Petrobras fails to sell RNEST refinery

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras, formally known as Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said it had failed to secure a buyer for the Abreu e Lima (RNEST) refinery after the interested firms declined to offer a bid, reported Reuters with reference to the company's file.

Petrobras said it would end the sale process, and analyze its next steps.

As MRC wrote before, last week, the company signed a contract to sell the REMAN refinery in the northern state of Amazonas for USD189.5 million to Ream Participacoes S.A., a subsidiary of distributor Atem. For the REMAN refinery, the second it has agreed to sell of eight that were put up for sale, Petrobras said it would receive US28.4 million upfront with the rest paid when the deal closes. The REFAP, REGAP, LUBNOR, and SIX units are still trying to attract buyers, Petrobras said.

Besides, earlier this month, Petrobras hired JPMorgan Chase & Co as an advisor to sell its stake in the petrochemical company Braskem SA.

We remind that Braskem is no longer pursuing a petrochemical project, which would have included an ethane cracker, in West Virginia. And the company is seeking to sell the land that would have housed the cracker. The project, announced in 2013, had been on Braskem's back burner for several years.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced its majority-owned affiliate, Imperial Oil Ltd., is moving forward with plans to produce renewable diesel at a new complex at its Strathcona refinery in Edmonton, Canada, reported Reuters.

When construction is complete, the refinery is expected to produce approximately 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel, which could reduce emissions in the Canadian transportation sector by about 3 million metric tons per year. The complex will utilize locally grown plant-based feedstock and hydrogen with carbon capture and storage (CCS) as part of the manufacturing process.

Renewable diesel has the potential to reduce annual CO2 emissions by about 3 million metric tons compared to conventional fuels.

“Canada’s proposed low-carbon fuel policies incentivize the development of lower-emission fuels that can make meaningful contributions to the hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy, including transportation,” said Ian Carr, president of ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants Company. “The Strathcona project is an example of how well-designed policies allow us to leverage our existing global facilities for capital efficiency, utilize our proprietary catalyst technology, and bring our decades of processing experience to develop low-emission fuels.”

The renewable diesel production process will utilize blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage. Production of blue hydrogen has been shown to have substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventionally produced hydrogen. Approximately 500,000 metric tons of CO2 are expected to be captured each year utilizing CCS. The blue hydrogen and biofeedstock will be combined with a proprietary catalyst to produce premium low-carbon diesel fuel.

A final investment decision will be based on several factors, including government support and approvals, market conditions and economic competitiveness. Imperial will lead the project, which is expected to create about 600 direct construction jobs. Renewable diesel production is anticipated to start in 2024.

The Strathcona renewable diesel project is part of ExxonMobil’s plans to provide more than 40,000 barrels per day of low-emissions fuels by 2025. In the United States, the company has agreed to purchase up to 5 million barrels of renewable diesel annually from Global Clean Energy to supply markets in California. Chemically similar to petroleum-based diesel, renewable diesel can be readily blended for use in engines on the market today.

In March, ExxonMobil established a Low Carbon Solutions business to commercialize low-emission technologies, including CCS, biofuels and hydrogen. In June, Imperial announced its participation as a founding member of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance. The goal of this unique alliance, working collectively with the broader oil and gas industry and the federal and Alberta governments, is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands operations by 2050 to help Canada meet its climate goals, including its Paris Agreement commitments and 2050 net-zero aspirations.

We remind that, as MRC informed earlier, ExxonMobil and SABIC have announced that their joint venture, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures located near Corpus Christi, Texas, has reached mechanical completion of a monoethylene glycol (MEG) unit and two polyethylene (PE) units. Project startup is expected to begin ahead of schedule, likely in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

ExxonMobil is the largest non-government owned company in the energy industry and produces about 3% of the world's oil and about 2% of the world's energy.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG has successfully issued a first green hybrid bond with a nominal volume of EUR500 million, as per the company's press release.

This bond is the specialty chemical company's first green finance issuance and follows the publication of Evonik’s Green Finance Framework on August 24, 2021, which integrates sustainability even more closely into Evonik’s finance strategy.

As a globally active specialty chemicals company, responsibility and long-term economic success are two sides of the same coin. Sustainability has developed into a growth driver at Evonik. The demand for products with market-superior sustainability benefits - Next Generation Solutions - is developing dynamically. The majority of proceeds will therefore be used to finance investments in Next Generation Solutions. These include, for example, biosurfactants, sustainable food packaging, innovative insulation materials and membranes for gas filtration. Evonik plans to further increase the proportion of sales it generates from Next Generation Solutions in the coming years from 35 percent now.

At the same time, Evonik will further reduce its own ecological footprint. To this end, the company continuously invests in its processes along the entire value chain. The proceeds from the green hybrid bond help Evonik minimize its own resource requirements, for example by financing initiatives to reduce its own CO2 footprint.

“Evonik aims to be a best-in-class specialty chemicals company and our Sustainability Strategy 2020+ is an expression of this aspiration. With the publication of our Green Finance Framework and with this green hybrid issuance we are reflecting our strong commitment to sustainability, also in financing,” said Ute Wolf, chief financial officer of Evonik.

The green hybrid bond was significantly oversubscribed and generated strong interest from a broad circle of institutional investors. Evonik benefited from its good debt capital markets reputation, its attractive sustainability profile and the favorable market environment.

The green hybrid bond has a formal lifetime of 60 years. Evonik has a first redemption right in 2026. It is subordinated to other financial liabilities. In addition to the new green hybrid bond, Evonik announced a tender offer on August 24, 2021 to repurchase its outstanding hybrid bond of EUR500 million, which has an interest rate of 2.125 percent per year. Results of the tender offer will be published on 2 September 2021.

By combining the issuance of a new green hybrid bond with a repurchase offer, Evonik can refinance its outstanding hybrid bond at an early stage and offer current investors an attractive opportunity to reinvest in Evonik's hybrid capital with a sustainability focus. The annual interest rate on the green hybrid bond is 1.375 percent per year. This results in interest savings of €3.8 million per year compared to the repurchased hybrid bond.

As MRC reported earlier, in February, 2020, Dow and Evonik entered into an exclusive technology partnership. Together, they plan to bring a unique method for directly synthesizing propylene glycol (PG) from propylene and hydrogen peroxide to market maturity.

Propylene is the main feedstock for the production of polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Evonik is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals. The focus on more specialty businesses, customer-oriented innovative prowess and a trustful and performance-oriented corporate culture form the heart of Evonik’s corporate strategy. They are the lever for profitable growth and a sustained increase in the value of the company. Evonik benefits specifically from its customer proximity and leading market positions. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world with more than 33,000 employees.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- French energy major TotalEnergies reported a sharp fall in its refinery throughput in the first half of 2021 as margins stayed "depressed", although its downstream division performed better due to a strong showing by its petrochemicals segment, reported S&P Global.

The energy major's refining throughput across the world averaged 1.109 million b/d in the first half of 2021, down 18% on the year, according to the company's latest results statement. Refining throughput at the company's French refineries averaged as low as 131,000 b/d in H1 2021, down 43% on the year.

In the second quarter, TotalEnergies' French refineries processed 148,000 b/d, down 28% on the year, whereas across the world its refineries processed 1.070 million b/d, down 14% from Q2 2020. The drop was attributed to the prolonged voluntary economic shutdown of the Donges refinery given the low European margins.

As MRC informed previously, in June 2021, TotalEnergies and Novatek have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly work on sustainable reductions of the CO emission resulting from the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) including with the use of renewable power, to develop large-scale carbon capture and storage solutions (CCS) and to explore new opportunities for developing decarbonized hydrogen and ammonia.

We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that it is evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

TotalEnergies is a broad energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables, and electricity. The company rebranded itself from Total to TotalEnergies during Q2 2021. The French firm has announced allocating part of surplus revenues to share buybacks. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, clean, reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS Styrolution, a global leader in styrenics, has joined the US Plastics Pact in their support for collaborative, solution-driven initiatives intended to drive significant system change in the design, use, and reuse of plastics, as per the company's press release.

The US Plastic Pact unites cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025.

As part of the US Plastics Pact, activators like INEOS Styrolution recognize that significant change is essential to realizing a circular economy for plastics. As such, the US Plastics Pact is assembling more than 10 brands, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies across the plastics value chain to bring one voice to US packaging. The members will employ coordinated initiatives and innovative solutions for rethinking products, packaging, and business models.

INEOS Styrolution has a strong vision for sustainability aimed at improving and increasing the recovery of post-consumer plastic waste and strengthening innovation for circularity. “We must be solution-focused. It is paramount that we see innovative advancements in sustainability and a circular economy of plastics brought into a global reality,” says Ricardo Cuetos, Vice President, INEOS Styrolution America LLC, Standard Products.

“Together, through the US Plastics Pact, we will ignite system change to accelerate progress toward a circular economy,” says Emily Tipaldo, Executive Director of the US Plastics Pact. “The US Plastics Pact will mobilize system wide change through support for upstream innovation and a coordinated national strategy. This unified framework will enable members to fast-track progress toward our ambitious 2025 sustainability goals. Members’ full participation will be vital to reaching our shared goals.”

As MRC reported earlier, in April 2021, INEOS Styrolution, Recycling Technologies and Trinseo announced that they had reached a significant milestone in their plans to build commercial polystyrene (PS) recycling plants in Europe. Recycling Technologies has been selected as the technology partner.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of polystyrene (PS) and styrene plastics was 283,400 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 27% year on year. June PS consumption increased by 32% year on year, totalling 48,060 tonnes.

INEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets. At the same time, these innovative and sustainable best-in-class solutions help make the circular economy for styrenics a reality. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, packaging and toys/sports/leisure. In 2020, sales were at 4 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,600 people and operates 20 production sites in ten countries.
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