INEOS completes Mitsui Phenols Singapore acquisition

INEOS has completed the purchase of Mitsui Phenols Singapore in a USD330m deal, giving the UK-based firm over 1m tonnes/year of additional Asia production capacity, said the company.

Based on Jurong Island, Singapore, the entire asset base of the Mitsui subsidiary will be transferred to INEOS. The business has a production capacity of 410,000 tonnes/year of cumene, 310,000 tonne/year of phenol and 185,000 tonnes/year of acetone.

Mitsui Phenols Singapore can also produce 150,000 tonnes/year of bisphenol A (BPA) and 20,000 tonnes/year of alpha-methylstyrene, the company added. The division has an annual turnover of USD750m, with the sale intended to reduce earnings volatility for Mitsui, the company said at the time of the announcement of the deal.

Prior to the INEOS deal, Mitsui Phenols Singapore was 95%-owned by Mitsui Chemicals and 5% held by Mitsui & Co. The parent company agreed to transfer its minority stake to Mitsui Chemicals prior to the close of the sale.

The Jurong phenol chain and BPA assets offer integration opportunities with related INEOS assets in Germany, Belgium and the US, the company said, as well as growing its footprint in Asia and opening up new markets in the region. “We look forward to developing new markets and customer relationships associated with bisphenol A which will be a new product for INEOS” said Gordon Adams, business director for INEOS Phenol.

We remind, INEOS Energy is entering US oil and gas production for the first time with the acquisition of a portion of Chesapeake Energy’s oil and gas assets in the Eagle Ford shale, south Texas for USD1.4 billion. The deal marks INEOS Energy’s entry as operator into the US onshore oil and gas market, as it acquires 2,300 wells, producing net 36,000 BOED. The acquisition, which includes production and exploration leases across 172,000 net acres, is expected to complete in Q2, with an effective date of October 2022.

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Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced an integrated technology award from SP Chemicals and its subsidiary SP Olefins, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

SP Chemicals will license Lummus' CATOFIN technology for a new 800 KTA propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit, and SP Olefins will license Lummus' Novolen technology for a new 400 KTA polypropylene (PP) unit. Both units will be located at SP Chemicals' complex in Jiangsu Province, China.

"We are grateful to SP Chemicals and SP Olefins for their confidence in Lummus' integrated technology solutions," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology. "CATOFIN and Novolen have very strong market positions due to their high reliability and robustness, lower capital and operating expenses, environmental performance, flexibility and broad product capability and simple processes. Being able to combine these solutions, plus providing a single-point responsibility during the entire life cycle of both units, highlights the competitive advantages our customers gain when they select Lummus."

Lummus' scope includes the process design package and technology licenses for the CATOFIN and Novolen technologies, plus technical services, training and catalyst supply.

CATOFIN is an industry-leading method for light paraffin dehydrogenation that delivers excellent annual production output compared to alternative technologies. The process operates at thermodynamically advantaged reactor pressure and temperature to maximize conversion of propane to propylene, while reducing investment and operating costs.

We remind, Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, announced that its Green Circle business entered into a strategic partnership with New Energy Risk (NER), a wholly-owned division of Paragon Insurance Group, in which NER will serve as the preferred insurance supplier for Green Circle’s advanced waste plastic recycling technology.

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МОСКВА (MRC) -- Neste has successfully concluded its second series of industrial-scale processing runs with liquefied waste plastic at its refinery in Porvoo, Finland, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The goal of the processing runs is to further increase the company’s understanding of how different types of waste plastics behave during chemical recycling in the refinery processes. The end product gained in the runs – Neste RE, a drop-in feedstock for petrochemicals – is turned into new plastics by Neste’s partners. While Neste is establishing large-scale capacities to process liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo site, the current processing runs utilize existing refinery equipment built for crude oil refining.

Since Neste’s first processing run in 2020, the company has concluded a total of six successful runs, processing close to 3,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic in total. After processing 800 tons in the first series completed in 2022, the company has been able to more than triple that amount to date. The processing runs are a part of Neste’s strategy to advance chemical recycling and contribute to a circular polymers economy.

“We are walking the talk on chemical recycling,” says Heikki Farkkila, Vice President Chemical Recycling at Neste. “Our processing runs provide us not only with valuable knowledge on the technologies, but also serve as a proof of concept: chemical recycling can be done on an industrial scale. Our focus continues to be getting from individual processing runs to continuous operation."

Neste processed so called “hard-to-recycle” waste plastic which would have ended up in incineration or landfill had it not been directed to chemical recycling. This highlights how chemical recycling complements existing mechanical recycling technologies.

The liquefied waste plastic for the runs has been sourced from multiple suppliers that are part of a supply network Neste has continuously expanded. Among others, the suppliers include US-based Alterra Energy, in which Neste holds a minority stake, as well as Finland-based Wastewise, with which Neste recently cooperated to chemically recycle cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) waste from pipe production into new PEX pipes.

We remind, Neste is looking to build capacities at its Porvoo site to process 400,000 tons of liquefied waste plastic per year in the course of project PULSE, which is funded by the EU Innovation Fund. From 2030 onwards, Neste wants to process more than 1 million tons of waste plastic per year.

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Italy's Eni said on Friday it was involved in five carbon capture projects selected by Britain in a first group of initiatives worth USD25-B of government funding, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The British government on Thursday said it had shortlisted a total of eight projects that could help reduce the country's carbon dioxide emissions and kick-start a hydrogen-based economy. It also launched initiatives in support of a domestic floating offshore wind industry, incentives for investments in renewable energy and support for research on nuclear reactors.

Eni said it will be responsible for the transportation and storage of carbon dioxide emissions in the five projects submitted as part of the HyNet North West consortium. The projects will contribute to the decarbonization of large emitting companies in the industrial hub of North West England and North Wales, including the cement sector, and in the production of hydrogen with a low carbon footprint, Eni said.

We remind, Eni has signed a two-year contract with logistics firm the Spinelli Group to provide diesel produced by 100% renewable raw materials to help power its fleet. The hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is available at 57 service stations, will be available at 150 sales points in Italy by the end of the month and will be used by 150 vehicles in the Spinelli Group fleet. Eni Sustainable Mobility has been operating since January, combining biomethane and sale of mobility-related products across more than 5,000 service stations in Italy and abroad.

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Efforts to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industry and store them underground have gathered pace across Europe over the past few years as countries scramble to meet climate goals, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The interest in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has been also driven by rising EU carbon permit costs, which hit a record of 100 euros a ton in February.

Scientists have said CCS needs to be rapidly scaled up to help keep global average temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius this century.

We remind, Equinor, awarded the exploration license in 2022, said it is looking at injecting the CO2 captured from its own hydrogen production, as well as some industrial customers in Europe. The company aims to make the final investment decision in 2025.

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