CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
Chemours | January 19, 2023
The Chemours Company, a worldwide chemical company with leading market positions in thermal & specialized solutions, titanium technologies, and advanced performance materials, announced a $200 million investment to expand the production capacity and advance technology for its industry-leading Nafion™ ion exchange materials to be located at its Villers-Saint-Paul, France, manufacturing facility.
The investment by Chemours complements the current efforts in the United States to establish a reliable supply chain and a strong capacity to support the hydrogen economy. It will help meet the expanding market demand for clean hydrogen generation utilizing water electrolyzers, energy storage in flow batteries, and hydrogen conversion to power fuel cell cars, as well as contribute to European and worldwide initiatives to facilitate the clean energy transition. As part of the investment, Chemours' regional production site will have its capabilities expanded to support and develop technological progress and innovative products for the global hydrogen economy.
Chemours' investment is contingent upon obtaining all customary permits and licenses required for the construction and operations at the 40-hectare Villers-Saint-Paul location, which will include the expansion of ionomer production and associated membranes to provide additional capacity to the Nafion™ materials supply chain.
The $200 million investment demonstrates Chemours' ongoing commitment to responsible manufacturing while supporting the company's 2030 corporate responsibility commitment goal of generating 50% or more of its revenue from products that contribute to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the site's expansion will generate employment in the Hauts-de-France area, with Chemours anticipating the creation of roughly 80 full-time jobs and 50 long-term contract positions.
About The Chemours Company
Chemours is an American chemical company that provides its customers with market-defining products, application expertise, and chemistry-based innovations for a wide range of industries. The firm offers tailored chemical solutions for various industrial and specialty chemical products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, semiconductor and consumer electronics, and oil and gas. The firm has around 6,400 employees and 29 manufacturing locations that serve 3,200 clients in 120 countries. Its flagship products include leading brands such as Opteon™, Ti-Pure™, Teflon™, Freon™, Krytox™, Viton™, and Nafion™.
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CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY, CHEMICAL MANAGEMENT
Matador Resources | January 25, 2023
On January 24, 2023, Matador Resources Company announced that a fully-owned subsidiary of Matador had signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Advance Energy Partners Holdings, LLC, which includes oil and natural gas producing properties and undeveloped land in New Mexico, Lea County, and Ward County, Texas.
The consideration for the Advance Transaction will include an initial cash payment of $1.6 billion, depending on customary closing adjustments, as well as additional cash consideration of $7.5 million for every month in 2023, during which the average oil price exceeds $85 per barrel, as stated in the securities purchase agreement. Advance is an EnCap Investments L.P. portfolio company.
The Advance Transaction has an effective date of January 1, 2023, and is anticipated to close in the Q2 of 2023, based on customary closing conditions. On January 24, 2023, at 10:00 am Central Time, Matador's management held a live conference call to review the Advance Transaction.
Matador estimates the entire proved oil and natural gas reserves linked with these properties to be approximately 106,4 million BOE (73 percent oil) as of December 31, 2022. PV-102 of the proved natural gas and oil reserves of these properties as of December 31, 2022, was roughly $2.86 billion based on the same unweighted arithmetic average first-day-of-the-month prices for the prior year that was used to value the Company's reserves as of December 31, 2022, valued at $6.36 per MMBtu of natural gas and $90.15 per barrel of oil.
Matador anticipates that the continued development of these properties will increase future proven reserves and reserves value. Sewell & Associates, Inc., independent reservoir engineers from the Netherlands, conducted an audit of the reserve estimates prepared by Matador's engineering staff.
AboutMatador Resources Company
Matador Resources Company is a publicly traded, independent energy company headquartered in Dallas that focuses on shale plays and other unconventional plays in its development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas and oil resources in the U.S. The company has a dedicated team of technical and administrative professionals, as well as a culture of high performance and fiscal discipline. It was founded as a privately held company in July 2003, attracting equity capital from several hundred investors, many of whom were shareholders in Matador Petroleum Corporation, its predecessor.
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CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
Albemarle | January 09, 2023
Albemarle Corporation, a pioneer in the leading global chemicals industry, announced that it had acquired a site in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., to build the Albemarle Technology Park. The company will invest at least 180 million dollars in constructing a world-class facility to boost novel materials research and advanced process development and accelerate the introduction of next-generation lithium products to the market.
According to Kent Masters, the CEO of Albemarle, "Albemarle Technology Park is part of our mine-to-market innovation strategy to invest in the U.S. EV battery supply chain and to be a leader in advanced lithium materials for next-generation energy storage. This facility will focus and accelerate our lithium technology leadership, better enabling the world's transition to more sustainable energy." (Source: prnewswire.com).
The company believes that breakthroughs from the new facility will improve lithium recovery, optimize production methods, and discover new forms of lithium that will enable battery performance improvements.
The State of North Carolina awarded nearly $13 million as an incentive package to Albemarle for developing an advanced product innovation, process development, and lithium materials research facility in Mecklenburg County. As a part of the Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG), this incentive package will support a portion of Albemarle's investment to redevelop the former IBM and Flextronics facility. The company anticipates creating over 200 jobs on-site, with an average annual salary of $94,000. Specifically, the team aims to triple the Ph.D. holding professionals in Albemarle Technology Park.
The vision for Albemarle Technology Park (ATP) covers novel lithium materials, manufacturing processes, and the commercialization of new products in close collaboration with strategic customers. The company expects ATP to become a lithium innovation hub that establishes technology leadership in the fast-expanding EV industry in the Southeast U.S. through co-locating essential operations and collaborations.
The organization predicts that the improved process technologies developed at the ATP will promote sustainability by decreasing energy and water consumption, unlocking new lithium resources, and enabling lithium recovery at end-of-life through economic recycling. Albemarle anticipates initial occupancy of ATP by early 2025 and a complete ATP campus by late 2026.
About Albemarle Corporation
Albemarle is a frontrunner in lithium, bromine, and catalysts. The company aims to think beyond the norm to unlock the potential of companies in critical industries such as transportation, energy, and electronics. With highly talented and knowledgeable international teams, deeply rooted values, and a collaborative customer relationship approach, Albemarle is developing performance-based solutions that enable a safer and more sustainable future.
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