Wood awarded EPCm contract for a new PVDF facility for Solvay in France

Wood has secured a new multi-million-dollar contract to deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) for Solvay new polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) site to be built in Tavaux, France, said the company.

PVDF is a high-performance polymer and is produced to meet the growing demand of lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles, creating safer and longer-range performance. The site will increase Solvay France’s PVDF capacity to 35,000 tons per year – making it the largest PVDF production site in Europe.

Giuseppe Zuccaro, President, Process and Chemicals at Wood said: “We will leverage our in-depth knowledge and experience of delivering EPCm on specialty chemical projects, enabling Solvay France to achieve high-performance polymers used in sustainable mobility. We are committed to the reliable, safe and successful delivery of this major project."

The project will be delivered by Wood’s teams across Milan, Italy and Chennai in India and is expected to be completed at the end of 2023.

We also remind that in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

As per MRC, Solvay, a leading global supplier of specialty polymers, announces the production of the new generation solvent Rhodiasolv IRIS, with eco-friendly properties. Previously manufactured in China, this solvent will now be produced from 2023 onwards at Solvay's Melle site, France.
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Ashland says it has raised the quarterly dividend on its common stock by 12%, to 33.5 cents/share. The dividend will be payable on 15 June to shareholders of record as of 1 June, said the company.

The company has also established a new share buyback program worth USD500 million, replacing a previous USD1-billion buyback authorization from 2018. Shares will be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.

As of 30 April, Ashland had about 54.1 million shares outstanding.

As MRC informed previously, in late February 2022, Arkema closed its previously announced acquisition of Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business for around USD1.65bn in an all-cash transaction. The company signed an agreement to acquire Ashland’s business in August last year. Ashland’s Performance Adhesives business supplies a wide range of adhesives for flexible packaging and pressure-sensitive adhesives for various markets, including decorative labels, protection and signage films for automotives and buildings. The business operates a network of six production plants, most of which are located in North America, and has around 330 employees.

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ASH) is a global additives and specialty ingredients company with a conscious and proactive mindset for sustainability. The company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and industrial markets, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, nutraceuticals, personal care and pharmaceuticals. Approximately 3,800 passionate, tenacious solvers – from renowned scientists and research chemists to talented engineers and plant operators – thrive on developing practical, innovative and elegant solutions to complex problems for customers in more than 100 countries.
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Honeywell announced today that Coffeyville Resources & Marketing, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CVR Energy, Inc., has selected Honeywell for a feasibility study for lower-carbon hydrogen production in Coffeyville, Kansas, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The study will evaluate the application of carbon capture and hydrogen purification as an emission reduction solution. The Coffeyville site is evaluating utilizing Honeywell UOP Ecofining technology to convert seed oils, tallow and white/yellow greases into renewable diesel fuel1. CVR and Honeywell will now evaluate further reduction of the carbon footprint at the Coffeyville site with lower-carbon hydrogen.

Depending on the inlet gas composition and product requirements, Honeywell UOP carbon capture technologies can recover greater than 99 percent2 of the CO2 in the existing hydrogen plant syngas while increasing high-purity hydrogen recovery. The amount of net CO2 captured and sequestered by renewable fuel producers can be used to adjust the carbon intensities of the associated fuel pathways.

“We are pleased to take another step in our exploration of reduced emissions,” said Dave Lamp, Chief Executive Officer of CVR Energy. “We are excited to evaluate further reducing the carbon intensity of this important product through the potential conversion to lower-carbon hydrogen production at Coffeyville."

“Refiners and companies producing and/or using hydrogen are looking for ways to decarbonize. Honeywell has a suite of carbon capture and hydrogen purification solutions to reduce CO2,” said Barry Glickman, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “A feasibility study, similar to the one we are conducting for CVR, is one path to help refiners and other companies determine which solution addresses their specific requirements."

As per MRC, Honeywell announced an Emissions Control & Reduction Initiative designed to help customers achieve carbon neutrality in a wide range of areas. 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.
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Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday its board was recommending a dividend of 52.53 roubles per share on its 2021 results, up from 12.55 roubles for the previous year, said Reuters.

It said the total payout will amount to 1.244 trillion roubles (USD20.10 billion), or 50% of adjusted group net income, adding that this was a record high in Russian stock market history.

The 50% ratio was the same as before, but the payout was higher because of record earnings last year on the back of high oil and gas prices.

After a volatile session in expectation of the dividend announcement, Gazprom’s shares were up 9.4% on the news.

Gazprom said an annual general meeting of shareholders is due to approve the dividend on June 30. It set July 20 as the deadline for the list of eligible shareholders.

A number of Russian companies, including the country’s largest lender Sberbank, have decided or were instructed by the government not pay dividends, amid sweeping Western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

As per MRC, 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. 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.

We remind, Gazprom has not booked additional gas transit capacity for exports to Europe via Velke Kapusany on the Slovakia-Ukraine border for June, auction results showed, although it already has some capacity booked under an existing deal. In total, 70.4 MMcm3 per day of capacity was on offer at the auction. Under its existing supply contract, Gazprom automatically has gas transit capacity booked, which means gas will continue to flow in June. However, the company can book additional capacity if it needs it, an industry source said.

PJSC Gazprom is a Russian energy company engaged in exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sale of gas, gas condensate and oil, as well as production and sale of heat and electricity. The largest company in Russia, the largest gas company in the world, owns the longest gas transmission system (over 160,000 km). It is the world leader in the industry.

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French oil major TotalEnergies' (TTEF.PA) Leuna refinery in eastern Germany is reducing its intake of Russian crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline as it has started working on a supply solution via the Polish port of Gdansk, said Reuters citing Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne.

Druzhba feeds not just Leuna but also the PCK Schwedt refinery, majority-owned by Russia's Rosneft. Poyanne said Russian oil use in May had fallen to filling 555,000 tons of refinery capacity at the plant, down from 900,000 tons last October, and 800,000 tons in February.

"In December 2022, we will have 450,0000 tons left from the contracts that we have to honor - unless sanctions are taken in the meantime - and it will be zero from 2023 onwards," said Poyanne. European companies and governments are trying to wean themselves off Russian supplies to avoid breaching sanctions and suffering reputational damage.

TotalEnergies had reserved transport capacities of around 700,000 tons from Gdansk to Leuna, accepting this would add to costs, Poyanne said. The oil would mostly come from the North Sea but globally operating TotalEnergies may also be able to bring in supplies from Africa or elsewhere, he said.

It was also in discussion with the German government about cooperating on supply options arising for Schwedt in order to try to source its missing 100,000 or 200,000 tons that way, he added, without elaborating. German economy minister Robert Habeck is working on solutions for Schwedt, whose other shareholders are Shell and ENI, which include use of national oil reserves and using the German port of Rostock and possibly Gdansk.

Habeck is also preparing for change of control at Schwedt, with one option being expropriation, as a new legislative amendment makes it easier for the government to take over supply-critical assets to prevent disruptions.

As per MRC, New Hope Energy has announced plans to build a chemical recycling facility in Texas, in conjunction with a partial offtake agreement with TotalEnergies. Similar to New Hope Energy’s original facility in Tyler, Texas, this new facility will utilise Lummus Technologies pyrolysis process technology and will be able to process 310,000 tonnes/year of mixed plastic waste. New Hope Energy will target mixed plastic waste feedstock from material recovery facility (MRF) mixed plastic bales, among other sources. The plant is expected to be online in 2025.

MRC also reminds, 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.
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