Japan's Eneos aims to double profit in 3 years with green energy plan

Japan's biggest oil refiner Eneos Holdings said on Thursday it planned to more than double net profit to ¥310 B in three years and expand aggressively in green energy and climate-friendlier fuels, said Reuters.

Companies in Japan, an energy-poor country importing nearly everything from oil to coal, are under pressure from the government and shareholders to be carbon-neutral by 2050.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also made the green transition a matter of national energy security. Eneos, which still relies mainly on its oil business, plans to spend ¥1 T over three years on its energy segment including renewable energy projects, the hydrogen supply chain and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Its first SAF plant in Japan should be launched in 2026 and it is considering another SAF facility that could be operational by about 2030. Renewable energy, primarily solar and wind power, should reach 6 to 8 gigawatts (GW) by 2040 from less than 1 GW now, the company said.

Eneos, also a major miner, said it was preparing to list its metal unit JX Nippon Mining and Metals, although the plans had yet to be finalized. Through the listing, Eneos will be able to execute strategic investment which is necessary for transforming the business portfolio to realize the energy transition, President Takeshi Saito said.

"The spin-off will also help reduce volatility of Eneos' earnings," he said. JX will sell majority stake in the Caserones copper mine in Chile to Lundin Mining after suffering a series of ramp-up delays and cost overruns, resulting nearly ¥350 B of appraisal loss in total.

Eneos aims to boost net profit to ¥310 B in the fiscal year to March 2026 from ?180 B projected for the current 2023/24 year. Net profit fell 73% in 2022/23 fiscal year to ¥143.8 B, hurt by declines in its petrochemical business and as gains on inventories were reduced.

Eneos plans to invest ¥180 B over the three years in its oil and gas upstream segment, including for additional development of liquefied natural gas in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and in its carbon-capture and storage business.

We remind, Eneos Holdings Inc. has no plans to buy Russian crude until all problems related to the Ukraine crisis are over and will purchase alternative supplies from the Middle East.

mrchub.com

PureCycle Technologies announced that it has reached mechanical completion of its first polypropylene (PP) purification plant in Ironton, OH, US., said the company.

The facility, which is based on proprietary technology licensed from Procter & Gamble, is expected to produce 107 M lbs/y of Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR) resin, once fully operational.

The plant will now begin operational pre-startup and safety review processes. Initial pellet production is planned to commence in 2Q 2023.

We remind, SK geo centric (SKGC), a South Korean-based global leader in polypropylene (PP) production, and PureCycle Technologies, Inc. signed a joint venture agreement to operate the first Polypropylene recycling plant in Asia. SKGC will make a joint investment with PureCycle to build a plastic recycling plant in Ulsan, South Korea with an annual capacity of up to 60,000 tons. The plant, which is currently expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2025, will turn contaminated plastic feedstock into ultra-pure recycled ("UPR") resin that can be infinitely reused and recycled.

mrchub.com

Chemours, a US-based company, has awarded KBR to enhance the technology and capacity of its Nafion-branded ion exchange materials platform, said the company.

The contract is part of Chemours' USD200 M investment initiative that seeks to expand the Nafion membranes and dispersions technology platforms, which supports the increasing hydrogen economy.

“We are excited to be a part of this important program, which furthers our partnership with Chemours, and to deliver solutions that will contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable world,” said Jay Ibrahim, president of KBR’s Sustainable Technology Solutions business. “This win highlights KBR’s extensive clean hydrogen and specialty chemical expertise and is indicative of KBR’s strategic commitment to support our customers through the energy transition.”

For decades KBR has been a leader in the hydrogen value chain, serving as both technology provider and advisor and as a provider of differentiated project delivery solutions.

Wt remind, Evonik, the market and innovation leader in polyurethane additives, has boosted its range of high-performance products for the spray polyurethane foam (SPF) industry with the release of DABCO PM 301, said the company. Used in combination with the latest Opteon™ 1100 and Opteon™ 1150 blowing agents from Chemours, a global chemistry company, DABCO® PM 301 improves thermal performance and increases efficiency in SPF systems.

mrchub.com

Technip Energies (Paris) and Casale SA (Lugano, Switzerland) announced a new partnership to jointly license oxidative reforming-based technologies; autothermal reforming (ATR) and partial oxidation (POx) technologies for the blue hydrogen market, said the company.

ATR is a process to produce syngas that contains hydrogen, CO and CO2.

It becomes cost-effective for low-carbon hydrogen when combined with carbon capture technology and suitable for larger-scale facilities. As part of this collaboration, Technip Energies and Casale will be co-licensors of the technology and will offer Process Design Package (PDP), proprietary equipment and entire plants. In order to decarbonize hydrogen facilities, the ATR-based solution could achieve up to 99% of carbon capture rate.

Technip Energies’ two centers of excellence for hydrogen, Claremont CA, US and Zoetermeer, NL, will jointly execute with Casale PDP for ATR-based blue hydrogen projects.

Loic Chapuis, SVP Gas & Low Carbon Energies of Technip Energies, commented: ” We are excited to announce this partnership with Casale, which will allow us to offer cutting-edge ATR-based solutions for the blue hydrogen market. By leveraging our global leadership in hydrogen, having delivered more than 30% of the installed capacity worldwide, with our combined proprietary technologies, we are confident that we can provide advanced and cost-effective solutions that will meet the needs of our customers. ATR-based solutions will be complementary to T.EN’s proprietary SMR-based solutions, allowing us to offer a complete range of solutions in the low-carbon hydrogen market. We look forward to working with Casale to drive innovation and decarbonize hydrogen production at scale."

Federico Zardi, CEO of Casale SA, said: “We are delighted to enter this partnership with Technip Energies, a global leader in hydrogen plants. This partnership can provide the market with advanced solutions for the decarbonization of the world, leveraging our long history of developing and applying advanced ATR and POx technologies with several ATR-based mega production units already delivered, in combination with Technip Energies’ technological expertise in the hydrogen field."

We remind, Technip Energies announces the award of a contract for the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase of LanzaTech’s DRAGON Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Project based on LanzaJet Alcohol to Jet (ATJ) Technology, on track to be one of the first commercial SAF facilities in the UK.

mrchub.com

Eni's Versalis and Mater-Bi, a company controlled by Investitori Associati II and NB Renaissance, have signed an agreement in which Versalis will acquire the remaining 64% interest in Novamont from Mater-Bi, making Versalis sole owner, said the company.

The deal is subject to approval by competent authorities. An expected completion date was not available.

Next steps and the timing of closing are subject to approval by the competent authorities.

Versalis is the largest Italian chemical company and leader at an international level, whose strategy hinges on its product portfolio specialization, including the chemistry from renewables. Novamont is a B Corp-certified Benefit company and a leading player in the circular bioeconomy sector, as well as a leader in the market for biodegradable and compostable bioplastics and biochemicals. Its acquisition represents a great opportunity for Versalis to accelerate its strategy through the integration of a technological platform which is both unique and complementary. This will significantly contribute to the decarbonization of Versalis’ product portfolio.

The deal will strengthen the Novamont platform by accelerating the growth of high value-added, multi-product supply chains and local projects. The goal is decoupling the use of natural resources from economic growth so as to keep doing more with less.

We remind, in Italy, Versalis, Eni’s chemical company, has acquired the technology to produce enzymes for second-generation ethanol from DSM. The agreement has a strategic value for Versalis as it integrates with proprietary Proesa® technology, applied at the Crescentino plant for the production of sustainable bioethanol and chemical products from lignocellulosic biomass, improving the competitiveness of technology and production.

mrchub.com