Aramco and TotalEnergies to build USD11 bln Saudi petrochemicals plant

Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies have made a final investment decision (FID) about the construction of a petrochemicals complex in Saudi Arabia which will include a 1.65m tonne/year ethylene cracker, said Reuters.

The complex will comprise a mixed feed cracker as well as two polyethylene (PE) units and a butadiene (BD) extraction unit, plus “other associated derivatives” units. TotalEnergies said capital expenditure (capex) for the project was around USD11bn.

The complex, to be named Amiral, will be owned, operated and integrated with the existing Aramco-Total joint venture (JV) refinery SATORP, located in Jubail on Saudi Arabia’s east coast.

Construction is expected to begin in Q1 2023, with commercial operations due to start up in 2027. The investment decision is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. The project was first announced in 2019.

We remind, TotalEnergies and ENEOS hasve announced a collaboration to jointly conduct a feasibility study to assess the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in ENEOS' Negishi refinery in Yokohama city, Japan. The companies have already started to conduct the study for feedstock procurement and production of SAF related to this project. The proposed unit, which capacity would be 300,000 tpy of SAF, would process waste or residue sourced notably from the circular economy, mainly used cooking oil and animal fat. The two companies are considering establishing a new JV to produce SAF.

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Thyssenkrupp Uhde has been selected as technology provider for a new “Blue Ammonia” plant in the United States by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), one of the leading ammonia marketers in the world, and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF), the world’s largest producer of ammonia, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The new greenfield facility will produce blue ammonia by leveraging carbon capture and sequestration processes to reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% compared to conventional ammonia. As a first step, thyssenkrupp Uhde will conduct a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for the proposed joint venture of CF and Mitsui.

The aim is to construct an export-oriented greenfield blue ammonia facility in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, USA. Demand for blue ammonia is expected to grow significantly as a decarbonized energy source, both for its hydrogen content and as a fuel or feedstock itself. CF and Mitsui had previously signed a joint development agreement that provides the framework for the FEED study.

In addition, CF Industries acquired land during the third quarter of 2022 on the west bank of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, on which the proposed facility would be constructed should the companies agree to move forward.

CF Industries and Mitsui expect to make a final investment decision on the proposed facility in the second half of 2023. Construction and commissioning of a new world-scale capacity ammonia plant typically takes approximately 4 years.

Dr. Cord Landsmann, CEO thyssenkrupp Uhde: “We are proud to be chosen once more by our long-term customer to take another big step towards more environmental friendliness. The market clearly moves towards clean ammonia, for energy as well as for fertilizers. Reducing emissions wherever possible is the need of the hour, and we have the solutions and the cross-industry integration competencies."

thyssenkrupp Uhde has realized several projects for CF, and both parties can look back on decades of successful cooperation. In 2016, major ammonia and urea/UAN production units in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, were completed, and new ammonia and urea units in Port Neal, Iowa.

For both fertilizer complexes thyssenkrupp Uhde was responsible for the basic engineering, detail engineering, procurement and supply services, as well as providing services during construction and commissioning.

Climate protection made simple: emission reduction at large scale thyssenkrupp Uhde has over 100 years of experience in engineering and building of chemical plants, more than 2,500 in total. As a global technology plus EPC provider, integrating various technologies and building complete chemical complexes is part of their track record.

Among the 130 ammonia plants built are some of the largest plants worldwide, frequently setting new industry standards such as the uhde dual pressure technology. Besides the fertilizer industry, thyssenkrupp Uhde is also targeting the clean energy market with its clean ammonia technologies and is also completing the value chain by offering ammonia storage and ammonia cracking solutions being relevant for the transition towards clean energy.

We remind, thyssenkrupp Uhde has won an order from Nippon Coke & Engineering Co., Ltd. (NCE) to build and supply a new low-emission, top-charge coke oven battery in Japan. The new battery will be installed at the Kitakyushu works as a replacement for the existing battery 2A. The design will include thyssenkrupp Uhde’s proprietary EnviBAT system to reduce emissions during the coking process.
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Chevron New Energies (CNE), a division of Chevron, said it is the lead investor in Svante’s Series E fundraising round, which raised USD318M that will be used to accelerate the manufacturing of Svante’s carbon capture technology, said Reuters.

“We are advancing a full value chain carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) business and believe Svante is poised to be a leader in enabling carbon capture solutions,” said Chris Powers, vice president of CCUS with CNE. “Innovation is key to enabling these types of breakthrough technologies and lower carbon solutions, and we look forward to applying our experience and expertise to help drive this effort forward."

Since its founding in 2007, Svante has developed carbon capture and removal technology using structured adsorbent beds, known as filters.

This funding will support Svante’s commercial-scale filter manufacturing facility in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is anticipated to produce enough filter modules to capture millions of tonnes/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) across hundreds of large-scale carbon capture and storage facilities.

“We are proud that Chevron and a group of existing and new strategic and financial investors have demonstrated their confidence in Svante to be a key player in building a commercially viable carbon management industry,” said Claude Letourneau, president and CEO of Svante. “We are working to remove the biggest barriers to rapid deployment of industrial carbon capture by building this manufacturing facility, which we expect will enable us to rapidly expand our order book."

The size and cost of installing carbon capture technology has previously been a barrier to industry adoption.

We remind, KazMunayGas (KMG) and Chevron Philips Chemical representatives signed a license and engineering agreement for the second phase of the construction of an integrated gas and chemical complex in the Atyrau region. A meeting between Magzum Myrzagaliyev, Board Chair of KMG, and Venki Chandrashekar, Vice President for Research and Technology of Chevron Phillips Chemical, was held on December 11.

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Arkema announces the doubling of its polyester resins capacity in its Navi Mumbai facility in India, reinforcing the Group’s leadership position in the global powder coatings market and its commitment to developing very low-VOC technologies, said the company.

Arkema invested in the Navi Mumbai facility in early 2019 to expand geographic coverage of its high performance, more sustainable, low-VOC products, and to support its customers in their development. The site includes a modern manufacturing unit and a dedicated laboratory to provide application development and technical support in the region.

In order to support its customers’ growth in the area, in particular in mobility, household and industrial applications, including automotive, home appliances, furniture and sports infrastructure, Arkema is now doubling the capacity of its REAFREE powder polyester resins in its Navi Mumbai facility.

“India is a key growth market for both the powder coatings industry and for Arkema,” said Neil Tariq, Global Business Director for Coating Resins. “Arkema is the first international leader in powder coating resins to make significant investments in the area. Powder coating resins enable low waste, solvent-free and high durability solutions, which make this technology key to the sustainable development of our customers and partners."

We remind, Arkema is launching a new a range of bio-attributed acrylic monomers and specialty acrylic additives and resins using the mass balance approach. This follows the certification the company’s new range of acrylic materials received from the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC+) framework.
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India is considering building several refineries instead of a single mega plant planned with Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), due to challenges in acquiring land, three sources familiar with the matter said, said Reuters.

Hurdles in land purchases are one of the key reasons for sluggish infrastructure development in Asia's third-largest economy. Aramco and ADNOC joined a consortium of Indian state-run firms in 2018 to set up a 1.2 MMbpd coastal refinery and petrochemical plant in western Maharashtra, seeking a reliable outlet for their oil.

Delays in acquiring a 15,000-acre land parcel have almost stalled the project, initially planned for 2025, and boosted costs by 36% to $60 billion, as per estimates made in 2019. "There is a proposal that instead of one we can actually have three, which is a matter of discussion between the companies involved," said one of the sources.

Attempts to acquire land failed due to issues including farmers' refusal to surrender their land, fearing the project could damage the Ratnagiri region famed for its Alphonso mangoes, cashew plantations, and fishing hamlets. Aramco and ADNOC own 25% each in the joint venture Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL), a company named after the region where the refinery was initially planned.

State-run refiners Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum hold the remaining stake in RRPCL. "The role of Maharashtra government is crucial in acquiring the land," the source said.

Maharashtra's industry minister did not respond to calls seeking comment. RRPCL chief executive M. K. Surana and ADNOC did not offer comments, while Aramco last week said: "We will respond at the earliest opportunity". Another source said ADNOC and Aramco were aware of the plan for several refineries.

"It is good to build the refinery at different sites if a huge chunk of land is not available as that will reduces investment risk," said a second source. "Also with multiple refineries you have the flexibility to modulate product slate in line with changing product demand pattern," this source said.

We remind, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is accelerating operationalization of its board mandated low carbon growth strategy, by establishing a new Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth vertical that will focus on renewable energy, clean hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, as well as international expansion in gas, LNG and chemicals.

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