Poland calls for extra EU duty on Russian fossil fuels

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Poland is appealing to the EU to impose additional import tariffs on Russian oil and gas, the government spokesperson has said, said Thefirstnews.

The European Union wants to mobilise around EUR 300 billion by 2030, including around EUR 72 billion in subsidies and EUR 225 billion in loans, to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Piotr Mueller, the Polish government spokesperson, on Wednesday praised the plan but said that it was a shame it was introduced so late because Poland had for years warned against becoming dependent on Russian gas and oil.

At the same time he said that Poland is appealing "here and now" to the European Commission to introduce an additional tariff on Russian oil and gas "so that Russia does not take advantage of this armed conflict, this turmoil on the international arena in terms of fuel prices, does not divide the member states into better and worse... and does not dictate various types of discounts or higher prices."

He added that Poland was proposing either a quick timely embargo on Russian oil, gas and coal, or "a punitive duty that would make EU entrepreneurs want to abandon Russian supplies.

As per MRC, the U.S. House passed a bill on Thursday that allows the U.S. president to issue an energy emergency declaration, making it unlawful for companies to excessively increase gasoline and home fuel prices. The bill must pass the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future, and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

As per MRC, the price of Brent crude oil, the world benchmark, has increased in 2022, partly as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In addition, a strong U.S. dollar means that countries that use currencies other than the U.S. dollar pay more as crude oil prices increase.

We remind, oil prices fell on Monday as concerns over weak economic growth in China, the world's top oil importer, overshadowed fears supply might be crimped by a potential European Union ban on Russian crude.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Air Products reported 2Q FY 2022 results, said the company.

Asia sales of USD751 M increased 8% over the prior year on 6% higher volumes, particularly on-site volume from new, traditional industrial gas plants; 1% higher pricing; and 1% higher energy cost pass-through.

Operating income of USD204 M increased 3% and adjusted EBITDA of USD322 M increased 2%, as favourable volumes and pricing more than offset higher costs.

Operating margin of 27.1% decreased 140 basis points and adjusted EBITDA margin of 42.8% decreased 240 basis points.

We remind, Pertamina and Air Liquide Indonesia, signed a joint study agreement on capturing carbon emissions from its Balikpapan hydrogen production facility and storing the carbon in the Kutai basin area off East Kalimantan province. Some of the emissions would be converted into products like methanol, which can be used to produce low-carbon fuels, Pertamina said in the statement. Indonesia, which relies heavily on fossil fuels for its energy, aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and aims to nearly double the proportion of renewables in its energy mix to 23% by 2025.

As per MRC, Air Products announced that it is teaming up with World Energy to build a new USD2 B major expansion project at World Energy’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production and distribution hub in Paramount, California. The L.A. county facility is the world’s first commercial scale and North America’s only SAF production facility and its total fuel capacity will be expanded to 340 MM gallons annually.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Borealis and Austria's leading energy company, VERBUND, are pleased to announce the installation of a new photovoltaic (PV) array at Borealis production location in Linz, Austria, said the company.

The investment is in line with the Borealis aim to enhance the sustainability of its own operations while also supporting the Upper Austria Photovoltaic Strategy for 2030. Rooftop PV arrays are among the cleanest ways to generate renewable energy.

The ample availability of large surfaces on industrial buildings make them ideal sites for such arrays. Erected jointly by Borealis and VERBUND, the new rooftop PV array at Borealis operations at the Chemical Park Linz boasts a module surface area of 4794 sq m. It is thus among the ten largest arrays of its kind in the province of Upper Austria.

Construction was completed in around six weeks. Pilot operations to optimize performance at the new PV facility started at the beginning of May 2022. Once the facility begins producing energy later in May 2022, its output will be around 1 megawatt-peak (MWp).

The PV array will supply around 1 gigawatt hours (GWh)/y; this is roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 250 households. The solar power generated by the new array will be used for Borealis operations at the Chemical Park Linz. It shall enable the company to reduce the CO2 emissions of this location by 350 tonnes/y.

As per MRC, Borealis has teamed up with the environmental and material recovery experts of the Reclay Group, the company has announced. Together, the two have now launched Recelerate GmbH, an initiative designed to re-examine and streamline the process involved in the recycling of lightweight packaging recycling, ultimately with the goal of ensuring more post-consumer lightweight packaging (LWP) is sorted and recycled into high quality materials.

We remind, Borealis (Vienna), a leading producer of polyolefins, has delayed the start-up of a new, world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant at its existing production site at Kallo, Belgium, which is the company's biggest investment in Europe, until Q3 2023, citing Covid-19. The plant in Kallo in the port of Antwerp was previously targeted to begin operations by the end of next year.

As per MRC, Adnoc and Mubadala Mubadala announced a strategic transaction involving Borealis, one of Europe’s leading petrochemical companies. Under this agreement, Adnoc will acquire a 25% shareholding in Borealis from Mubadala. Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, Borealis will be owned 25% by Adnoc and 75% by OMV, an Austrian multi-national integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.

mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kuraray announces its decision to increase the prices of polyester staple fiber, for shipments commencing June 1, 2022, said the company.

In addition to the significant increase in the cost of key raw materials and utilities resulting from a rise in crude oil prices, Kuraray’s earnings continue to experience pressure from soaring logistics and manufacturing costs, the rapid depreciation of the yen, associated with increased costs for facility maintenance and renewal, which are beyond the scope of cost absorption through the Company’s internal efforts.

Under these circumstances, Kuraray has decided to implement the price revisions set out below to improve profitability and to maintain a steady supply.

As per MRC, Kuraray Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) has announced its decision to divest operations related to UV-based water treatment and ballast water treatment run by Calgon Carbon Corporation, a Group subsidiary based in the United States. The divested operations will be transferred to De Nora Water Technologies LLC in Italy.

As MRC informed before, Kuraray America, a subsidiary of the Kuraray Group and one of the leading international companies in the production of specialty chemicals, fibers, resins and elastomers, has resumed operations at its vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant in La Porte, Texas, USA. This plant with the capacity of 335,000 mt/year was shut in mid-February because of the unprecedently low temperatures in the region and restarted on 2 April, 2021.

Kuraray America is one of the world's largest specialty chemicals, fibers, resins and elastomers companies. The company's manufacturing facilities are located in Houston, Texas.
mrchub.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Corporation reported the consolidated financial results of its Media & Digital business unit for FY 2021-2022 (year ended 31 Mar 2022), said the company.

Media & Digital business unit posted profit of Yen 39.4 bn, a decrease of Yen 4.9 bn compared to profit of Yen 44.3 bn in FY 2020-2021.

This is due mainly to decrease in earnings for overseas telecommunication business, while major domestic group companies had shown stable performance.

As per MRC, Sumitomo Chemical announced its decision to close down its production facilities for caprolactam, a raw material for nylon, at its Ehime Works (Niihama city, Ehime, Japan) in October 2022, and exit the business. Sumitomo Chemical started production of caprolactam at its Ehime Works in 1965, employing a liquid-phase process, and has since been engaged in the business for more than 50 years.

Also, Sumitomo Corporation has commenced sales of the industrial park developed in a special economic zone in Narayanganj District, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh together with Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.

Sumitomo Corporation has taken part in the business of development, sales and operation of industrial parks in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and India. As of February 2022, the 7 industrial parks have invited 563 tenant companies with 220,000 direct employment. This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Japan. Sumitomo Corporation will utilize its know-how obtained through industrial park business operations in other countries to support tenant companies and contribute to the diversification of the industrial sector and encouraging job creation in Bangladesh.
mrchub.com