Kazakhstan increased oil exports bypassing Russia in 2022

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, increased oil exports that bypassed Russia last year, but was still heavily reliant on supply channels via its neighbor, Reuters calculations based on industry data and sources show, said Reuters.

Kazakhstan has sought ways to decrease its dependence on Russian exporting routes as it has often faced difficulties in selling oil through Russia.

Kazakh oil is not subject to Western sanctions, unlike Russian crude, although the sanctions have created problems for some Kazakh products.

The main, and most profitable, route for oil exports from Kazakhstan remains the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which supplies oil to the global market via a Russian Black Sea terminal.

Supplies via CPC dipped 1% last year to 51.99 MMt, accounting for more than 80% of total oil supplies from Kazakhstan. CPC faced maintenance and other issues, which hindered oil exports in 2022.

According to Reuters calculations based on industry data and sources, Kazakhstan's oil exports via routes other than Russia reached 1.80 MMt (36,000 barrels per day) last year, up by 638,000 tons from 2021.

That included 1.26 MMt delivered to China, 214,000 tons sent via the Georgian port of Batumi, 141,000 tons to the oil refinery in Baku, 109,000 tons to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and 80,000 tons to Uzbekistan.

We remind, Silleno LLP, a joint venture between Russia's SIBUR Holding and Kazakhstan's national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, will soon start Front End Engineering Design for a polyethylene plant in Kazakhstan, Sergei Komyshan, SIBUR's executive director of marketing and sales. "FEED usually takes a year or so," he said. Commenting on SIBUR's plans in Russia in 2023, Komyshan said the company has considered various scenarios for oil production and refining in Russia and was preparing for any options in terms of feedstock supply.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- LyondellBasell announced it has signed the first two European renewable electricity power purchase agreements (PPAs) and two additional PPAs in the United States, said the company.

The combined additional contracts represent a total of approximately 560 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. LyondellBasell has now signed eight PPA agreements and achieved over half of its 2030 target to procure a minimum of 50 percent of global electricity from renewable sources. These PPAs will generate over 2.6 million megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity annually and reduce LyondellBasell's scope 2 emissions by nearly 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions associated with the annual electricity consumption of more than 370,000 homes.

"Decarbonizing the electricity supply through purchasing renewable electricity is crucial to meet LyondellBasell's 2030 and 2050 net zero greenhouse gas emissions targets," said Willemien Terpstra, LyondellBasell Vice President, Decarbonization. "These renewable electricity contracts cover nearly one-third of our 2020 baseline electricity consumption. This demonstrates tangible progress towards our overall objective to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030, relative to a 2020 baseline."

LyondellBasell signed a PPA for multiple Nordic projects, with operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026. The projects represent approximately 230 MW of renewable energy capacity on LyondellBasell's behalf.

The Tarragona Solar Project is the first physical PPA project located at a LyondellBasell production site in Spain. This project is expected to begin operations in the third quarter of 2023 with approximately 5 MW of renewable energy capacity. This electricity will help reduce 17 percent of Scope 2 emissions locally in the production of polypropylene compounds used in automotive applications.

We remind, LyondellBasell announced it has made a decision to move forward with engineering to build an advanced recycling plant at its Wesseling, Germany. Using LyondellBasell's proprietary MoReTec technology, this commercial scale advanced recycling plant would convert pre-treated plastic waste into feedstock for new plastic production. The final investment decision is targeted for the end of 2023.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Thomas E. Salmon, CEO and Chairman of Berry Global Group Inc., announced today that he will retire, effective Dec. 31, 2023, said the company.

The company board has engaged executive search firm Spencer Stuart to assist with the identification of a successor. Both internal and external candidates will be considered, according to the company.

“I am extremely proud of all that our talented team has accomplished as we continue to execute our strategy and trail blaze the industry by developing sustainable and innovative packaging, even during a period of unprecedented global disruption,” Salmon said. “Thanks to the continued hard work and dedication of the entire organization, I am confident the company is well-positioned to continue to deliver significant value for all stakeholders."

In the announcement, Berry Lead Independent Director Stephen E. Sterrett praised Salmon’s tenure at the company. “Under Tom’s outstanding leadership, Berry has achieved record results, established the industry’s most diversified and expansive manufacturing footprint, bolstered our portfolio with sustainability-focused investments in emerging markets, and consistently delivered for customers,” said Sterrett.

Salmon has been with Berry Global for a little more than 11 years, starting in 2011 as president of the Engineered Materials division. In October 2016 he was named President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, moving up to CEO in February 2017. He became chairman and CEO in February 2018.

In a post announcing his retirement on LInkedIn, Salmon expressed gratitude for the “honor and privilege” of leading a company with tens of thousands of employee worldwide “who genuinely care about each other, our customers, our planet, and the communities we serve.” It was “truly an opportunity-of-a-lifetime and the highlight of my career,” he added.

The primary goal in seeking a new CEO, said Sterrett, will be identifying a “strong leader to build on Tom’s legacy, one who shares Berry’s core values and who will continue the company’s momentum. We look forward to Tom’s continued leadership in the year ahead and fully expect a seamless transition,” added Sterrett.

We remind, Berry Global Group, Inc. is the first plastic packaging manufacturer in Europe to supply The Coca-Cola Company with a lightweight, tethered closure for its carbonated soft drinks in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles. Bolstered by the European Union (EU) Single-Use Plastics Directive, Berry’s new tethered closure for Coca-Cola is designed to remain intact with the bottle – making it less likely to be littered and more likely to be recycled.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- ConocoPhillips has marked its 10th year as an independent exploration and production company in 2022 with full-year earnings of USD18.7 billion, and was delighted to add several high-quality projects to its global portfolio, said Upstreamonline.

Project additions included interests in QatarEnergy’s enormous North Field East and North Field South liquefied natural projects in Qatar. Other highlights were the licence extension to 2048 for its flagship Greater Ekofisk project in Norway, and licence adjustments to 2039 for the large Penglai oilfields in China.

ConocoPhillips’ 2022 production averaged 1.74 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, an increase of 171,000 boepd from 2021. Record output was achieved in the US Lower 48. The company’s total realised price for 2022 was USD79.82 per boe, 46% higher than in 2021.

The company funded USD10.2 billion of capital expenditure and investments, and distributed USD15 billion to shareholders through dividends, variable returns of cash and share repurchases. In terms of reserves, the company’s end of year proven reserves are 6.6 billion boe, with a total reserve replacement ratio of 176%, including closed acquisitions and dispositions and market factors.

Looking ahead, ConocoPhillips' capital expenditure guidance is between USD10.7 billion and USD11.3 billion, which includes major project spending, development drilling programmes, exploration and appraisal drilling, and projects to reduce the company’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity and fund investments in several early-stage low-carbon opportunities.

The company’s 2023 production guidance is between 1.76 million and 1.8 million boeps. ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance said: “As we enter our second decade, we remain committed to our Triple Mandate of responsibly and reliably meeting energy transition pathway demand, delivering competitive returns on and of capital, and achieving our net-zero operational emissions ambitions.

“Our deep and diversified portfolio of low cost-of-supply assets continues to generate robust cash flow, enabling us to start the year with an USD11 billion return of capital target.”

We remind, ConocoPhillips submitted a plan to develop an oil discovery in the Norwegian North Sea for 10.5 B Norwegian crowns (USD1.10 B), the first of an expected rush of new petroleum projects to be launched in Norway this year. Known as Eldfisk North, the development is part of the wider Ekofisk area, where ConocoPhillips has pumped hydrocarbons for more than 50 years.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- TotalEnergies is joining forces with Portuguese packaging player Intraplas to create commercial products with TotalEnergies renewable polymer – a range of the RE:clic portfolio, which uses renewable sources to lower carbon footprint, said Packaginginsights.

TotalEnergies’ biorefinery in La Mede, France, allows direct access to renewable feedstock for its drop-in RE: newable polymer range derived from bio-based products. The company claims these polymers retain virgin-like properties.

RE :newable polymers are warranted under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC Plus) scheme, which uses a mass balance approach.

“Our RE:newable range is essential in achieving TotalEnergies’ ambition to produce 30% circular polymers by 2030. Our leading position as an integrated player on the market enables TotalEnergies to provide its customers with low-carbon, drop-in polymers from renewable sources in industrial quantities, says Olivier Greiner, vice president of Polymers Europe and Orient at TotalEnergies.

“This collaboration with our long-term partner Intraplas is another important milestone. Innovation is increasingly critical for companies to distinguish themselves in an increasingly competitive market."

We remind, LANXESS and French energy group TotalEnergies have entered into a cooperation on the supply of biocircular styrene. Unlike conventional styrene, the raw material used by TotalEnergies is based on tall oil, which is derived from a tree resin and is a by-product of pulp production. LANXESS uses the styrene to produce sustainable ion exchange resins. These products are applied primarily in the treatment of wastewater and chemical process flows as well as in the food industry.

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