LyondellBasell advances towards its 2030 global renewable electricity target

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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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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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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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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Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd and Toray Industries, Inc announced a partnership to build a supply chain for biomass plastics using biomass naphtha as a raw material, manufactured biomass naphtha-derived styrene monomer (SM) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) using biomass SM as a raw material, said the company.

Idemitsu Kosan, an SM manufacturer, manufactures biomass SM using a mass balance method. Toray, a plastic manufacturer, uses the biomass SM as a raw material to manufacture biomass ABS resin at the Toray Chiba Plant.

Production is scheduled to start in October 2023, and this is the first case of biomass ABS resin production in Japan.

In recent years, countermeasures against global warming due to the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have been taken up as an urgent issue.

Both Idemitsu Kosan and Toray have emphasised a carbon-neutral society by 2050. Biomass naphtha is manufactured from plant-derived raw materials, so it can reduce CO2 emissions compared to petroleum-derived naphtha.

We remind, Idemitsu Kosan Co, restarted the 100,000 bpd No.2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Yokkaichi refinery in central Japan on Dec. 3. The unit was shut on Sept. 26 for scheduled maintenance. Separately, a fire broke out at a catalytic reformer at its Hokkaido refinery in northern Japan on the night of Dec. 20, but was extinguished within a few hours, the spokesperson said.

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