BASF, bse Engineering team up for a new chemical energy storage process

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ludwigshafen and Leipzig, Germany, August 24, 2017 – BASF and bse Engineering today signed an exclusive joint development agreement for BASF to provide custom made catalysts for a new chemical energy storage process, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This process will enable economically viable transformation of excess current and off-gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into the chemical energy storage methanol in small-scale, delocalized production units.

When generating current from renewable energy sources such as in wind or solar power plants, excess current is generated at times when consumers do not need it. This excess current can often not be reasonably used at the moment. The effective usage of this excess current is a decisive factor in making power production from renewable energy sources economically viable.

CO2 is generated in some industrial production plants such as in steel production, incineration plants or coal power plants. The reduction of this greenhouse gas is one of the most important targets set in the context of the 2015 Paris Climate Protection Agreement.

The new process developed by bse Engineering enables the sustainable use of current and CO2 with small-scale, delocalized production units built where the two components are generated, i.e. near power plants using renewable sources of energy as well as large-scale industrial plants producing CO2. The excess current will be used to produce hydrogen through discontinuous electrolysis. In a second step, methanol is produced from CO2 and hydrogen, thus leading to a valorizing of excess current and CO2 off-stream gas.

In the second process step, BASF’s catalysts will be used for the methanol synthesis step. Those catalysts have been further tuned and adapted for this specific process to enable the most efficient production of methanol. Methanol is one of the most important basic chemicals used in numerous industrial applications. For example, it is blended into diesel or gasoline in some countries.

"We are pleased to participate in this exciting endeavor and to contribute significantly to a concrete solution for the use of excess current and CO2 as a raw material," said Adrian Steinmetz, Vice President Chemical Catalysts at BASF. "We will leverage our know-how and expertise in catalysis in the service of advancing a sustainable answer for the transition to new energy sources and the material use of CO2."

"The cooperation between BASF and bse Engineering is another example of our successful approach to collaborating with engineering companies and plant manufacturers. In doing so we contribute our unique know-how as the world leader in the production of catalysts to facilitate new processes and innovative technologies of tomorrow," said Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President Process Catalysts at BASF.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- China's gasoline exports to North Korea evaporated to a dribble in July, according to customs data, the strongest sign yet that the suspension of sales of the fuel by state oil major China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has cut critical supplies to its isolated neighbor, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Beijing's General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday Chinese shipments of gasoline dropped 97% from a year ago to just 120 t of the fuel-worth little more than USD100,000. The number was down from 8.262 Mt in June. Monthly fluctuations in the data are not unusual, but this was the fourth-lowest volume on Reuters' records of customs data going back to January 2010.

Customs data also showed China's trade with North Korea fell last month as a ban on coal purchases from its isolated neighbor slowed imports amid growing pressure from the US to rein in Pyongyang's missile program. A prolonged supply cut would threaten critical supplies of fuel and could force North Korea to find alternatives to its main supplier amid international pressure on Pyongyang to curb its nuclear and missile programs.

At the end of June, Reuters reported CNPC suspended sales of gasoline and fuel to North Korea over concerns CNPC would not get paid for its goods. Fuel prices in the country surged following the cut and the measure is still in place, people familiar with the matter say. "This confirms that CNPC has truly stopped supplies," said one Beijing-based trading source familiar with China's oil transactions with North Korea. "The amount is so small, it's what would typically be lost during transportation."

Gasoline typically accounts for the bulk of fuel exports to North Korea, but July data showed the biofuel and ethanol took the top spot with shipments of 4.137 m3, worth USD1.9 MM.
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MOSCOW (MRC) — Following the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US in June 2017, where President Trump and PM Modi agreed to deepen the energy engagement between the two countries, India oil companies have started the process of procuring crude oil from the United States. Six weeks after the visit, the first orders for USD1 billion of crude are being placed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Two Indian oil giants, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum, both Fortune 500 companies, have already taken delivery of the first 2 MMbbl that have shipped from ports in Texas and Louisiana. The first shipments will reach Paradip (Odisha, India) in the last week of September. They are expected to be received by Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

President Donald Trump acknowledged this first shipment during his phone call on Aug. 14, with Prime Minister Modi on the occasion of India's Independence Day. President Trump welcomed the first ever shipment of American crude oil to India. He pledged that the United States would be a reliable, long-term supplier of energy.

The Indian Ambassador to the United States, Navtej Sarna met the Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, Deputy Secretary of State John J Sullivan and Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to brief them about Indian plans to procure more US crude.

India is the third largest consumer of energy in the world following the US and China, and the third largest importer of crude and the fourth largest importer of LNG.

In terms of energy, India today consumes less than 5% of the world energy. By 2035, China and India will have largest share of global demand (35%) overtaking even OECD (33%) and all other combined at 32%. Indian population will contribute an increase in consumption of around 300 million barrels per day per year for next few years. That is almost 30% of global incremental growth.

Indian oil companies are increasing their footprint in the United States. Four Indian public and private sector companies—GAIL, IOCL, Oil India and Reliance—have invested approximately USD5 B in Shale assets. India will also source LNG from the United States. Indian companies have already contracted 9 MMtpy of LNG from the US and the first shipment is expected in January 2018.
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MOSCOW (MRC) - Saudi Aramco and Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) have launched bidding for engineering work on their joint crude oil to chemicals project, industry sources said, a key step towards developing the USD20-billion-plus complex, said Hudrocarbonprocessing.

The project, known as COTC, the first major scheme to bring the two giants together, is expected to process Arabian Light and Extra Light crude oil, one of the sources told Reuters.

Several plants are expected to be built including a 400,000-barrels-per-day integrated crude distillation and vacuum unit, a distillate hydrotreater, a vacuum gas oil hydrocracker, a residual fluid catalytic cracking unit, a mixed feed cracker, as well as polyethylene, polypropylene, butadiene and aromatics recovery units.

The closing date for bids for pre-front end engineering and design work (pre-FEED) and FEED for the COTC is Sept. 25, one of the sources said, adding that the plant is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2024.

Another source said pre-FEED is expected to be completed by late 2018, with FEED to be finalised by late 2019. Aramco and SABIC are expected to launch bidding for construction by mid-2020.

SABIC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Aramco said it "declines to comment on rumor or speculation".

Aramco's chief executive has said it was a priority for the company to convert crude oil to chemicals as the state oil producer aims to diversify operations in the run-up to an initial public offering of shares next year.

Downstream, which covers refining and chemicals, will help Aramco boost value from hydrocarbons by securing revenue streams and become less vulnerable to oil price swings.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Two Harvard University researchers said in a study published on Wednesday they had collected scientific data proving ExxonMobil Corp made "explicit factual misrepresentations" in newspaper ads it purchased to convey its views on the oil industry and climate science, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In an article in the journal Environmental Research Letters researchers, Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes, said they examined 187 documents, including internal memos, peer-reviewed papers by Exxon scientists and New York Times "advertorials"—paid advertisements in the style of opinion pieces. They said they used a social science analysis method to turn statements in the documents into data points that could be counted and compared to each other.

Supran and Oreskes said that while, as early as 1979, Exxon scientists acknowledged burning fossil fuels was adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and causing global temperatures to rise, the company's position in newspaper ads remained significantly different by consistently asserting doubt about climate science.

Exxon spokesman Scott Silvestri said the researchers' study was "inaccurate and preposterous" and that their goal was to attack the company's reputation at the expense of its shareholders. "Our statements have been consistent with our understanding of climate science," he said.

In an interview on Tuesday, Oreskes said the impetus for the study came from Exxon's responses to reports in InsideClimate News and the Los Angeles Times in September 2015 and October 2015, respectively, that Exxon's scientists had long known of the dangers fossil fuels posed to the earth's climate.

"They accused the journalists of cherry-picking," Oreskes said of Exxon's responses. "They also posted a collection of documents on their website. They said 'read the documents and make up your own mind.' We thought that was an excellent opportunity."

Oreskes and Supran pointed to ads such as a 1997 Mobil article that read "Let's face it: The science of climate change is too uncertain to mandate a plan of action that could plunge economies into turmoil." A 2000 advertorial said a US government report on climate change put the "political cart before the horse" and was "based on unreliable models."

In his statement on Wednesday, Silvestri offered two examples from New York Times advertorials that Exxon bought, both published in the year 2000, which he said showed the company did not try to cast doubt on climate change.

"Enough is known about climate change to recognize it may pose a legitimate long-term risk and that more needs to be learned about it," one statement read.
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