Sumitomo, Maruzen, Mitsui Chemicals studying joint carbon reduction projects

Sumitomo, Maruzen, Mitsui Chemicals studying joint carbon reduction projects

Sumitomo Chemical Co, Maruzen Petrochemical Co and Mitsui Chemicals have signed an agreement to jointly study the feasibility of implementing projects at the Keiyo Coastal Industrial Complex in Chiba, Japan, the companies said.

Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement, the three firms will "explore the possibility of working together to carry out measures for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as the conversion of fuels and feedstock", they said in a joint statement. The joint statement did not provide a timeline for the study.

All three firms currently have a target to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. "The three companies will, with the aim of diversifying feedstock, consider utilizing biomass resources instead of petroleum resources and developing and implementing new chemical recycling and material recycling technologies, as well as explore how to source biomass and collect waste for recycling," the companies said.

The three firms will also consider the conversion of fuels used in their manufacturing facilities, such as naphtha crackers, and the renewal of infrastructure associated with it, they added.

We remind, Sumitomo Bakelite Co., Ltd., announced that Sumitomo Bakelite Europe NV (SBE), subsidiary company in Belgium, has become the first member of our group to obtain international sustainability carbon certification/ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certification for its phenolic resins, said the company.
The ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) is already recognized worldwide as a certification system for the processing of biobased and bio-circular materials and is widely used in Europe.

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INEOS secured financing for its cracker project in Antwerp, Belgium

INEOS secured financing for its cracker project in Antwerp, Belgium

INEOS has secured EUR3.5bn in financing for its Antwerp, Belgium, cracker project, set to have the lowest CO2 output of any unit in the continent, the European chemicals major said.

The plant, expected onstream in 2026, has the capacity to operate entirely on low-carbon hydrogen, with scope for the addition of a carbon capture facility and electric furnaces in future, according to INEOS. The estimated budget for the project, which INEOS made a final investment decision (FID) on last year, currently stands at EUR4.0bn, according to the company.

The financing includes debt from 21 commercial banks. EUR1.5bn of the debt is uncovered, while EUR1.2bn is being provided by export credit agencies UKEF, Cesce and SACE, and an EUR800m tranche has up to EUR500m of the capital guaranteed by Gigarant, a vehicle of the Flemish government.

INEOS has already issued numerous contracts for work on the site, including to WOOD & Co, Technip, and Tecnicas Reunidas. The first new cracker to be built in Europe in decades, the unit will have a carbon footprint more than three times lower than the average European facility, and less than half of the top 10% lowest-emitting steam crackers in the region, according to INEOS.

“[The cracker] will bring new opportunities to the chemical cluster in Antwerp as well as strengthen the resilience of the whole of the European chemical sector,” said Jason Meers, CFO of INEOS Project ONE, the vehicle for the development of the unit. Banks on the financing include ABN Amro, Barclays, Belfius, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, KBC. BNP Paribas and Linklaters advised INEOS on the deal.

We remind, INEOS Inovyn and Statkraft have today renewed their long-standing partnership in Norway by signing two new long-term power agreements to supply renewable energy for INEOS Inovyn’s Rafnes and Porsgrunn sites, said the company. The first agreement effectively replaces the site’s existing power contract, which will expire in May 2023. It covers a capacity of 100 MW for an annual renewable energy production of 876 GWh each year. The second agreement will come into effect in 2026: it will cover an additional 30MW (263 GWh per year) and will support INEOS Inovyn’s extensive development plan in process electrification and hydrogen production at Rafnes.

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Shell 2022 profit more than doubles to record USD40 bln

Shell 2022 profit more than doubles to record USD40 bln

Shell delivered a record USD40 billion profit in 2022, capping a tumultuous year in which a surge in energy prices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine allowed it to hand shareholders unprecedented returns, said the company.

Shell reported adjusted earnings of USD39.9 billion for the full-year 2022. This comfortably surpasses the USD28.4 billion in 2008 which Shell said was the firm’s previous annual record and is more than double the firm’s full-year 2021 profit of USD19.29 billion.

Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected full-year 2022 net profit to come in at USD38.3 billion. For the final quarter of 2022, Shell reported adjusted earnings of USD9.8 billion.

Shell announced a $4 billion share buyback program, which is expected to be completed by its first-quarter 2023 results — due out by early May — and a 15% dividend per share increase for the fourth quarter. “It is a huge year for Shell and a huge year to look back on as well,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick in his first earnings interview since taking on the role on Jan. 1.

“I feel privileged to be stepping into this role at such a great point in the company’s history. As we look ahead, I think we have a unique opportunity to be able to succeed as the winner in the energy transition. We have a portfolio that I think is second to none,” Sawan said. “My focus will be very much around performance and capital discipline,” he added.

The results follow in the footsteps of historic annual earnings for U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron, with the West’s largest oil and gas companies expected to rake in combined profits of nearly USD200 billion for the year, according to Refinitiv data.

We remind, Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC announced it has commenced operations of its Pennsylvania Chemical project, Shell Polymers Monaca (SPM). The Pennsylvania facility is the first major polyethylene manufacturing complex in the Northeastern United States and has a designed output of 1.6 MMt annually.

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PDVSA allocates heavy crude cargo to Italy's Eni

PDVSA allocates heavy crude cargo to Italy's Eni

Venezuela's PDVSA has allocated an oil cargo to a unit of Eni for a February loading, the first to the Italian firm following a contract suspension this year by new management at the state-run company, people familiar with the matter said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Eni and Spanish oil firm Repsol in May last year received authorizations from the U.S. State Department to take the crude to Europe for outstanding Venezuela debt and dividends, an exception to U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela.

The cargo allocations, which worked intermittently last year, had not happened this year amid a large audit instructed by PDVSA's new boss Pedro Tellechea to avoid failed payments by some customers. Eni received two cargoes of Venezuelan diluted crude in June-July and two more shipments in November. The crude was exported in Eni-chartered vessels and delivered partially to Repsol oil refineries in Spain, according to PDVSA's documents and vessel monitoring services.

The latest cargo assigned to Eni is scheduled to load through ship-to-ship transfers at Venezuela's Amuay STS area. PDVSA recently has struggled to receive larger tankers at its West coast ports due to infrastructure issues, the people said. Eni declined to comment on individual transactions but said it is operating "in compliance with the applicable sanction regimes."

Repsol and PDVSA did not reply to requests for comment. U.S. oil major Chevron, which also was authorized by Washington last year to receive Venezuelan oil cargoes for debt, in January exported 2.3 million barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude to the United States.

One cargo has been exported so far in February by Chevron to its Pascagoula, Mississippi, refinery and another is about to depart Venezuela, monitoring data showed.

We remind, PDVSA on Friday restarted the fluid catalytic cracker (FCC) of its 645,000 bpd Amuay refinery, the country's largest, following an outage that halted operations for eight weeks, three sources from the facility said.
Outages and unplanned maintenance often interrupt operations at PDVSA's aging 1.3-MM-bpd refining network, leading to fuel scarcity, especially of gasoline and diesel.

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Neste and Scania pilot a digital solution to make renewable fuels use easier to track

Neste and Scania pilot a digital solution to make renewable fuels use easier to track

Neste and Scania are piloting a digital solution that enables easy follow-up and verification of each truck's usage of renewable fuels, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Combining data from Scania Fleet Management Portal enriched with Neste's fuel emission data, the solution provides Scania’s fleet management customers with accurate, up-to-date data for their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reporting and sustainability communications. Customers can compare the climate impact of their use of Neste’s renewable fuels to fossil fuels and track their continuous progress towards climate targets.

Neste and Scania are testing the digital solution with the logistic companies HAVI and UFF. The solution combines data regarding where a certain truck has been refueled and how much it has driven, with data about the climate impact because of the use of Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ instead of fossil fuel. Until now, it has been a challenge to verify to what extent trucks really run on renewable fuels, as the very same trucks could also continue to run on fossil fuels. The digital solution now being tested hopes to solve this issue. Neste’s and Scania’s joint ambition is that the solution could in the future serve all fleet manufacturers and all types of renewable fuels.

We remind, Neste posted strong revenue and profit growth in its renewable fuels business even as its Chief Executive flagged the long-term need for new raw materials amid growing European demand for sustainable jet fuel.
The company has bet heavily on renewable fuels but is competing in a crowded space as fossil fuel majors enter the green fuel market, pushing up costs for used cooking oil and discarded animal fat. Neste estimates that the maximum available global capacity for waste and residue materials would be around 40 MMtpy.

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