U.S. average gasoline prices reach USD4.85 per gallon in early June, more than anticipated

U.S. average gasoline prices reach USD4.85 per gallon in early June, more than anticipated, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

U.S. gasoline prices surged in early June 2022 from a week earlier by over a quarter of a dollar during a spring holiday known as Memorial Weekend that took the average fuel pump reading nationwide to about USD4.85 per gallon, with drivers in several states paying more than USD5 per gallon and California's over USD6.RBOB future contract prices after July show backwardation.

“People are still fueling up, despite these high prices,” said Andrew Gross, with the American Automobile Association, or AAA, according to a June 6 publication.

The actual prices of the first week of June 2022 were higher compared with a second quarter 2022 gasoline pricing projection published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in March. It had estimated average prices would reach USD4.10 per gallon.

In the U.S. the gasoline mix is a combination of RBOB, a gasoline blend, with an oxygenate, like ethanol. The mix results in the finished reformulated gasoline sold in service stations across the nation. The gasoline mix sold in U.S. stations typically includes about 10% ethanol.

A reading of RBOB future prices in the U.S. on June 7 showed lower values for RBOB future contracts starting after July 2022. As the calendar of contracts advances, starting in August, there is a market backwardation. Gasoline prices seasonally ease into the fall and winter. The warmer months typically see the greatest gasoline demand with spikes in the extended weekends.

As per MRC, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week, while crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by a record amount as refiners ramped up production to pre-pandemic levels. Crude inventories rose by 2 MM barrels in the week to June 3 to 416.8 MM barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 MM-barrel drop. SPR crude stocks fell by a record 7.3 MM barrels to 519.3 MM, their lowest since March 1987.
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Borealis announced the introduction of the Borealis Strategy 2030. At the core of this strategic evolution is sustainability, which is supported by the strong Borealis foundation of dedication to safety first, its people, innovation and technology, and performance excellence, said the company.

This foundation powers continued geographic expansion and the ongoing transformation towards the circular economy. The strategy stipulates new and more ambitious sustainability targets with regard to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, energy consumption, and the circular economy. Underlying the Borealis Strategy 2030 is an evolved purpose, “Re-inventing Essentials for Sustainable Living,” whose intent and spirit is shared across the OMV Group.

The Borealis Strategy 2030 affirms that sustainability forms the core of all its current and future operations. The sustainability targets stipulated in the strategy cover GHG emissions, energy use, flaring, and circular economy products and solutions for Borealis Polyolefins and Hydrocarbons businesses.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: Borealis aims to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from 5.1 million tons (base year 2019) to less than 2 million tons by 2030. The emission reduction portfolio includes increased use of electricity from renewable sources throughout the decade and carbon capture projects which will come on stream in the second half of this decade. The reduction target also includes the announced divestment of the Borealis nitrogen business, which comprises fertilizers, technical nitrogen, and melamine.

In 2021, around 25% of the electricity Borealis used in its own operations was derived from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. By 2025, the share of renewables in the electricity mix will increase to 40%. By 2030, 100% of the electricity used in its Polyolefins and Hydrocarbons operations shall be of renewable origin.

As per MRC, Borealis and Austria's leading energy company, VERBUND, are pleased to announce the installation of a new photovoltaic (PV) array at Borealis production location in Linz, Austria. The investment is in line with the Borealis aim to enhance the sustainability of its own operations while also supporting the Upper Austria Photovoltaic Strategy for 2030. Rooftop PV arrays are among the cleanest ways to generate renewable energy.

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.

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QatarEnergy and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem) have awarded the early site works contract for the Ras Laffan Petrochemical Project (RLPP) to Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), said Constructionweekonline.

The contract award marks the commencement of execution of the RLPP. CCC has secured a lump-sum contract to prepare the site for the new facility within Ras Laffan Industrial City. Early works on the project will begin in June, at the conclusion of which the EPC contract for the project is expected to be awarded.

Commenting on the contract awards, HE Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy said: “The award of this contract marks the start of the execution phase of RLPP, which is a major building block in QatarEnergy’s efforts to further expand and diversify its business portfolio and implement world-class downstream project."

According to the minister, the project will increase Qatar’s polyethylene output capacity by approximately 64%. The RLPP will feature a 2,080-kilo tonnes per annum (KTA) Ethane Cracking Unit making it the largest ethane cracker in the Middle East and one of the largest in the world. The facility will also include two High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) units, which will significantly increase Qatar’s current polyethylene production capacity.

The project has completed Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) in 2021 and is currently in the EPC tendering phase. When tendering is complete and a final investment decision has been made, the project will advance to the EPC phase. QatarEnergy said that the RLPP is expected to commence production in 2026.

As per MRC, QVC (Qatar Vinyl Company) has been given approval by Industries Qatar (IQ) and Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding (MPHC) to establish a new suspension polyvinyl chloride (S-PVC) facility in Mesaieed Industrial City. The contract value of this project is USD239m. QVC is a joint venture between MPHC with a 55.2% stake, Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) with a 31.9% stake and QatarEnergy with a 12.9% stake. The proposed capacity of the PVC plant will be 350,000 tonnes. It will be integrated with QVC’s existing facilities, from which it will source the feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).
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Hahn & Co., the second-largest private equity firm in Korea, announced Thursday that it has signed a definitive agreement, or a stock purchase agreement (SPA), to acquire a 100-percent stake in SKC's polyester (PET) film business for 1.6 trillion won (USD1.3 billion), said Koreatimes.

The acquisition is one of the largest deals in terms of the transaction price so far this year in Asia. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year, as SKC plans to hold a special shareholders' meeting in September to earn approval for the necessary split-off to divest the PET film business unit from the company. Hahn & Co.'s purchase includes SKC's film business, SKC Hi-tech & Marketing ? a subsidiary of SKC's film business ? as well as related overseas operations in the U.S. and China.

The PET film unit of SKC, which is the largest in Korea, has long been the company's core business. SKC developed PET film in Korea back in 1977 and grew in size to rank fourth in the world after succeeding in developing color videotapes in 1980, achieving a feat accomplished only by the U.S., Germany and Japan at the time. The film business operation's annual revenue totaled 1.13 trillion last year, while operating profit stood at 68.9 billion won.

With the deal, SKC aims to focus on transforming itself into a global ESG materials solution company, while Hahn & Co. continues its successful track record of revamping Korean companies into global leading companies through private equity acquisitions. Hahn & Co.'s purchase of SK Group's PET film business is the private equity firm's fourth acquisition deal conducted in Korea since the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020.

"SK's PET business is a global leader with attractive opportunities for growth and expansion in untapped markets. This acquisition continues Hahn & Co.'s conviction that Korea is an attractive while overlooked market for acquisitions,"?Hahn Sang-Won, CEO of Hahn & Co., said.

Established in 2010 by founder and CEO Hahn Sang-won, Hahn & Co. has grown into one of the largest private equity firms operating in Korea. The firm currently manages the largest private equity capital raised to date for the Korea market. Companies controlled by the company generate revenues of approximately 16 trillion ($12.8 billion) along with assets of 39.6 trillion (USD31.6 billion) with over 30,000 employees in various industry sectors, ranging from transportation and industrial products to business services.

As per MRC, Mitsui Chemicals Inc. and SKC Co. have announced plans to terminate their Mitsui Chemicals & SKC Polyurethanes (MCNS) joint venture based in Seoul, South Korea. MCNS was established in 2015 to combine the polyurethane raw materials businesses of both Mitsui and SKC. MCNS has operations in both South Korea and Japan.
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Sustainable solutions provider and global leader within polyols Perstorp is taking a stand by converting a large majority of the polyols produced at their largest production plant in Perstorp, Sweden, to Pro-Environment products, said Indianchemicalnews.

By doing this, Perstorp will enable reduced greenhouse gas emissions for its polyol customers and downstream value chains.

The company is continuing its sustainability journey towards becoming finite material neutral and aligning with the Paris Agreement, by converting all base polyols produced at their Perstorp plant – Pentaerythritol (Penta), Neopentyl glycol (Neo) and Trimethylolpropane (TMP) – to Pro-Environment. From 2023, all fossil versions of the base polyols produced at the Perstorp plant will be replaced by Pro-Environment grades (Voxtar, Evyrone & Neeture) with partly renewable or recycled origin, based on a traceable mass-balance concept.

The Pro-Environment products are certified with ISCC PLUS, and are identical to the fossil-based versions, meaning that they are drop-in replacements. The products benefit customers and the value chain by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by supporting the transition to renewable or recycled materials, in other words supporting the challenge of reaching climate neutrality.

"Phasing out the fossil base polyols produced at the site in Perstorp is a bold move, but we are convinced that this is the only way forward for us, as an industry, to align with the Paris Agreement and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” says Jan Secher, CEO of Perstorp Group. “As an upstream company in the chemical industry we can, and should, make a positive impact across multiple value-chains by offering products with a reduced carbon footprint."

Perstorp introduced the first Pro-Environment polyol already 2010, and in 2017, Perstorp announced the long-term ambition to become Finite Material Neutral. Since late 2021, the company has set Science-based emission reduction targets aligned with the Paris agreement. The transition to Pro-Environment polyols will significantly reduce Perstorp’s usage of finite materials, and will also provide the market with products with a lower carbon footprint, hence contributing towards Perstorp, and its customers, reaching their Scope 3 reduction targets.

As per MRC, Petronas and key energy players at the ASEAN Energy Sector Methane Roundtable 2022 are intensifying collaboration on methane emissions management in the region by leveraging collective capabilities, global best practices and actionable insights to progress the shared ambition towards a lower-carbon future. The virtual Roundtable, the second in the series held on 19 May 2022, was hosted by PETRONAS and supported by Thailand’s PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) and Indonesia’s PERTAMINA. The initiative is part of the collaborative effort between energy companies to raise awareness, elevate conversation and champion the climate change agenda in the region, particularly on effective methane emissions management.
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