KIPIC says first phase of Al-Zour refinery starts commercial operations

Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Co (KIPIC) said the first phase of Al-Zour refinery has started commercial operations, according to state news agency (KUNA), said Reuters.

The commercial launch comes after the project started last month to produce and sell primary quantities of fuel oil and supply it to local power stations.

Originally planned more than a decade ago but repeatedly delayed, Al-Zour will be the largest integrated refinery and petrochemicals plant in Kuwait.

We remind, Technip Energies, through its wholly-owned subsidiary in the UK (Technip E&C Limited), has been awarded a significant contract for Project Engineering and Management Services (PEMS) by Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) for various projects in southern Kuwait. The contract is for six years duration and covers Project Engineering and Management Services for various potential projects in the Al-Zour complex, including the Al-Zour Refinery, Petrochemical Complex, LNG Import Facilities and other facilities belonging to KIPIC.

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The Spanish energy company Repsol SA posted slightly lower earnings in 3Q 2022 but recorded a robust increase in adjusted earnings, said the company.

The company confirmed that it would raise the 2023 dividend by 11% to EUR 0.70/share amid higher oil prices. As part of a programme set for 2025, Repsol intends to repurchase another 50 M shares. Net profit dropped by 3% to EUR 683 M in 3Q 2022 ended Sep 2022.

However, adjusted profit considerably grew to EUR 1.48 bn from EUR 623 M in 3Q 2021. Revenue grew from EUR 13.93 bn in 3Q 2021 to EUR 21.75 bn.

Adjusted net income in the upstream segment roughly doubled year-on-year to EUR 753 M, primarily because of higher volumes, increase oil and gas prices, and the dollar's strengthening against the euro.

In the industrial business, adjusted net income increased to EUR 638 M from EUR 538 M in 3Q 2021 thanks to higher results in the trading, refining, and Peru operations. Repsol made EUR 242 M worth of provisions, primarily for the Spanish refining operation. The provisions stood at EUR 58 M in 3Q 2021.

We remind, Repsol is investing 100 MM euros to reduce emissions at its 186,000 bpd Tarragona refinery in Spain, which begins two months of maintenance at the end of the week. The distillation and hydrotreating fuel units will stop simultaneously on Sept. 23, while the remaining areas of the Tarragona complex, such as the chemical plants, will continue to operate normally, Repsol said.

Repsol is currently the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen on the Iberian Peninsula, and has renewable hydrogen as one of its key transformation pillarsfor achieving its goal of being a company with zero net emissions by 2050. The multi-energy company has its own renewable hydrogen strategy to deploy projects throughout the value chain, with a planned investment of 2,549 million euros by 2030.
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Shell said its third-quarter profit would be pressured by a near halving of oil refining margins, crumbling chemical margins and weaker natural gas trading, said Reuters.

The British energy giant reported two consecutive quarters of record profit in the first half of the year amid soaring oil and gas prices, and stellar earnings from its trading operations, the world's biggest.

Its shares were down 4.3% by 0847 GMT, compared with a 1% decline for the broader European energy sector. But in the third quarter, indicative refining margins dropped to USD15 a barrel compared with USD28 a barrel in the previous three months, Shell said in an update ahead of its results on Oct. 27, amid growing concerns over a global economic slowdown.

And indicative margins for chemicals dropped to negative USD27 per tonne versus a positive USD86 in the second quarter after global demand for plastics slumped.

The drop in refining margins will have a negative impact of between USD1 billion and USD1.4 billion on the segment's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), Shell said.

Shell also expects cash generation to be impacted by a USD2.5 billion working capital outflow by the end of August as a result of large fluctuations in oil and gas prices in recent months. Despite the headwinds, Shell is expected to report net earnings of USD10.5 billion in the third quarter, according to a Refinitiv average of analysts' forecasts. That compares with net earnings of USD11.5 billion in the second quarter.

We remind, Shell has acquired Singapore-registered waste oil recycling firm EcoOils via wholly-owned subsidiary Shell Eastern Petroleum for an undisclosed fee. 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.

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French energy company TotalEnergies SE posted sharply higher profits and benefited from high commodity prices in 3Q 2022, said the company.

A new impairment linked to Russia, however, had an impact. Net income increased year-on-year to USD6.63 bn from USD4.65 bn. Earnings on an adjusted basis stood at $9.86 bn, surpassing analysts' expectation of USD9.54 bn.

The company recorded a new impairment of USD3.1 bn linked to Russia during 3Q 2022. Hydrocarbon production stood at 2.67 M barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/d, a 5% year-on-year drop from 2.81 boe/d in 3Q 2021 partly because of more scheduled maintenance at Ichthys gas field in Australia and unscheduled close downs at the Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea.

The company anticipates production of nearly 2.8 M boe/d for 4Q 2022. For 3Q 2022, revenue increased from USD54.73 bn in 3Q 2021 to USD69.04 bn.

TotalEnergies anticipates the decision of Opec+ to reduce production targets and Europe's import restriction against Russian oil to assist oil prices, although international growth is anticipated to be more sluggish in 2023 year. Furthermore, gas prices should stay high and refining margins healthy.

A third interim dividend worth EUR 0.69/share is to be distributed to shareholders, the same as the first and second interim dividends for 2022 and represents a 5% increase over the interim and final dividends for 2021.

We remind, the Flemish government recently awarded TotalEnergies the contract to install 1,500 electric vehicle charging points in Antwerp. In the heart of Europe and in Belgium's most populous city, the company is reinforcing its commitment to offering and developing sustainable mobility, with the aim of becoming Belgium's leading company in the public charging market by 2024.

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible.
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MRC --Shell has agreed to buy a total of 3.25 billion litres of sugar-cane cellulosic ethanol under a long-term agreement with Brazil’s Raizen, said the company.

The low-carbon fuel is expected to be produced by five plants that Raizen plans to build in Brazil, bringing its total portfolio of cellulosic ethanol facilities to nine.

Shell contributed the cellulosic ethanol technology during the formation of Raizen, a joint venture with Cosan SA, in 2011. Since then, Raizen has developed and scaled-up the process for making low-carbon intensity ethanol from sugar-cane waste. The new plants will enable Raizen to operate highly integrated bio-energy parks, while the supply deal will help Shell with its strategy of becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.

By making use of sugar-cane waste, Raizen’s second-generation ethanol (E2G) technology can produce about 50% more ethanol from the same amount of land. The new plants, the first of which is expected to begin production in 2025, will enable Raizen to provide significantly more low-carbon fuel without creating land-use competition with food crops.

Raizen expects to invest around USD1.5 billion in the plants, the last of which is expected to be operational by the end of 2027, at the latest.

We remind, Shell has acquired Singapore-registered waste oil recycling firm EcoOils via wholly-owned subsidiary Shell Eastern Petroleum for an undisclosed fee. 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.
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