ExxonMobil aims to cut oil and gas emissions to net zero by 2050

MOSCOW (MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced its ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for operated assets by 2050, backed by a comprehensive approach to develop detailed emission-reduction roadmaps for major facilities and assets, said the company.

Scope 1 refers to emissions produced during production, Scope 2 to emissions from the consumption of energy. The 2050 net zero ambition, which is contained in the company’s Advancing Climate Solutions - 2022 Progress Report, builds on its ongoing emission reduction plans.

Those plans include net-zero emission for Permian basin operations and ongoing investments in lower-emission solutions in which ExxonMobil has extensive experience, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and biofuels.

ExxonMobil’s emissions reduction actions already underway prioritise energy efficiency measures, methane mitigation, equipment upgrades and the elimination of venting and routine flaring. Further high-impact reduction opportunities include power and steam co-generation and electrification of operations, using renewable or lower-emission power.

The company expects to finalise detailed roadmaps that address about 90% of operations-related greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this year, and the remainder will be completed in 2023, it said. The cost of the initial actions to achieve net zero by 2050 are included in the company’s plans to invest more than USD15bn by 2027 on lower-emission initiatives.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Petroleum Company Limited, SGN and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the use of hydrogen and carbon capture for a hydrogen hub project in the Southampton industrial cluster.

As MRC informed previously, 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.

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) -- India’s petrochemical major Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) plans to invest Indian rupees (Rs) 5.95tr (USD80bn) in green energy and other projects in western Gujarat state as it aims to achieve its net zero carbon emissions target by 2035, said Indiatimes.

This investment would involve the setting up of a 100-gigawatt (GW) renewable energy power plant over the next 10-15 years at a cost of Rs5tr, RIL said in a statement on 13 January. “RIL has started the process of scouting land for the power project in Kutch, Banaskantha and Dholera. The company has requested for land in Kutch,” it said.

The company will also set up plants to manufacture solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, energy-storage batteries and fuel cells at a cost of around Rs600bn. RIL will invest a further Rs250bn in existing projects and new ventures over the next five years, it said.

In June 2021, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani had announced that the company would aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

As per MRC, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), the Indian energy and petrochemicals giant, plans to close its No. 2 Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) line in Kuantan, Malaysia, in early March for repairs. The line with a capacity of 610,000 tonnes of PTA per year will be closed for three weeks for scheduled maintenance.

Reliance Industries is one of the world's largest producers of polymers. The company produces polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride and other petrochemical products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Oil prices on Tuesday climbed to their highest since 2014 as investors worried about global political tensions involving major producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia that could exacerbate the already tight supply outlook, reported Reuters.

The risk added a premium to prices during the session. Brent crude futures rose USD1.03, or 1.2%, to settle at USD87.51 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended USD1.61, or 1.9%, higher at USD85.43 a barrel.

Both benchmarks touched their highest since October 2014, and some OPEC sources say USD100-per-barrel oil is not out of reach.

Supply concerns mounted this week after Yemen's Houthi group attacked the United Arab Emirates, escalating hostilities between the Iran-aligned group and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition.

After launching drone and missile strikes that set off explosions in fuel trucks and killed three people, the Houthi movement warned it could target more facilities, while the UAE said it reserved the right to "respond to these terrorist attacks."

The strike on a leading Gulf Arab ally of the United States takes the war between the Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition to a new level, and may hinder efforts to contain regional tensions as Washington and Tehran work to rescue a nuclear deal.

"The damage to the UAE oil facilities in Abu Dhabi is not significant in itself, but it raises the question of even more supply disruptions in the region in 2022," said Rystad Energy's senior oil markets analyst Louise Dickson.

"The attack raises the geopolitical risk in the region and may signal the Iran-US nuclear deal is off the table for the foreseeable future, meaning Iranian oil barrels are off the market, boosting demand for similar grade crude originating elsewhere," Dickson added.

UAE oil company ADNOC said it had activated business continuity plans to ensure uninterrupted supply of products to its local and international customers after an incident at its Mussafah fuel depot.

Separately, a senior US State Department official said Russian troops deployed to Belarus for what Moscow and Minsk say will be joint military exercises is raising concerns that they "potentially" could be used to attack neighboring Ukraine.

Russia has built up a large troop presence near Ukraine's border, stoking fears of invasion. US and German officials have discussed ways to deter Russia, which could include halting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to central Europe.

At the same time, producers within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are struggling to pump at their allowed capacities under the OPEC+ agreement with Russia and allies to add 400,000 barrels per day each month.

OPEC on Tuesday stuck to its forecast for robust growth in world oil demand in 2022 despite the Omicron coronavirus variant and expected interest rate hikes.

As MRC informed before, in November 2021, ADNOC signed of a strategic partnership with Borealis AG that confirms a USD6.2 B (AED22 B) investment agreement between the companies to build the fourth Borouge facility - Borouge 4 - at the polyolefin manufacturing complex in Ruwais, United Arab Emirates (UAE), which will produce 1.4 MM tons of polyethylene (PE) per year. Expansion project includes construction of a 1.5 MM tons ethane cracker, two state-of-the-art Borstar PE plants and a cross-linked PE plant. Borouge 4 will meet growing customer demand across the Middle East, Africa and Asia with differentiated polyolefin solutions in energy, infrastructure, and advanced packaging.

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 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR announced it has been awarded an engineering services contract by Woodside Energy (USA) Inc. for its proposed H2OK liquid hydrogen production facility project in Ardmore, Oklahoma, said the company.

Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide a front-end engineering design for Woodside's H2OK liquid hydrogen facility. Cryogenic liquid hydrogen is used in the transportation industry as a fuel for fleets where the combustion of liquid hydrogen produces zero-emissions, with water as the only by-product.

Capacities may later be expanded to 550 MW and 180 tonnes/day, respectively. A final investment decision (FID) is expected in H2 2022, with first production of liquid hydrogen in 2025.

"KBR is pleased to support Woodside on this project as the company advances its portfolio of decarbonization solutions," said Jay Ibrahim, President – Sustainable Technology Solutions. "Our focus on energy transition and carbon footprint reduction is helping our clients meet their sustainability goals around the globe. At KBR, we continually strive to develop new technologies and solutions that benefit our planet."

As per MRC, KBR and Petron Scientech Inc. (PSI) have announced they have signed an alliance agreement to license differentiated, energy-efficient, and sustainable technologies for renewable chemicals production. Under this agreement, KBR will be the exclusive licensor for PSI’s Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol (K-MEG), Alcohol Dehydration (K-SEET) and Maleic Anhydride (Max-Leic) technologies, which are used to convert ethanol into ethylene and further derivative chemicals used in a wide range of industry and consumer products.

As MRC reported earlier, in July 2021, KBR was awarded technology licensing contracts by PKN Orlen for KBR's leading Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) and Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) technologies as part of PKN's Bottom-of-the-Barrel project for its Plock Refinery in Poland.

KBR has nearly 50 years of experience designing, developing, and supporting cryogenic liquified natural gas facilities and has extensive experience in hydrogen both through its work in the space industry and in industrial facilities. This deep domain knowledge makes KBR ideally suited to provide high end engineering and be the integrator for cryogenic liquid hydrogen facilities.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF will build a new hexamethylenediamine (HMDA) facility at Chalampe, near Mulhouse, in northeastern France and plans to expand polyamide 6,6 capacity at its nearby site in Freiburg in southwest Germany, said the company.

BASF decided to build a new hexamethylene diamine (HMD) plant in Chalampe, France. The new plant is set to increase BASF’s annual HMD production capacity to 260,000 metric tons. Production is expected to start in 2024. Furthermore, BASF will expand its polyamide 6.6 production in Freiburg, Germany starting 2022.

The planned investments will further expand the polyamide 6.6 business that BASF acquired from Solvay in 2020. “With this new HMD plant in Chalampe and the expansion of the polymerization in Freiburg, BASF ensures that customers can be reliably supplied with HMD and PA6.6, while also addressing increasing demand in the market,” said Dr. Ramkumar Dhruva, President of BASF’s Monomers division.

HMD is a precursor used in the production of high-quality polyamide 6.6 plastics and coating raw materials. Among other things, these products are used in the automotive industry as well as in the production of special fibers.

As MRC informed earlier, BASF signed a joint development agreement with China BlueChemical Limited Company (China BlueChemical), a leading natural gas producer, and the chemical engineering company Wuhuan Engineering Co., Ltd. (Wuhuan Engineering) to promote low-carbon development and utilization of marine gas resources. In the Dongfang Industrial Park of Hainan Province, China BlueChemical extracts large quantities of such offshore natural gas (marine gas) from gas fields in the South China Sea.

As MRC wrote before, BASF will build a battery recycling prototype plant in Schwarzheide, Germany, at the site of its cathode active materials (CAM) plant.

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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