of the topside facilities of the new Bay Du Nord floating production, storage, and offloading facility (FPSO) to be located offshore Newfoundland, Canada, said the company.

The agreement also includes an option for continuation of detailed design and procurement management services through to final completion of the FPSO. The FEED scope comes on the back of the pre-FEED engineering carried out by KBR in 2022 and will further mature the engineering and execution planning, working towards a final investment decision with first production expected to be in the late 2020s.

During the FEED engineering, KBR will continue to help Equinor develop one of the lowest carbon emitting FPSO's in the world, using an onboard combined cycle power system and the latest technology to minimize the number of crew onboard and maximize digital solutions. All these elements will produce energy safely and securely while minimizing carbon emissions.

KBR will execute the work scope jointly with Canadian sub-contractor Hatch Ltd., an employee-owned multidisciplinary engineering, project management, and professional services firm with a local office in St. John's, Canada, and will provide Equinor with an integrated team across Canada and London.

The Bay du Nord FPSO is a deep-water facility utilizing industry leading technology and digital solutions to ensure safe and reliable production. This award builds upon KBR's unrivalled knowledge and expertise in this arena.

"We are excited to be a part of this significant project with Equinor," said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR's Sustainable Technology Solutions business. "This win is indicative of KBR's strategic commitment to work with clients not only to secure energy supply for the world but to do it in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. KBR adds maximum value to clients such as Equinor, by drawing on our extensive global engineering expertise and applying the latest technology and processes to deliver extraordinary outcomes."

We remind, KBR has launched a new ethylene and propylene process technology, utilising 100% hydrogen-fuelled burners, “for zero emissions from the ethylene cracking furnaces,” said the US energy and chemicals engineer company. The new SCOREKlean technology would play a major role to decarbonise the petrochemical industry, given that furnaces are the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the industry, KBR said.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two Chevron Phillips Chemical plants in Borger and Orange, Texas, were among the nation’s top 5% safety performers to be recognized by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers with an Elite Gold Safety Award for their 2022 performance, said the company.

CPChem plants in Port Arthur and Sweeny, Texas, won the Elite Silver Safety Award, which the AFPM gives to the top 10% of safety performers in the industry. AFPM is a national trade association representing the makers of fuels and petrochemical products.

“We congratulate the CPChem sites that AFPM recognized this year for their outstanding and industry-leading safety performance. At CPChem, we have an extensive history of operational excellence. Safe, reliable operations remain one of our core values and the anchor of our business,” said Elliott W.H. Johnson, SVP, EHSS. “These achievements demonstrate that our employees and contractors are adhering our culture of Performance by Design. Caring by Choice and are advancing our company toward Our Journey to Zero goal each year."

The Elite Gold and Silver Safety Awards recognize AFPM member facilities that demonstrate outstanding safety performance along with safety program innovation and leadership. To win these awards, AFPM member facilities undergo a rigorous screening process by the AFPM Distinguished Safety Award (DSA) Selection Committee.

Of the 246 facilities that applied in 2022, only 29 passed the screening criteria. CPChem retains a strong safety record among peer member companies for combined employee and contractor recordable incidence rates, based on available data reported by the American Chemistry Council’s Responsible Care program. CPChem is also active in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP), with all 18 wholly owned U.S. facilities designated as OSHA VPP Star Sites.

We remind, We remind, Chevron Corp. posted a record USD36.5 bn profit for 2022 that was more than double year-earlier earnings but fell shy of Wall Street estimates, undercut by an asset writedowns and a retreat in oil and gas prices. The second largest U.S. oil producer's adjusted net profit for 2022 beat by about USD10 billion its previous record set in 2011. But USD1.1 B in writedowns in its international oil and gas operations in the fourth quarter left earnings short of forecasts for adjusted net profit of USD37.2 B.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Privately controlled Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp (ZPC), operator of China's largest refinery, said on Thursday it has reached a strategic agreement with state refining giant Sinopec on the domestic marketing of its fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Under a deal reached earlier this week, Sinopec will handle more than 60% of ZPC's domestic refined products sales, worth about USD8.0 B a year, the company said in a statement posted on its WeChat account. China, already with the world's largest refining capacity, is continuing to add processing plants, with production far outpacing growth in fuel demand and competition for home fuel markets becoming more fierce.

"With the growing new refining capacity at home, the mismatch between refined fuel supply and demand will become more and more prominent," ZPC said in the statement. ZPC, controlled by private chemical group Rongsheng Petrochemical Co Ltd,operates an 800,000 barrels-per-day refinery in the eastern port of Zhoushan.

Earlier this week, Rongsheng Petrochemical agreed to sell a 10% stake in itself to Middle Eastern energy giant Saudi Aramco for USD3.6 B. The deal included agreements on Aramco supplying crude oil to two Chinese refiners, oil storage for the Saudis in Zhoushan and the supply of petrochemicals from Rongsheng back to Saudi Arabia over a span of 20 years.

We remind, Sinopec Corp announced that it has completed trial runs at a 1-MMtpy ethylene plant in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that will boost exports. The facility is part of a 28.6 B-yuan (USD4.15 B) complex built at the site and is the second major petrochemical plant starting this year after a similar-sized facility was announced last week by PetroChina in Guangdong province.

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