Petro Rabigh signs MoUs for three plants in Rabigh PlusTech Park

Petro Rabigh signs MoUs for three plants in Rabigh PlusTech Park

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) has signed three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with investors to set up manufacturing plants in the Rabigh PlusTech Park, said Zawya.

The first MoU was inked with Pure Life Industries Middle East Co. to manufacture 80,000 water filters and flat ceramic membranes a year, the company said in a statement published on the Saudi stock exchange.

The second MoU was signed with Saudi Top Co. to produce 50,000 tonnes of recycled polymer compounds per annum.

The third agreement was concluded with Green Community Co. to produce 100,000 tonnes per annum of recycled plastic resin for food applications.

No details were shared on the total investment. The statement said that the new facilities will contribute to achieving Vision 2030 goals and maximise the added value of hydrocarbons.

We remind, Petro Rabigh's net profit surged by 93.2% year on year in the second quarter on the back of higher refining margins. The operational profit amounted to SR 1.5 billion in the second quarter, compared to SR 1.01 billion in the same quarter of the last year, up 52.5%. The net profit before zakat in the current period amounted to SR2.10 billion, compared to SR1.4 billion in the same period last year, an increase of 54.4%. Profits per share in the current period reached SR 2.41, compared to SR1.56 in the same period last year.
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Aramco and TotalEnergies to build USD11 bln Saudi petrochemicals plant

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 selected by CF Industries and Mitsui for blue ammonia project

Thyssenkrupp Uhde selected by CF Industries and Mitsui for blue ammonia project

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 leads USD318 mln raise for carbon capture tech firm Svante

Chevron leads USD318 mln raise for carbon capture tech firm Svante

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 doubles the capacity of its powder coating resins plant in India

Arkema doubles the capacity of its powder coating resins plant in India

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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