BP sells Oil Sands to Cenovus

BP sells Oil Sands to Cenovus

British energy giant BP has agreed to sell its remaining 50% stake in the Sunrise oil sands project in northern Alberta, Canada, to Cenovus Energy, said the company.

The deal’s total consideration includes a USD466.9m (CD600m) cash payment and a conditional payment with a USD466.9m (CD600m) maximum aggregate value that expires after a two-year period. As part of the deal, Cenovus will sell its 35% stake in the undeveloped Bay du Nord project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in Eastern Canada, to BP.

The Bay du Nord project comprises several oil discoveries in the Flemish Pass basin, located approximately 500km north-east of St John’s. Situated in water depths of approximately 1,200m, the project is estimated to hold recoverable reserves of nearly 300 million barrels of oil.

BP Gulf of Mexico & Canada senior vice-president Starlee Sykes said: “This is an important step in our plans to create a more focused, resilient, and competitive business in Canada. “Bay du Nord will add sizeable acreage and a discovered resource to our existing portfolio offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Along with BP’s active Canadian marketing and trading business, this will position BP Canada for strong future growth."

With the sale, BP will have no interests in the oil sands production assets in the North American country. Following the completion of the transaction, BP will focus on the future growth of offshore production. The firm currently owns stakes in six exploration licences in the offshore Eastern Newfoundland region. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is scheduled to close this year.

As per MRC, The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), oil major BP and Abu Dhabi future energy company Masdar have joined forces to develop clean hydrogen and technology hubs. Announcing their new-energy partnerships, ADNOC said the H2Teesside low-carbon hydrogen project with BP had moved into the design phase.

As per MRC, Adnoc and Mubadala Mubadala announced a strategic transaction involving Borealis, one of Europe’s leading petrochemical companies. Under this agreement, Adnoc will acquire a 25% shareholding in Borealis from Mubadala. Upon completion of the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, Borealis will be owned 25% by Adnoc and 75% by OMV, an Austrian multi-national integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange.
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Idemitsu to slash refinery capacity due to shrinking oil demand

Idemitsu to slash refinery capacity due to shrinking oil demand

Oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan plans to cut its capacity by 13% in less than two years as the ageing and shrinking population in Japan and the global shift to greener energy eats into household demand for petroleum, said Reuters.

"Domestic demand for petroleum products is declining faster than expected because of the population's ageing and shrinkage, as well as the worldwide trend for decarbonisation," Idemitsu Executive Vice President Susumu Nibuya told a news conference.

Idemitsu will terminate refining operation at Seibu Oil's Yamaguchi plant in western Japan by March 2024, the company said. Idemitsu holds a 66.9% stake in Seibu Oil.

The 120,000 bpd plant represents about 13% of Idemitsu's domestic capacity. Idemitsu plans to make Seibu Oil a wholly owned subsidiary as soon as possible to set about restructuring, Nibuya said.

As MRC wrote before, in early February, Idemitsu Kosan had no plan to give fresh financial aid to Vietnam's Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical (NSRP), which ha cut production to 80% of capacity due to a funding problem. Vietnam's largest refinery avoided a lengthy shutdown that month after a major shareholder secured short-term funding following a disagreement between shareholders about financing for crude, having earlier cut its run rate.

We remind that in October 2018, Idemitsu Kosan finalized a deal to buy out Showa Shell Sekiyu through a share swap in a deal worth about USD5.6 billion.
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BASF strengthens market position for optical brighteners

BASF completed a double-digit million euro investment to increase production capacity for Tinopal CBS optical brighteners at its Monthey site. Following phase one of the stepwise capacity increase in 2021, the recent completion of the investment program has now brought significantly increased capacity on stream to meet growing global customer demand, said the company.

"Despite the massive challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain bottlenecks, we are delivering the additional volumes to our customers as previously announced," said Soeren Hildebrandt, Senior Vice President Home Care, I&I and Industrial Formulators Europe at BASF. "Tinopal® CBS enables us to support our customers’ growth with a top-quality solution for high-performance detergent formulations."

Tinopal® CBS is contained in liquid and powder detergents for home use and commercial dry-cleaning. As an optical whitener, it makes textiles last longer by ensuring brilliant white results even at low temperatures and on short cycles. Tinopal® CBS is ideal for use in innovative product formats including highly concentrated liquid detergents and single-dose packs. The product meets the criteria for EU Ecolabel-certified formulations.

As per MRC, BASF’s Glyoxal is utilized by customers as a cross-linking agent in numerous industries. Effective June 1, 2022, Univar Solutions has been named the exclusive distributor for BASF's Chemical Intermediates’ Glyoxal in the US and Canada. With this agreement BASF and Univar Solutions expand their collaboration to better serve customers through a host of sustainable solutions across a range of applications.

We remind that BASF is to increase its production capacity for plastic additives at its sites in Pontecchio Marconi, Italy and Lampertheim, Germany. BASF did not disclose, however, current or future capacities for its production of plastic additives hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS).

BASF is the leading chemical company. It produces a wide range of chemicals, for example solvents, amines, resins, glues, electronic-grade chemicals, industrial gases, basic petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals. The most important customers for this segment are the pharmaceutical, construction, textile and automotive industries.
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Clean energy start-up reveals plan for USD800 mln renewable fuels facility in Port Allen

Clean energy start-up reveals plan for USD800 mln renewable fuels facility in Port Allen

Arbor Renewable Gas LLC, a Houston-based company formed in 2019 that produces renewable gasoline and green hydrogen from wood waste and forest residue, is evaluating West Baton Rouge Parish for a planned USD800 mln manufacturing and distribution facility employing carbon capture and sequestration emissions-reduction technology, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Operating as Magnolia Renewable Fuels LLC, the new facility would produce renewable gasoline from wood waste biomass sourced from Louisiana and Mississippi timber operations. The project would create 32 new direct jobs with average annual salaries of USD99,000, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project would also support at least 110 indirect jobs, for a total of 142 new jobs in Louisiana’s Capital Region. The company estimates development of the facility would generate up to 880 construction jobs at peak construction.

"Arbor Gas’ planned renewable gasoline production facility in West Baton Rouge Parish is further evidence that our all-of-the-above approach to energy is attracting the right kind of investment to Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “The company’s commitment to a lower-carbon future aligns with Louisiana’s commitment to Net Zero emissions by 2050. Incorporating Louisiana agribusiness byproducts into its energy production process broadens this project’s potential economic impact to a number of rural communities. We welcome this forward-thinking energy company to Louisiana and look forward to seeing the project progress."

The company plans to locate its greenfield facility at the Port Allen Rail Terminal, which offers railroad and highway accessibility and proximity to timber operations. Magnolia will source southern yellow pine pre-commercial thinnings, a byproduct of routine forest management operations. Arbor Gas recently announced a similar project in Beaumont, Texas.

"The level of support and engagement we’ve received from the folks at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, West Baton Rouge Chamber, the local community and officials, and the state has been incredible,” Arbor Gas CEO Timothy Vail said. “At full capacity, this plant will have a production capacity of 2,000 bpd of renewable gasoline with the potential for further expansion. The product would be blended with conventional gasoline to achieve renewable fuel standards in the U.S. and Europe."

Initial plans call for the installation of two product trains, with the capacity for future expansions. Arbor Gas projects that each train will sequester approximately 275,000 tons of co2 annually. Construction is expected to begin in late 2023, with the first train in operation by the end of 2025.

As per MRC, Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, has announced that Nupi Industrie Italiane (NUPI) has selected the ™ polypropylene (PP) for the next generation of their PP-RCT (Polypropylene Random Crystalline Structure Temperature) piping solutions for domestic plumbing, heating as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems designed to perform under higher stress conditions and temperatures. Manufactured with renewable feedstock, Bornewables PP offer the same material performance as virgin PP yet decoupled from fossil-based feedstock.
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Repsol will invest over EUR35 mln to build an XLPE plant to manufacture HV and EHV cables

Repsol will invest over EUR35 mln to build an XLPE plant to manufacture HV and EHV cables

Repsol will build a new plant in Tarragona, with an investment of over EUR35 M for the manufacture of Cross-linkable Polyethylene (XLPE), a polymer used in cable insulation, located between the conductor and the outer protective layers, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 27 kt and is scheduled to start in mid-2024. The LSHC (Linear Short Hyperclean) new technology selected for the plant, from Buss AG, will provide a product with very competitive properties, enabling Repsol to complete its product range for cables by incorporating materials for HV (high voltage) and EHV (extra-high voltage) cables.

HV and EHV are the most differentiated segments in cable insulation and would place Repsol among the leading producers of polyethylene for cables. Repsol, has been continuously growing in the wire & cable polymers market in the last decades, with a wide range of solutions for the different types of cables: energy, communications, and signals. Repsol's XLPE Ready-to-Use products allow manufacturing of any voltage while providing cable manufacturers with a ready-to-extrude compound including polymer, peroxide, and antioxidants.

The new range will be made up of seven grades, based on a base polymer that Repsol already produces – low density polyethylene (LDPE) or EBA copolymers – will target the Water-Tree-Retardant (WTR), HV (>66 kV), EVH (>220 kV) and direct current (DC) segments.

Considered a highly specialized material, after startup in June 2024, Repsol's XLPE will be shipped to state-of-the-art cable manufacturing facilities in different parts of the world to ensure the highest international standards in the HV and EHV cables produced.

Repsol reaffirms with this new investment its longstanding commitment to the wire & cable segment and to its cable manufacturing clients with whom it has been collaborating since the project's conception, that have shown great interest in having a new supplier with these quality products available.

As per MRC, Repsol's Board of Directors today approved the sale of a 25% stake in Repsol Renewables to the consortium formed by the French insurance company Credit Agricole Assurances and Switzerland-based Energy Infrastructure Partner (EIP) for EUR905 mln.

As per MRC, Repsol will invest EUR105 mln in the Puertollano Industrial Complex to build the first plant in the Iberian Peninsula capable of manufacturing ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a material considered a 'super polymer' due to its exceptional properties. This new plant will be operational by the end of 2024 and will have an annual capacity of 15,000 tons. For the construction of the plant, Repsol has selected the technology of DSM, a renowned UHMWPE producer based in the Netherlands. This involves the use of cutting-edge, proven technology that adapts to the needs of customers.


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