MOL Group chooses Antea software for its upstream plant and processing facility

MOSCOW (MRC) -- MOL Group, a multinational Oil & Gas and petrochemicals company, has selected Antea’s risk based inspection (RBI) and inspection data management software (IDMS) for the asset integrity management (AIM) of an upstream plant and processing facility, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Antea was chosen due to its extensive software functionality, robust RBI and IDMS offerings, competitive price-point, value-added customer service and the professionalism of its team.

Antea AIM software provides MOL with the ability to visualize asset health with the click of a button, and to manage all maintenance, inspection, and testing activity data in one comprehensive digital database - all while improving safety, reliability, environmental responsibility of the sites and reducing cost of ownership.

“We are proud of the trust placed in us by such a global leader in petrochemicals and Oil & Gas,” said Franco Gambato, Sales Director of Antea. “We look forward to facilitating prolonged asset life, reduced risk, and greatly enhanced profitability for these MOL sites.”

As MRC reported earlier, The MOL transformation story began in 2016 when it was one of the first within the oil and gas sector to admit that there were gloomy days ahead and that it was essential to begin the transformation. To plot out the path to a low-carbon future, the company published MOL Group 2030+. Five years after the launch of that transformation plan, the Hungarian energy company has revised its goals with an updated strategy.

We remind that in March 2021, MOL became a biofuel producer through the realization of an investment in the Danube Refinery. Bio feedstock will be co-processed together with fossil materials increasing the renewable share of fuels and reducing up to 200,000 tons /year CO2 emission without negatively affecting fuel quality.

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.

MOL is the largest Hungarian oil, gas and petrochemical group, engaged in exploration and production, transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as the operation of a network of trunk gas pipelines. TVK is a 100% subsidiary of MOL. TVK manufactures HDPE, LDPE, and PP.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said its board has approved the creation of a new subsidiary to sell petroleum products, gas and petrochemicals domestically, said Reuters.

Pemex Chief Financial Officer Alberto Velazquez will head the new subsidiary and Antonio Lopez, deputy director of financial risk management and insurance, will step into his role, Pemex said. "This proposal advances the structural changes that Pemex's management has been implementing in order to strengthen the most important productive company in the country," the company said in a statement.

Pemex said the move was aimed at seeking a bigger share of the local market and would not lead to higher costs for the company. Reforms spearheaded by Mexico's previous administration opened up the country's energy sector to foreign and private producers, but President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government has battled to roll these back. Lopez Obrador has said he wants to revive both Pemex and state power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad. In July, he said Pemex would distribute gas to consumers.

The American Petroleum Institute, a top U.S. oil lobby, recently raised concerns about Lopez Obrador's energy policies, arguing they undermined investor confidence and violated Mexico's trade commitments.

As MRC informed before, Pemex Petroquimica, a subsidiary of the Mexican state oil company Pemex, has resumed production of high-density polyethylene (LDPE) on line 2 in Cangrejera, Mexico after an unscheduled renovation. Earlier it was noted that Pemex postponed the restart of the second line with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year for the production of LDPE until August 10. It was originally planned that the launch of this production will begin at the end of July. The line was closed on 10 July.

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.

Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is a Mexican state-owned oil and gas and petrochemical company. Since the nationalization of the Mexican oil industry in 1938, Pemex has remained a state-owned company and, by law, has exclusive rights to explore and produce oil in the country. Almost 60% of the company's revenues go to the state budget. Petrochemical products include, but are not limited to, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings said on Wednesday it would spin off its petrochemical and carbon operations, at a time when Japan moves to reduce GHG emissions, reported Reuters.

The company did not clarify if the businesses would be sold to a third party or become its subsidiaries, but said in a statement that the operations would be carved out by fiscal 2023.

The statement outlined a new vision for the company and said its plan was part of a bid to "spearhead the reorganization of the domestic basic chemicals industry".

Japan is aiming to cut carbon emissions by 46% by 2030, and become a carbon neutral society by 2050.

As MRC wrote before, Mitsubishi Corp will invest 2 trillion yen (USD17.54 B) by 2030 in alternative energies such as renewables and hydrogen to drive its decarbonization efforts and cut emissions.

We remind that in September 2021, Mitsubishi Corp and Shell Canada Products, by its managing partner, Shell Canada Limited (Shell Canada), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) relating to the production of low-carbon hydrogen through the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) near Edmonton, Canada. Mitsubishi Corp said it aims to build and start-up the low-carbon hydrogen facility near the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Scotford towards the latter half of this decade, and Shell would provide CO2 storage via the proposed Polaris CCS project. The low-carbon hydrogen, commonly called blue hydrogen, would be produced via a natural gas feedstock and exported mainly to the Japanese market to produce clean energy.

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.

Mitsubishi Chemical with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, is a diversified chemical company involved in petrochemicals, polymers, agrochemicals, speciality chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The company's main focus is on three business pillars: petrochemicals, performance and functional products, and health care.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow expects Q4 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be about USD150-200m lower than market consensus, said the company.

The reason: higher raw material costs and lower polyethylene (PE) and co-product pricing. However, the company is seeing continued economic and supply recovery in Q4, it said. It noted “robust” end-market demand strength across industrial and consumer markets, as well as improving supply positions following weather-related outages, turnarounds and start-up of new PE capacity in the US Gulf Coast region. Nevertheless, logistics challenges continue to constrain demand, it said.

As per MRC, Dow Chemical, one of the largest US petrochemical companies, has begun bringing operations back online "as third-party utility balances and raw materials availability allow. Dow said its Taft operations were "making progress" toward restarting, and the company expected to have a clearer timeline for resumption of production in the coming days based on repairs and as access to power and raw materials allow.

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.

Dow Chemical is an American diversified chemical company headquartered in Midland, Michigan. It is a major manufacturer of polymer products, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene and synthetic rubbers. The company produces more than five thousand products at 188 production facilities in 37 countries.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil said it has finalized corporate plans, which increase spending to USD15 B on GHG emission-reduction projects over the next six years while maintaining disciplined capital investments in its industry-leading portfolio, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plans support the corporate strategy of continued structural cost savings, investment in low-cost-of-supply and lower-emission products, and further portfolio high-grading, positioning the company to double earnings and cash flow by 2027 versus 2019.

The company also announced it is on track to meet its 2025 GHG emission-reduction plans by year-end 2021, four years ahead of schedule. In addition, ExxonMobil has developed more aggressive plans for further Scope 1 and Scope 2 reductions through 2030, consistent with Paris Agreement pathways.

ExxonMobil plans to maintain capital investments in the range of USD20-25 B per year through 2027 with flexibility to adjust to adverse market conditions or changes in policy and technology for low-emissions projects.

“The restored strength of our balance sheet and improved financial outlook support accelerating investment in our industry-advantaged, high-return projects, and a growing list of financially accretive lower-emission business opportunities,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer. “Our strategy is designed to create shareholder value by leveraging our competitive advantages while maintaining flexibility to respond to future policy changes and technology advances associated with the energy transition.”

Projected growth of cash flow and earnings in the Upstream business results from aggressive cost reductions and progressing advantaged investments in low-cost-of-supply projects in Guyana, Brazil, and the Permian Basin in the United States. More than 90% of Upstream planned capital investments through 2027 are expected to generate returns of greater than 10% at prices less than or equal to USD35 per bbl of oil equivalent, while reducing Upstream GHG emissions intensity by 40-50% through 2030, compared to 2016 levels.

Downstream and Chemical earnings and cash flow growth plans are focused on high-return projects, which are expected to double the volume of valuable performance chemicals and lower-emission fuels and lubricants. The company will leverage its industry-leading manufacturing scale, integration, and technology position to high-grade its portfolio and reduce costs, while optimizing operations and leveraging the capabilities of the Low Carbon Solutions business to reduce GHG emission intensity at operated facilities.

Increased cash flow and earnings enable both further debt reduction and returns to shareholders. To date in 2021, the company has repaid USD11 B in debt and expects to be comfortably within the range of its targeted debt–to-capital ratio of 20-25% by year-end. It has also announced a USD10 B share-repurchase program over 12-24 months that will commence in 2022, and it increased its annual dividend payment for the 39th consecutive year.

As part of its plan, ExxonMobil has committed USD15 B for lower-emission investments through 2027. These investments will include a balance between projects to reduce GHG emissions from existing operations and increased investments in the low carbon solutions business. The same capabilities, technical strengths and market experience that support base energy and chemical businesses will help drive commercial growth opportunities for CCS, biofuels and hydrogen where supportive policies currently exist and provide for strong returns.

ExxonMobil is on track to exceed its 2025 GHG emission-reduction plans announced in December 2020. The company anticipates year-end 2021 results to show a reduction of 15-20% in GHG intensity from Upstream operations compared to 2016 levels, four years ahead of schedule. This is supported by an anticipated reduction of 40-50% in methane intensity and 35-45% in flaring intensity compared to 2016.

As MRC informed before, ExxonMobil said earlier this month it is on track to meet its 2025 emissions reduction targets by the end of this year - four years earlier than planned - and has vowed to ramp up investments to further cut emissions.

We remind that ExxonMobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas, and is expected to start operations by year-end 2022. By recycling plastic waste back into raw materials that can be used to make plastic and other valuable products, the technology could help address the challenge of plastic waste in the environment. A smaller, temporary facility, is already operational and producing commercial volumes of certified circular polymers that will be marketed by the end of this year to meet growing demand.

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.

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