Kuwait's al-Zour refinery now fully operational

Kuwait’s mega Al-Zour refinery is now fully operational, Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co. announced on Sunday, as per Bloomberg.

Bringing online the third of the three mini refineries that make up Al-Zour will gradually take the facility’s refining capacity to 615,000 barrels a day from a current 410,000 barrels a day, KIPIC chief executive officer, Waleed Al-Bader, said in a statement.

The plant was shut down last month after a fuel gas feed was cut off. The delay in reaching full operation was due to an issue with a unit, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.

Al-Zour, which is one of the biggest oil-processing facilities in the Middle East, will boost the nation’s refining capacity to about 1.5 million barrels a day.

We remind, Egypt's Suez Canal economic zone and Scatec ASA have signed a memorandum of understanding worth $1.1 B to supply ships with green fuel, a Suez Canal statement said on Sunday. The MoU agreed on the sidelines of the COP28 conference held in Dubai envisages production of 100,000 tons of green methanol per year by 2027, the statement said.

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AkzoNobel and Kansai Paint have mutually agreed not to proceed with the company's intended acquisition of Kansai's paints and coatings activities in Africa, said the company.

Commenting on the decision, AkzoNobel CEO, Greg Poux-Guillaume, says: “It's disappointing that this intended acquisition cannot move forward, but we remain committed to our strong businesses and leading brands in Africa. As AkzoNobel’s performance rebound gathers pace, we'll remain focused on our key priorities, including the strengthening of our balance sheet, which will be accelerated.”

The two companies have agreed that no break-up fee will be involved.

We remind, AkzoNobel launches industry’s first architectural powder coating that can be cured at temperatures as low as 150°C while still being Qualicoat class one certified. Curing at temperatures 30°C lower than traditional powder coatings means that Interpon D1036 Low-E can help customers cut energy consumption by as much as 20%.

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The Chemours Company and Advanced Performance Materials announces that it, along with DuPont de Nemours Inc and Corteva Inc, have reached settlement agreement with the State of Ohio for $110 M to resolve claims associated with the manufacture and sale of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), said the company.

The agreement resolves the State’s claims relating to releases of PFAS from the companies’ facilities including the Washington Works facility located along the Ohio-West Virginia border. The agreement also resolves claims relating to the manufacture and sale of PFAS-containing products and the State’s claims related to aqueous film-forming foam (“AFFF”). Of the $110 million total payment, 80% will be allocated by the State for conduct related to discharges from Washington Works, and the remaining 20% for other PFAS claims statewide, including AFFF.

Consistent with the binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Chemours, DuPont, and Corteva agreed in January 2021, Chemours will be responsible for 50% of the settlement costs, or $55 million, with DuPont and Corteva responsible for the remaining 50%.

Chemours believes this settlement furthers its objective to manage and resolve legacy liabilities, consistent with our MOU framework in coordination with DuPont and Corteva.

We remind, Chemours Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Glycolic Acid business for USD137 M in cash to PureTech Scientific, a company founded and backed by Iron Path Capital, a private equity firm focused on lower-middle market investments across the speciality industrial and healthcare sectors. The Chemours Company is a chemistry company with market positions in titanium technologies, thermal & specialized solutions, and advanced performance materials.

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French energy and petrochemicals major TotalEnergies on Friday announced an agreement to divest its 36.36% minority stake in National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Natref) to UK-based Prax Group, said the company.

Natref, which has a 108,500 bbl/day refinery at Sasolburg, supplies the Johannesburg area. The divestment was in line with TotalEnergies' strategy to focus on its large integrated fuels and petrochemicals platforms and to divest its non-core assets, said Jean-Pierre Sbraire, chief financial officer of TotalEnergies.

Prax Group said that the Natref refinery would serve “as a focal point" for its expansion into Africa. Financial details were not disclosed.

The transaction is subject to customary approvals, consents and authorisations. South African energy and petrochemicals company Sasol holds the remaining 63.64% stake in Natref.

We remind, TotalEnergies has reported net income of $6.67bn (€6.33bn) in the third quarter of 2023, a marginal 1% increase compared with $6.62bn in the same period a year ago, said the company. In the July–September quarter of 2023, the French oil and gas company reported $54.41bn in revenue from sales, a 16% decline from $64.92bn in Q3 2022.

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INEOS has announced it has completed the acquisition of the Eastman Texas City site, the 600kt Acetic Acid plant and all associated third party activities, from Eastman Chemical Company, said the company.

As previously announced, Eastman and INEOS have also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to explore options for a long-term supply agreement for vinyl acetate monomer.

David Brooks, CEO INEOS Acetyls, comments "We are delighted to have completed this strategic acquisition which will help drive our global ambition for our Acetyls business. Our focus now will be on the integration of the site, business and employees into INEOS Acetyls.

The site is ideally placed to take advantage of competitively priced feedstocks which will help support the growth of our business and sustainable future of the site."

The plasticisers unit on the site will continue to be owned by Eastman, but will now be operated and maintained by INEOS.

All current employees on the Eastman Texas City site have now transferred over to INEOS.

We remind, INEOS Group Holdings S.A. announces its trading performance for the third quarter of 2023, said the company. Based on unaudited management information INEOS reports that EBITDA for the third quarter of 2023 was €403 million, compared to €511 million for Q3, 2022 and €387 million for Q2, 2023.

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