Trafigura raises stake in Italian refinery Saras to 12.5%

Global commodities trader Trafigura has raised its stake in Italian refiner Saras to 12.46% from 5.23%, the companies said on Friday, strengthening Trafigura's foothold over Mediterranean oil flows, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The move comes a week after Russia's Lukoil concluded the sale of its large Sicilian refinery, ISAB, to an Israeli-backed company in turn supported by Trafigura for oil supplies.

Saras, controlled by the Moratti family, operates the 300,000-barrel-per-day Sarroch refinery in Sardinia, one of the biggest plants in the region.

"This reflects our view of the strategic value of this asset, which is one of Europe’s largest and most efficient oil refineries, and our position as a commercial supplier and offtaker from the operation," Trafigura said in a statement.

Geneva-based Trafigura first bought shares in Saras via Urion Holdings in 2020 when the refining sector was clobbered by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trafigura has only a small presence in refining operations, preferring more flexible long-term crude supply or fuel offtake agreements. It has an exclusive deal with Prax to supply Britain's Lindsey refinery and operates a small refinery via its subsidiary Puma Energy in Papua New Guinea.

Earlier this year, Trafigura completed the sale its indirect minority stake an Indian refiner, Nayara, that is part-owned by Russia's Rosneft.

We remind, Germany plans to adjust its Energy Security Act to allow a quick sale of Russian energy group Rosneft's stake in the Schwedt refinery without the need for prior nationalization, a draft law showed. Under the planned adjustment to the law, the condition of prior nationalization of assets put under government trusteeship could be withdrawn if the sale of the assets is needed to ensure that Germany's energy sector remains functional, the draft law.

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The board of directors of Phillips 66 has declared a quarterly dividend of USD1.05 per share on Phillips 66 common stock, said Polymerupdate.

The dividend is payable on June 1, 2023, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 22, 2023.

We remind, Phillips 66 beat Wall Street's estimate for first-quarter profit due to elevated margins on sustained fuel demand amid tight crude supplies. The company's shares rose 1.3% to USD95.98 in morning trade. Profits from turning crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel surged as supplies remained tight due to pandemic-era closure of facilities and a recovery in demand. Margins were also supported by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year that further tightened supplies. Realized margins soared 91% to USD20.72 per barrel in the first quarter from a year earlier, Phillips 66 said.

Phillips 66 manufactures, transports and markets products that drive the global economy. The diversified energy company’s portfolio includes Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties businesses. Headquartered in Houston, Phillips 66 has employees around the globe who are committed to safely and reliably providing energy and improving lives while pursuing a lower-carbon future.

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Axens has been selected to supply the technologies for the acid gas removal unit (HySWEETTM) and the sulfur recovery unit (SmartSulf) of the Albright sour gas processing plant to be constructed by CSV Midstream Solutions Corp. in Alberta, Canada, said Hydrocarbonengineering.

For the acid gas removal unit, Axens licensed the HySWEET technology in order to process 152 million ft3/d of natural gas. HySWEET is a hybrid process for simultaneous removal of mercaptans and acid gases from natural gas, developed by TotalEnergies and commercialised by Axens.

For the sulfur recovery unit, Axens licensed the SmartSulf technology to handle the acid gas from the HySWEET in order to remove 370 tpd of sulfur and achieve a sulfur recovery of 99.5+%. Axens' scope of work includes the supply of the process design packages, the supply of the specific equipment for the SmartSulf unit as well as full services from plant personnel training to unit start-up.

Both units are now under process design phase and commissioning is expected for the end of 2024.

“CSV thoroughly evaluated a number of processing technology options prior to selecting the HySWEET and SmartSulf processes for our Albright sour gas processing plant. Throughout the evaluation, Axens and TotalEnergies were exceptionally cooperative and transparent, providing CSV with the confidence that the technologies were the right choice for our facility. Further to that, the benefit of working with one process licensor for both technologies provides significant synergies that allow for a streamlined project execution. The HySWEET technology’s ability to minimise hydrocarbon co-absorption will bring operational benefits to our sulfur recovery unit, while the SmartSulf unit will provide best-in-class sulfur recovery metrics with a smaller footprint and reduced CAPEX and OPEX”, says Dan Cote, CSV’s Director, Projects.

“We are proud of having been selected by CSV Midstream Solutions for this project. The specific Axens’ process scheme combining a HySWEET unit followed by a SmartSulf unit provides a very competitive solution in terms of simplicity, CAPEX and OPEX as well as emissions mitigation for the Albright sour gas processing plant. We are confident that this is the start of a great collaboration between CSV, TotalEnergies and Axens” says Jacques Rault, Axens’ Executive VP Technology & Technical Support.

“This commercial success crowns the development of the HySWEET technology. This solvent relies on a hybrid formulation developed by TotalEnergies R&D to simultaneously remove H2S, CO2 and organic sulfur species such as mercaptans while reducing the carbon footprint of the gas treatment. It illustrates TotalEnergies' expertise and commitment to finding technical solutions that reduce the environmental impact of gas as an energy of transition” says Marie-Noelle Semeria, TotalEnergies's Chief Technology Officer.

We remind, Axens has acquired stakes in the BioTJet project, the aim of which is to build and operate the largest European Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production unit using the Fischer-Tropsch process, relying on the BioTfueL technology. This unit will be built in France and will be started up by 2027.

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Saudi Arabia's Alujain National Industrial Co has selected Lummus Technology's C3 Catofin propane dehydrogenation (PDH) technology for its new propylene plant in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, said the company.

This is the first time Alujain will licence Lummus' PDH technology at its Yanbu complex. Lummus Technology is a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions.

"We are excited that Alujain has selected Lummus' PDH technology and look forward to supporting their growth and expansion in petrochemicals," said Leon de Bruyn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lummus Technology.

"Alujain will be able to leverage the technology's requisite reliability, low cost and reduced energy consumption to help them expand its propylene production in Saudi Arabia and achieve a competitive advantage in the market."

The scope of this award includes the technology licence and basic engineering. Once complete, the plant will produce 600,000 MTA of propylene, which will serve as feedstock for Alujain's new downstream polypropylene production.

In addition to the licensed technology, Alujain will have access to Lummus' portfolio of lifecycle services during the operation phase of the plant. This includes advanced operator training simulators, extended technical support and digitalisation services.

Lummus is the exclusive licensor for the on-purpose propylene Catofin technology, which also utilises Clariant's high-performance catalysts. With over 50 licensed Catofin plants, Lummus is the leader in on-purpose propylene technology, which is recognized worldwide for low operating costs and on-stream reliability while meeting or exceeding nameplate capacity.

We remind, Lummus Technology, a global provider of process technologies and value-driven energy solutions, and Texplore Co., Ltd. , a wholly owned subsidiary of SCG Chemicals Public Co., Ltd., announced a commercial cooperation agreement to license and market EXCENE, Texplore's high-density polyethylene technology.

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Vopak NV (Rotterdam) has formally opened 16 new storage tanks with a combined capacity of 64,000 cubic meters at its Vlaardingen terminal in the port of Rotterdam, said the company.

The tanks are designed to store waste-based feedstocks, primarily for the production of biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), to help meet rising demand for renewable energy sources in Europe, it said. Vopak’s terminal at Vlaardingen has a long-term commercial agreement with Shell to store the feedstocks for Shell’s new biorefinery in Rotterdam, it said.

Vopak started repurposing part of the terminal for waste-based feedstocks in 2021 and has invested approximately EUR90 million in new infrastructure, it added.

We remind, Royal Vopak and AltaGas Ltd. are pleased to announce the execution of definitive agreements for a new 50/50 joint venture to further evaluate development of the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility (REEF), a large-scale liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and bulk liquids terminal with marine infrastructure on Ridley Island, British Columbia, Canada.

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