LUKOIL will develop the network of Shell filling stations in Russia under the Finnish brand Teboil

LUKOIL will develop the network of Shell filling stations in Russia under the Finnish brand Teboil

LUKOIL will develop a network of Shell filling stations in Russia under the Finnish brand Teboil, the oil company said in a statement.

Following extensive discussions with the leaders and employees of Shell's filling station network in Russia, acquired by LUKOIL last month, the decision was made to preserve the business as a separate subsidiary of the Company. It will develop under Teboil brand – a fuel brand that had not previously been present in the Russian market. The brand belongs to LUKOIL since 2005. The Company has already embarked upon a step-by-step rebranding of the filling stations.

Teboil was founded in Finland in 1934. It is one of the largest Finnish fuel businesses. Russian customers know the brand as the supplier of lubricants. Their imports date back to the 1960s. Now Russian market features about 150 high-quality Teboil products.

Teboil filling stations will offer new branded types of innovative fuels, as well as its own loyalty programme, integrated with LUKOIL's one. Teboil Russia team will be led by the former head of Shell filling stations in Russia, Vitaly Maslov.

The lubricants plant located in Tver region, which Shell also sold to LUKOIL, will manufacture Teboil-branded products as well.

?"We are happy to have this opportunity to keep the trust of our clients and continue our work under the new Teboil brand, especially taking into account the high standards of service. LUKOIL has the most high-tech refineries in Russia, as well as innovative high-quality products. It opens up a lot of new development opportunities," said Vitaly Maslov, general director of Teboil Russia.

We remind, LUKOIL has completed the acquisition of Shell's Russian distribution and lubricants assets following its withdrawal from Russia. The gas distributor GasTerra has decided not to comply with Gazprom's unilateral payment demands. In response to GasTerra's decision, Gazprom declared to cease gas supply with effect from May 31, 2022.
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Agilyx is rising to the mixed waste plastic challenge

Agilyx is rising to the mixed waste plastic challenge

Agilyx is rising to the mixed waste plastic challenge, said Sustainableplastics.

Faced with the ever-mounting problem of plastic waste, consumers, organisations and governments around the world have called for industry solutions. While recycling can offer an answer, not all plastics can simply be recycled. And in fact, only around 10% of waste plastics are recycled today worldwide. Chemical recycling company Agilyx is working to change that. “We're trying to do something about a waste problem,” said the company’s chief commercial officer, Carsten Larsen. “To enable a circular model that allows plastic to be used and recycled, again and again."

Founded almost two decades ago, Agilyx can rightly be viewed as one of the pioneers of what today is known as chemical - or alternatively as advanced, feedstock or even molecular – recycling. Chemical recycling makes it possible to convert even hard-to-recycle mixed waste plastics into low-carbon feedstock that can be used to make new raw materials that can be turned into plastics.

While the premise is extremely promising, in practice there are still hurdles to be overcome. The technology developed by Agilyx involves a process called pyrolysis and is not entirely uncontroversial. Environmental groups have denounced it, calling it polluting, energy intensive and even just a fancy way of saying that these waste streams are simply being incinerated. Proponents, on the other hand, point to the advantages it offers, particularly the ability to increase the recycling of plastics unable to be recycled with traditional recycling processes.

As per MRC, Agilyx announced that the construction phase of the Toyo Styrene Co, LTD polystyrene (PS) chemical recycling facility has begun in Chiba, Japan. Agilyx and Toyo Styrene Co. have started construction on a chemical recycling plant in Japan. The facility ultimately will have the capacity to recycle 10 tonnes of post-use polystyrene per day.
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PKN Orlen, Lotos managements approve merger plan

PKN Orlen, Lotos managements approve merger plan

Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen (PKN.WA) and number two player Grupa Lotos (LTSP.WA) said their management boards had approved plans for a merger first announced in 2018 but delayed by antitrust issues, said Reuters.

In exchange for shares held in Grupa LOTOS, its existing shareholders will receive shares in the enlarged PKN ORLEN. The transaction is subject to approval of the share exchange ratio and other terms of the merger by shareholders of both companies at their respective general meetings. Once the process is carried through, it will lead to the creation of a strong multi-utility group pursuing capital projects aimed to strengthen Poland’s energy security and its independence in terms of feedstock supplies.

“Poland’s energy security as the driving force behind the country’s economic growth is for us a priority goal. This is why we are setting out to build a strong integrated group with well diversified revenue sources, resilient to the highly volatile macroeconomic environment. As was the case with our previous acquisitions, we intend to enhance the LOTOS post-merger value by leveraging the strengths of both combined entities. The strong partner we have secured for the process, being a global petrochemical leader and the world’s largest oil producer, will provide added support. As a result, we will modernise and further develop our business, strengthening its resilience to the increasingly volatile market environment and driving sustainable value creation for our shareholders, retail customers and local communities,” says Daniel Obajtek, President of the PKN ORLEN Management Board.

The agreed share exchange ratio, as well as the final detailed concept of the merger, were the subject of analyses by international consulting firms. The merger will be effected through the acquisition of Grupa LOTOS S.A. by PKN ORLEN S.A. This means that, upon the acquisition, the existing shareholders of Grupa LOTOS will take up new shares in the increased share capital of PKN ORLEN and become the latter’s shareholders. As a result of the merger between PKN ORLEN and Grupa LOTOS, the Polish State Treasury’s equity interest in the combined entity will increase to approximately 35%. Assuming a subsequent merger with PGNiG, this stake will increase to about 50%, meaning that the state’s control over the newly formed multi-utility group will be further reinforced.

According to the merger plan, shareholders of Grupa LOTOS will receive merger shares in the following proportions: 1,075 (PKN ORLEN shares): 1 (Grupa LOTOS shares). In other words, in exchange for one share in Grupa LOTOS its shareholders will receive 1,075 shares in PKN ORLEN, with the reservation that the number of allocated shares must be a natural number, and so any unallocated fractions of merger shares will be settled in cash, to be paid to the existing shareholders of Grupa LOTOS in accordance with the merger plan.

The proposed acquisition is the simplest and quickest solution possible for this transaction, which will enable swift and complete integration of the assets and businesses. The adopted transaction structure will also ensure liquidity for the new group, enabling effective continuation of the existing projects and investment in other promising business areas.

The merger of PKN ORLEN and Grupa LOTOS is an important step in building a strong and diversified multi-utility group. The ongoing energy transition poses a huge challenge for oil and energy companies as it involves a gradual shift away from hydrocarbons and conventional fuels towards new and more sustainable energy sources. The combined entity to be formed based on the assets of PKN ORLEN, the Energa Group, Grupa LOTOS and PGNiG will be the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, capable of facing the challenges of energy transition and implementing the most ambitious projects.

As it was written earlier, PKN Orlen is exploring ways to produce polymers using carbon dioxide. New technology to capture, store, reuse or replace carbon pollution is being explored around the world, with some companies working on methods of converting the greenhouse gas into products such as plastic, soap, or fabric.

Under its 2030 strategy, Orlen plans to reduce CO2 emissions from existing refining and petrochemical assets by 20% and by 33% from its power generation business. It has also set a 2050 target date for achieving a net zero carbon footprint.

PKN ORLEN is a Polish company and one of Central Europe’s largest refiners of crude oil. We specialize in processing crude oil into world-class unleaded petrol, diesel, heating oil, and aviation fuel as well as plastics and other petroleum related products.
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Croatia ready to increase Adriatic oil pipeline capacity, Hungary says

Croatia ready to increase Adriatic oil pipeline capacity, Hungary says

Croatia is ready to increase the capacity of the Adriatic oil pipeline to supply Hungary and Slovakia with crude in case of any disruptions to imports from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline, Hungary's foreign minister said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

European Union leaders gave concessions to Hungary in order to agree an oil embargo on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, sealing a deal in the early hours of Tuesday that aims to cut 90% of Russia's crude imports into the bloc by the end of the year.

With its embargo the bloc aims to reduce Moscow's income to finance the war it launched more than three months ago in Ukraine, but it exempted landlocked Hungary because the country relies on the Druzhba pipeline for oil.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said he had reached a long-term energy security co-operation agreement with Croatia's energy minister, whereby Hungary's southern neighbour would provide an alternative route for possible additional oil imports, if needed.

"Croatia is ready to provide a route for oil shipments towards Hungary, should they become necessary," Szijjarto said, adding that Hungarian energy group MOL would start talks with Croatian officials later in the day. MOL's downstream business model has been built on Russian crude shipped via the Druzhba pipeline that covers about 65% of the oil Hungary needs.

Shares in MOL rose more than 5% early on Tuesday after the EU exempted Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia from sanctions on Russian oil.

As per MRC, Hungary on Monday stuck to its demands for energy investment before it agrees to a Russian oil embargo, clashing with EU states pushing for swift approval of more European Union sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. The EU commission early this month proposed the new package of sanctions against the Kremlin but the measures have not yet been adopted, with Hungary being among the most vocal critics of the plan.
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Unipar to build chlorine plant at Camacari Petrochemical Complex

Unipar to build chlorine plant at Camacari Petrochemical Complex

Unipar is to build a new facility at its Camacari Petrochemical Complex, in the state of Bahia, for production of chlorine and derivatives, said the company.

Unipar (UNIP3) announced plans to implement a production unit at the Camacari Petrochemical Complex, in Bahiawhich will require investments of around 140 million reais.

The expectation is that the work will be completed within two years from the start of construction, scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, Unipar said in a statement to the market on Sunday.

The annual production capacity of the new plant will be up to 10 thousand tons of chlorine, 12 thousand tons of caustic soda, 25 thousand tons of hydrochloric acid and 20 thousand tons of sodium hypochlorite.

Unipar currently has factories in Cubatao (SP) and Saint Andrew (SP), in addition to a unit in Bahia Blanca, in Argentina.

The company’s installed production capacity at the end of the first quarter was up to 680,000 tonnes of liquid chlorine per year, 766,000 tonnes of liquid caustic soda and flakes, 667,000 tonnes of hydrochloric acid and 472,000 tonnes of sodium hypochlorite.

As per MRC, Brazilian company Unipar Indupa plans to expand chlorine and caustic soda production at its Santo Andre plant (Santo Andre, Sao Paulo, Brazil). The company plans to increase the production of chlorine by 29,000 tonnes, caustic soda by 32,000 tonnes per year. The project includes the construction of a hydrochloric acid furnace with a capacity of 91,000 tonnes per year. The construction and furnace will cost approximately USD 17.9 mln, with commissioning expected in the second half of 2023.
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