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.
mrchub.com