Chexpress - July 24, 2012

North America

Acquisition

TETRA Technologies, Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire almost all of the assets and business of Greywolf Production Systems for $55.5 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close on or about July 31, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions. Greywolf is a well testing and flow company headquartered near Calgary, Alberta, Canada with Canadian operational centers in Crossfield and Grand Prairie, Alberta, and U.S. operational centers in Williston, North Dakota, and Shoshoni, Wyoming.

Natural Gas Processing Plant

Spectra Energy has opened its Dawson Processing Plant in Bessborough, British Columbia, Canada. The 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) plant is being installed in two phases to meet the scale and scope of its customers’ needs in a timely and efficient manner. The initial 100 MMcf/d phase of construction began flowing gas on May 31, 2012. Construction of Phase II is underway and expected to be complete in early 2013.

Plant Research Facility

Bayer CropScience has unveiled its new greenhouse, laboratory and office building in the Research Triangle Park in Durham, North Carolina, where the company plans to consolidate its local plant research work. The $20 million, more than 60,000-square foot facility will be used for research for the development of new corn and soybean genetic traits, among other work, for the company’s bioscience division.

Spin Off and Merger

PPG Industries will separate its commodity chemicals business and merge the operation with Georgia Gulf Corp. to create a new company with combined revenues of $5 billion. The deal is valued at $2.1 billion, and is expected to close later this year or early next year. It will create the third-largest chlor-alkali producer and the second largest vinyl chloride monomer producer in North America.     

World

Petrochemical Project Stake

Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) will likely sell its stake of over 11 percent in the $4.5 billion Long Son petrochemical plant in southern Vietnam to Thai partners in the project. Siam Cement PCL, Thai Plastic and Chemicals PCL, Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co. (Tasweeq), and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) own stakes in the project. The plant is scheduled to start commercial production in 2017 and will produce 1.4 million metric tons of products/year, most of which will be sold in Vietnam.

Divestiture

Repsol has agreed to sell its Chilean butane business for $540 million as part of its strategic plan to focus on upstream investment. Repsol will make a profit of $170 million from the sale of Repsol Butano Chile to a consortium of investors led by LarrainVial Chile.

Refinery Expansion

A subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG’s Global Engineering and Construction Group has been awarded a contract by PDVSA Petroleo S.A. for the engineering, procurement services and construction management for the El Palito Refinery Expansion Project in Venezuela. Foster Wheeler will execute the project in consortium with Toyo Engineering Corporation and Y&V Ingenieria y Construccion. The companies have previously completed the front-end engineering design for the project. The major expansion of the refinery will include a number of new units, including a 140,000 barrels per stream day (BPSD) crude/vacuum distillation unit, a 24,500 BSPD naphtha hydrotreating/continuous catalytic reformer complex, a 58,000 BPSD vacuum gasoil hydrotreater, a 45,000 BPSD diesel hydrotreater, an 80 million cubic feet/day hydrogen production unit, a 250 tons/day sulfur recovery/tail gas treatment unit, a new flare system, amine regeneration and sour water stripper facilities, and relevant utilities, interconnecting and off-sites, including marine facilities and a new product storage tank farm. The expansion is intended to double the refinery’s capacity to 280,000 BPSD, processing heavy and extra-heavy crudes from the Orinoco Belt, and increasing product of clean fuels. The project is expected to be completed in 2016.