Worley awarded FEED for QatarEnergy LNG’s largest CO2 sequestration project

Worley has been selected to develop the Front-End Engineering Design for QatarEnergy LNG’s CO2 sequestration project in Ras Laffan, Qatar, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Through this CO2 sequestration project, there will be the capacity to capture 4.3 million metric tonnes of CO2 per annum, which will help QatarEnergy LNG to further reduce their environmental impact across the LNG value chain by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from QatarEnergy LNG North’s 7 LNG trains and QatarEnergy LNG South’s 3 LNG trains.

CO2 will be captured from the trains, compressed, and injected into the new injection wells. New compression trains and pipelines need to be installed after FEED is completed. Using QatarEnergy LNG’s selected concept, Worley will develop the FEED study and EPC scope of work.

The project team at Worley’s Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Centre of Excellence will aim to prove the pre-FEED concept by modelling the CO2 capture process. This high-level technical approach will instill further confidence to expand the CO2 sequestration technology in the future to include the remaining trains at QatarEnergy LNG South and North.

Nawar Chapman, Country Manager Qatar & Kuwait at Worley stated, “Having worked alongside QatarEnergy LNG for over a decade, we are delighted to be involved in this project and support Qatar on its sustainability journey. This project presents an opportunity to utilize our in-depth knowledge of the region and global expertise in delivering FEED services to the CCUS sector to drive project delivery. As we work towards our purpose of delivering a more sustainable world.

The project will have international involvement from Worley’s teams in Qatar, and Australia, and is set for completion in April 2024.

We remind, Russia's Transneft suspended deliveries of diesel to the key Baltic and Black Sea terminals of Primorsk and Novorossiysk on Friday. Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.

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Portuguese oil company Galp said it had teamed up with Japan's Mitsui to invest USD426 MM in an industrial-scale plant to produce biodiesel and biojet fuel from waste at its Sines refinery, said Reuters.

The companies will create a joint venture for the project, which will be 75% controlled by Galp, it said in a statement. Galp also said it had made a final decision to invest 250 million euros on its own in a 100 mega-watt (MW) electrolyzer unit to produce green hydrogen to power the refinery. It said that both plants would start operating in 2025.

The Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) plant will have a production capacity of 270,000 metric tons per year. It will transform waste materials, such as used cooking oils, into renewable biodiesel and biojet fuel -- also known as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) -- using green hydrogen produced by the electrolyzer, which will have a capacity of 15,000 metric tons of green hydrogen a year.

SAFs are an alternative to traditional jet fuel aimed at being more environmentally-friendly as they help replace dirtier petroleum products while providing new uses for waste. The Sines refinery south of Lisbon is Portugal's biggest consumer of hydrogen from natural gas, although Galp wants to gradually produce zero-carbon fuel there through a process of electrolysis using renewable energy.

Galp Chairwoman Paula Amorim said in a statement that the two projects are among the largest of their kind. "These decisions are based on the expectation that the tax and regulatory developments in Portugal will not hinder the success of such large-scale investments," she added.

Galp is trying to speed up the decarbonization of its processes and products and plans to allocate around 50% of its capital expenditure to low-carbon activities through 2025.

We remind, Galp has taken a step towards a sustainable and low-carbon future with its recent announcement of a EUR650 million (approximately USD692 million) investment aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the Sines refinery and its product portfolio, ushering in a new era of eco-friendly energy solutions in Portugal.

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An explosion was reported at Iran's southern refinery of Bandar Abbas, according to the official IRNA news agency, following a gas leak, said Reuters.

The leak caused gas condensates to explode in what is one of Iran's largest refineries, the news agency said, adding that an official confirmation has yet to be announced.

No detail was provided regarding damage to production or casualties.

We remind, Russia's Transneft suspended deliveries of diesel to the key Baltic and Black Sea terminals of Primorsk and Novorossiysk on Friday. Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.

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The Russian government has approved some changes to its fuel export ban, lifting the restrictions for fuel used as bunkering for some vessels as well as diesel with high content of sulfur, as per Reuters.

It also lifted restrictions on the export of fuel already accepted for export by the Russian Railways and Transneft before the initial ban had been announced last week. The ban on all types of gasoline and high-quality diesel remains in place.

Russia announced on Thursday that it had temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect in order to stabilize the domestic market.

Russia in recent months has suffered shortages of gasoline and diesel. Wholesale fuel prices have spiked, although retail prices are capped to try to curb them in line with official inflation.

The crunch has been especially painful in some parts of Russia's southern breadbasket, where fuel is crucial for gathering the harvest. A serious crisis could be awkward for the Kremlin as a presidential election looms in March.

We remind, Russia's Transneft suspended deliveries of diesel to the key Baltic and Black Sea terminals of Primorsk and Novorossiysk on Friday. Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.

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Dow announces the start-up of a new MDI distillation and prepolymers facility at its world-scale manufacturing site in Freeport, Texas, said Coatings.specialchem.

This investment optimizes Dow’s existing asset infrastructure and advances Dow’s position in attractive applications in automotive, construction, consumer and industrial markets. The new Freeport MDI facility, which replaces Dow’s North America capacity in La Porte, Texas, will supply an additional 30% of product to Dow’s customers. In coordination with the start-up of the new MDI facility, Dow shut down its polyurethane assets at the La Porte site.

“Our customers are looking for a cost competitive and reliable supply of key upstream polyurethane raw materials to support their growth,” said Jane Palmieri, president, Industrial Intermediates & Infrastructure operating segment, Dow.

“The back integration at the Freeport site enhances operational flexibility and reliability and delivers a more sustainable production process ensuring that we are best positioned to support our customer needs and downstream growth,” added Palmieri.

Dow’s extensive polyurethane franchise upgrades key polyurethane components and systems to produce rigid, semi-rigid and flexible foams and coatings, adhesives, sealants, elastomers and composites.

The products are used in various applications ranging from industrial and infrastructure solutions to consumer comfort solutions such as flooring, furniture, bedding and footwear, to automotive solutions for vehicle interior and energy-efficient insulation materials.

We remind, Dow, a global materials science company, and Shanghai Qifan Cable Co., Ltd. (Qifan Cable) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Wire China 2023. In the coming years, the two parties intend to jointly engage in developing innovative solutions for submarine cables, to support development of offshore wind power that will accelerate the global energy transition to renewable sources.

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