Chair of AkzoNobel supervisory board to step down

Nils Andersen will step down as Chair and member of the Supervisory Board of AkzoNobel to accept a new board position outside of the company, sai the company.

Commenting on the announcement, Byron Grote, Deputy Chair of the Supervisory Board, said: “We congratulate Nils Andersen on his new opportunity and at the same time we deeply regret to see him go. Nils stepped into the role of Chair of the Supervisory Board during a very turbulent time. His extensive international experience in different industries and his broad business insight have helped guide AkzoNobel’s transformation into a frontrunner in the paints and coatings industry. The company’s relationship with its shareholders and other stakeholders significantly improved under his leadership.”

Nils Andersen will step down at the Annual General meeting to be held in April 2023. The Supervisory Board will announce a successor, to be nominated for appointment at the next AGM, in due course.

We remind, AkzoNobel has become the global refinish partner for new energy vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto Sales Company Ltd. – currently the world’s leading seller of electric vehicles. The company has been a recommended supplier of vehicle refinish products and services to BYD in China since 2017. The new deal means that agreement will continue, while extending the partnership to serve BYD’s bodyshops and approved repairer networks worldwide.

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Technip Energies N.V. announces that the liquidity agreement entered into with Kepler Cheuvreux dated July 9, 2021, has been suspended as of November 22, 2022, pending renewal of the resolution of the general meeting of shareholders authorizing share buybacks, said the company.

The number of shares and amount allocated as of November 22, 2022, close of trading, to the Liquidity Contract was 8,900 shares and €9,780,454.34. As a reminder, the securities and amounts that were allocated to the Liquidity Agreement as of June 30, 2022, were 207,823 shares and EUR6,832,747.61.

As per MRC, Shell Catalysts & Technologies and Technip Energies are building on their successful track record of collaboration by strengthening their strategic alliance, which aims to drive cost-effective, large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects by providing a combination of state-of-the-art technology and project management excellence.

Technip Energies is a leading Engineering & Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in 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 an extensive technology, products and services offering.

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Cambi has signed a large contract with Wood, a global leader in consulting and engineering, to supply Sasol with two full-scale thermal hydrolysis process (THP) systems for treating industrial biological sludge at Sasol’s Secunda Operations (SO) in South Africa, said the company.

Sasol and Cambi commenced a commercial trial at SO in 2021 using a small-scale THP unit. Extensive laboratory tests and integration checks demonstrated the feasibility of refunneling industrial biological sludge into Sasol’s coal-to-liquids (CTL) gasification process and identified the optimal process parameters for full-scale application.

“We are excited about this project, as it will enable us to improve our waste management by moving up the waste hierarchy while improving ambient air quality. This will enable Sasol to move away from incineration and, at the same time, to derive syngas from biosludge. We recognise the link between our activities and the need to act responsibly by holistically managing the impacts of our operations through world-class innovation,” said Simon Baloyi, Executive Vice President for Energy Operations and Technology at Sasol.

“Today’s contract is important for Cambi, marking our first full-scale THP project for industrial substrates outside of Norway. The project is unique in the world and introduces a new, sustainable way to process large streams of biosludge. The swift progress from demonstration to full-scale adoption shows that THP makes business sense in many settings and is testimony to Sasol’s solid commitment to reducing carbon emissions. We look forward to seeing the full-scale solution in operation as soon as possible”, remarked Eirik Fadnes, CEO at Cambi.

This innovative project will reroute biosludge from incineration to the gasification process, thereby reducing point source emissions. It will be the world’s first full-scale installation where thermal hydrolysis is used to enable the conversion of biosludge into hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals.

The THP equipment supply contract follows an engineering design project carried out by Cambi earlier this year in close collaboration with Wood, who were commissioned to deliver the full sludge refunnelling solution. For Cambi, the project is ready to go into the manufacturing phase. The two THP systems are scheduled for commissioning in 2024.

We remind, Sasol said it was partnering steelmaker ArcelorMittal South Africa to explore carbon capture technology and steel production using green hydrogen. Green hydrogen, produced from splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, is considered a cleaner energy source for the future, but the technology is still in its infancy and relatively expensive.

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U.S. stocks of road diesel and heating oil show early signs of stabilizing and even increasing slightly as exceptionally high prices encourage production, discourage exports and possibly suppress consumption, said Reuters.

Distillate fuel oil inventories increased by 3 MM barrels in the six weeks between Oct. 7 and Nov. 18, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The increase was small but runs against the normal trend for a drawdown at this time of year and indicates high prices and a slowing economy are starting to rebuild inventories.

In the ten years before the pandemic, distillate inventories declined by an average of more than 11 MM barrels over the same period.

Between 2010 and 2019, seasonal drawdowns ranged from ranged from as little as 7 MM barrels to as much as 21 MM barrels.

Distillate inventories have not increased at this time of year since 2008, when the financial crisis was pushing the economy further into recession.

We remind, China's refined oil product exports in November are set to hit the highest since April 2020 as refiners ramp up output to multi-month highs to boost diesel supply and profit, offsetting the impact of slower domestic demand from COVID-19 restrictions. The world's top two refiners - the United States and China - are processing more crude to meet higher diesel use globally this winter as countries switch to oil for heating, away from more expensive natural gas. The increased output could also cool prices for other oil products, especially for gasoline, and dampen overall refining margins.
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Sichuan Energy Investment (SCEI) and hte – the high throughput experimentation company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a satellite laboratory in Heidelberg to accelerate SCEI’s R&D activities, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The collaboration focusses on building a green innovation platform for improving carbon footprints in the chemical industry. On November 15, Sichuan Energy Investment and hte - the high throughput experimentation company (hte), a subsidiary of BASF, held a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at the Sichuan Energy Investment Building in Chengdu.

Wang Cheng (Chairman and General Manager of Sichuan Energy Investment), Han Wei (Vice President Innovation Campus Shanghai, BASF), and Bernd Sachweh (Vice President Special Projects Asia, BASF) attended and delivered speeches. Zou Zhongping (Director of Sichuan Energy Investment), Wolfram Stichert (CEO of hte), and Stefan Altwasser (Director Business Development at hte) signed the contract on behalf of the parties.

hte has amassed a great deal of expertise in the field of high throughput technology over the past 20 years through the successful development, design, construction, and operation of high throughput R&D test systems all over the world. Under the MoU, SCEI and hte will cooperate in catalysis R&D on various applications.

Building a joint innovation platform for green and low-carbon development in the chemical industry is the main goal. For this reason, a SCEI satellite lab is scheduled to be set up at hte’s laboratories in Heidelberg, Germany.

Wang Cheng, Chairman and General Manager of Sichuan Energy Investment, stated that “SCEI and hte have a deep development foundation and broad cooperation prospects in the field of new energy and the chemical industry. I believe that the cooperation between Sichuan Energy Investment and hte, which provides complementary advantages, resource sharing, and mutual benefit, will surely promote the development of Sichuan Energy Investment New Energy and Chemical Industry to a new level.”

Wolfram Stichert, CEO at hte, comments, “We are delighted that Sichuan Energy Investment has placed its trust in us. In the face of current global market challenges, we welcome the opportunity to establish a win-win collaboration with such a strong partner and contribute value through collaborative innovations."

We remind, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has approved unconditionally the acquisition deal of Shanghai SECCO Petrochemical between Sinopec and INEOS. Sinopec and INEOS in July this year announced the transaction, under which INEOS will take over 50% of SECCO from Sinopec. After the deal, SECCO will have four shareholders, which are INEOS (50%), Sinopec Gaoqiao Petrochemical (15%), Sinopec (15%) and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical (20%).
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