Shiseido, Sekisui Chemical, and Sumitomo Chemical to collaborate in building a circular economy for plastic cosmetics containers

Shiseido Company, Limited (Shiseido), SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO., LTD., and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. will start a joint initiative to establish a circular economy for plastic cosmetics containers, in which used cosmetics plastic containers are collected, converted to resources and materials without sorting, and recycled back into plastic cosmetics containers, said the company.

Cosmetics containers are made from a wide variety of plastics as their importance is placed on protection of contents, ease of use, and design. Therefore, sorting cosmetic containers for recycling is difficult, posing a significant challenge in recycling them into plastic resources. To solve this issue, Shiseido, SEKISUI CHEMICAL, and Sumitomo Chemical have agreed to work together to build a new system to collect used plastic cosmetics containers and recycle them back into new cosmetics containers, leveraging their respective expertise.

Shiseido will introduce a new scheme to collect plastic cosmetics containers through retail stores and use recycled polyolefin*1 for its cosmetics containers. SEKISUI CHEMICAL will utilize the “BR ethanol technology*2” to convert used plastics into ethanol, a raw material for plastics, by turning combustible waste into gas without sorting, and converting the gas into ethanol using microbes. Meanwhile, Sumitomo Chemical will manufacture ethylene*3 from that ethanol by using a technology for converting renewable ethanol into ethylene, and produce, from the ethylene, polyolefin products with quality equivalent to conventional polyolefin using fossil resources.

The three companies will advance this cross-sectoral alliance, while also calling on related industries and companies to join in the effort, and strive to create a circular economy.

As per MRC, Sumitomo Corporation reported the consolidated financial results of its Media & Digital business unit for FY 2021-2022 (year ended 31 Mar 2022). Media & Digital business unit posted profit of Yen 39.4 bn, a decrease of Yen 4.9 bn compared to profit of Yen 44.3 bn in FY 2020-2021.
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МОСКВА (MRC) -- To realize green energy and green hydrogen objectives and the government’s efforts toward a carbon-neutrality economy, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between NTPC RE Limited (NTPC REL) and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) on Wednesday at New Delhi, said the company.

The MoU has been signed by GACL’s Managing Director Harshad R Patel (IAS) and NTPC REL’s Chief Executive Officer Mohit Bhargava. The MoU envisages collaborating in the field of renewable energy, green methanol and green ammonia and mutually exploring the opportunities for the supply of 100 MW RE-RTC (Round The Clock) power and synthesizing 75 TPD Green Methanol and 35 TPD Green Ammonia for captive use for the production of various chemicals by GACL at its Vadodara and Dahej complex in Gujarat.

NTPC Limited, has been at the forefront of renewable energy (RE) capacity development and has been credited for bringing the lowest ever solar tariff in the country. NTPC REL, a 100 percent subsidiary of NTPC was incorporated in October 2020 to take care the RE business of NTPC. This development comes in the backdrop of NTPC announcing its green hydrogen initiatives and plan to build the country’s first pilot projects for synthesizing green methanol, setting up green hydrogen filling station, green hydrogen blending into PNG and green energy storage projects.

This would be the first commercial-scale green ammonia and green methanol project in the country and align with the vision laid out by the PM for Atmanirbhar Bharat.

NTPC is India’s largest Power Utility and its core business is generation with a total installed capacity of 69 GW (including JVs and subsidiaries). As part of increasing its renewable energy portfolio, a fully owned subsidiary has been formed on October 7, 2020, known as “NTPC Renewable Energy Limited” (NTPC REL) which shall take up Renewable Energy Parks and Projects including business in the area of Green Hydrogen, Energy Storage Technologies and Round the Clock RE Power.

As per MRC, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL) had earlier informed about updates on GACL-NALCO Alkalies & Chemicals Private Limited (GNAL), a Joint Venture Company between GACL and National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) formed to set up 800 TPD Caustic Soda Plant along with 130 MW Captive Power Plant at Dahej.
GNAL is a material subsidiary of the company.

Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL), incorporated in Mar 1973, is a state-owned chemical manufacturing unit. GACL is one of the largest producers of Caustic Soda in India, with a production capacity of over 1400 TPD at their two complexes eg. Dahej and Vadodara. GACL has also its subsidiary company viz. GACL-NALCO Alkalies and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (GNAL) putting up an 800 TPD Caustic Soda Plant together with 130 MW Thermal Power Plant (coal-based) at Dahej.
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Austria is following through on a "use it or lose it" threat to eject Russia's Gazprom from its large Haidach gas storage facility for systematically failing to fill its portion of the capacity there, said Reuters.

The country’s industry regulator, E-control, started the process for assuming control over the underground Haidach site using a law which entered into force this month that allows Austria to seize critical storage spaces if operators fail to fill them to at least 10% of capacity.

“When clients don’t store, they need to pass it on to others,” Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said on Wednesday. "This is now happening with Gazprom."

Wresting control over Haidach marks a turning point in Austria’s energy relationship with Moscow. The Alpine country continues to get about 80% of its gas from Russia, whose cuts in natural-gas supplies are testing the European Union’s unity in response to the war in Ukraine. Companies are bracing for potential retaliation for Austria’s actions.

As a next step, Austria needs to agree with Germany on how to fill the depot, which has a maximum capacity of 33 terrawatt hours. Haidach traditionally has served industrial users in Germany’s Bavaria, and is not connected to the Austrian gas grid.

The Austrian government has said it plans to build a pipeline connecting its own network with the gas facility. But that may take years, according to the national energy trader Gas Connect. Haidach was built by Gazprom and Wingas GmbH at a cost of 300 million euros (USD306 million).

It wasn’t immediately clear which part of the facility Austria was targeting with its steps. State-owned RAG Austria AG, which controls a third of the depot, has stored about 65% of its available capacity. Germany’s Federal Network Agency controls 55.55% of Haidach’s storage through Wingas and Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, or SEFE, which were seized from Gazprom earlier this year.

In a statement Wednesday, Gazprom said it only owns about 11% of the site after Germany took control of its German gas subsidiaries.

We remind, Gazprom has not booked additional gas transit capacity for exports to Europe via Velke Kapusany on the Slovakia-Ukraine border for June, auction results showed, although it already has some capacity booked under an existing deal. In total, 70.4 MMcm3 per day of capacity was on offer at the auction. Under its existing supply contract, Gazprom automatically has gas transit capacity booked, which means gas will continue to flow in June. However, the company can book additional capacity if it needs it, an industry source said.

PJSC Gazprom is a Russian energy company engaged in exploration, production, transportation, storage, processing and sale of gas, gas condensate and oil, as well as production and sale of heat and electricity. The largest company in Russia, the largest gas company in the world, owns the longest gas transmission system (over 160,000 km). It is the world leader in the industry.
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More than 5 MM barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency reserves release to lower domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices hit record highs, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The export of crude and fuel is blunting the impact of the moves by U.S. President Joe Biden to lower record pump prices. Biden on Saturday renewed a call for gasoline suppliers to cut their prices, drawing criticism from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

About 1 MMbpd is being released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through October. The flow is draining the SPR, which last month fell to the lowest since 1986. U.S. crude futures are above $100 per barrel and gasoline and diesel prices above USD5 a gallon in one-fifth of the nation. U.S. officials have said oil prices could be higher if the SPR had not been tapped. "The SPR remains a critical energy security tool to address global crude oil supply disruptions," a Department of Energy spokesperson said, adding that the emergency releases helped ensure stable supply of crude oil.

The fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner, Phillips 66, shipped about 470,000 barrels of sour crude from the Big Hill SPR storage site in Texas to Trieste, Italy, according to U.S. Customs data. Trieste is home to a pipeline that sends oil to refineries in central Europe. Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), an arm of French oil major TotalEnergies, exported 2 cargoes of 560,000 barrels each, the data showed.

Phillips 66 declined to comment on trading activity. ATMI did not respond to a request for comment. Cargoes of SPR crude were also headed to the Netherlands and to a Reliance refinery in India, an industry source said. A third cargo headed to China, another source said. At least one cargo of crude from the West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana was set to be exported in July, a shipping source added.

"Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn't happened, but at the same time, it isn't really having the effect that was assumed," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler. The latest exports follow three vessels that carried SPR crude to Europe in April helping replace Russian crude supplies. U.S. crude inventories are the lowest since 2004 as refineries run near peak levels. Refineries in the U.S. Gulf coast were at 97.9% utilization, the most in three and a half years.

As per MRC, U.S. manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in June, with a measure of new orders contracting for the first time in two years, signs that the economy was cooling amid aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
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Samsung Engineering, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management companies announced that it has signed an agreement with Aramco for the National EPC Champions initiative, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The official signing occurred on July 5, during the Saudi Aramco Namaat Industrial Investment Program event, held in the Al-Ghawar Hall at Aramco’s main office in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The formal agreement signing between Samsung Engineering, Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company (ARPIC), and Aramco took place earlier. Samsung Engineering's President and CEO Sungan Choi, Aramco’s Vice President of Project Management, Abdulkarim Ghamdi, and ARPIC’s CEO and Chairman, Rasheed Al Rushaid, attended the Namaat event following the signing of the agreement.

The National EPC Champions initiative is tailored for investments in the EPC sector to foster local industries through the Namaat program. The Namaat program aims to build national champions, create a robust industrial ecosystem and introduce unique job opportunities. Samsung Engineering, as an International EPC contractor, with ARPIC, as a local EPC contractor, will establish a joint venture with the objective of increasing Saudization levels, maximizing iktva targets, and deploying leading construction technologies.

ARPIC has several collaborations in the oil and gas industry, including joint ventures and affiliates in the areas of manufacturing, construction, and engineering. As a National EPC Champion, Samsung Engineering showcases its prominent presence in Saudi Arabia. Samsung Engineering has solidified its position in Saudi Arabia by carrying out over 30 projects over the past 20 years, including 16 projects with Aramco. Samsung Engineering plans to successfully carry out the National EPC Champions initiative projects, based on its experience in the Saudi Arabian market and network of suppliers and partners, and to further strengthen its position in the local market through digital technology and automation solutions.

Samsung Engineering is strengthening its competitiveness in business execution by optimizing the execution system according to the characteristics of each global region, while promoting shared growth for the client in the performing country. Samsung Engineering is building its own EPC execution systems by region through collaborations with local partners with technical skills and local production systems. In addition to Saudi Arabia, Samsung Engineering plans to expand its global operation strategy to other regions in the Middle East and Asia.

Sungan Choi, President and CEO of Samsung Engineering said, "It is always Samsung Engineering’s mission to put our commitments for long-term development in the Kingdom as a priority and through this National EPC Champions initiative, we are proud to say that we will continue to do so in upholding that mission. We are confident to provide the best digital technology and automation solution services to Aramco, while leveraging our comprehensive experience of working with ARPIC."

As per MRC, Saudi Aramco has notified at least five North Asian refiners, mostly Chinese, that it will be supplying less than contracted volumes of crude oil in July. The cuts to Chinese refiners come as more cheap Russian oil heads to the world's top oil importer, which has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Chinese oil demand has also been depressed by COVID-19 restrictions in the past two months. In addition, demand for Saudi crude has been climbing in Europe where the European Union has moved to phase out Russian crude and European buyers are racing to find other suppliers.
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