EU Commission confirms good progress in MACBETH project for efficient reactors

The MACBETH technology project is taking shape and has received a positive interim evaluation from the EU Commission, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shortly after the start of construction of the planned demonstration plant in Marl, the Commission had the progress of the project evaluated. The auditors were very satisfied with the project, which was launched in 2020 and is the largest EU-funded project coordinated by Evonik.

The aim of MACBETH is to develop reactors that make important large-scale chemical reactions such as hydroformylation significantly more energy-efficient. Membranes and catalysts play a central role in this (MACBETH stands for Membranes And Catalysts Beyond Economic and Technological Hurdles).

"The project is exceptionally well managed. It is very large and has ambitious goals that are being enthusiastically driven by the project leaders and their partners," says Assessor Annette Juhr, professor of process engineering at Beuth University in Berlin. Accordingly, considerable efforts were made to avoid jeopardizing the project's anticipated success, in light of the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

A central goal of the project is sustainability. Greenhouse gas emissions from important large-volume industrial processes could be reduced by up to 35 percent, with an increase in resource and energy efficiency of up to 70 percent. MACBETH thus makes an important contribution to the European Green Deal. This significant potential has also been recognized by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. On its behalf, MACBETH was included in a brochure of just ten success projects that are being funded under the broad EU framework program Horizon 2020.

"The project has already succeeded in bringing the technology of catalytic membrane reactors closer to industrial implementation," explains Professor Dr. Robert Franke, project coordinator of the overall MACBETH project and head of hydroformylation research at Evonik. The mechanical completion of the demonstration plant is scheduled for Q3 2023.

In hydroformylation, unsaturated hydrocarbons - so-called olefins - are converted into aldehydes using synthesis gas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Aldehydes, in turn, are important intermediates on the way to higher alcohols, organic acids or esters, which are then used, for example, as plasticizers in plastics or as surfactants.

We remind, the U.S. imposed sanctions on companies it accused of playing a critical role in the production, sale and shipment of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum to buyers in Asia, as Washington increases pressure on Tehran.

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Technip Energies is pleased to announce that a joint venture, led by Technip Energies in partnership with Consolidated Contractors Company, has won a major Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning contract by QatarEnergy for the onshore facilities of the North Field South Project, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This award will cover the delivery of 2 mega trains, each with a capacity of 8 million tpa of LNG. It will include a large CO2 carbon capture and sequestration facility of 1.5 tpa, leading to 25% plus reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to similar LNG facilities.

The expansion project will produce approximately 16 tpa of additional LNG, increasing Qatar’s total production from 110 to 126 tpa.

Arnaud Pieton, CEO of Technip Energies, commented: “We are extremely honored to have been awarded by QatarEnergy this mega LNG project, along with our long-standing partner CCC, a leading construction company for LNG trains. This award is a testament to the trust, extent, and strength of our relationship with QatarEnergy. This new project also reflects our leadership in the LNG market as well as our proven ability to integrate technologies towards low carbon LNG, critical in solving the trilemma for affordable, available and sustainable energy."

Technip Energies has been active with a local presence since 1986 in Qatar, a strategic country for the Company.

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

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Valero Energy Corporation declares regular cash dividend on Common Stock, said the company.

The Board of Directors of Valero Energy Corporation has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on common stock of USD1.02 per share. The dividend is payable on June 22, 2023 to holders of record at the close of business on May 23, 2023.

We remind, Valero Energy Corp is starting up production on a new coker at its 335,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. The startup of production on the new 55,000-bpd coker follows completion of an overhaul of the 115,000-bpd AVU-147 crude distillation unit (CDU), the sources said. Valero continues to struggle with restarting the 66,000-bpd gas oil hydrotreater (GOHT).

Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States (“U.S.”), Canada, the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), Ireland and Latin America. Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day.

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MRC) -- Samsung Engineering, one of the world’s leading engineering, procurement, construction, and project management (EPC&PM) companies and OMV, the international, integrated energy, fuels & feedstock and chemicals & materials company, announced today the signing of an MoU to cooperate on projects from the early development stage, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The MoU was signed at the OMV headquarters in Vienna, Austria, by Martijn van Koten, Member of the Executive Board of OMV and EVP Fuels & Feedstock, and Hong Namkoong, President and CEO of Samsung Engineering. Alfred Stern, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of OMV, as well as Reinhard Florey, Member of the Executive Board and CFO of OMV welcomed Samsung Engineering’s delegation.

Samsung Engineering’s extensive experience in executing projects based on modularization was key factor for reaching this MoU.

OMV, is amongst Austria’s largest listed industrial companies and is committed to becoming a net-zero emissions company (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) latest by 2050. OMV has embarked on a transformation to become a leading provider of innovative and sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, with a focus on circular economy solutions.

This strategy is aligned with Samsung Engineering’s ambitions to contribute to the energy transition, by starting to take key initiatives for the decarbonization of its operations, whereby it has launched projects in the direction of low-carbon businesses. A major goal for Samsung Engineering is to become a “Beyond EPC - Green Solution Provider”. It is striving to transform from a conventional EPC player to a green solution provider by securing a reliable source of profits and creating a sustainable growth engine for the future. Samsung Engineering is pioneering into new businesses such as green solutions and environmental infrastructure projects.

Hong Namkoong, President and CEO of Samsung Engineering said “Samsung Engineering’s excellent track record in modularization projects has led to this MoU to jointly develop sustainable projects based on modularization. In the era of the energy transition, the strategy of OMV and Samsung Engineering align to create synergy effects to promote and strengthen the foundation for mid to long-term sustainable projects."

Martijn van Koten, Member of the Executive Board of OMV responsible for Fuels & Feedstock said “Strong partnerships with pioneers for sustainable solutions and projects in the low carbon business help accelerate our transformation towards our goal of reducing CO2 emissions and becoming a net-zero company by 2050. We welcome the collaboration with Samsung Engineering. This will enable us to continuously expand our renewable fuels and feedstock product range and fulfill one of the key elements of our OMV Strategy 2030 to become a leading, innovative producer of sustainable fuels and feedstock in Europe."

We remind, Aramco has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., which sets forth preliminary plans for a strategic collaboration that would localize an industrial 5G technology ecosystem, starting with private networks, in Saudi Arabia. The proposed collaboration aims to contribute to the digital transformation of various industrial sectors in Saudi Arabia, such as energy, petrochemical, and manufacturing, by leveraging advanced 4G and 5G technologies capable of providing secure, fast and reliable communications to satisfy business critical requirements of industries.

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Venezuelan state energy company PDVSA's new management expects to boost the country's oil production to 1.17 million bpd by year end while increasing refining and exploration activities, an internal planning document showed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Venezuela's monthly crude output in April surpassed 800,000 bpd for the first time since December 2021 following a company shake up triggered by an anti-corruption probe that demanded an audit of all its operations, subsidiaries and joint ventures, uncovering some USD21 B in accounts receivable.

A U.S. license allowing Chevron Corp to reanimate operations has also helped the nation's crude output and exports recover since late last year.

PDVSA's new chief executive, Pedro Tellechea, and a new board of directors this year have reviewed supply contracts and partnerships aiming to cash on pending debt, optimize operations and boost production.

According to a plan presented last week by Tellechea to workers, seen by Reuters on Monday, PDVSA expects to increase crude output by 390,000 bpd by year end, boost gas output by 645 million cubic feet per day (cfd) to 2.27 billion cfd, and ramp up refining by 20% so an extra volume of 90,000 bpd of fuel can be sold domestically.

PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the plan, which also showed it aims to export about 1 million bpd of crude and fuel and 800,000 tons per month of petroleum coke by year end, above the average of 660,000 bpd of crude and fuel and 530,000 tons of petroleum coke it has exported so far this year.

One of the key projects to reach these goals is to restart the Petromonagas upgrader next month, which has been out of service since December after a fire, to convert about 80,000 bpd of extra heavy oil into exportable crude.

If it meets its goals, which in the past it has missed repeatedly, PDVSA would be able to pocket USD4.2 B in cashflow this year.

The company also has drafted a plan to drill three exploration wells in the country's western region.

We remind, PDVSA has allocated an oil cargo to a unit of Eni for a February loading, the first to the Italian firm following a contract suspension this year by new management at the state-run company, people familiar with the matter said. Eni and Spanish oil firm Repsol in May last year received authorizations from the U.S. State Department to take the crude to Europe for outstanding Venezuela debt and dividends, an exception to U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela.


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