LyondellBasell Grants Hostalen ACP License To PetroChina

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) announced that its Hostalen Advanced Cascade Process (ACP) technology will be used by PetroChina for 1100KTA of high density polyethylene (“HDPE”) capacity in China. The selection of licensor was undertaken by China HuanQiu Contracting & Engineering Co., Ltd. — a fully-owned subsidiary of PetroChina.

The technology will be used for a 300KTA HDPE unit that will be built in Korla City, Xinjiang Province; a 400KTA plant in Yulin City, Shaanxi Province; and a 400KTA plant in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province.

These new capacity additions highlight more than 7700KTA of benchmark multi-modal HDPE resins licensed by LyondellBasell.

PetroChina stated that the market demands high-performance HDPE products and LyondellBasell’s multi-modal technology effectively addresses these needs. Moreover, LyondellBasell’s low-pressure slurry process for petrochemical growth projects will enable PetroChina to produce high-quality products economically, sustainably and reliably.

The technology produces high-performance, multi-modal HDPE resins, which have industry-leading stiffness balance, high stress cracking resistance and processing advantages, blow molding, impact resistance as well as pipe applications.

The PetroChina HDPE plants will start operations using Avant Z509-1 and Avant Z 501 catalysts for producing a complete range of multi-modal HDPE products. New licensees can also benefit from LyondellBasell’s in-house expertise of sustainable product development, consistent production improvement and catalyst knowhow.

LyondellBasell’s shares have lost 13.1% in the past year compared with the industry’s 22.5% decline.

The company expects growth to accelerate this year, courtesy of the planned startup of its Hyperzone polyethylene facility and construction of the new PO/TBA plant.

Per LyondellBasell, global polyethylene capacity additions are likely to be moderate in 2019 and 2020. This is expected to provide support for high industry operating rates and ethylene chain profitability.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

LyondellBasell currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd. (TO:KL) , AngloGold Ashanti Limited (NYSE:AU) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (OTC:FSUGY) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kirkland has an expected earnings growth rate of 8.8% for 2019. The company’s shares have surged 81.5% in the past year.

AngloGold Ashanti has an expected earnings growth rate of 66% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 43.9% in a year’s time.

Fortescue Metals has an expected earnings growth rate of 101.5% for 2019. Its shares have rallied 59% in a year’s time.

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