Greenpeace challenging UK's new North Sea oil and gas licenses

Britain's decision to authorize new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea came under scrutiny at London's High Court on Tuesday, as Greenpeace argued the government failed to assess emissions produced by burning extracted fuel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The environmental campaign group says Britain's failure to assess the greenhouse gases produced by consuming oil and gas – so-called end-use or downstream emissions – renders its offshore energy plan unlawful.

But lawyers representing Britain's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero say ministers were not required to assess end-use emissions, though they nonetheless considered them. Last year, Britain held its first oil and gas exploration licensing round since 2019, with a view to boosting domestic hydrocarbon output as Europe weans itself off Russian fuel.

Britain says domestic oil and gas production is key to its plan to improve energy security – and that doing so is consistent with its target of net zero by 2050. However, Greenpeace argues the government should have assessed downstream emissions because the whole point of the new licensing rounds is to provide a secure domestic energy supply by extracting and then consuming oil and gas.

Its case is being heard against a similar challenge brought by campaign group Uplift, which argues Britain wrongly failed to consider not issuing new oil and gas licenses. Lawyers representing the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero argued in court filings that "any end use emissions from domestic oil and gas production would likely be consistent with the UK's net zero targets".

We remind, RockCreek, a leading global multi-asset firm investing in the energy transition, announced the closing of an investment in Raven SR, Inc. (Raven SR), a company that produces high-value renewable transportation fuels from a variety of feedstocks, including waste streams, using a proprietary non-combustion process.

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Sasol said that its chemical sales fell in fiscal 2023 due to lower prices, and that it expects continued pricing and demand volatility in fiscal 2024.

The South African energy and chemicals group said chemicals sales revenue fell to USD8.99 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, from USD10.55 billion in fiscal 2022, on lower prices offsetting slightly higher sales volumes.

Average sales basket price decreased in the year to USD1,465 a ton from USD1,656 a ton a year prior due to lower demand. This, together with increased feedstock and energy costs, continue to put downward pressure on overall unit margins and profitability, the company said.

All three of its chemical regional segments--Africa, America, Eurasia--achieved sales volumes within the company's guidance ranges. Fourth-quarter sales volumes increased 5% sequentially, with improved production and supply-chain performance in Africa and America, while demand in Europe and China remained weak.

Looking ahead, the company sees continued pricing and demand volatility in fiscal 2024, with uncertain sentiment in the global market and petrochemical markets.

Sasol plans to publish its fiscal 2023 results on Aug. 23.

We remind, Sasol, the global chemicals and energy company, and Topsoe, a global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies, have signed a landmark agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture (subject to approval by relevant authorities), solidifying their commitment to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.

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Dow reported net sales of USD11,420,000,000 for the second quarter of 2023, meaning the months of April, May and June, said the company.

By comparison, the company's net sales were USD11,851,000,000 in the first quarter of this year and USD15,664,000,000 in the second quarter of last year.

During an earnings conference call with securities analysts Tuesday morning, Dow Chief Financial Officer Howard Ungerleider said the company is on track to achieve its goal of USD1 billion in cost savings this year and has completed 75% of the company-wide 2,000 job cuts that were announced in late January.

“Team Dow delivered sequential earnings improvement and generated operating cash flow of more than USD1.3 billion in the second quarter," Dow Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling said. "We proactively navigated the challenging near-term macro environment by implementing our targeted cost savings actions while capitalizing on our advantaged feedstock position and participation in attractive end-markets."

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles earnings per share was 68 cents for the second quarter. Operating earnings per share was 75 cents, compared to USD2.31 in the second quarter of last year and 58 cents for the first quarter of this year.

Fitterling also gave his outlook for the future. "Year-to-date, we have returned nearly USD1.4 billion to shareholders through our industry-leading dividend and share repurchases, reflecting our ongoing commitment to strong cash generation. Altogether, we remain well-positioned to execute our financial and operational playbook and advance our Decarbonize and Grow strategy to continue to create value for all our stakeholders," Fitterling said.

We remind, Dow reported a net loss of USD73m for the first quarter (Q1) on a slump in volumes and sales prices in key segments and important geographies. Net sales for the largest US chemical company were down 22% at USD11,851m reflecting, Dow said, declines in all its operating segments driven by lower macroeconomic activity.

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Evonik Industries plans to build a second world-scale plant for the production of the amino acid DL-methionine in Singapore are fully on schedule, said the company.

The company marked the official start of construction with a symbolic ground-breaking ceremony today, officiated by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies. The complex will have an annual production capacity of 150,000 metric tons and is expected to become operational in 2019, with investment costs of more than half a billion euros. Evonik sells DL-methionine under the brand name MetAMINO.

“Our methionine complex, which came on-stream in late 2014 on Jurong Island, is a success story. This led to our decision to build a second plant next to it,” said Klaus Engel, the chairman of the Executive Board of Evonik Industries, in Singapore today. “The demand for MetAMINO® for animal nutrition is continuing to grow at a very fast rate in Asia." The new plant will not only produce methionine, but also all strategically important precursors to guarantee product quality and supply security.

“Singapore has proven an ideal location for supplying our Asian customers,” said Reiner Beste, chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH. The new complex will create more than 150 jobs at the location. “We are pleased to have such qualified personnel available to us in this country,” Beste continued.

The new production complex will increase Evonik’s annual capacity of MetAMINO to a total of approximately 300,000 metric tons in Asia, and to approximately 730,000 metric tons worldwide. The specialty chemicals company produces the amino acid in its world-scale plants in Antwerp (Belgium), Wesseling/Cologne (Germany), Mobile (Alabama, USA), and Singapore.

DL-methionine is an essential amino acid, which must be absorbed through feed intake. As a feed additive, it contributes to the efficient, healthy and environmentally friendly nutrition of livestock, particularly poultry and swine. That makes it an important component of ensuring a sustainable animal protein supply for the world’s growing population.

Evonik has over 60 years of experience in the manufacture of essential amino acids and provides solutions for efficient and sustainable animal nutrition to customers in over one hundred countries. Evonik wants to make an even greater contribution to the efficiency of animal feed by supplementing its portfolio with innovative feed additives beyond amino acids in order to create additional value for its customers. Evonik’s products and services in the area of animal nutrition play a key role worldwide in the production of healthy and affordable food, while preserving natural resources and reducing the ecological footprint.

We remind, Evonik and Guangdong Marubi Biotechnology Co Ltd have entered into a cooperation agreement with the signing taking place on 6 Jul 2023, in Shanghai. The partnership will enable consumers in the local cosmetics industry to benefit from both companies' complementary capabilities in raw materials, research, development, and production. Furthermore, the two organizations will exchange information on diverse topics including ingredient application and development, formulation, and studies on cosmetic market trends.

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TotalEnergies is pursuing its profitable growth in the renewable energy sector with today’s announcement that it is buying out Total Eren’s other shareholders, increasing its stake from close to 30% to 100%, said the company.

The Total Eren teams will be fully integrated within TotalEnergies’ Renewables business unit. The deal follows the strategic agreement signed between TotalEnergies and Total Eren in 2017, which granted TotalEnergies the right to acquire all of Total Eren (formerly EREN RE) after a five-year period.

As part of this transaction, Total Eren is valued at an Enterprise Value of EUR3.8 billion based on an attractive EBITDA multiple negotiated in the initial strategic agreement signed in 2017. The acquisition of 70,8%1 represents a net investment of around EUR1.5 billion for TotalEnergies.

Total Eren’s integration should result in an increase in TotalEnergies’ Integrated Power Net Operating Income of around EUR160 million and CFFO of around EUR400 million in 2024.

Total Eren has 3.5 GW of renewable capacity in operation worldwide and a solar, wind, hydroelectric and storage projects pipeline of over 10 GW in 30 countries, of which 1.2 GW are in construction or late-stage development. TotalEnergies will leverage Total Eren’s 2 GW assets in operation in merchant countries (notably Portugal, Greece, Australia, and Brazil) to build up its integrated power strategy. TotalEnergies will also benefit from Total Eren’s footprint and ability to develop projects in other countries such as India, Argentina, Kazakhstan, or Uzbekistan.

Total Eren will not only contribute high-quality operated assets, but also the expertise and skills of nearly 500 people based in more than 20 countries. Total Eren’s successful organic growth testifies to the expertise that its teams have built up internally and in connection with partners and suppliers since its creation in 2012. The teams and the quality of Total Eren’s portfolio will strengthen TotalEnergies’ ability to deliver production growth while optimizing its operating costs and capex by leveraging its size and purchasing bargaining power.

Further to its activities as a renewable energy producer, Total Eren has launched pioneering green hydrogen projects in recent years, located in various regions, such as North Africa, Latin America, and Australia. These green hydrogen activities will be pursued through a new partnership in an entity named "TEH2” (80% owned by TotalEnergies and 20% owned by EREN Group).

We remind, TotalEnergies and its partner SOCAR (State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan) announce the start of production of the first phase of development of the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea, around 100 km south-east of Baku.

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