The News

• Sabic returns to profit, CEO sees petchem supply/demand gap lasting throughout 2024
  • Sabic saw slightly improved petrochemicals demand in Q1, particularly in China.
  • Global ethylene supplies declined, prompting Sabic to close its Olefins 3 steam cracker in the Netherlands.
  • Despite improved performance, Sabic’s Q1 net profit was 246 million Saudi Arabian riyals, down 62% from the previous year due to lower sales and weaker results from associate firms and JVs. (read more)

• BASF swings to profit on upturn in sales, volumes; maintains guidance
  • BASF reaffirms earnings outlook for 2024 after returning to profit in Q1, beating consensus.
  • Notes a slight recovery in the global chemical industry, attributed to limited inventories restocking. (read more)

• Linde invests $150M for ASU at world’s first large-scale green steel plant
  • Linde PLC to supply industrial gases to H2 Green Steel’s green steel production plant in Sweden.
  • Linde to invest $150 million in an on-site air separation unit (ASU) by 2026.
  • Linde Engineering awarded contract for a pressure swing adsorption unit to recover and purify hydrogen at the Boden site. (read more)

• Backed by $1 billion, Xaira Therapeutics is readying AI-generated drugs
  • Xaira Therapeutics, a new start-up, launched with $1 billion in venture capital, using large language models and diffusion to design protein drugs.
  • Led by Hetu Kamisetty, the company builds on David Baker’s RFdiffusion and RFantibody models to design drugs targeting influenza and coronaviruses.
  • Xaira aims to reverse-engineer drug discovery, designing antibodies for validated targets, with plans to extend this to small molecules in the future. (read more)

• Shell Quits China’s Power Markets
  • Shell has exited the Chinese power generation and trading markets by the end of 2023 as part of its global scaling back of the power business.
  • The company, however, is not abandoning its EV charging business in China, considering it a major growth market.
  • Shell is refocusing on more profitable operations, including oil and gas, and has recently divested from retail power markets in the UK and Germany to Octopus Energy Group. (read more)
• Green Li-ion starts up battery recycling plant
  • Green Li-ion has started a battery recycling plant in Atoka, Oklahoma, using a hydrometallurgical process to extract metals from black mass, a powder from spent batteries.
  • The plant will produce 600–1,100 metric tons of precursors for battery cathodes annually, with plans for capacity expansion in the coming year.
  • Green Li-ion’s technology can extract metals from lithium iron phosphate batteries, including those without nickel or cobalt, which some recyclers don’t process.(read more)
• Vertex to Acquire Alpine Immune Sciences for $4.9 Billion
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals to acquire Alpine Immune Sciences for approximately $4.9 billion in cash.
  • Alpine’s lead molecule, povetacicept (ALPN-303), has shown potential best-in-class efficacy in IgA nephropathy (IgAN)

• QatarEnergy Signs $6 Billion Deal for 18 LNG Vessels with Chinese Shipbuilder
  • China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) will construct 18 giant liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for QatarEnergy under a $6 billion deal.
  • The vessels, with a capacity of 271,000 m3 each, will be built at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, with delivery scheduled between 2028 and 2031.
  • QatarEnergy CEO Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi called it the industry’s largest single shipbuilding contract ever, highlighting Qatar’s significant role as a supplier of LNG to the Chinese market. (read more)

• G7 countries enact coal exit plan but Greenpeace label it ‘too little, too late’
  • G7 nations agree to phase out coal-fired electricity production by 2035 to meet Paris Agreement goals.
  • Greenpeace criticizes the plan as “too little, too late,” urging a complete phase-out of all fossil fuels by 2030.
  • The agreement allows leeway for coal-dependent nations like Japan and Germany, with the US planning to phase out coal by 2039, and other G7 countries committed to exiting by 2030. (read more)

• Anglo American rejects £31bn BHP offer, saying it significantly undervalues the firm
  • Anglo American rejects BHP’s £31bn takeover offer, stating it “significantly undervalues” the company and is highly unattractive due to proposed restructuring plans.
  • BHP aims to merge with Anglo American to become the world’s leading producer of copper, citing rising demand for the metal.
  • The rejection could trigger a hostile takeover battle, with other mining rivals like Glencore and Rio Tinto potentially making rival bids. (read more)

• European Cyclohexane Continues Gaining Strength in April 2024
  • European Cyclohexane prices rose by approximately 2.4% in late April 2024, driven by increased Benzene prices.
  • Despite the price increase, overall demand for Cyclohexane remained low due to a contraction in the Eurozone construction sector, particularly in paints and coatings. (read more)
• Oil Prices Plummet 3% on US Inventory Build, Inflation
  • U.S. crude oil prices fell over 3%, with Brent crude down over 2.8%.
  • Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a surprise build in U.S. crude stockpiles of 7.3 million barrels, the highest since last June.
  • Uncertainty about interest rate cuts, future oil demand growth, and the re-emergence of the on-again-off-again prospect of a ceasefire in the Middle East contributed to the price drop.

• Start-up of $26 billion TMX pipeline set to boost demand and increase price of Canada crude
  • Analysts expect the price differential between oil from the Western Canadian Sedimentary basin (WCS) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to narrow, possibly falling below $10.
  • The start of oil flow through the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project in Canada, despite being over-budget at C$36 billion (US$26.2 billion), is anticipated to increase demand for WCS oil and raise its prices. (read more)

• LG Chem enters the automotive switchable film market
  • LG Chem has developed SGF (Switchable Glass Film) and signed a nomination agreement with Webasto, a German company specializing in skylight systems.
  • Webasto, a top 100 automotive supplier, will use LG Chem’s SGF films to produce roof systems with integrated high-tech glass for European OEMs.
  • SGF is a film that can control passing light and heat by responding to electrical signals, mainly used for automotive sunroof glass, transitioning from opaque to transparent when voltage is applied. (read more)