Shell publishes reports on sustainability, climate & energy transition lobbying and payments to Governments

Shell plc has published its 2022 Sustainability Report, its 2022 Climate and Energy Transition Lobbying Report and its 2022 Payments to Governments Report, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell has been formally reporting on sustainability-related performance for more than 25 years, with the aim of being transparent about activities that are important to investors, governments, and civil society. The Shell Sustainability Report outlines our social, safety and environmental performance in 2022 and sets out our progress in transitioning our business to net-zero emissions.

In his introduction to the report, Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, writes: "As we invest in the energy needed today, our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of our strategy. We are making good progress. By the end of 2022, we had reduced carbon emissions from our operations by 30% compared with 2016 on a net basis, more than halfway towards our target of a 50% reduction by 2030. This report shows what we have achieved so far in our work to be a sustainable business. We aim to do this work responsibly, with discipline and at pace to make a positive difference."

Shell also published its new 2022 Climate and Energy Transition Lobbying Report. This is another step forward on our journey to increase transparency around our advocacy. It builds on the progress we have made since 2019 in reporting on the key industry associations we are members of, and in providing examples of our advocacy on our website.

In addition, Shell published its 2022 Payments to Governments Report, in accordance with the UK’s The Reports on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014 (amended December 2015). In line with the Regulations, this report only covers extractive activities and payments equal to or above the ?86,000 or equivalent materiality threshold, resulting in payments made to governments in 25 countries being included.

We remind, Shell plc has published its Energy Transition Progress Report 2022, which shows it has again met its climate targets as part of its energy transition strategy. The report will be put to shareholders for an advisory vote at Shell’s Annual General Meeting on May 23, 2023.

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French strike action has led to record amounts of crude and condensate sitting idly offshore while the country's crude stocks have plummeted, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Around 17 cargoes carrying crude oil, oil products or chemical products have been floating in French waters for the past week, according to Kpler crude analyst Johannes Rauball. "Seven of these cargoes are carrying around 7 million barrels of crude and condensate, which marks the highest level on record and represents double what we observed at the peak in October of last year," Rauball said.

Industrial action over the past three weeks has impacted every French refinery. The walkouts differ from the strikes that took place in October, 2022 in that they are coordinated on a national level, also affecting ports and depots, said Koen Wessels, oil products analyst at Energy Aspects.

France's crude oil stocks have fallen to 40.3 million barrels in March, according to consultancy OilX, the lowest since the firm's records began in January, 2010. France's refinery intake has fallen to its lowest level since October at 764,000 barrels per day (bpd), data from consultancy OilX show.

The country's oil stocks have fallen to 40.3 million barrels in March, according to consultancy OilX, the lowest since the firm's records began in January, 2010. The absence of French buying interest has increased supplies elsewhere of crude grades from the North Sea, west Africa and blends from the Caspian pipeline, according to traders.

This has weighed on prices of these crude grades as market players are forced to look elsewhere for buyers. "It's a pretty bad situation," one trader said. French crude oil imports from Nigeria have averaged just 30,000 b/d so far this month, compared with an average 200,000 b/d in January and February, according to Kpler.

"A vast amount of Nigeria's April loadings schedule has gone unsold," Rauball said. Meanwhile, the Ekofisk North Sea crude grade, produced at a field in Norway where TotalEnergies has equity, relies on France for two-thirds of its export stream.

No Ekofisk cargoes have been discharged in France this month, compared with an average of 85,000 b/d in January and February, Kpler data show.

We remind, arecent study investigated reliability-related downtime and slowdown events for olefin plants. These events were calculated as percent of the plant’s proven capability to produce ethylene.1 The causes for lost production were ranked from the highest to the lowest percent of production lost. The trends in production losses from 1999 through 2011, showing total loss production measured in seven biennial studies, are discussed in this article to determine if these losses are increasing or decreasing over time.

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Asia's top oil refiner China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec Corp, recorded a 6.9% decline in net income for 2022, as Beijing's COVID-19 curbs weakened fuel and chemicals demand, as per Reuters.

Sinopec said its net profit last year amounted to 66.3 billion yuan (USD9.65 billion), based on Chinese accounting standards, versus 2021's 71.21 billion yuan, but was still the third-highest in a decade thanks to higher oil and gas prices.

"For 2022 due to multiple factors, Chinese demand for natural gas, petrochemicals and refined oil products (was) lacklustre," Sinopec said.

China's rigid COVID measures hammered transportation fuel consumption. Sinopec recorded a 11% in gasoline fuel sales and 18.4% decline in aviation fuel sales last year versus 2021. Sales for chemical fibres tumbled 18.1%.

Sinopec reported 4% growth in sales of diesel fuel, thanks to a government policy shift towards late 2022 to boost refined fuel exports.

We remind, Sinopec Corp announced that it has completed trial runs at a 1-MMtpy ethylene plant in the southern Chinese province of Hainan that will boost exports. The facility is part of a 28.6 B-yuan (USD4.15 B) complex built at the site and is the second major petrochemical plant starting this year after a similar-sized facility was announced last week by PetroChina in Guangdong province.

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Grupa Azoty Polyolefins said that it has taken a first delivery of ethylene feedstock for its USD1.8bn world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plant that it plans to launch in Police, northwestern Poland in the near future, said the company.

A shipment of 3,500 tonnes of ethylene was on Monday delivered to the company’s maritime gas terminal in Police by the gas carrier GasChem Rhone, it added.

Part of the ethylene would be used in the cooling and commissioning of the above-ground tank and related installations at the terminal, Grupa Azoty Polyolefins, a special purpose vehicle of largest Polish chemicals producer Grupa Azoty, said.

Ethylene would then be used to start production of PP copolymers, it also stated. The PHD/PP plant is “99.15% complete”, according to Grupa Azoty Polyolefins.

The installation will boast a PDH facility with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes/year of polymer-grade propylene and a PP facility with a 400,000 tonne/year capacity.

We remind, Grupa Azoty Polyolefins said on Wednesday that it has selected exclusive Europe distributors for the polypropylene (PP) that will be produced by a USD1.8bn world-scale propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and PP plant that it plans to launch in Police, northwestern Poland.

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As part of its sustainability goal of achieving net zero CO2 emissions1 by 2050, BASF has installed an innovative proof-of-concept floating solar system at its McIntosh, Alabama manufacturing site, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Noria Energy’s first of its kind floating solar system uses renewable energy to power three aerators used to improve the water quality of a scenic pond at the production facility. Floating solar energy capture offers several advantages beyond those of regular land-based solar systems including better operating efficiency due to cooler, more consistent temperatures from the surrounding water. However, the additional design and construction variables of floating solar systems typically come with a higher capital cost. Previous attempts to lower installation costs have reduced the reliability of the system when exposed to the environment. In particular, exposure to intense sunlight leads to degradation and unpredictable failure of traditional pontoons over time.

BASF’s plastic additives business is collaborating with Noria Energy to address these challenges by developing a highly reliable, innovative pontoon design at a lower cost. The final product leverages BASF’s broad portfolio of light stabilizers - which include UV absorbers and Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers (HALS) – that protect the polymer against degradation of harmful UV light. “The additives and antioxidants used for the pontoons and produced at our McIntosh site improve durability and extend the lifetime of the systems,” said Marcus Pezent, McIntosh Site Director, BASF. “We set out to develop an innovative floating solar system to drastically reduce capital requirements, including logistical costs. Working with BASF was instrumental in getting the system from concept to pilot installation in under a year, and a true testament to BASF’s commitment to their carbon-neutral goals,” said Alex Mayer, Chief Technology Officer at Noria Energy.

The pilot unit was installed with the support of the BASF North America Energy Management team who is already exploring additional locations for large scale floating installations at different BASF manufacturing sites. “These types of game-changing renewable energy initiatives reinforce our commitment to a sustainable future,” added Tejuana Edmond, Vice President, Plastic Additives Americas, BASF. “We will continue to work with our customers to help address their needs and challenges through innovation and sustainable solutions."

We remind, BASF begins production of its first bio-based polyol, Sovermol, in Mangalore, India, said the company.
This product serves the fast-growing demand of eco-friendly products for applications in new energy vehicles (NEV), windmills, flooring and protective industrial coatings in Asia Pacific. Utilizing the existing facilities at BASF's Mangalore site, the Sovermol production facility is now operational after comprehensive planning and construction.

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