Neste, Idemitsu Kosan, CHIMEI Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation join forces to create a renewable plastics supply chain

Neste, Idemitsu Kosan, CHIMEI and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to build a renewable plastics supply chain utilizing bio-based hydrocarbons (Neste RE) for the production of styrene monomer (i.e. bio-SM), and its mass balanced renewable plastics derivatives including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (i.e. bio-ABS), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The bio-SM production in Japan and the renewable plastics production in Taiwan will mark the first of such production in each country, and they are planned to take place in the first half of 2023.

Neste, the world’s leading producer of renewable and circular feedstock for the polymers and chemicals industry uses, will provide Neste RE to Idemitsu Kosan, the biggest SM manufacturer in Japan. For this collaboration, Neste RE is produced from 100% bio-based raw materials such as waste and residues and its use can significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional fossil feedstock use.

Idemitsu Kosan will then produce bio-SM based on the mass balance method and supply it to CHIMEI, the biggest ABS manufacturer in the world for its renewable plastics production. Mitsubishi Corporation will be coordinating the collaboration between the value chain partners to develop the renewable products’ market.

Through developing an even stronger partnership and closer collaboration than conventionally seen in plastics value chains, the companies are introducing new renewable contents into the value chain to enable plastic production where fossil feedstock has been replaced with renewable feedstock. With this, the companies are contributing to the plastics industry GHG emission reduction targets and the transition towards a low-carbon emission society.

We remind, Neste Corporation and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (Marathon) announced an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture to produce renewable diesel following a conversion project of Marathon's refinery in Martinez, California. All required closing conditions have been met, including the receipt of the necessary permits and regulatory approvals, and Neste and Marathon have today closed the transaction for the establishment of the joint venture to be called Martinez Renewables.
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Technip Energies has been awarded a large(1) contract for the proprietary equipment supply for INEOS Olefins Belgium NV’s 1,450 kta(2) ethane cracker in Antwerp, Belgium, said the company.

This latest award is in line with our early engagement strategy and consolidates the successful completion of the Ethylene License and Extended Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) previously awarded to Technip Energies by INEOS.

The cracker is designed using Technip Energies’ latest enhancement on technologies to achieve a CO2 footprint less than 50% of the best 10% of European crackers. The furnaces are modularized and designed to fire high hydrogen fuel, and to transition to 100% hydrogen firing in the future, in addition to the plant being carbon capture ready. The plant design maximizes the use of modularization, using Technip Energies’ extensive experience in modularized LNG projects.

Bhaskar Patel, SVP Sustainable Fuels, Chemicals and Circularity, Technip Energies, stated “We are very pleased that INEOS selected our low carbon ethane cracker technology and equipment for this sizeable project. Utilizing our extensive experience with modular design will result in a reduced site assembly footprint with sustainable features to reduce emissions.”

As per MRC, Technip Energies has reached an agreement with INEOS Acetyls as their sole supplier of early engineering services in support of the deployment and application of INEOS Acetyls CATIVA technology. This agreement continues Technip Energies long lasting involvement in supporting the deployment of the world leading CATIVA® acetic acid technology, with its proven technology integration expertise and energy efficient.

Technip Energies is a leading Engineering & Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering.
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French oil major TotalEnergies said it would increase investments and ramp up production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it laid out its strategy for a possible future without Russia - while still stopping short of severing links, said Reuters.

Unlike rivals such as BP and Shell, TotalEnergies has held on to several of its holdings in Russia, which include important LNG joint ventures. But on Wednesday, at an investor presentation in New York, it set itself a series of business targets for the next five years that excluded its Russian interests.

"There is no future with Russia in this presentation," chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said. "Less Russia, more Qatar and more U.S.," he added, days after announcing a big investment in a Qatari LNG facility.

As Europe scrambles to find alternatives to Russian gas, TotalEnergies said it would grow sales of LNG by 3% a year through 2027 and increase LNG production by 40% from 2021 to 2030.

Overall, it expects cash flow to grow by USD4 billion in the next five years compared with a previous target for a USD5 billion increase between 2021 and 2026.

We remind, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) said further efforts would be needed in terms of decarbonisation, as it presented its 'Energy Outlook 2022' document, and that new oil projects would still be needed until the mid-2030s. TotalEnergies added that the current energy crisis should provide an occasion to really anchor in stone means to come up with more energy efficient solutions.
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French oil and gas major TotalEnergies said further efforts would be needed in terms of decarbonisation, as it presented its 'Energy Outlook 2022' document, and that new oil projects would still be needed until the mid-2030s, said Reuters.

TotalEnergies added that the current energy crisis should provide an occasion to really anchor in stone means to come up with more energy efficient solutions.

European energy future and spot prices have soared over worries about gas supplies following reduced flows from Russia in the wake of Western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine, and also over a historically low French nuclear output.

We remind, TotalEnergies' 119,000 bpd Feyzin oil refinery in southern France is likely to remain offline until mid-October at the earliest. Feyzin was completely shut except for an alkylation unit on Sept. 16 after a leak at the fluid catalytic cracking unit and it is likely to remain closed for 4-6 weeks from that date, CGT union delegate Thierry Defresne said. The outage means around 40% of France's refinery capacity is offline at a time where Europe is looking to ease its dependence on Russian refined products.
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-Fluor Corporation announced that the company was awarded two reimbursable engineering, procurement and construction management contracts by BASF for the ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol and infrastructure, offsites and utilities packages as part of the company’s new Verbund program in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China, said the company.

The contract value to Fluor is more than USD2 billion and was booked in the third quarter of 2022. "Fluor values this longstanding relationship and looks forward to continuing this trusted partnership.”

“Over the past 20 years, Fluor has executed a significant amount of work with BASF in China,” said Jim Breuer, group president of Fluor’s Energy Solutions business. “Fluor values this longstanding relationship and looks forward to continuing this trusted partnership."

Fluor’s project scope of work for BASF’s Zhanjiang Verbund site project consists of two primary packages including the ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol derivative unit and the infrastructure, offsites and utilities scope, comprised of site infrastructure, utility generation and site logistics. Fluor is also performing services as part of the centralized program management team activities.

The project will be led by Fluor’s Shanghai, China, office.

We remind, Fluor (Irving, Texas) has recently announced an organizational revamp that “better aligns its business with identified growth markets and company strategy” after conducting a strategic review. The company is initiating plans to sell its subsidiary Stork (Utrecht, Netherlands) as part of the revamp, it says. Starting in the first quarter of 2021, Fluor will conduct its operations in three business segments - Energy Solutions, Urban Solutions, and Mission Solutions. The energy solutions business will be focused on energy transition, chemicals, and traditional oil and gas opportunities, according to Fluor.

Fluor Corporation is building a better future by applying world-class expertise to solve its clients’ greatest challenges. Fluor’s 41,000 employees provide professional and technical solutions that deliver safe, well-executed, capital-efficient projects to clients around the world. Fluor had revenue of USD12.4 billion in 2021 and is ranked 259 among the Fortune 500 companies. With headquarters in Irving, Texas, Fluor has provided engineering, procurement and construction services for more than 110 years.
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