Surge in U.S. renewable diesel supply won't offset loss of petroleum diesel

A flood of U.S. renewable diesel plants set to come online in the next three years will not be enough to offset the loss of petroleum diesel refining capacity from plant closings since 2019, a Reuters analysis of federal data shows, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

U.S. refining capacity has declined in the last two years, as plants shut during the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, causing prices to spike. Several plants are being converted to facilities that can produce cleaner-burning renewable diesel, but at least for now, those facilities will not fully replace those refined barrels.

There are at least 12 renewable diesel projects worth more than $9 billion under construction, with another nine proposed. The 12, along with existing plants, are expected to produce about 135,000 bpd of renewable diesel by 2025 according to EIA data, from around 80,000 bpd now.

However, since 2019, diesel production capacity has dropped by about 180,000 bpd total, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and at least one more U.S. refinery is set to close next year, further reducing output. In addition, those refiners set to produce renewable diesel will also no longer produce gasoline or jet fuel.

Globally, about 400,000 bpd of combined diesel, jet fuel and fuel oil capacity has been lost since 2019, according to calculations from EIA data.

Renewable diesel is made from animal fats, food wastes and plant oils but is chemically equivalent to petroleum-based diesel. It can be produced in existing refinery equipment, but the yield are lower than with diesel. Biodiesel, another plant based diesel, must be mixed with petroleum to operate effectively in most engines, though some truck fleets can run on 100% biodiesel.

Growing demand and refinery losses have pushed diesel prices to record levels. The retail price of U.S. diesel has surged 80% this year to USD5.78 a U.S. gallon, and low inventories have raised the potential for shortages. U.S. stocks of distillates, including diesel, are down 19% from a year ago.

About 1 MMbpd of new petroleum refining capacity is planned in the next five years in Asia, the Middle East and on the U.S. Gulf Coast. But experts say startups are difficult to predict due to construction delays, changes in market demand and financing.

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.
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MRC) -- Kuwait Petroleum Corporation chief said the Gulf producer had the capacity to reach its OPEC quota and was moving to its first offshore production as it invests to meet future oil demand, said Reuters.

"We are making the investments necessary to ensure that we can meet any new increases in terms of allocations and also in terms of demand," Sheikh Nawaf Saud al-Sabah said on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum organised by Bloomberg in Doha. "We always like to maintain spare capacity about 10% to 15% above where we need to be just in case of supply disruptions around the world," he said.

Kuwait received its first offshore rig a week ago and it will be ready to begin drilling soon, he said without giving a precise timescale. "We've been producing onshore for almost 90 years now and now we're moving on to the offshore for the first time," he said. "We should have good news on that sometime soon." Kuwait is producing around 3.5 MMbpd and hopes to reach 4 MMbpd by 2025.

On Kuwait's new 615,000 bpd refinery, Sheikh Nawaf said he expected it to reach full capacity around the end of the year. "We've already worked in the commissioning stages. The hydrocarbons are in the system. It's a hot site now," he said.

Originally designed to produce low sulphur fuel oil for power generation in Kuwait, much its production has been made available to the international market after the Gulf state secured enough gas for its own needs. "Right now there is a tremendously good market for fuel oil, and whether it's bunker or diesel or whatnot. And we'll we'll use that. We will supply the world with that."

There are no plans to list units of KPC for now, but already monetising pipelines is a possibility. "We looked at what Aramco and ADNOC have done, in terms of pipelines for example. It’s not something that’s completely off the table for us, it’s something that we’re looking at," he said.

As per MRC, Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) successfully started full operation of an environmentally friendly project to expand refining capacity and produce fuel that generates lower emissions and less pollution.

As per MRC, Kuwait National Petroleum Company restarted the steam production system in Kuwait’s Mina Abdulla refinery. The steam production system was shut down temporarily as it was replaced hot circulation system.

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) was established in 1980, as the State owned asset and all other oil companies in Kuwait, including KNPC, became KPC subsidiaries. Currently, KNPC has two state-of-the-art Refineries, namely Mina Abdullah Refinery (MAB) and Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery (MAA). Shuaiba Refinery was shut down in March 2017 after the kick-off of the Clean Fuels Project (CFP). The total production capacity of both Refineries is 736,000 bpd of crude oil, and a gas processing capacity of 2.5 billion scfpd.
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Valero Energy Corp has issued an all-clear after a fire at its 205,000-bpd Houston, Texas, refinery and said the facility has been returned to routine operations, according to a community alert message, said Reuters.

"The fire has been extinguished. All personnel has been accounted for," Valero said in a message earlier.

As per MRC, Valero Energy Corp's quarterly earnings blew past Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, as margins strengthened thanks to rising demand for fuel and as worldwide supply tightened following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Valero's quarterly refining margin more than doubled to USD3.21-B from a year earlier. Global fuel demand has rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels, while supply of refined products like diesel and jet fuel have tightened sharply due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,487,450 tonnes in 2021, up by 13% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 1,494.280 tonnes, up by 21% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whreas, shipments of PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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German chemicals company BASF and Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd announced on Monday that they will build a major new production plant for 2-Ethylhexanoic Acid (2-EHAcid), said Processingmagazine.

The new facility will be located at the site of their existing joint venture, BASF Petronas Chemicals, in Kuantan, Malaysia. Construction is anticipated to start in the second quarter of 2015. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

2-EHAcid is a chemical intermediate that is used as a compound in the production of synthetic lubricants as well oil additives. It is also used for functional fluids such as automotive coolants, metal salts for paint dryers, plasticizers, stabilizers and catalysts, and has other applications in various industries.

BASF already operates a 2-EHAcid production plant at its Verbund site in Ludwigshafen, Germany. "With this new plant, we are responding to our customers' growing demands in Asia Pacific. Through this additional capacity BASF will become one of the leading suppliers for high purity 2-EHAcid in the region," said Stefan Blank, president of BASF's Intermediates division.

The new plant in Kuantan will be the first in Southeast Asia to produce 2-EHAcid, the two companies said. It will have an annual capacity of 30,000 metric tons, with production expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2016.

BASF Petronas Chemicals is also building an Integrated Aroma Ingredients Complex at its Kuantan site for the manufacturing of citronellol and L-menthol, as well as citral and its precursors, which are widely used in the flavor and fragrance industries.

The partners are investing USD500 million to set up the aroma ingredients complex and it is scheduled to start operating in 2016.

As per MRC, BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd. (BSBM) is expanding its battery materials capacity in China to meet fast-growing demands of the electric vehicle industry. The expansion project at its sites in Changsha, Hunan province, and Shuizuishan, Ningxia province, will enable BSBM to achieve 100,000 tonnes of annual capacity for cathode active materials, the company said in a statement.

As per MRC, 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.

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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Solvay, a global market leader in fluorochemistry, has announced it will discontinue its Hyflon perfluoropolymer and Algoflon PTFE product lines manufactured with fluorosurfactants at Solvay’s Spinetta Marengo (Alessandria) plant in Italy. Sales for both product families will stop by June 30, 2023, said the company.

Algoflon® products already manufactured without the use of fluorosurfactants in Spinetta Marengo will not be impacted by this decision.

The decision aligns with Solvay’s One Planet sustainability roadmap, setting the direction for the fluoropolymers industry to support a more sustainable economy. This is also an important step to achieve the company’s goal of phasing out the use of fluorosurfactants. Solvay announced its voluntary commitment to manufacture nearly 100% of its fluoropolymers without fluorosurfactants at its Spinetta Marengo site by 2026.

In addition, Solvay is also applying state-of-the-art technology to eliminate nearly all of its fluorosurfactant emissions at Spinetta.

As per MRC, Solvay’s Changshu site has significantly increased production capacity for Solef® PVDF, demonstrating the Group’s commitment to meeting the needs of customers worldwide. Solvay continues to extend its leadership position in the global lithium-ion battery market with the early completion of its PVDF capacity increase in Changshu, China. The Group has now more than doubled the onsite production volume of its high-performance polymer Solef® polyvinylidene fluoride since mid-May 2022.

We also remind that in August, 2020, through the acquisition of the Solvay polyamide (PA) business, BASF enhanced its R&D capabilities in Asia Pacific with new technologies, technical expertise, and upgraded material and part testing services. BASF is planning to integrate the R&D centers from Solvay into its R&D existing facilities in Shanghai, China, and Seoul, Korea. The enhanced capabilities will boost BASF’s position as a solution provider to develop advanced material solutions for key industries.

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 24,100 employees in 64 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet plan crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities.
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