ESL Shipping to start utilizing new low-emission Neste fuel

Finnish shipping company ESL Shipping will become the world's first shipping company to start utilizing new low-emission Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel in its vessels in Finland and Sweden, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The ISCC PLUS certified* marine fuel enables up to 80% reduced greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle compared to fossil fuels without compromising the product quality and performance. ESL Shipping is the leading carrier of dry bulk cargoes in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Constantly in search of sustainable shipping solutions, ESL Shipping strives to minimize the adverse environmental impacts of its fleet.

“The co-processed marine fuel is something we have been waiting for a long time. ESL Shipping is committed to leading the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the maritime industry, and we are now fortunate to be able to use this low-emission alternative without having to do any fleet modifications. We believe this is the right thing to do, and I’m convinced we in the Nordics are well-positioned to show the way for the global maritime industry,” says Mikki Koskinen, Managing Director of ESL Shipping.

"Supporting the shipping industry towards carbon neutrality requires partnerships, all available solutions and further innovations. We are proud of the solutions we have provided to the global aviation and road transport sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it is a big step for Neste to be able to offer similar solutions to maritime transport, too. After all, as 90% of world trade and 13% of global transport emissions are the result of the shipping industry, it needs lower-emission solutions that are available already today,” explains Sveta Ukkonen, Head of Marine Fuels and Services at Neste.

Neste Marine 0.1 Co-processed marine fuel is currently in the piloting phase and it is produced at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland, where part of the fossil raw materials have been replaced with renewable raw materials in the conventional refining process. The drop-in fuel can be taken in use without any fleet modifications as it has a similar composition to conventional bunker fuels.

The co-processed marine fuel is ISO 8217 compliant with consistent refined quality. The sustainability characteristics of the co-processed marine fuel are certified with International Sustainability and Carbon Certification with a mass balance approach.

As per MRC, Neste, Covestro and South Korean petrochemical company SK geo centric are cooperating to enable the production of a major polyurethane raw material based on renewable raw materials via mass balance. The cooperation will see Neste provide SK geo centric with renewable Neste RE, an ISCC certified feedstock for polymers and chemicals made from 100% renewable raw materials such as waste and residue oil and fats.

As MRC reported earlier, Neste has a target to process annually over 1 MM tons of waste plastic from 2030 onwards. The company plans to use liquefied plastic waste as a raw material at its fossil oil refinery to upgrade it into high-quality drop-in feedstock for the production of new plastics.
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U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that a decision on whether to pause a federal gasoline tax could come by the end of this week, as the United States struggles to tackle soaring gasoline prices and inflation, now at its highest in 40 years, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Speaking a day after Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the president was evaluating pausing the tax temporarily, Biden told reporters: "Yes, I am considering it. I hope I have a decision based on data I am looking for by the end of the week." Granholm told CNN on Sunday the president was evaluating a pause on federal gas tax to bring down prices, adding that such a move was "not off the table".

The pause of the federal gasoline tax is among various options being considered by the Biden administration to control inflation and surging gas prices. The president also said his team will be sitting down with oil and gas companies to get answers. "I want an explanation from them on why they are not refining more oil," he said.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday some tariffs on China inherited from the administration of former President Donald Trump served "no strategic purpose" and added that Biden was considering removing them too as a way to bring down inflation. Biden said on Saturday he was in the process of making up his mind on easing U.S. tariffs on China and planned to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon.

Biden also reiterated on Monday that he felt a U.S. recession was not inevitable, adding he had spoken to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers who told NBC News on Sunday he expected a recession. Whether the United States, the world's largest economy, will slip into a recession has been a growing concern for chief executives, the Federal Reserve, and the Biden administration.

The surge in inflation has made hawks of nearly all Federal Reserve policymakers, only one of whom dissented earlier this week against what was the central bank's biggest rate increase in more than a quarter of a century.

As per MRC, U.S. refiners last month imported the most heavy crude in nearly two years, customs data showed, as they cranked up motor fuel production and sought to replace sanctioned Russian oil. Higher heavy-crude imports are common in summer-driving months, but this year's increase comes as the Biden administration is calling on for refiners to ramp up output and shave profit margins to ease soaring prices. The administration has asked for a parley to explore further efforts.

As per MRC, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is expected to meet with refining executives on June 23 as tensions between the White House and the oil industry mount over soaring gasoline prices. The planned talks come as President Joe Biden, under pressure over high gasoline prices, has demanded that oil refining companies explain why they are not putting more fuel on the market as they reap windfall profits.
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Curacao will begin negotiations with a seven-company consortium to take over management of the Caribbean island's oil refinery and storage terminal, state-owned Refineria di Korsou (RdK) said, as per Reuters.

Curacao's 330,000-bpd Isla refinery was idled in 2018 amid a payment dispute between then-operator Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips. PDVSA's lease expired at the end of 2019 and attempts by the island's government have continued after several companies dropped out.

RdK said Caribbean Petroleum Refinery, which it identified as a group of six U.S. and one Brazilian company, was selected from among three finalists to manage and run the facilities. "No later than September 1st, 2022 an agreement should be reached and immediately after begin with the start-up of operations," RdK said in Sunday's statement.

Caribbean Petroleum Refinery would employ more than 800 people and converted the facility to run on natural gas, RdK said. The oil-storage terminal at Bullenbaai "will be put into operation immediately," it added. RdK did not identify the seven companies and did not immediately reply to a request for the names of the seven. The bidder "is committed towards investing in sport development and schools on the island," it said.

Officials from several companies had visited the Willemstad refinery and affiliated oil storage terminal in Bullenbaai, RdK has said. A year ago, the refinery said it reached an agreement with CORC B.V. to operate the plant and the oil terminal, but the pact fell apart over financial terms.

Tentative deals with Swiss/British conglomerate Klesch Group and U.K.-based oil firm SPS Drilling E&P to operate the refinery and lease a portion of the 15-million-barrel terminal respectively also ended over disagreements about terms and fees.

As per MRC, Curacao expects to receive final proposals from companies interested in leasing its 330,000 bpd oil refinery by the end of February, the latest attempt to restart the plant after Venezuela's PDVSA ceased operations there in 2018. A committee to find a company interested in operating the Caribbean facility late last year selected a short list of firms willing to move ahead with a proposal, Curacao's state-run Refineria di Korsou (RdK) said in a press release on Friday.
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The chief executive of Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from politicians following a fuel price hike last week, with a high-ranking company insider quickly tapped to replace him on an interim basis, said Reuters.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a securities filing that CEO Jose Mauro Coelho had resigned on Monday morning. In a separate filing, it said that Chief Exploration and Production Officer Fernando Borges had been appointed interim CEO until a new boss is elected by shareholders.

Preferred shares in the company fell 5% shortly after the resignation announcement, but quickly snapped back to trade roughly flat following Borges’ appointment.

Borges will become Petrobras’ fourth CEO since Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019. Coelho had succeeded Roberto Castello Branco and Joaquim Silva e Luna, both ousted after disagreements with Bolsonaro on the company’s fuel pricing policy.

While political interference and high turnover at Petrobras is a major investor concern, analysts said Coelho’s departure was largely priced in, as Bolsonaro had announced in May his intention to push Coelho out.

Borges, who was appointed by the company’s market-friendly board until shareholders can vote on a more permanent replacement, has far more technical expertise than many other names that have been floated for the position.

An engineer by training with an MBA from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Borges has worked at Petrobras for some 38 years, largely in the company’s hyper-profitable offshore division, according to Petrobras’ website.

We remind, Petrobras said it has signed a deal with TSE and Toyo Engineering Corp to build a new diesel hydrotreating unit at its Paulinia refinery. The move will require USD458 million in investments and is in line with Petrobras’ 2022-2026 business plan, the company said in a securities filing. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said the hydrotreating unit is expected to enter production in 2025.

Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co has shut its crude oil refining and ethylene units to evaluate hidden safety risks after a fire on Saturday that hit a chemical facility, said Reuters.

The spokesperson did not specify the duration of the shutdown but said the firm will ensure stable domestic fuel supplies.

The Shanghai-based plant, controlled by state refiner Sinopec Corp, operates 16 MMtpy (320,000 bpd) crude oil refining capacity and 700,000 tons of ethylene capacity annually.

Head of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), the parent firm for Sinopec Shanghai and Sinopec Corp, was summoned by China's ministry of emergency management on Monday after recent safety incidents, the ministry said in a statement.

Sinopec Group is asked to improve areas such as aging facilities and inadequate on-site management, the statement added.

As per MRC, Sinopec Maoming Petrochemical, a subsidiary of Sinopec, one of the world's largest energy and chemical companies, has stopped HDPE and LDL production in Maoming, China, due to a fire. So, on 8 June, the company shut the production of LDPE on line No. 2 with a capacity of 280,000 tonnes and HDPE with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year for an unknown time.

As per MRC, SIBUR plans to revise its strategy for developing the Amur Gas Chemical Complex (AGCC) with Sinopec.
The company reported that a decision on the matter would be made soon. Sources told Reuters in March that the state-run Sinopec Group had suspended talks on a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia.
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