Chile signs oil import deal with Argentina YPF

Chilean state oil company National Petroleum Company (ENAP) said on Monday it has signed a temporary agreement with Argentine oil firm YPF to import crude through the Trasandino pipeline, a key step for both countries' trade, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The Trasadino pipeline, known as OTA-OTC or OTASA, connects the huge Vaca Muerta shale formation in the western Patagonian province of Neuquen with Chile, and is co-owned by ENAP, YPF, and Chevron Corp.

Vaca Muerta, the world's second largest shale gas reserve and fourth largest for shale oil, is seen as key to Argentina's push to lessen reliance on pricey energy imports.

The contract, which is valid for 45 days, would enable the Chilean firm to buy 41,000 barrels of oil per day between May and June.

ENAP said in a statement that, although the deal is a "regular purchase operation," it is an initial step for the renewal of "energy-oil interconnection between the two countries in the long term."

We remind, Argentina's state oil company YPF and its Malaysian counterpart, Petronas, inked a deal on Thursday to build a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant and a pipeline to transport the fuel, as demand for the fossil fuel spikes globally. An agreement could be announced as soon as the end of the week, likely ahead of the Gastech conference in Milan that begins on 5 September.

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Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will take USD754 MM worth of loans for a project to expand its sole oil refinery and boost its annual crude oil processing capacity by more than 1 million tons, Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The loans will account for 60% of the funding needed to raise Dung Quat refinery's capacity to 7.6 million from 6.5 million tons, the company said in a statement at the weekend.

Binh Son said in April 2022 it would roll out the expansion that same year. In its latest statement, it said the government had approved the plan and the expansion would take 37 months, with completion by the first quarter of 2028.

It last month said it would delay maintenance at the refinery until 2024 and profits were expected to drop 88% this year due to rising costs, including higher taxes.

We remind, Vietnam's Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical will delay the maintenance at its refinery until next year, and said it expects profits to drop 88% this year due to rising costs, including higher taxes. Binh Son said the maintenance delay would allow the company to "maximize its production, revenue and profit" this year. The 130,000-barrel-per-day refinery was originally scheduled to undergo major maintenance from June 22 to August 11 in 2023. The maintenance will now take place early next year, the company said in a statement.

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Sika has completed the acquisition of MBCC Group after having received all necessary regulatory approvals, said the company.

MBCC Group, headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, and formerly owned by an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, is active in the field of construction systems and admixture systems. To close the transaction and to comply with regulatory requirements, Sika sold MBCC Group’s chemical admixtures assets in the UK, the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to the international private equity firm Cinven. The business now acquired by Sika employs 6,200 people and operates in over 60 countries and 95 production facilities.

Thomas Hasler, CEO: "Today is a historic day for Sika. We are delighted to welcome the MBCC employees to the Sika family. We embark on our exciting journey and will continue to drive Sika’s growth story. Thanks to our extensive experience in integrating companies, we will successfully bring Sika and MBCC together and combine our strengths to create the new reference in the construction chemicals industry."

We remind, the European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Germany-based construction chemicals producer MBCC by Switzerland’s Sika. The approval, under the EU Merger Regulation, is conditional on the divestiture of MBCC's global chemical admixture business.

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PPG announced that Christine Camsuzou, currently interim chief procurement officer (CPO), has been appointed vice president, procurement and CPO, effective immediately, said the company.

Reporting to Ram Vadlamannati, senior vice president, operations, Camsuzou will be responsible for leading PPG’s global procurement team, processes and strategy.

“Christine is a proven leader who has held many key regional and global assignments and has managed relationships with many of PPG’s key customers,” Vadlamannati said. “With her proven experience across PPG’s global portfolio and the overall coatings industry, she is well equipped to lead the global procurement organization and drive business success for the company.”

Camsuzou began her career with PPG in 1986 and has moved through positions of increasing responsibility across various functions. She has had global leadership responsibility within the procurement function for a decade and was instrumental in implementing global sourcing strategies, leading initiatives to lower supply risks, and delivering on PPG’s savings targets.

Camsuzou earned a Master of Business Administration from ESCAE in Pau, France. At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and specialty materials that our customers have trusted for 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 70 countries and reported net sales of USD17.7 billion in 2022. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets.

The PPG Logo and We protect and beautify the world are registered trademarks of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

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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SK Innovation Co Ltd, owner of South Korea's top refiner SK Energy, said on Thursday it expects a "solid" refining margin in the second quarter, backed by China's reopening and the summer driving season, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The company did not specify how much it expects its second-quarter refining margin, a key profit metric for refiners, to be. The company posted operating profit of ? 375 B for the first quarter ended March, versus 1.6 trillion won a year earlier. That compared with an average analyst forecast of 175 billion won compiled by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

Revenue rose 18% to ?19.1 T. SK Innovation, which has a total refining capacity of 1.115 million barrels per day (bpd) at its plants in Ulsan and Incheon, said it operated its facilities at 80% of capacity on average in the first quarter, compared with 77% for the whole of 2022.

It said it planned to carry out routine maintenance scheduled for its No.5 crude distillation unit (CDU) and No. 1 residue fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) in Ulsan in the second quarter. SK Innovation's battery unit SK On - which supplies electric vehicle (EV) batteries to Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), and Hyundai Motor Co among others - accounted for about 17% of revenue in the first quarter.

SK On said in a post-earnings conference call that it had revised down its operating loss for the fourth quarter by more than 30% to ?338 B, reflecting provisions needed for defects in batteries supplied to Ford Motor. In March, Ford Motor, which uses batteries from SK On, recalled 18 electric trucks due to a battery cell manufacturing defect.

Ford said it would replace the battery packs in the 18 vehicles but it was not aware of any fires or injuries related to the recall.

SK On Chief Financial Officer Kim Kyunghun said the company had not yet decided when tax benefits from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act would be reflected in the company's accounts.

The company said it was discussing potential battery supply deals with clients in North America in light of the U.S. EV tax credits. SK On currently has battery joint ventures with Ford and Hyundai Motor Group in the United States.

SK On's cross-town rival LG Energy Solution Ltd last month offered an upbeat outlook for demand for EV batteries in North America due to the Inflation Reduction Act. Shares of SK Innovation were trading up 0.5% in morning trade, versus a 0.3% fall in the broader KOSPI index.

We remind, North American chemical railcar traffic fell for a second week, with loadings for the week ended 29 April down 1.3% year on year to 47,654, led by a 1.9% decline in the US, according to the latest freight rail data by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). For the first 17 weeks of 2023 ended 29 April, North American chemical rail traffic was down 3.2% year on year to 776,704, with US traffic down 6.0%, to 552,069 loadings.

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