BPCL to build 240 MW renewable power facilities

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is India’s second-largest government-owned downstream oil producer after ONGC, said Equitypandit.

The company plans to set up 240-MW of renewable power capacity at Rs 600 crore this fiscal year. Sukhmal Jain, the Marketing Director of BPCL, said that the firm would soon build up solar and wind power facilities. “We have ideas to set up 240-MW of solar and wind energy farms in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra at a projected cost of Rs 600 crore.”

Solar projects of around 50 MW are already under construction at BPCL’s facilities. The company is aiming for a captive necessity for its refineries first, which is about 350 MW. According to company reports, Bharat Petroleum is exploring organic and inorganic opportunities and forecasting to bid for industry estimates moving forward.
The company commenced many solar projects of smaller size to increase understanding and is confident to take up bigger projects, participating in renewable energy tenders in the future.

Recently, it has signed an agreement with the Rajasthan Government under which BPCL will inaugurate renewable projects costing 1 GW of capacity in the state. It also has signed an MoU with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up 10 GW of renewable energy capacity system by 2040.

We remind, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) plans to invest rupee (Rs) 430bn-500bn (USD5.2bn-6.1bn) to expand its Bina refinery and build a petrochemical complex at the site in the central Madhya Pradesh state. BPCL has received necessary approvals from the Madhya Pradesh state government for the project, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 14 April.

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Indian state-owned oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd said it had received approval from the Madhya Pradesh state government for expanding its Bina refinery and setting up a petrochemical project, said Reuters.

Bharat Petroleum will invest 430 billion rupees (USD5.27 billion) to 500 billion rupees for the two projects, adding that the petrochemical project would start production by fiscal year 2027-28.

We remind, Bharat Petroleum Corp said it had signed a preliminary agreement with Brazil's national oil company Petrobras to help it diversify its crude oil sourcing. Indian state refiners rarely buy Brazilian oil.

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Lummus Technology has expanded its Novolen polypropylene (PP) portfolio with the addition of Novolen Enhance performance PP polymers, said the company.

The new products are an expansion of Novolen’s PP portfolio and are specially designed to reduce carbon footprints while providing excellent material performance in blends with recycled polymers from post-industrial or post-consumer waste.

“With the new line of Enhance polymers, Lummus can deliver more innovative solutions for a circular economy,” said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lummus Technology. “These products enable brand owners to create more sustainable products with reduced carbon emissions and outstanding material properties. From injection molding, thermoforming, to film and textile applications, Enhance polymers significantly expand the range of possible applications of recycled polymers, increasing their commercial value.”

Using Enhance performance polymers in combination with recycled polymers, carbon footprint can be reduced by more than 40 percent compared to fully virgin materials, while achieving virgin-like material performance. This enables customers to achieve demanding sustainability targets while maintaining high product quality and customer satisfaction.

Enhance polymers combine tailored molecular weight characteristics with an outstanding physical property profile due to Novolen’s catalyst and process technology. When blended with recycled polymers, Enhance polymers significantly boost stiffness while preserving impact resistance. The polymers are suitable for combining with a wide range of recycled polymers, including post-consumer and post-industrial waste, and all types of polypropylenes such as homopolymers, random copolymers or impact copolymers.

We remind, 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. 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.

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The two largest U.S. oil companies are road testing renewable gasoline blends that they say could bring down emissions from conventional autos to levels competitive with electric vehicles (EVs), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The fuels being promoted by Chevron Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp, if made commercially available, potentially would extend the life of the gasoline market as part of the world's transition to cleaner fuels and electric vehicles.

"We really believe there has to be alternatives for the light duty vehicle," Chevron President of Americas Products Andy Walz said at an event on Wednesday to road test the fuel. "Electrification is not the only answer." Chevron and Exxon disclosed in the past days test results from partnerships with automaker Toyota Motor Corp using renewable gasoline partially made from soybeans or other non-fossil feedstocks. The blends could be used by the existing U.S. car fleet and gas stations, the oil majors have said.

The tests came as U.S. President Joe Biden's administration last week proposed new pollution standards that could result in EVs accounting for up to two-thirds of U.S. light vehicle sales by 2032, according to government calculations.

Bringing the cost of these renewable gasoline blends to affordable levels would depend on supportive government policies, Exxon said. Chevron added it could be years before the renewable fuel could be available in pumps. "We believe it is going to need government help to get up and running, and get scale," Walz said, referring to existing incentives such as those provided for biodiesel and renewable diesel.

The most efficient way to bring scale to renewable gasoline would be through a carbon price, but not all jurisdictions are ready for it, said Balaji Krishnamurthy, Chevron's vice president of strategy and sustainability.

The companies use different metrics to measure emissions. Exxon said its renewable gasoline could reduce emissions by as much as 75% compared to conventional gasoline on a life cycle basis. Chevron said its blend was more than 40% less carbon intensive than traditional gasoline, including the carbon intensity of manufacturing the vehicle.

We remind, Chevron Lummus Global LLC (CLG) announced a recent contract award from Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras) for a new 12,580 BPD hydroisodewaxing (HIDW) unit at the GasLub Hub, a lubricant plant in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Chevron Lummus Global's scope includes the technology license, basic design engineering, and research unit testing services.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a ban on most uses of methylene chloride, a chemical they say is known to cause health risks and even death, to protect public health, said Cbsnews.

The proposal would ban methylene chloride's use in all consumer situations, and in most industrial and commercial uses. Methylene chloride is used in aerosol degreasers, brush cleaners for paints and coatings, commercial adhesives and sealants, and to make other chemicals in industrial settings.

The ban is proposed as part of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which gives the EPA the ability to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, as well as other restrictions. The EPA banned one consumer use of methylene chloride in 2019, taking it out of paint removers.

According to the EPA, at least 85 people have died from exposure to the chemical since 1980. Those cases mostly involve workers engaged in home renovation contracting work, the EPA said. There have also been "many more" cases of people experiencing severe and long-lasting health impacts after exposure to methylene chloride, the agency said. The EPA has also identified adverse health effects including neurotoxicity, liver effects and cancer from inhalation and skin exposure.

The agency determined that methylene chloride poses "unreasonable risk of injury to health under the conditions of use" because of these risks posed to workers in direct and indirect contact with the chemical, consumers who use it and those who are exposed to it.

"The science on methylene chloride is clear, exposure can lead to severe health impacts and even death, a reality for far too many families who have lost loved ones due to acute poisoning," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a news release announcing the proposal. "That's why EPA is taking action, proposing to ban most uses of this chemical and reduce exposures in all other scenarios by implementing more stringent workplace controls to protect worker health."

The goal of the proposed ban, the EPA said, is to protect people from risks and allow methylene chloride to only be used in strictly controlled workplace settings where exposure can be minimized. Manufacturing, processing and distribution of methylene chloride would be wound down within the next 15 months. In situations where the chemical will be prohibited under the proposal, an EPA analysis found that alternative products with "similar costs and efficacy ... are generally available."

We remind, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed increases in the amount of ethanol and other biofuels oil refiners must blend into their fuel over the next three years. The agency is also proposing incorporating electricity made from renewable biomass and used for electric vehicle into the program for the first time. The agency's long-awaited proposal will call for overall blending mandates of 20.82 B gallons in 2023, 21.87 B gallons in 2024 and 22.68 B gallons in 2025.


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