Chevron to purchase biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group

Chevron is buying biodiesel maker Renewable Energy Group Inc for USD3.15 B, in its biggest bet so far on alternative fuels, reported Reuters.

The second-biggest US oil and gas producer said on Monday it would pay USD61.5 in cash for each share of Renewable Energy, a premium of over 40% to the company's Friday close. Renewable Energy shares rose more than 37% in premarket trading.

Major oil firms are facing increasing pressure from governments and investors to shrink their carbon footprint and join the fight against climate change, given their large contributions to global emissions.

Many US refiners have been ramping up production of renewable diesel to take advantage of increased state and federal subsidies to decarbonize their fuels.

Chevron has set a target to cut operational emissions to net zero by 2050 and in September pledged to invest USD10 B to reduce its carbon emissions through 2028, with about USD3 B earmarked for renewable fuels.

Ames, Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group produces both biodiesel and renewable diesel.

The deal is expected to accelerate progress toward Chevron's goal to grow renewable fuels production capacity to 100,000 bpd by 2030 and brings additional feedstock supplies and pre-treatment facilities, the company said in a statement.

The transaction is estimated to close in the second half of the year and is likely to add to Chevron's earnings in the first year and to its free cash flow after the start-up of Renewable Energy Group's Geismar expansion in Louisiana.

As MRC informed before, in September 2021, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, and Bunge North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced today a memorandum of understanding (MOU) of a proposed 50/50 joint venture to help meet the demand for renewable fuels and to develop lower carbon intensity feedstocks.

Headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation is the the second-largest integrated energy company in the United States and among the largest corporations in the world. Chevron is involved in upstream activities including exploration and production, downstream activities including refining, marketing and transportation, and advanced energy technology. Chevron is also invested in power generation and gasification processes.
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DuPont Sustainable Solutions announced it will operate under a new name: dss+, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Since DuPont Sustainable Solutions became an independent consulting firm after separating from DuPont in 2019, it has evolved and enhanced its capabilities through organic growth and the acquisition of three organizations to improve the breadth and depth of capabilities in operational excellence, sustainability, environmental, social and governance.

"I am thrilled to announce our new brand name which represents the exponential capability we have to help companies work safer and smarter, with purpose and impact," said Davide Vassallo, Chief Executive Officer of dss+. "Purpose is central to everything we do at dss+ and reflects our continued commitment to saving lives and creating a sustainable future and positive impact for future generations."

As MRC reported earlier, DuPont is to invest around USD5 m at facilities in Germany and Switzerland to increase capacity for automotive adhesives. The investment will expand capacity to support growing demand for advanced mobility solutions for vehicle electrification. New equipment has been delivered and installed that will increase manufacturing capacity as well as accelerate delivery of product samples to customers.

We remind that DuPont is also investing USD400 million in the production capacity of Tyvek nonwoven fabric made from high density polyethylene (HDPE) at its site in Luxembourg. A new building and a third work line at the production site will be constructed. The launch of new facilities was scheduled for 2021.

The DuPont Corporation, founded in the USA in 1802, operates in more than 70 countries. The company produces specialty chemicals, offers goods and services for agriculture, food production, electronics, communications, security and protection, construction, transport and light industry. In Russia, DuPont has 100% control over the DuPont Khimprom plant since 2005, and in 2006 established a joint venture between DuPont - Russian Paints and Russian Paints.
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Finland's Neste has replaced most of its Russian crude oil purchases with other crudes such as North Sea oil due to the crisis in Ukraine, reported Reuters with reference to the company's statement on Monday.

Previously the Finnish refiner purchased from Russia some two-thirds of the crude oil it uses.

"In case of eventual gas disruptions Neste can partially use alternative fuels and optimize our production according to the situation," an executive in charge of Neste's oil products business, Markku Korvenranta, told Reuters by email, adding the company was able to deliver products to its customers normally at the moment.

As MRC wrote before, Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. After kicking the series off with its first-ever industrial scale trial run with liquefied waste plastic in 2020, Neste has conducted additional runs in 2021. In the course of the trial runs, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Trials pave the way for continuous and commercial activities. Neste has set itself the goal of processing more than 1 MM tons of plastic waste per year from 2030 onwards.

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.

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) -- On 18 February, after almost a two-year break, the export trades for Kiyanly Polymer Plant 's polypropylene (PP) were resumed at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Stock Exchange of Turkmenistan, Demand for PP was strong, all quantities of PP put up for auction were sold out during one trading day, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

According to market participants, back in early February, 5,000 tonnes of Kiyanly Polymer Plant's PP raffia to be exported to the CIS countries were put up for auction at the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan. But active purchases were only on 18 February, all PP quantities were sold out during one day.

5 deals for a total of 5,000 tonnes were done. Deals for shipments to the CIS markets within the following 5 months were done under the formula with a discount of USD490/tonne FOB/FCA.
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1. Fitch downgrades Petkim and Tupras to negative

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Fitch Ratings has revised its outlooks on Turkey’s major petrochemical producer Petkim and largest Turkish refiner Tupras to negative from stable, said American corporation. The move follows Fitch’s recent sovereign rating action that downgraded Turkey to 'B+', four notches below investment grade, with a negative outlook. Turkey is mired in an economic crisis that sent the official annual inflation figure to 49% at the end of January. The Turkish lira struggling to hold ground against the US dollar. The Turkish currency lost 44% of its value against the dollar in 2021. Fitch, in a notice released on Thursday, revised the outlook on Petkim’s long term foreign currency (LT FC) issuer default rating (IDR) to negative from stable, while also affirming the company’s 'B+' rating. “Petkim's LT FC IDR is constrained by the Country Ceiling, due to the company's sizeable exposure to the Turkish economy,” Fitch said.

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