Air Liquide CO2 reduction decision validated by the Science Targets Initiative

Air Liquide’s target to reduce its Scope 1 & 2 CO2 emissions by 2035 has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as qualified and aligned with climate science, said the company.

The Group is the first in its industry to obtain validation from the Science Based Targets Initiative. This approval represents an important milestone towards the Group’s ambition to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets.

Air Liquide's 2035 Climate Objectives address Scope 1 & 2 emissions. The Group aims at global carbon neutrality by 2050, and has therefore initiated an extensive review of its Scope 3 emissions. This is further illustrated by its participation in the SBTi-led project to develop a Sector Decarbonization Approach (SDA) for the chemical sector. This project sets out to develop standardized methods and best practices for emissions accounting, with a focus on critical Scope 3 categories for the chemical industry.

As per MRC, Air Liquide and Lhoist have signed a MoU with the aim to decarbonize Lhoist’s lime production plant located in Rety, in the Hauts-de-France region, using Air Liquide’s innovative and proprietary Cryocap carbon capture technology. In this context, Air Liquide and Lhoist have jointly applied for the European Innovation Fund large scale support scheme. This partnership is a new step in the creation of a low-carbon industrial ecosystem in the broader Dunkirk area.

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.
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Shell withdrew from the authorized capital of the Gydan Energy joint venture with Gazprom Neft on the Gydan Peninsula, according to the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

How specified in the document, on May 19, Gazprom Neft became the only participant in Gydan Energy with a 100% share. Previously, the partners each owned 50% in the authorized capital of the enterprise. Shell and Gazprom Neft set up a joint venture in November 2021 in the Yenisei project on the Gydan, which includes two license blocks, Leskinsky and Pukhutsyakhsky.

Commercial production at the Yenisei project is scheduled to begin in 2028. The Leskinsky site belongs to the Taimyr district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The hydrocarbon resources of the site may exceed 100 million tons of oil equivalent. The Pukhutsyakhsky block adjacent to Leskinsky is located in the Tazovsky district of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, its resources are estimated at 35 million tons of oil equivalent. Proved reserves will be known based on the results of exploratory drilling.

Recall that at the end of February, Shell announced that it was withdrawing from the joint venture with Gazprom Neft Gydan Energy, from Salym Petroleum Development (50%) and from the Nord Stream-2 and Sakhalin-2 projects. As for the latter, a Chinese corporation could become the new owner of Shell’s 27.5% stake in this LNG project.

In particular, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation, CNOOC, CNPC and Sinopec are currently holding joint negotiations with the Anglo-Dutch corporation. Negotiations include the possible sale of a stake in one of the Chinese companies, two or a consortium of all three. Consultations are at an early stage, and there remains the possibility that the deal will not be agreed upon. Shell is also open to talks with other potential buyers outside of China, one of the agency’s sources said.

As per MRC, 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.

In addition, Shell in its reporting for the first quarter of 2022 recognized the cost of leaving Russian assets at USD 3.9 billion after taxes. Earlier, she informed that the losses could amount to USD 4-5 billion.

Shell is a British-Dutch oil and gas concern engaged in the extraction, processing and marketing of hydrocarbons in more than 70 countries.
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The world is facing a major oil supply crunch as most companies are afraid to invest in the sector as they face green energy pressures, the head of Saudi Aramco told Reuters, adding it cannot expand production capacity any faster than promised, said Reuters.

Amin Nasser, head of the world's largest oil producer, said on Monday he was sticking to the target of expanding capacity to 13 MM barrels per day from the current 12 MM by 2027, despite calls to do it faster. "The world is running with less than 2% of spare capacity. Before COVID the aviation industry was consuming 2.5 MM bpd more than today. If the aviation industry picks up speed, you are going to have a major problem," Nasser told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"What happened in Russia-Ukraine masked what would have happened. We were going through an energy crisis because of a lack of investment. And it started to bite following the pandemic," he added. Nasser said COVID restrictions in China would not last long and global oil demand would therefore resume its growth.

Saudi Arabia is currently producing 10.5 MM bpd, or every tenth barrel in the world, and will likely raise output to 11 MM bpd later this year when a broader pact between OPEC and allies such as Russia expires. Riyadh has faced calls from the West to raise output more quickly and expand capacity faster to help combat the energy crisis.

"If we could do it (expand capacity) before 2027 we would have done it. This is what we tell policymakers. It takes time". Nasser also said dialogue between the oil industry and policymakers over the transition from fossil fuels to energy which does not result in carbon emissions has been problematic.

"I don't think there is a lot of constructive dialogue going on. In certain areas we are not brought to the table. We were not invited to COP in Glasgow," he said referring the last year's U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.He also said last year's message from the International Energy Agency that world oil demand was set to fall and no new investment in fossil fuel was needed had a profound impact. "We need a more constructive dialogue. They say we don't need you by 2030, so why would you go and build a project that takes 6-7 years. Your shareholder will not allow you to do it".

The energy transition process was therefore often proving chaotic and disruptive, he said. "There is no good plan... When you don't have plan B ready, don't demonise plan A," he said. "The pressure and the rhetoric is -- don't invest, you will have stranded assets. It makes difficult for CEOs to make investments." So-called stranded asset theory is the notion that significant oil and gas reserves are left unused because they are longer required.

Nasser said missteps during the global energy transition would only encourage greater use of coal by many Asian countries. "For policymakers in those countries the priority is to put food on the table for their people. If coal can do it half the price they will do it with coal". He said Aramco, where Saudi Arabia is the main shareholder, was different as it was investing in both fossil fuel and energy transition.

As per MRC, Saudi Aramco posted a record first-quarter net profit of riyal (SR) 148bn (USD39.5bn), up by about 82% year on year, thanks for strong crude oil prices and sales volumes, as well as improved downstream margins.
The energy giant’s total hydrocarbon production in the first three months of the year stood at 13m boe/day (barrels of oil equivalent per day), Saudi Aramco said in a statement on 15 May. Capital expenditure in January-March 2022 was USD7.6bn, it said.

As per MRC, Aramco is exploring further collaboration with Thailand’s national oil company PTT, as it expands its downstream presence in Asia. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Bangkok on May 11. The companies aim to strengthen cooperation across crude oil sourcing and the marketing of refining and petrochemical products and LNG. Other potential areas of activity include blue and green hydrogen and various clean energy initiatives.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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Abu Dhabi-headquartered petrochemicals firm Borouge said on Monday it secured seven cornerstone investors, including India's wealthy Adani family for its USD2 billion initial public offering (IPO), said Reuters.

Borouge, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austrian chemical producer Borealis, on Monday said it secured seven cornerstone investors, including India’s wealthy Adani family for its USD2 billion initial public offering (IPO).

The Abu Dhabi-headquartered petrochemicals firm, which set the offer price for its IPO at Dh2.45 (USD0.67) a share, said it secured a total commitment of about Dh2.1 billion ($570 million) from Abu Dhabi state holding firm ADQ, the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, the Emirates Investment Authority, India’s Adani family and entities controlled by International Holding Company, Multiply Group and Alpha Dhabi. The investment from the cornerstone investors is subject to a minimum six month lock-up period.

Analysis and market experts termed the IPO price very attractive for investors and said the IPO is bound to oversubscribed multiple times. They said the government may increase the IPO size and avail greenshoe option amid considering a very encouraging response from the market.

“Books for the initial public offering were covered in about an hour after opening,” a bookrunner on the deal said. The petrochemicals firm will list 10 per cent of its shares, or more than three billion ordinary shares, on the second biggest stock market of the region. The expected date of listing on the ADX is June 3, 2022.

Borouge, established in 1998, Borouge manufactures plastics used in everything from automobiles and food packaging to medicine vials and piping systems. The company’s main plant is in Abu Dhabi and it employs more than 3,000 people and serves customers across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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.

Borealis is owned by OMV AG and Mubadala Investment Co., the Abu Dhabi state investment company. Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Borealis currently employs around 6,500 and operates in over 120 countries.

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The Spanish oil and gas company Repsol sold shares in the Russian projects Evrotek-Yugra and ASB Geo to Gazprom Neft and its subsidiary Gazpromneft Service, follows from the data presented in Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

The sole shareholder of Evrotek-Yugra JSC was Gazprom Neft's subsidiary Gazpromneft-Service LLC, the shareholders of ASB Geo LLC were Gazprom Neft and Gazpromneft Service itself on a parity basis. The change occurred on January 21 and February 17, respectively.

The company's plans to leave the Russian Federation became known in December last year, when TASS sources reported that Repsol would sell these assets to Gazprom Neft for EUR30 million, which is 10 times less than invested in projects. Officially, the parties did not comment on this information.

Gazprom Neft said in January that it was working on various scenarios for the further development of assets, including with the involvement of another partner.

Evrotek-Yugra owns six licenses for geological exploration, exploration and production in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, including the development of two fields named after. Raul-Yuri Ervie and them. Belkin. ASB Geo owns a license for geological exploration of the Karabashsky-10 site in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, the company explained.

Repsol lifted the force majeure for the supply of butadiene in Tarragona (Tarragona, Spain), announced earlier in February. On February 10, the company stopped two lines for the production of butadiene with a total capacity of 130 tons per year in Tarragona. According to a company source, butadiene production was resumed on 23 March.

Earlier it was reported that against the backdrop of a change in global strategy, the Spanish Repsol, formerly a major investor in the Russian fuel and energy complex, announced its withdrawal from Russia in December last year. The company will sell its shares in the oil assets of Evrotek-Yugra and ASB Geo to a Russian partner, Gazprom Neft.

Repsol is the largest oil and gas company in Spain and Latin America, one of the ten largest oil and gas corporations in the world.
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