Russian fuel oil exports to UAE Fujairah set to spike in May

Russian fuel oil arrivals in the UAE oil hub of Fujairah are set to jump sharply to about 2.5 MM barrels this month, data shows, in a sign that flows of Russian oil and refined products are shifting away from Europe, as per Reuters.

The arrivals in May are about 125% higher than April levels, and about 24% higher than a recent record in November 2021, the data from oil analytics firm Vortexa showed.

Russian fuel oil exports from the Black Sea ports of Taman and Novorossiysk to Fujairah are fairly common, but Baltic exports are much rarer and those flows have jumped sharply in April and May, the data showed.

One trader said the increased volumes were mainly going into the bunkering pool in Fujairah- the world's third largest bunkering hub after Singapore and Rotterdam. Trading Russian crude and oil products has become more difficult as Western buyers avoid it in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Large companies, including Shell, BP and TotalEnergies have already said they have stopped buying cargoes of crude oil and refined products of Russian origin. Major global trading houses are planning to reduce crude and fuel purchases from Russia's state-controlled oil companies as from May 15 to avoid falling foul of European Union sanctions on Russia.

Fuel oil, is a by-product of refining crude oil into lighter, cleaner products like road fuels and is used as a shipping fuel, in power generation, or as feedstock for some refining units which upgrade it into other fuels.

We remind, Shell has agreed to sell over 400 retail fuel stations and a lubricants blending plant in Russia to Lukoil.
Known as Shell Neft, the business operates fuel stations in central and northwest Russia, while the Torzhok blending plant is around 200km northwest of Moscow. Shell has committed to gradually withdrawing from all Russian hydrocarbon activities. Deal terms were not disclosed.
mrchub.com

Poland's Grupa Lotos said it is not processing oil for TotalEnergies' Leuna refinery in Germany, referring to a statement by the Polish climate minister that this was the case as a "slip of the tongue", reported Reuters.

Poland's Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said on Friday the Gdansk refinery owned by Lotos was processing oil for the Leuna refinery.

"The statement that the Gdansk refinery is processing oil for TotalEnergies Leuna refinery in Germany should be treated as a slip of the tongue," a Lotos spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "The words spoken at the press conference of Poland's climate minister Anna Moskwa on May 6, 2022, concerned Naftoport, an oil and fuel terminal owned by the PERN Group."

Naftoport, Poland's oil terminal in Gdansk on the Baltic Sea, is linked to a pipeline system that allows the shipping of crude via Poland to Germany.

It has a capacity of 36 MMtpy of oil, above the needs of Polish refiners that process some 27 MMtpy.

As MRC informed before, in late February, 2022, TotalEnergies condemned what it called Moscow's military aggression in Ukraine but stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to exit positions in resource-rich Russia. The French oil major, which holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it "will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia".

We remind that Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA, the US petrochemical major and part of TotalEnergies, restarted all of its three polypropylene (PP) units in La Porte as of 17 June 2021. At the same time, the force majeure (FM) at this plant with an annual capacity of 1.15 million tons/year remains in place as the company attempts to stabilize operating rates and build inventories ahead of the hurricane season. Previously, Total Petrochemical declared FM on its PP output after an abrupt loss of electricity supply during a severe weather condition on 18 May, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes in 2021, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

TotalEnergies and ENEOS hasve announced a collaboration to jointly conduct a feasibility study to assess the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in ENEOS' Negishi refinery in Yokohama city, Japan, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The companies have already started to conduct the study for feedstock procurement and production of SAF related to this project. The proposed unit, which capacity would be 300,000 tpy of SAF, would process waste or residue sourced notably from the circular economy, mainly used cooking oil and animal fat. The two companies are considering establishing a new JV to produce SAF.

This collaboration would leverage the companies’ respective areas of excellence and expertise for the development of the sustainable supply chain of SAF in Japan around 2025:

TotalEnergies’ experience in feedstock procurement and SAF production technology.

ENEOS’s available production and loading/unloading facilities of the Negishi refinery, which is located in the largest aviation fuel demand area in Japan (Narita and Haneda airports) and marketing network of aviation fuel in Japan.

Responding to the significant challenge of global climate change, the two energy companies have been working to reduce GHG emissions on a global scale together with their customers, paving the way for a decarbonized, recycling-oriented society.

As MRC informed before, in late February, 2022, TotalEnergies condemned what it called Moscow's military aggression in Ukraine but stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to exit positions in resource-rich Russia. The French oil major, which holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it "will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia".

We remind that Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA, the US petrochemical major and part of TotalEnergies, restarted all of its three polypropylene (PP) units in La Porte as of 17 June 2021. At the same time, the force majeure (FM) at this plant with an annual capacity of 1.15 million tons/year remains in place as the company attempts to stabilize operating rates and build inventories ahead of the hurricane season. Previously, Total Petrochemical declared FM on its PP output after an abrupt loss of electricity supply during a severe weather condition on 18 May, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes in 2021, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Total is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
MRC

Russia is set to resume supplies of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from a Sea of Azov port on Tuesday for the first time since Moscow started its military operation in Ukraine, reported Reuters with reference to data from the port and Refinitiv Eikon.

Supplies of LPG, which is used in the petrochemical industry and to fuel vehicles and stationary generators, had been halted from the Temryuk terminal since February 24 following a ban on shipments in the region imposed by the Russian sea and river transport regulator.

According to the port data, there are plans to load a gas tanker called Premier on Tuesday under the flag of the Comoro Islands. It is bound for the Bulgarian port of Burgas.

The cargo vessel is due to export an LPG cargo of around 2,400 tons, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and industry sources.

As MRC informed earlier, TotalEnergies reaffirms its firmest condemnation of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which has tragic consequences for the Ukrainian population and threatens peace in Europe. To act responsibly, as a European company and in accordance with its values, TotalEnergies has defined clear principles of conduct for managing its Russian related business: ensure strict compliance with current and future European sanctions, no matter what the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia, and gradually suspend its activities in Russia, while assuring its workforce's safety.

We remind that in late February, 2022, TotalEnergies condemned what it called Moscow's military aggression in Ukraine but stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to exit positions in resource-rich Russia. The French oil major, which holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it "will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia".

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 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC

TotalEnergies, the world's petrochemical major, has started up the "3D" carbon capture pilot in Dunkirk, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The "3D" industrial pilot to demonstrate an innovative process for capturing CO2 from industrial activities is now running at ArcelorMittal’s Dunkirk site. With support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, the project aims to validate replicable technical solutions for carbon capture. The "3D" project, driven by a consortium including TotalEnergies, ArcelorMittal, Axens and IFP Energies Nouvelles (IFPEN), is a major step towards decarbonizing industries that are highly emissive of CO2, such as steelmaking.

The challenge for carbon capture researchers is making the processes more competitive and less energy intensive. This industrial pilot should allow the performance of the DMX carbon capture process developed in IFPEN’s labs over the last ten years to be verified.

The project was launched in May 2019, and the building of the demonstrator began in 2020 under Axens’ supervision. Last December, the pilot’s main modules, including a 22 meter tower, were delivered and assembled at ArcelorMittal’s site in Dunkirk. The phases of building the pilot and connecting it to the plant have now been completed, and the unit is ready for start-up.

This demonstration, which is scheduled to last for 12-18 months, is the final stage before the technology’s full-scale deployment.

The carbon capture facility will process steelmaking gases: it will demonstrate the effectiveness of the carbon capture process by separating the CO2 from other gases. During the demonstration stage, it will capture 0.5 tons of CO2 an hour, i.e. more than 4,000 tpy.

As MRC informed before, in late February, 2022, TotalEnergies condemned what it called Moscow's military aggression in Ukraine but stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to exit positions in resource-rich Russia. The French oil major, which holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek, Russia's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said it "will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia".

We remind that Total Petrochemicals and Refining USA, the US petrochemical major and part of TotalEnergies, restarted all of its three polypropylene (PP) units in La Porte as of 17 June 2021. At the same time, the force majeure (FM) at this plant with an annual capacity of 1.15 million tons/year remains in place as the company attempts to stabilize operating rates and build inventories ahead of the hurricane season. Previously, Total Petrochemical declared FM on its PP output after an abrupt loss of electricity supply during a severe weather condition on 18 May, 2021.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes in 2021, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas.shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.

Total is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
MRC