Shell buys Asia-based waste oil recycler to boost biofuels output

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell has acquired Singapore-registered waste oil recycling firm EcoOils via wholly-owned subsidiary Shell Eastern Petroleum for an undisclosed fee, said Reuters.

This acquisition is part of Shell’s ambition to increase production of sustainable low carbon fuels for transport, including sustainable aviation fuel, it said in a statement. The deal includes all of EcoOils' Malaysian subsidiaries and 90% of its Indonesian subsidiary, Shell said.

EcoOils' operations include five plants with a current production capacity of 65,000 tonnes/year of spent bleaching earth oil. EcoOils uses its technology to recycle the waste material and produce spent bleaching earth oil, an advanced biofuels feedstock that can then be used to produce sustainable low carbon fuels.

By 2030, Shell aims to have at least 10% of its global aviation fuel sales as sustainable aviation fuel. Sustainable aviation fuel currently accounts for around 0.1% of global aviation fuel.

We remind, Zeon Corp. has signed an MoU with Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd for the supply of bio-based butadiene to be used in the production solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR). The agreement, signed by subsidary Zeon Chemicals Singapore, is part of the group’s carbon-neutrality ambitions and its shift to sustainable raw materials.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Dow has named Karen Carter, current chief human resources officer and chief inclusion officer, as president of packaging and specialty plastics (P&SP), its largest segment, said the company.

She succeeds Diego Donoso, who will retire in the first quarter of 2023. The transition will begin immediately, Dow said.

"Karen's leadership has meaningfully impacted the way we address both workplace skills and competencies, to enable the transformation of our culture and develop the next generation of Dow leaders," said Jim Fitterling, Dow chairman and CEO. "This is a pivotal time for Dow's P&SP franchise. We are accelerating our commitment to address plastic waste and meet customers' increasing demands for more sustainable and circular products."

P&SP, anchored by Dow's integrated polyolefins business, had 2021 sales of $28.1 billion, 51% of Dow's total. Before her current role, Carter was commercial vice president for P&SP and has held roles in Dow’s building and construction, polyethylene, and engineering thermoplastics businesses.

Donoso was named president of P&SP in 2012. He had previously served as president of Dow Japan and Korea and held commercial leadership roles for Dow's resins and plastics business in Latin America and Europe over 30 years with the company. "Diego has truly left his mark on Dow," said Fitterling. "Through his leadership of the P&SP segment over these past 10 years the business has exceeded customers' expectations. Beyond that – Diego has been a trusted advisor, mentor, and champion to many people across Dow."

We remind, Dow, the world's leading materials science company, and Mura Technology, the global pioneer of an advanced plastic recycling solution, announce the next step in their ongoing collaboration to help solve the global plastics waste issue and advance circularity. Mura plans to construct a new facility at Dow's Bohlen site in Germany – the latest in a series of planned facilities across the U.S. and Europe to rapidly scale advanced recycling of plastics – and the first expected to be based at a Dow site. This project is targeted for a final investment decision by the end of 2023.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sumitomo Chemical's net income fell by 8.8% year on year in April-September this year, weighed by poorer margins at its chemicals and plastics unit due to higher raw material prices, said the company.

Selling prices for synthetic resins, methyl methacrylate and various industrial chemicals improved due to an increase in raw material prices in April-September 2022, the company said in a statement.

On the other hand, shipments declined, primarily because of weak demand for products in automotive applications.

Core operating income at the chemicals and plastics unit was Y23.3bn in April-September, a decline of Y18.8bn from the same period a year earlier.

Net income forecast lowered to Y105bn for the full-year ending 31 March 2023 from a previous projection of Y125bn on the back of an impairment loss recorded in the first half of the fiscal year.

Full-year core operating income is expected to drop year on year due to a deterioration of margins at the chemicals and plastic unit and lower shipmets in the information technology (IT)-related chemicals unit.

We remind, Sumitomo Chemical says that its net profit in the fiscal first quarter ended 30 June almost doubled to USD524.5 mln,on sales up 21%. Operating income was higher by 13% year on year (YOY). The company has maintained its full-year outlook.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Malaysian state energy firm Petronas said it was studying the damage to interconnecting pipes caused by a fire last week at its refinery and petrochemical joint venture with Saudi Aramco, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Petronas said last Thursday a fire and explosion occurred at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) located in the southern Malaysian state of Johor. No casualties were reported.

"The damage to the interconnecting pipes caused by the recent incident at Pengerang Integrated Complex is currently being further assessed for rectification," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters. All other utilities within the complex will continue to operate as normal to meet business needs, it said, without indicating if the refinery was still operating.

A spokesperson at Pengerang Refining Company and Pengerang Petrochemical, collectively known as PrefChem, said the affected portion of the plant is currently shut down because of a disruption in nitrogen supply. The spokesperson did not specify which units were affected. On Monday, Petronas Chemicals Group said in a statement that the interconnecting pipes in the incident were not within the petrochemical facilities in which PCG has 50% direct equity.

"However, due to integrated nature of PIC and to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the employees, workers and surrounding communities, the petrochemical plants have been temporarily shut down," Petronas Chemicals said. "The plants will resume its start-up activities once all safety measures and other considerations have been undertaken."

The refining-petrochemical complex, which consists of a 300,000-barrel-per-day refinery and a 1.2-MMtpy naphtha cracker, resumed operations in May after being shut for more than two years when a fire killed five people at the complex in March 2020.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Enterprise Products Partners LP’s third-quarter net income rose year on year on the back of natural gas gathering and processing from its Midland Basin operations, partially offset by a substantial drop in propylene margins, said the company.

Third-quarter profits were driven by natural gas processing and margins, octane enhancement and the company’s pipeline business.

Gross operating margins for propylene fell by USD149m year on year as a result of lower sales profitability, lower processing fees and higher utility and operating costs, partially offset by higher sales volumes.

Ethylene export operating margins firmed by USD10m on the back of higher volumes and average loading fees.

As MRC reported before, earlier this year, Enterprise Products Partners reported flaring at its propane dehydration, or PDH, unit in Mont Belvieu, Texas. According to the filing made public Aug. 10, the 750,000 mt/year PDH unit was shut down following a leak on Aug. 9. Sources confirmed on Aug. 10 that the unit was offline, but did not give an estimated timeframe of when the unit is expected to come back online.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals.

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