Britvic shifted towards 100% rPET bottles

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Soft drinks giant Britvic (Hemel Hempstead / UK) has shifted UK production of plastic bottles for a number of its key brands from virgin polymer to recycled material, as part of its stated commitment to move all UK-made bottles to 100% rPET by 2022, said Plasteurope.

The group said such a move was possible thanks to its GBP 5m (EUR 5.8m) investment in UK packaging firm Esterform Packaging (Tenbury Wells) back in 2019 in order to support the domestic production of rPET in the UK. “Today we are seeing the benefits of that investment. Most recently, Robinsons’ “Ready to Drink”, “Lipton Ice Tea” and “drench” moved their 500 ml on-the-go bottles to 100% rPET from Esterform,” Britvic said in a statement. By switching these three brands to rPET, Britvic says it is set to save 1,354 t/y of virgin plastic, in addition to the 1,900 t already saved by “Ballygowan Mineral Water” and “Fruit Shoot Hydro” rPET bottles.

The investment in Esterform followed Britvic’s assessment that the UK’s existing recycling infrastructure was not sufficient enough to help it make its UK plastic bottles from 100% recycled PET by 2022, as had been hoped. The deal “provides [us] with a secure, long-term supply of UK-sourced rPET, allowing us to continue to reduce our use of virgin plastic and increase our rPET packaging”, the soft drinks producer said. Recently, Wildlife and Countryside Link (WCL, London / UK) also thrashed UK government’s failure to commit to an “all-in” bottle deposit scheme.

Britvic is also a signatory to Wrap’s (Banbury / UK) UK Plastics Pact, an initiative by leading companies, NGOs and the UK government to reduce and ultimately eliminate single-use plastic packaging, and subsequently its waste.

As per MRC, Britvic announced its intent for all its plastic bottles in the UK to be produced entirely from 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) by the end of 2022, three years ahead of its original schedule. The company says the move covers its entire UK portfolio of Britvic-owned brands, and also those it produces under a newly signed 20-year franchise bottling agreement with PepsiCo for its carbonated brands in the UK. Britvic was a founding signatory of The UK Plastics Pact, and says it has already removed more than 1,500 metric tons of primary plastics from its supply chain since 2017, with all its primary packaging already fully recyclable.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PET consumption totalled 411,200 tonnes in the first six month of 2021, up by 12% year on year. Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes in June, compared to 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste has signed a renewable power purchase agreement with Statkraft, Europe's largest producer of renewable energy, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Statkraft will begin the wind power deliveries to Neste's Porvoo refinery in Finland in mid-2022.

Neste is committed to combat climate change and reduce climate emissions both globally and locally. To support this, the company has two climate commitments. The signed agreement supports Neste’s commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of its production and to reach carbon neutral production by 2035. Neste’s other climate commitment is to reduce customers' greenhouse gas emissions with its renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons CO2eq annually by 2030.

"Our aim is to use 100% renewable electricity globally by 2023. We are increasing the use of renewable wind power at the Porvoo refinery, as it is one of the key measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of our production," says Sami Oja, acting Executive Vice President, Oil Products at Neste.

In addition to its agreement with Statkraft, Neste's wind power partners are Ilmatar and Fortum. Neste has been using wind power at the Porvoo refinery since the beginning of 2021. Currently, about 20% of the refinery’s electricity consumption is covered by renewable wind power.

As MRC reported earlier, Neste and LyondellBasell has recently announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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.

Neste (Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. The company refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. The company is the world’s leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. In 2020, Neste's revenue stood at EUR11.8 billion, with 94% of the company’s comparable operating profit coming from renewable products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Asia's cash premiums for 10 ppm gasoil rose for a fourth consecutive session on Friday, soaring to their highest level in over a year, buoyed by active buying interests in the physical market and strong arbitrage demand from Europe, reported Reuters.

Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content surged to a premium of 31 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, a level not seen since late-July 2020.

Asia's gasoil market has found a cushion, despite lacklustre regional demand on the back of rampaging Delta variant outbreaks, as Europe enters peak demand season and sucks up cargoes for restocking heating oil ahead of winter months. Traders and industry analysts expect a stronger pull for Asian barrels from Europe in the next few weeks due to lack of US supplies after Hurricane Ida struck the Gulf coast last weekend and shuttered or curtailed output at six refineries in Louisiana.

Refining profit margins, also known as cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil jumped 30 cents to USD9.81 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, their strongest since end-March last year. Cracks for the benchmark gasoil grade in Singapore have climbed 9% this week, in a second straight weekly rise, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Gaoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub slipped 0.2% to 2.06 million tonnes in the week ended Sept. 2, according to Dutch consultancy Insights Global. - ARA jet fuel inventories rose 4.6% this week to 1.03 million tonnes. LNG - Liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers with long-term contracts are asking their suppliers for extra volumes of the super-chilled fuel pegged to oil prices which are currently much lower than spot prices, several trade and industry sources told Reuters. - Some have requested to load bigger cargoes bought under their long-term contracts instead of turning to the spot market to buy additional cargoes, or have asked for earlier delivery of the cargoes, the sources said.

As MRC wrote previously, oil prices rose as a rebound in global demand was widely expected and a slow recovery for the US Gulf Coast export and refining hub from the hurricane late last week looked set to deplete stocks further.
About 1.7 million barrels per day of oil production remains shut in the US Gulf of Mexico, with damage to heliports and fuel depots slowing the return of crews to offshore platforms.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Energy companies on Tuesday had 79% of US Gulf of Mexico crude oil production still shut, or 1.44 million barrels per day, following Hurricane Ida, reported Reuters with reference to regulator Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

A total of 79 oil and gas production platforms in the U.S. Gulf remain evacuated due to Ida. About 78% of natural gas production, or 1.74 billion cubic feet per day, was also offline.

As informed earlier, Shell said it observed damage from Hurricane Ida to its transfer station West Delta-143 offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. West Delta-143 serves as the transfer station for all production from its assets in the Mars corridor in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico to onshore crude terminals. Shell said it is not yet safe to send personnel offshore to learn the full extent of the damage and estimate the effect on production.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste has agreed to acquire 100% of Agri Trading, one of the largest independent renewable waste and residue fat and oil traders in the United States, and its affiliate entities, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The transaction is subject to the completion of customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. "This agreement supports our renewables growth strategy and further strengthens our global renewable raw material sourcing as well as our footprint in the United States. Agri Trading complements our previous acquisition of Mahoney Environmental in the United States with its wide trading network of renewable raw materials compounded with efficient logistics. I am happy to welcome Agri Trading to be part of Neste’s journey in creating a healthier planet for our children,” says Neste’s President and CEO Peter Vanacker.

“Combating climate change is an urgent priority for the United States, and renewable products are a much needed part of the solution because they enable climate action now,” says Jeremy Baines, President, Neste US, Inc. “With this transaction, I am proud to say that Neste is collecting and turning even more locally sourced feedstock into renewable products to power America’s transport system, keeping new greenhouse emissions out of the atmosphere and cutting pollution."

Neste refines waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. This is possible thanks to its proprietary NEXBTL technology – a unique platform that allows the company to turn a wide variety of renewable waste and residues and oils into premium fuels and other products.

Agri Trading is based in Minnesota and was established in 1977. It has become an industry leader in trading animal fat waste, used cooking oil, technical corn oil, and other vegetable oils throughout the lower 48 States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The company manages all aspects of transportation, logistics, transloading, and export services, providing on-time pick-up and delivery.

The transaction supports Neste in its efforts to build a solid, resilient and flexible global waste and residue raw material platform that can keep pace with the customer’s growing demand for renewable products. Together with previously announced acquisitions of IH Demeter, Bunge Loders Croklaan and Count Terminal in the Netherlands, and Mahoney Environmental in the United States, Agri Trading will also enhance Neste’s competitiveness in the global waste and residue raw material market.

As per MRC, Neste and LyondellBasell announced a long-term commercial agreement under which LyondellBasell will source Neste RE, a feedstock from Neste that has been produced from 100% renewable feedstock from bio-based sources, such as waste and residue oils and fats. This feedstock will be processed through the cracker at LyondellBasell’s Wesseling, Germany, plant into polymers and sold under the CirculenRenew brand name.

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.
MRC