bp acquires almost 29% stake in UK-based Gasrec to strengthen its footprint in renewable gas production

MOSCOW (MRC) -- bp has acquired a 28.57% stake in Gasrec, the UK’s largest dual provider of bio-Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and bio-Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to road transport, as per the company's press release.

The company builds, owns and operates biomethane refueling stations, providing renewable solutions to the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) industry.

bp will supply Gasrec with renewable biomethane produced mainly from organic wastes, such as food and dairy manure. The investment will expand bp’s UK footprint in renewable gas production and distribution, adding to its market leading position in the US.

Carol Howle, EVP Trading and Shipping at bp, said: “Bio-LNG and bio-CNG play a crucial role in the energy transition and decarbonization of the heavy-freight industry and is another example of how we’re helping decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors. We’re excited to work with an industry leader like Gasrec to increase the supply of biomethane for HGV customers. This investment further expands bp’s global renewable gas portfolio, an area which we believe will have an increasingly important role on the path to net zero.”

Founded in 2003, Gasrec was the UK’s first supplier of biomethane to the road transport sector. Its customers include some of the UK’s biggest retailers, parcel delivery companies and hauliers -- Asda, Ocado, Gregory Distribution and Reed Boardall. By offering lower carbon solutions for HGVs, Gasrec lowers the carbon emissions associated with the road transport supply chain and the customers who transport goods.

Gasrec’s network of ten biomethane refueling stations across the UK is capable of refueling approximately 1,250 vehicles per day and includes one of Europe’s largest gas refueling stations, at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT). With a strong market position, refueling around 40% of the UK’s gas-powered HGVs, Gasrec is seeking to expand its network of refueling stations at logistics parks.

As MRC reported earlier, in November, 2021, BP unveiled its largest green hydrogen initiative so far in the UK, with plans for renewable hydrogen production in north-east England it believes could grow to half a gigawatt of electrolyser capacity by the end of the decade. The UK supermajor aims to build an initial 60-megawatt green hydrogen plant by 2025 as the first step in its HyGreen Teesside project.

We remind that in October, 2021, BP announced plans for a USD269 million investment in three projects at its Cherry Point Refinery in Washington state, aimed at improving the refinery's efficiency, reducing its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and increasing its renewable diesel production capability. The investment is aligned with bp's aims to be net zero across its operations by 2050 or sooner and to reduce the carbon intensity of the products it sells by 50% by 2050 or sooner.

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.

BP is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies, serving millions of customers every day in around 80 countries, and employing around 85,000 people. BP's business segments are Upstream (oil and gas exploration & production), and Downstream (refining & marketing). Through these activities, BP provides fuel for transportation; energy for heat and light; services for motorists; and petrochemicals products for plastics, textiles and food packaging. It has strong positions in many of the world"s hydrocarbon basins and strong market positions in key economies.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- British Airways will become the first airline in the world to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)produced in the UK after signing a multi-year agreement with Phillips 66 Limited, according to BusinessWire.

The SAF will be produced at scale for the first time in the UK at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham and will be supplied to British Airways to power a number of its flights from early 2022.

The supply agreement between British Airways and Phillips 66 Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company Phillips 66, advances both companies’ commitments to a lower-carbon future. The airline, which is driving to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, will purchase enough sustainable fuel to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by almost 100,000 tonnes, the equivalent of powering 700 net zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on its fuel-efficient Boeing 787 aircraft.

The SAF will be produced from sustainable waste feedstock at the Humber Refinery, which will deliver its SAF supply to British Airways via existing pipeline infrastructure that feeds directly into UK airports.

Last year Phillips 66 Limited invested significantly to expand its production of fuels from waste feedstocks. The investment is part of a broader energy transition plan to reduce the carbon intensity of its refinery operations and products that support 1,000 Humber Refinery jobs.

As MRC informed earlier, US Refiner Phillips 66 said on 30 September it would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from its operations by 2030, amid mounting pressure on the industry to join the fight against climate change and cut carbon emissions by mid-century.

We remind that US-based Phillips 66 remains open to developing another ethane cracker for its Chevron Phillips Chemical (CP Chem) joint venture, the refiner's CEO said in March 2018.

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.

Phillips 66 is a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. With a portfolio of Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses, the company processes, transports, stores and markets fuels and products globally. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 14,100 employees committed to safety and operating excellence. Phillips 66 had USD56 billion of assets as of Sept. 30, 2021.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Russia’s Tatneft and Kazakh company KazMunayGas have signed an agreement for a new production site in the Atyrau region of Kazakhstan, said the company.

The new facility will produce butadiene rubbers for use in tire manufacturing. The joint venture was signed by Nail Maganov, general director of Tatneft, and Alik Aidarbayev, management board chairman of KazMunayGas. Production will commence in 2026 at the SEZ National Industrial Petrochemical Technopark (Free Economic Zone). Approximately 2,000 jobs will be created at the site during the construction period, and more than 700 job positions at the point the facility goes into operation.

The planned capacity of the facility will be up to 180,000 tonnes of butadiene and butadiene rubbers per year. The share divide between KazMunayGas and Tatneft will be 25% and 75% respectively. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at around USВ1bn, and the parties are considering options for financing, including through borrowing.

It is assumed that raw materials will be supplied from the Tengiz and Korolev fields in Kazakhstan. The plans provide for finished products to be sent to a tire manufacturing factory in the Karaganda region, as well as for export to European countries, Russia, China, Turkey and other destinations.

In November 2021, a financial lease agreement has been concluded between "KamaTyresKZ", subsidiary of PJSC Tatneft named after V.D. Shashin in Kazakhstan, and JSC "Industrial Development Fund".

Butadiene is one of the main raw materials for the production of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

According to the ICIS-MRC Price Report, in the Russian market in the current month, Plastik (Uzlovaya) kept the ABS prices at the level of the previous month and offers unpainted material with a volume of 20 tonnes at a price of Rb293,000-300,000 per tonne, FCA Nodal, including. At the same time, for regular customers of the plant, prices can drop by Rb3,000-4,000 per tonne, the manufacturer said.

OAO TATNEFT is part of OAO Tatneftekhiminvest-holding, an industrial and financial company that unites the largest enterprises of the oil and gas chemical complex of Tatarstan. TATNEFT accounts for over 80% of oil produced in Tatarstan. In 2013, the company increased oil production by 0.4% to 26.107 million tons. The main shareholder of Tatneft is the state holding OJSC Svyazinvestneftekhim, which owns 30.44% of shares in the authorized capital of the company. Tatarstan owns the "golden share" of Tatneft.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS FPS has announced plans to deploy innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven optimisation technology at its Kinneil Terminal in Grangemouth that will deliver further carbon emissions reductions from its operations, as per the company's press release.

The decision follows the announcement of INEOS’ commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations in Grangemouth by more than 60% by 2030 as it targets Net Zero by 2045. As part of its road map, the business is already making significant investments in emissions reduction projects at Grangemouth and deploying AI technology at Kinneil is another tool that will enable it to achieve the next phase of the transition to Net Zero.

Working with data analytics experts, OPEX Group, INEOS FPS will deploy the firm’s emissions.AI software, which optimises complex industrial facilities to deliver lower carbon emissions. A real benefit emissions.AI will bring to our systems is the way the tool calculates lowest achievable emissions; learning from the information received from hundreds of data points across our processes and always looking for what can be done better. We believe that once the new software is fully integrated there is the potential to identify up to a 10% reduction in existing emissions – with further opportunities thereafter.

Andrew Gardner, Chief Executive at INEOS FPS commented; “The installation of the emissions.AI software takes energy management to a new level, that will lead to significant CO2 savings. We are committed to delivering our roadmap to net zero and see technology as a key enabler to achieving our decarbonisation goals. Across our organisation we are embedding a culture of carbon awareness, including as part of daily operations. AI will assist our teams in unlocking immediate operational emissions savings by making emissions data instantly available to them.”

As MRC reported earlier, UK-based chemicals company INEOS plans to invest EUR2 billion (USD2.3 billion) in renewable hydrogen production across Europe in the next 10 years, including a 100-MW plant in Germany. INEOS plans to build production facilities in Norway, Germany and Belgium, with additional investment in the UK and France.

We remind that in March 2021, Ineos and French power company Engie announced a pilot project to partially replace natural gas feed with hydrogen at Ineos’s phenol plant in Doel near Antwerp, Belgium. No investment figure has been given. Hydrogen will be used in a commercial-scale cogeneration plant designed to generate electricity and heat from natural gas. About 10% of the cogeneration plant's gas feed will initially be replaced by hydrogen, with this to then be increased to 20% in a gradual process. This is the first time that such tests have been carried out on an industrial scale in Belgium, says Ineos then. The cogeneration plant at the phenol site “has the ideal profile to realize this test," it says.

Phenol is largely used to produce bisphenol A (BPA), which, in its turn, is used in the production of plastics such as polycarbonate (PC) and epoxy resins.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall estimated consumption of PC granules (excluding imports and exports to/from Belarus) dropped in the first three quarters of 2021 by 15% year on year to 63,700 tonnes (75,300 tonnes a year earlier).

INEOS Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Effective from 1 January 2022, Armand Ajdari will be joining Arkema as the Group’s Chief Technology Officer, as per the company's press release.

He will report to Thierry Le Henaff, Chairman and CEO, and will be a member of the Group management committee.

The arrival of Armand Ajdari is fully aligned with the strategic direction of Arkema, which places innovation and the development of sustainable solutions at the heart of its strategy.

With more than 30 years dedicated to research and development in international environments, particularly within the Saint-Gobain group, Armand Ajdari will bring his passion of innovation, his scientific culture, his experience of technological and commercial relationships with key partners and his understanding of the planet’s megatrends.

As MRC reported before, with the planned acquisition of Agiplast, a leader in the regeneration of high performance polymers, in particular specialty polyamides and fluoropolymers, Arkema will be able to offer a full service to customers in terms of materials circularity, addressing growing market expectations in this field. This project, which contributes to the sustainable development of the polymer industry, is perfectly in line with Arkema’s sustainable growth strategy.

We remind that Arkema is further increasing its fluoropolymer production capacities in Changshu, China, by 35% in 2022. The increase in capacity is scheduled to come on stream before the end of 2022. Financial and overall capacity details of the expansion project were not disclosed.

Arkema is one of the world's leading chemical manufacturers headquartered in Colombes (near Paris, France). Founded in 2004 as a result of the restructuring of the French oil company Total, Arkema, with a turnover of EUR6.5 billion, has operations in 40 countries, 10 research centers around the world, and 85 plants in Europe, North America and Asia.
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