Repsol to invest more than USD130 MM to retrofit plant to produce biofuels

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish oil company Repsol will invest more than 120 million euros (USD132.95 million) to retrofit a decades-old diesel plant to produce second-generation biofuels, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As part of its strategy to pivot to renewables, Repsol targets the production of two million tons of low-carbon fuels by 2030, tripling the capacity it had at the beginning of this decade.

The Puertollano plant, built in the 1960s, will start producing biofuels for cars, trucks an shipping at the end of 2025 and will have a capacity of 240,000 tons per year. It will use organic waste, such as used cooking oils.

This will be the second plant of this type in the Iberia region, along with Repsol's plant at its Cartagena refinery, the spokesperson said.

Biofuels are seen as key to decarbonize transportation in sectors hard to electrify, like aviation and shipping.

We remind, Repsol will nearly double the production capacity of its Reciclex recycled polyolefins with a new production line at its Puertollano Industrial Complex in Spain. The company will invest EUR 26 M to install a new 25,000 tonnes/y production line for polyolefins with mechanically recycled plastic content. Repsol currently has 16,000 tonnes/y of Reciclex polyolefins capacity.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Aramco, TotalEnergies, and SABIC have converted oil derived from plastic waste into ISCC+ certified circular polymers in the hopes of creating a domestic value chain for the advanced recycling of plastics into circular polymers in Saudi Arabia, said Packagingeurope.

In a reported first for the Middle East and North Africa, the plastic waste-derived oil (PDO) was processed at Aramco and TotalEnergies’ jointly-owned SATORP refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. SABIC affiliate PETROKEMYA then utilised the PDO as a feedstock to produce the certified circular polymers.

Although unsorted plastics can become a roadblock in mechanical recycling processes, it is claimed that this process is compatible with non-sorted plastics – a benefit that hopes to address challenges associated with end-of-life plastics.

The SATORP refinery, PETROKEMYA, and Aramco’s Ju’aymah NGL Fractionation Plant have all received ISCC+ certification, with the companies stating this will ‘assure transparency and traceability of the recycled origin of feedstock and products.’

Francois Good, TotalEnergies SVP Refining and Petrochemical, Africa and Middle East, continued: “This advanced plastic recycling initiative reflects TotalEnergies’ ambition to concretely contribute to addressing the challenge of end-of-life of plastics. TotalEnergies, in partnership with Aramco, recently announced the investment decision for its giant petrochemical project Amiral.

In an opposite process, Nestle Mexico and Greenback Recycling Technologies are using advanced recycling technology from Enval Limited to convert hard-to-recycle plastics into pyrolytic oil.

Meanwhile, SABIC worked with Scientex last December to chemically recycle ‘ocean-bound’ plastic waste into feedstock to produce flexible polypropylene packaging for a Malaysian noodles brand; and BASF signed an agreement with ARCUS Greencycling Technologies to purchase pyrolysis oil derived from mixed plastic waste.

We remind, Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, has successfully closed a landmark transaction to acquire a 10% interest in Rongsheng Petrochemical Co. Ltd. for USD3.4 B through its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company BV, based in the Netherlands.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Lotte Chemical Titan's second-quarter net loss widened year on year to Malaysian ringgit (M$) 327.7m (USD72.5m) on weak market demand amid a volatile external macroeconomic environment, the producer said.

Higher cost of operations also caused the net loss to balloon in April-June 2023, the company said in a statement. “In general, we have experienced a challenging period under the weight of a deteriorating external environment,” company president and CEO Park Hyun Chul said.

Market volatility will remain elevated amid the global economic slowdown and with new capacities exerting downward pressure on petrochemical prices, Park said. “Against the backdrop, the management is steadfast to its optimisation plan by balancing our production outputs and economic efficiencies while maintaining strict cost management to ensure the financial positions of the group remain healthy,” he said.

The company’s planned petrochemical complex called Lotte Chemical Indonesia Ethylene (LINE) Project “is progressing on schedule”, with completion slated in 2025, Park said. The LINE Project is expected to boost Lotte Chemical Titan’s annual production capacity in Malaysia and Indonesia by 65% to about 5.88m tonnes.

We remind, Indonesia's state-controlled gas company Perusahaan Gas Negara on Thursday said it would supply natural gas to a petrochemical plant operated by a unit of South Korea's Lotte Chemical Corp. PGN signed a gas sales agreement with Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI) to supply between 2.62 billion and 10.5 billion British thermal units per day (BBTUD) to power Lotte's plant to produce ethylene.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Spanish oil company Repsol said that its adjusted profit fell sharply in the second quarter, dragged by lower energy prices, but came in above analysts’ expectations, said Reuters.

The adjusted profit for the period was 827 million euros (USD917.4 million), down from 2.16 billion euros a year earlier, when oil and gas prices, as well as refining margins, were much higher.

Analysts had expected an adjusted profit of 706 million euros, according to a consensus forecast provided by the company.

Net profit declined to 308 million euros from 1.15 billion euros in the same quarter last year.

We remind, Repsol will nearly double the production capacity of its Reciclex recycled polyolefins with a new production line at its Puertollano Industrial Complex in Spain. The company will invest EUR 26 M to install a new 25,000 tonnes/y production line for polyolefins with mechanically recycled plastic content. Repsol currently has 16,000 tonnes/y of Reciclex polyolefins capacity.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Ecopol, developer and producer of water-soluble and biodegradable films for household detergent products, has signed a strategic investment with SK Capital Partners in a bid to support its upscaling endeavours, enter new markets, and expand its production footprint into the United States, said Packagingeurope.

Ecopol’s films and delivery systems are primarily geared toward the unit dose household detergent market for automatic and dishwashing laundry applications. It aims to develop more sustainable, convenient, and environmentally friendly systems for delivery, while opening the door to lower carbon emissions, plastic packaging consumption, and water usage across businesses’ supply chains.

The company is headquartered in Chiesina Uzzanese, Italy, and the company owns production facilities in Italy and the United States. Growing demand for innovative films is expected to accelerate Ecopol’s growth, and it has invested over €70 million into new assets since 2019 – including a new PVOH film line for laundry applications and a new production facility in Griffin, Georgia, USA.

SK Capital will acquire a majority interest in Ecopol with CEO and controlling shareholder Mauro Carbone retaining his position within the company, as well as his status as the largest individual shareholder. Existing minority investor Tikehau Capital will also keep its minority stake.

Legal counsel was provided to SK Capital by Latham & Watkins LLP, and to Ecopol by Legance and Alpeggiani Studio Legale Associato. STS Deloitte served Ecopol as a tax advisor, UBS as a financial advisor, and lead arrangers Credit Agricole Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo are supporting the transaction with committed financing.

Customary regulatory conditions and approvals must be satisfactorily met before the transaction is closed.

Previously, Constantia Flexibles signed a joint venture agreement with Premji Invest and S.B. Packagings to expand its business and operations in various packaging sectors and create value in the Indian market.

DS Smith has also invested €11.35 million into the expansion of its Cartogal production plant in A Pobra do Caraminal, which is said to utilise ‘environmentally friendly’ materials to construct energy-efficient systems.

Other homecare products have also taken on more sustainability-minded packaging solutions, including the home-recyclable cardboard cartons for 750ml own-brand Sainsbury’s laundry detergents and Tesco’s recyclable cardboard packaging for its laundry detergent pods.

We remind, Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd expects the outlook for the petrochemical industry to remain volatile.
In the second quarter ended June 30, Lotte reported a wider net loss of RM313.5mil against RM145.9mil last year. Revenue for the quarter tumbled 34% to RM1.86bil from RM2.8bil a year ago while loss per share stood as 13.76 sen versus 6.41 sen previously.

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