White House weighs waiving smog rules on gasoline to lower pump price

White House weighs waiving smog rules on gasoline to lower pump price

The White House is considering waiving U.S. gasoline environmental rules aimed at reducing summertime smog, hoping the waiver will combat rising pump prices, according to three sources involved in the discussions, said Reuters.

The Biden administration is considering waiving U.S. gasoline environmental rules aimed at reducing summertime smog, hoping the waiver will combat rising pump prices, according to three sources involved in the discussions.

Refiners and blenders are required to avoid lower-cost components like butane in summer gasoline, but the White House is weighing suspending that rule to help lower fuel costs. The components help elevate gasoline's Reid vapor pressure, or RVP, which contributes to smog at higher levels, particularly in the hot summer months.

President Joe Biden's administration has already lifted the requirement for summer sales of E15, a lower-price, high ethanol gasoline. The waiver under consideration would apply to all grades of gasoline, the sources said. No final decision has been made, they said.

The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment. Outside groups, particularly governors, have been lobbying the White House to issue the waiver. Biden has made fighting inflation and high pump prices the top priority ahead of congressional elections in November. Republicans seeking to take control of Congress have bludgeoned Democrats with the issue and the White House has adopted an 'everything is on the table' approach to curb the price spike.

U.S. gasoline futures dropped in post-settlement trade by more than 4% to as low as USD3.6314 a gallon, then eased further after Reuters reported the move was under consideration. The price of a gallon of regular gasoline has jumped 50% in the last year, to more than USD4.59 on average nationally, according to the American Automobile Association.

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.
mrchub.com

Honeywell introduces emissions control and reduction initiative

Honeywell introduces emissions control and reduction initiative

Honeywell announced an Emissions Control & Reduction Initiative designed to help customers achieve carbon neutrality in a wide range of areas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The initiative will initially focus on helping oil and gas customers with upstream, midstream and downstream operations to monitor and reduce fugitive methane emissions, which are more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

By combining its portfolio of fixed, portable and personal gas detection solutions with gas cloud imaging cameras, Honeywell will provide customers with early detection of fugitive methane emissions, including the precise location of any leaks and associated data analytics and trends. Equipped with this data, users can act quickly to address leaks and other identified risks to minimize production losses and maintain compliance with legislation.

The solution – which combines wireless gas detector technology with enterprise-wide data management solutions – works in tandem with existing Leak Detection & Repair (LDAR) testing methods to improve the accuracy of reporting and increase productivity by enabling users to find production losses faster. “The Emissions Control and Reduction Initiative expands on Honeywell’s wide range of ready-now technologies that are helping our customers meet their sustainability goals,” said Ujjwal Kumar, president of Honeywell Process Solutions. “With our pedigree in gas detection and breadth of solutions, Honeywell is providing customers with a holistic and proactive approach to emission reduction that they’ve never had before."

Honeywell recently announced a new set of commitments that further advance its sustainability goals beyond the company’s existing commitment to become carbon neutral in its facilities and operations by 2035. The new pledges include a commitment to develop a science-based target with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) that includes scope 3 emissions and participation in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge. These initiatives represent a continuation of the company's sustainability efforts since 2004, which have already driven a more than 90% reduction in the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations and facilities. The company also supports the Paris Climate Agreement.

As MRC reported earlier, in January 2022, Honeywell announced that it had been selected by Repsol to supply an integrated control and safety system (ICSS) for the first advanced biofuels production plant to be built in Spain. The new facility will employ a variety of distributed control systems, emergency shutdown (ESD), fire and gas (F&G) and human-machine interface (HMI) solutions from Honeywell to achieve efficient, sustainable and low-emission operations. Last year, Repsol announced its strategy to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050 and recently announced more ambitious targets that will accelerate its transformation.
mrchub.com

Repsol to invest EUR80 mln in low-emission projects

Repsol to invest EUR80 mln in low-emission projects

Spain-based energy company Repsol will invest EUR80 million to build two new low-emission refineries in Spain as part of its goal to reduce its carbon emissions, said the company.

Repsol said the first project involves building one of the world’s largest refineries to manufacture net zero emissions fuels, using CO2 and green hydrogen generated with renewable energy.

It said the second project would involve the generation of gas from urban waste, which will replace part of the traditional fuels used in the production process.

'Both initiatives - innovative, sustainable, and generating high added-value - anticipate the refinery of the future and represent an important impetus to technological and industrial development that is essential in the current context of economic recovery,' Repsol said.

The company's CEO Josu Jon Imaz San Miguel said that Spain must base its decarbonization strategy on its technological and industrial capabilities.

'The production of green hydrogen and its combination with the capture and use of CO2 to produce net zero emissions fuels is part of Repsol’s industrial decarbonization strategy. With this project, Spanish industry positions itself to be a relevant European player in reducing emissions,' he said.

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.
mrchub.com

Iranian state firms have started preparations to revamp largest oil refinery in Venezuela

Iranian state firms have started preparations to revamp largest oil refinery in Venezuela

Iranian state firms have started preparations to revamp Venezuela's largest oil refinery, the 955,000-bpd Paraguana Refining Center, four people close to the talks said, following a contract to repair its smallest facility, said Reuters.

A deal would deepen an energy relationship that has become a lifeline for Venezuela's dilapidated oil industry amid a crisis caused by decades of mismanagement and underinvestment, and aggravated by U.S. sanctions on the South American country.

The Middle Eastern nation, also sanctioned by the United States, has supplied President Nicolas Maduro's government with fuel and diluents for making exportable crude grades, and since 2020 has provided parts to repair and update Venezuela's 1.3 MMbpd refining network.

A unit of state-run National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) this month signed a 110 MM-euro (USD116 MM) contract with Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA to repair and expand the 146,000 bpd El Palito refinery, in the country's central region.

Its next project is Paraguana, a two-refinery complex that is among the world's largest, through a contract now being negotiated, the people said. The center, known as CRP, operated at just 17% of capacity in April, according to independent estimates. Earlier this year, Iranian state firms supplied Paraguana with parts for restarting a gasoline-making unit. The equipment, manufactured in North America, arrived in Venezuela from China after the Iranians handled procurement and transport, a person with knowledge of the purchase said.

Many Chinese firms avoid direct business with Venezuela to reduce sanction-related risk or unpaid bills, only agreeing to deals if a third-party handles orders and payments, that person added. PDVSA, which has not publicly disclosed details of recent pacts with Iran, did not reply to a request for comment. NIORDC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

PDVSA has in recent years tried and failed to attract foreign investment for its refineries, including a scrapped deal with Chinese firms. It has been more successful with oilfield services and maintenance firms willing to accept payment in crude and fuel to avoid Venezuela's notorious unpaid invoices.

But million-dollar capital injections increasingly are needed to secure an adequate fuel supply for the country, whose demand is slowly recovering to pre-pandemic levels. As Iran Oil Minister Javad Owji was visiting Caracas in early May, two supertankers carrying Iranian oil were discharging in Venezuelan waters as part of a swap arrangement the state companies kicked off last year.

We remind, Venezuela has begun importing Iranian heavy crude to feed its domestic refineries, documents from the state-run oil company PDVSA showed, a deal that widens a swap agreement signed last year by the U.S. sanctioned countries. The two nations last year initially agreed to a swap deal, with PDVSA importing Iranian condensate to dilute and process its extra heavy oil for export. In return, Venezuelan crude is being shipped via the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

As per MRC, Venezuela's exports of oil and refined products last month recovered to mid-2021 levels, boosted by sales of its flagship crude grade and fuel oil bound for Asia, according to tracking data and documents from state-run oil company PDVSA. Higher exports come as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and resulting shipping bans and financial sanctions could spur demand for Venezuela's crude and residual products, traders said. Oil importers this week have rejected Russian vessels, sending buyers searching for new crude and fuel supplies.
mrchub.com

Huntsman announced new USD1.2 bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility

Huntsman announced new USD1.2 bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facility

Huntsman Corporation announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Huntsman International LLC, entered into a new USD1.2 billion senior unsecured, sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") to replace the existing USD1.2 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility expiring in May of 2023, said the company.

The new Credit Facility is scheduled to mature on May 20, 2027, with improved terms and lower fees, as well as provisions to extend the maturity by up to two more years and to increase the facility size by USD500 million. Its sustainability-linked feature includes adjustments to the commitment fee and borrowing rate based on the company's performance in intensity reductions for both greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.

Phil Lister, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented: "We take pride in the role we play in creating a more sustainable future. Linking our revolving credit facility to sustainability objectives supports our commitment to provide innovative solutions for a low-carbon and more sustainable economy."

As per MRC, Huntsman announced that it has launched a new range of low-emission MDI-based foam systems for automotive interiors. The ACOUSTIFLEX LE and RUBIFLEX® LE polyurethane product lines. These innovative technologies allow global automotive formulators and foam manufacturers to produce high-performance polyurethane foams, while significantly reducing interior emissions levels to meet OEMs’ requirements.

Also, Huntsman is expanding its performance products facility in Petfurdo, Hungary. The multimillion-dollar investment project will expand capacity for polyurethane (PU) catalysts and specialty amines, scheduled for completion in mid-2023.

Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated and specialty chemicals with 2020 revenues of approximately USD6 billion. Our chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets.
mrchub.com