TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and MOL Group complete first biofuel bunker operation

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) have successfully completed the first biofuel bunker operation for a vehicle carrier in Singapore, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The local operation was made possible with support from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The MOL-operated car and truck carrier, Heroic Ace, was refueled by TotalEnergies-supplied biofuel on 11th June 2022 via ship-to-ship transfer, while the carrier performed cargo operations simultaneously. The biofuel has been consumed during the carrier’s voyage to Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates.

The biofuel blend used in this trial composed of VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 20% second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME (Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester). From a well-to-wake assessment, the biofuel will reduce approximately 17% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional fuel oil.

MOL’s initial analysis of the vehicle carrier’s engine and machinery performance have demonstrated a high compatibility and safe use of the biofuel onboard the vessel.

Laura Ong, General Manager of Trading and Operations for Asia Pacific, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, based in Singapore, said: “We are delighted to work with frontrunners in green shipping, such as MOL, on the use of sustainable biofuels to reduce their vessels’ carbon footprint. For TotalEnergies Marine Fuels, we want to develop a sustainable, cost-efficient and low-carbon biofuel solutions for customers across different shipping segments. This partnership with MOL has allowed us to build on our amassed biofuels supply chain capabilities and operational success, to deliver this lower-carbon fuel to a new vessel type."

Koichi Hirata, General Manager, Car Carrier Division of MOL, said: “MOL Car Carrier Division has been working on trial usage of biofuel during navigation in the European short haul trade for more than a year. Today we are very pleased to announce that we have expanded our actions to the long haul trades and successfully conducted a milestone voyage together with our valued partner, TotalEnergies. Along with various partnerships we have with TotalEnergies in many fields, this collaboration in the biofuel field means an important step for MOL. We will continue to accelerate efforts towards a low- and de-carbonized vehicle transportation sector and to develop services required by our customers."

TotalEnergies and MOL believe biofuels provide an immediate and sustainable solution to decarbonize shipping today, as they can be blended or dropped into existing conventional fuels with little or no technological developments required on vessels.

As part of TotalEnergies’ strategy to produce a new generation of biofuels for use in transport, TotalEnergies is investing in biofuels projects based on animal fat or used oils, thereby sourcing from the circular economy and limiting the competition for and impact on arable land.

These initiatives reinforce TotalEnergies’ climate ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society. In parallel, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels is committed to drive the decarbonization of shipping through the provision of clean and low-carbon marine fuel solutions across the short and long-term.

Biofuel is positioned as an effective alternative to fossil fuels in 'MOL Group Environmental Vision 2.1', which includes the achievement of net zero emissions by 2050. MOL Group continually takes a proactive stance in promoting adoption of clean alternative fuels with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in ocean transport.

TotalEnergies and MOL will continue to build on their successful collaborations to explore new joint initiatives that promote the introduction of clean, low-carbon alternative fuels. Both companies have co-developed bunker vessels, the Gas Agility and the Gas Vitality, for the supply of marine Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the Northwestern Europe and Mediterranean regions. They are also part of a consortium that seeks to establish an ammonia fuel supply chain in Singapore.

As per MRC, TotalEnergies has taken logistics measures to make sure its network of petrol stations and its clients will be sufficiently supplied throughout the weekend despite a strike hitting its French oil refineries on Friday. The CGT union, which wants an immediate increase in wages to compensate for rising inflation, has called for the 24-hour strike after talks with CEO Patrick Pouyanne fell through.
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Maire Tecnimont announced that its subsidiaries Tecnimont and Stamicarbon have been awarded several new contracts and order variations for licensing, engineering services and EPC activities for an overall value of approximately USD96 MM, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

These contracts have been granted by international clients in Nigeria, as well in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. In particular, Tecnimont has been granted a FEED contract by African Refineries Port Harcourt Limited for a 100,000 bpd refining plant, which is due to be operational in 2025.

It will be built inside the existing Port Harcourt Refinery complex, where Tecnimont is already executing an EPC contract related to its Rehabilitation works. The contract also includes a feasibility study for an independent section of the plant for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF, also known as Biojet), which will be based on NextChem’s portfolio of green initiatives, using biowaste as feedstock.

Alessandro Bernini, Chief Executive Officer of Maire Tecnimont Group and NextChem, commented: “We are really honored to support Nigeria both in unlocking greater value by processing its natural resources and in developing circular economy for the first time ever in the Country, as BioJet is one of the most effective solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of the global aviation industry. Moreover, these new contracts confirm the strong geographical diversification of our backlog and the reliability of our technology-driven value proposition.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that its main subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Tecnimont USA has been awarded a new urea diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) project in the US, by the same leading global chemicals producer that recently awarded to Tecnimont a blue ammonia project. The contract value is approximately $185 MM. The urea DEF plant, which will be based on Stamicarbon’s proprietary technology (part of Maire Tecnimont Group), entails a 1,500 tpd urea production unit plus the necessary utilities and facilities, including a CO2 purification plant.
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Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco”) inaugurated the Aramco Research Center at KAUST (ARC KAUST), which aims to accelerate the development of low-carbon solutions for the energy industry using advanced analytics, said the company.

Strategically located within the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the newly established research hub deploys artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop innovative ways to advance low-carbon solutions and enable a Circular Carbon Economy.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Aramco Senior Vice President Upstream, Nasir K. Al-Naimi, KAUST Vice President of Innovation and Economic Development, Dr. Kevin Cullen and senior executives from SABIC, Dow and PetroRabigh.

Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco Chief Technology Officer, said: “The Aramco Research Center at KAUST offers a unique opportunity to strengthen our collaboration with KAUST and accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies that will contribute to a low-carbon future. Today energy companies face the dual challenge of delivering sustainability and reliability. The critical research undertaken at this new facility will help us meet our obligations to customers and energy consumers worldwide, while also supporting our ambition of reaching operational net-zero emissions by 2050."

ARC KAUST researchers, engineers and scientists intend to develop new technologies in carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen/ammonia, non-metallics, e-fuels, liquids-to-chemicals, and advanced transport technologies. The opening of the center represents an important milestone in the growth of Aramco, offering unique collaboration opportunities to leverage KAUST’s capabilities in such areas as super-computing and data analytics.

As per MRC, Aramco is exploring further collaboration with Thailand’s national oil company PTT, as it expands its downstream presence in Asia. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Bangkok on May 11. The companies aim to strengthen cooperation across crude oil sourcing and the marketing of refining and petrochemical products and LNG. Other potential areas of activity include blue and green hydrogen and various clean energy initiatives.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to USD10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world"s most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels, and largest daily oil production.
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PetroChina has completed construction of two crude distillation units (CDUs) of its integrated refining and petrochemical complex at Jieyang in Guangdong province, said the company.

The CDUs each can process 10m tonnes/year, or 200,000 bbl/day, of crude oil. Construction work of the complex, which houses a 400,000 bbl/day refinery, a 1.2m tonne/year cracker and a 2.6m tonne/year aromatics facility, has 98% completed.

PetroChina originally targeted to start up the project’s refining part in 2021. However, the COVID-19 outbreaks slowed its progress.

We remind, Honeywell, a leading international supplier and licensor of process technology, has announced in a press release that it will provide technology for an integrated petrochemical complex in China. Accordingly, China’s PetroChina Guangdong will adopt Honeywell’s advanced heavy oil processing at its new complex, which includes an annual crude processing capacity of 20 million tons as well as a 3.7 million tons/year hydro-cracking unit and a 2.6 million tons/year aromatics facility to produce PX.

Petrochina Pdvsa Guandong Petrochemical Jieyang Complex is an upcoming petrochemical complex located in Guangdong, China. The complex is expected to commence commercial operations in 2022 and is likely to have an annual petroc
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Canada will delay the start date of its regulation to reduce the carbon intensity of gasoline and diesel by seven months, but increase its stringency, according to a draft of the Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) seen by Reuters.

The CFS is one of the key pieces of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plan to cut national emissions by 40-45% by 2030, from 2005 levels. The CFS will be officially in place by next week, the source said. The Trudeau government first proposed the CFS in 2016, and initially intended it to cover liquid, gaseous and solid fuels. It later focused on gasoline and diesel. Canada is aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Under the CFS, fuel suppliers will need to cut the carbon intensity - the quantity of carbon per unit of energy - of gasoline and diesel by about 15% by 2030 from 2016 levels, up from 13% in previous drafts of the regulation. Fuel providers need to begin complying with the fuel standard on July 1, 2023, seven months later than the government was planning.

The delay is because the government is allowing a full 12 months for early credit creation that will help refineries lower initial compliance costs, a government source said. Furthermore, exported fossil fuels using technologies that reduce carbon intensity - like carbon capture and storage - will not qualify for CFS compliance credits. In a previous draft, both exported and imported fuels qualified, the source said.

The majority of crude oil and gas extracted in Canada, the world fourth-largest producer of crude, is exported. Compliance credits for technologies like carbon capture were limited to fuels meant for the domestic market because "the intent of the clean fuel regulation is to reduce emissions associated with transportation fuels specifically used in Canada," the source said.

Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault's office had no immediate comment. "Stringency could have been stronger, but the long-term view is that this sets the framework for more assertive future action," said Ian Thomson, president of Advanced Biofuels Canada, who has seen the final regulation. The industry group's members include grain handler Archer-Daniels-Midland Co and refiner BP Plc. "This reg represents a transition, not a revolution," Thomson said.

As per MRC, Canada will offer a substantial incentive to companies that invest in carbon capture technologies (CCT) and will set aside as much as USD3 B over eight years to accelerate critical mineral exploration, extraction and processing as it seeks to cut carbon emissions. In this year's budget, Canada is introducing a 60% tax credit for equipment used to capture carbon from the air, and 50% for all other capture equipment, plus a 37.5% credit for transportation and storage equipment.
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