ORLEN Poludnie started up production of green propylene glycol

ORLEN Poludnie started up production of green propylene glycol

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ORLEN Poludnie, an ORLEN Group company, has brought on stream Poland’s first and Europe’s largest green propylene glycol production unit at its biorefinery in Trzebinia, said the company.

The unit has a capacity of 30,000 tonnes a year, enough to cover as much as 75% of the domestic demand for the product. This PLN 400m capital project will add over PLN 50m to the Group’s annual EBITDA. An integral part of the complex is Poland’s first hydrogen hub. The projects implemented in southern Poland are another step towards achieving the Group’s strategic goals for low- and zero-carbon energy.

Green glycol is a high-margin bio-based product that is clean and environmentally safe. It is used for a wide range of applications, including in medicine, cosmetics, and the food industry. It can also be used in aviation as an anti-icing and de-icing agent for aircraft. ORLEN Poludnie will produce 30,000 tonnes of green glycol a year, an impressive 10,000 tonnes more than Europe’s only unit of this type located in Belgium.

"We think ahead. We have launched a state-of-the-art unit to make green glycol in Trzebinia as demand for this bio-based product is constantly growing in Europe and around the world. Poland will be the leader of glycol production in Europe. At the same time, we are bringing on stream Poland’s first hydrogen hub, which forms part of the glycol complex. The completed projects will stimulate fast growth of the ORLEN Group in strategic areas while significantly strengthening competitive advantage of the Polish economy. For ORLEN Poludnie, the projects are another milestone in the process of transforming the company into a state-of-the-art biorefinery and consolidating its position as a major business organisation and employer in the region - said Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board".

Glycerine obtained at the Trzebinia plant as a by-product of biodiesel production will be used to make the eco-friendly glycol, which will be sold to customers in Poland and abroad. The project will also benefit other Polish biodiesel producers, from whom the company will source glycerine. The new project will strengthen ORLEN Poludnie’s position both as a player on the Polish biocomponents market and an employer in the region. The glycol unit has created several dozen jobs. Today the company has a workforce of over 670, with more than half of them employed at the Trzebinia refinery.

Construction on the green glycol project was launched in the autumn of 2019 and it was completed on schedule by a consortium formed by two Polish companies: Technik Polska and Biproraf. An integral part of the glycol complex is Poland’s first hydrogen hub with an annual output of 16 Nm3, of which 75% will be used for glycol production and the remaining 25% will be further purified into hydrogen fuel. The hub will have an annual production capacity of 350 tonnes of pure automotive-grade hydrogen.

The fuel made in Trzebinia is to ultimately power public transport vehicles in Krakow and the Upper Silesian agglomeration. To that end, the Group has signed letters of intent with Miejskie Przedsiebiorstwo Komunikacyjne of Krakow, Krakowski Holding Komunalny, and the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dabrowa Basin. In the future, ORLEN Poludnie will also operate a mobile hydrogen refuelling station.

The strategic capital projects implemented in Trzebinia are underpinned by ORLEN Poludnie’s firm and stable financial footing. In the first nine months of 2021 alone, the company posted revenue of ca. PLN 2.4bn, almost PLN 200m more than in the entire 2019 and over PLN 500m more than in the pandemic year of 2020. ORLEN Poludnie has also delivered record net profit for the first three quarters of the year, of PLN 108m.

As per MRC, in August 2020, PKN Orlen signed a non-binding agreement with the state treasury and Grupa Lotos to shape a deal to take direct or indirect capital control of fellow state company Lotos.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

PKN Orlen would be the first refining and petrochemicals company in Europe to use the Honeywell UOP MaxEne technology for molecule management of a naphtha stream to produce high-quality products including olefins, aromatics and gasoline.

MRC

COVID-19 - News digest as of 15.11.2021

1. Demand for fuel and gasoline surged in October in Indias, sales hit record

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India's fuel demand rose in October to a seven-month peak, with gasoline sales surging to an all-time high, government data showed on Tuesday, as festivals boosted mobility and economic activity in the world's third biggest oil consumer, said Hydrocarbonprocessing. Fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, rose over 12% to 17.87 MM tons last month from September. It was up 0.8% from the corresponding period last yer and 3% from October 2019, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) showed. Consumption got a boost from the start of the festival season in October, offsetting the impact of high prices, Refinitiv analyst Ehsan Ul-Haq said. October's sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 8.3% and 3.4% higher than in 2019 and 2020 respectively and at 2.75 MM tons, was the highest-ever monthly figure recorded as per data going back to 1998. Improving vaccination coverage and the opening up of schools, colleges and offices helped demand, said Prashant Vasisht, vice president and co-head, corporate ratings at ICRA.

MRC

Crude oil futures continue falling on stronger dollar and recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Europe and China

Crude oil futures continue falling on stronger dollar and recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Europe and China

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures extended declines in midmorning trade in Asia Nov. 15, as investors continued to fret over a stronger dollar amid signs of rising inflation and a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Europe and China, reported S&P Global.

At 10:12 am Singapore time (0212 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down 49 cents/b (0.60%) from the previous close at USD81.68/b, while the NYMEX December light sweet crude contract fell 39 cents/b (0.48%) to USD80.40/b.

Bearish pressures continued to dominate sentiment in an event-thinned week of Nov. 14, with investor confidence shaken in recent days by signs of rising inflation in the US. The Biden Administration has hinted at action to tackle surging energy prices in the form of Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases.

"The White House has been debating how to tackle higher inflation, with some officials calling for the strategic reserve to be tapped, or halting US exports," said ANZ Research analysts Brian Martin & Daniel Hynes in a note.

The latest inflation prints could also bring forward the US Federal Reserve's plans to tighten its easy monetary policy further with earlier rate hikes. A majority of traders were now pricing in a rate hike as early as June 2022, compared to earlier expectations of a hike in November 2022, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The US dollar has strengthened as a result, with the US dollar index notched near highs not seen since July 2020. As of 0212 GMT, the index was down 0.15% at 94.99.

Meanwhile, the recovery in global mobility has stalled amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases worldwide. China continues to battle its latest outbreak of cases, while several European countries including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have registered record caseloads in recent days.

Global mobility in the week to Nov. 8 averaged 9.8% below pre-COVID levels in most of the world's top oil users excluding China, according to the latest Google data, up from 8% a week earlier.

IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong said the outlook for oil prices will remain clouded in the near-term, while not ruling out further declines in the days ahead.

As MRC wrote previously, the average utilisation rate at China's four state-owned refiners fell to a five-month low of 80.6% in October from 81.5% in September while independent refiners also maintained run rates at low levels due to feedstock shortage. These would likely lead the country's crude throughputs to extend the downward trend in October from the 17-month low of 13.7 million b/d, or 56.07 million mt, in September, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The four state oil companies -- Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC and Sinochem - plan to process a total 7.67 million b/d of crudes in October, against their nameplate capacity of 9.52 million b/d, Platts data showed. This compared with a planned throughput of 7.7 million b/d in September. In November, the state-run refiners plan to lift throughput from the low base in October to boost gasoil and gasoline supplies for meeting domestic demand, refining sources said.

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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

Plastic Energy and Axens signed agreement for recycling of plastic waste

Plastic Energy and Axens signed agreement for recycling of plastic waste

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Plastic Energy and Axens have announced the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement in the field of advanced recycling of plastics, to increase recycling and decrease plastic waste, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Plastic Energy and Axens will market and license Plastic Energy’s patented, industrially proven advanced recycling technology, which uses a thermal anaerobic conversion (TAC) pyrolysis process to recycle, end-of-life plastics that would otherwise be destined for landfill, incineration or end up in the environment. The Plastic waste from Plastic Energy’s process is turned into raw materials that can be used to create virgin-quality polymers.

The partners will provide customers with technical and business case studies, basic engineering, technical services, proprietary equipment, complete modular units and support to operations, leveraging Plastic Energy and Axens’ complementary operational, licensing and engineering skills. The partners will also be in position to propose and license a complete technological solution for the pyrolysis pathway, combining Plastic Energy’s recycling technology and the Axens Rewind® Mix process for the purification of plastics pyrolysis oil.

"We are extremely glad to announce our strategic partnership with Plastic Energy, a major milestone in Axens’ ambition to develop and propose an extended portfolio of advanced technologies for the plastic circular economy. Achieving a true circular economy of recycled polymers, including for food contact and health care grade, is a largely shared objective. We believe that Plastic Energy and Axens, together and leveraging our complementary operational and technological skills, can now offer a combination of proven technologies to make it possible” said Jean Sentenac, Chairman and CEO of Axens.

"I am delighted to announce this collaboration agreement with solution-provider Axens to expand our patented and proven advanced recycling technology globally.” said Carlos Monreal, CEO of Plastic Energy. “The operational experience that Plastic Energy has gained over the last 5 years from our current recycling plants in Spain sets us apart in the market and will be invaluable to our new licensing customers. Through this partnership with Axens, we will be able to increase the amount of plastic waste that can be recycled and work towards a more circular economy for plastics.'

As per MRC, Sumitomo Chemical has successfully conducted the first waste-based polyolefin production at its laboratory in Japan earlier this year, by use of the ethylene produced by Axens ethanol-to-ethylene technology Atol. This process value chain is complemented with the upfront “Waste to Ethanol” technology by Sekisui 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 1,868,160 tonnes in the first nine months of 2021, up by 18% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
MRC

TotalEnergies and Daimler Truck to jointly develop hydrogen ecosystem for transportation in Europe

TotalEnergies and Daimler Truck to jointly develop hydrogen ecosystem for transportation in Europe

MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies and Daimler Truck AG have signed an agreement on their joint commitment to the decarbonization of the road freight in the European Union, as per Total's press release.

The partners will collaborate in the development of ecosystems for heavy-duty trucks running on hydrogen, with the intent to demonstrate the attractiveness and effectiveness of trucking powered by clean hydrogen and the ambition to play a lead role in kickstarting the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure for transportation.

The collaboration includes hydrogen sourcing and logistics, dispensing of hydrogen in service stations, development of hydrogen-based trucks, establishment of a customer base as well as other areas.

In particular, TotalEnergies has the ambition by 2030 to operate directly or indirectly up to 150 hydrogen refueling stations in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and France.

As part of the collaboration, Daimler Truck is also to supply hydrogen-powered fuel-cell trucks to its customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and France by 2025. The truck manufacturer will support its customers to ensure easy operability and highly competitive uptime.

Alexis Vovk, President Marketing & Services at TotalEnergies and member of the Executive Committee said: “Hydrogen will have its role in TotalEnergies' journey to decarbonize mobility, especially in European long-haul transportation. Our company is actively exploring all aspects of the value chain of Hydrogen for mobility, from production to supply and distribution, and is building important partnerships to this effect. We want to build a multi-energies company with the ambition to get to Net Zero by 2050, together with society. Therefore, the creation of a European network of H2 truck stations for mobility is one of the key challenges we intend to tackle. We are proud to partner with a motivated player like Daimler Truck to develop CO2-neutral truck mobility through a harmonized approach.”

In order to develop these projects and to establish hydrogen-based transportation as a viable option, both companies want to jointly investigate the means of reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of hydrogen truck operations, in line with their common approach to work together with authorities on the regulatory framework in the European Union.

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies on a global scale: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Its 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more 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.

As MRC informed before, with its name change from Total to TotalEnergies amid its transition from fossil fuels, the major oil company is investing more in renewables and energy storage while decreasing emissions from its natural gas business.

We remind that TotalEnergies has recently inaugurated the extension of Synova in Normandy, the French leader in recycled polypropylene production. TotalEnergies is therefore doubling its mechanical recycling production capacity for recycled polymers, to meet growing demand for sustainable polymers from customers, such as Automotive Manufacturer (Auto OEM) and the construction industry.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.

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