Neste expands its renewable fuels supply capabilities in Southern California

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste has expanded its capability to supply renewable fuels to customers on the West Coast of the United States in cooperation with Vopak, a leading energy industry infrastructure provider, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Neste commissioned terminal capacity at Vopak’s Los Angeles terminal in California for storing Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Neste MY Renewable Diesel. This is a major step in further expanding the availability of Neste’s renewable fuels in the Southern California region, enabling greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the transportation sector and supporting the energy transition on the West Coast of the U.S.

The Vopak Los Angeles Terminal is strategically located in the Port of Los Angeles and is well-connected to fuel logistics via vessels, barges, trucks and pipelines, for example. Having terminal capacity at this location will significantly increase the availability and accessibility of Neste's renewable fuels to customers at critical hubs in the Los Angeles area, such as SAF for airlines at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), one of the world’s largest airports, and renewable diesel (also locally known as R99) for fueling stations serving road transportation all the way to San Diego.

“Neste is fully committed to supporting the energy transition in the U.S. as well as globally by working closely together with partners to increase the availability of our renewable fuels. Our cooperation with Vopak shows how repurposing existing fuel distribution infrastructure can accelerate the much needed transition to renewable energy. California has been at the forefront of adopting and endorsing climate-friendly policies and solutions. We are glad to enable more cities, businesses and individual travelers in the state to take advantage of Neste’s renewable solutions to reduce their emissions and help fight against climate change,” says Annika Tibbe, acting President for Neste US.

“We are proud to serve Neste. Repurposing Vopak’s assets from oil and traditional fossil fuel products to low-carbon energy solutions is right on target with our strategy. We are happy that our services and infrastructure have been selected and are committed to being a part of the Los Angeles energy transition,” says Maria Ciliberti, Vopak President United States and Canada.

Neste has been supplying renewable fuels to California since 2016 after the state adopted its Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). According to data from the California Air Resources Board, as of the first quarter of 2023, 49% of California’s diesel pool is renewable diesel. Since the inception of the LCFS program, renewable diesel has displaced over 5.3 billion gallons (approx. 16 million tons) of fossil diesel. Today, Neste’s renewable diesel is used by many municipalities and businesses in the state, and Neste’s SAF is available at all of the major airports in California.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- bp has started construction on its 187MWdc Peacock Solar project, located 10 miles north of Corpus Christi in San Patricio County, Texas, helping support the global transition to lower carbon energy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Peacock will sell all of the electricity it generates under a long-term power purchase agreement to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV), a joint venture between ExxonMobil and SABIC, which produces materials used to manufacture clothes, food containers, packaging, agricultural film and construction materials.

Located near the GCGV complex, Peacock will supply power directly to the facility. Once complete, the installation will generate enough renewable energy annually to power the equivalent of 34,000 homes. The project is expected to create around 300 jobs during construction and provide more than $25 million in tax revenue over the first 25 years of the project’s life.

“Securing this agreement and kicking off construction of Peacock helps support the transition to lower carbon energy, while benefiting local communities and the economy,” said Dave Lawler, bp America chairman and president. “It’s another way bp is accelerating growth of our US solar generation capacity, investing in America, and advancing our transformation to an integrated energy company.”

"Securing this agreement and kicking off construction of Peacock helps support the transition to lower carbon energy, while benefiting local communities and the economy."

Dave Lawler, bp America chairman and president “We want to be good stewards of our environment,” said Paul Fritsch, president at GCGV. “Once online, the solar-generated electricity will be used to partially power our plant and help reduce emissions in support of a net-zero future.”

bp’s 50:50 joint-venture partner, global solar leader Lightsource bp, is developing the project and managing the construction on behalf of bp.

PCL Construction, the main engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project, will install ultra-low carbon solar panels and trackers from US-based manufacturers First Solar and GameChange Solar, respectively.

We remind, Neste has expanded its capability to supply renewable fuels to customers on the West Coast of the United States in cooperation with Vopak, a leading energy industry infrastructure provider. Neste commissioned terminal capacity at Vopak’s Los Angeles terminal in California for storing Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Neste MY Renewable Diesel.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik is strategically realigning two major units to focus its resources even more intently on the operating businesses of its three growth divisions, said the company.

The Technology & Infrastructure (TI) division will be split into two units, each with different perspectives. In addition, the entire administration will be tailored to the needs of the operating businesses, following an extensive analysis.

"We have made great strides in transforming our portfolio toward specialty chemicals in recent years," says Chief Executive Officer Christian Kullmann. "Now we have to set up our infrastructure activities and our administration in a way that allows us to fully focus on what really differentiates Evonik from the competition: our operating businesses and their innovative strength, customer proximity, and sustainability."

The company plans to split TI into cross-site technology and site-specific infrastructure activities. This separation will enable a more differentiated management of the respective services, reduce TI's complexity, and better meet the distinct requirements of the technology and infrastructure activities.

The technology units possess unique specialist expertise in process technology, engineering, strategic energy management, and digitalization of production. This is where Evonik differentiates itself from the competition as a specialty chemicals company, as these units make important contributions to meeting ambitious innovation and sustainability targets.

We remind, Evonik is one step closer to its goal of closing the material cycle in the polyurethane industry: The company has joined forces with the REMONDIS Group, one of the world's leading recycling companies to secure the supply of end-of-life mattress foams.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Indonesia's Kilang Pertamina Internasional, the refinery unit of state energy firm Pertamina, aims to finish revamping its petrochemical plant Trans-Pacific Petrochemical Indorama in the fourth quarter of this year, said Reuters.

TPPI's aromatic refining capacity will increase from 600,000 tonnes to 780,000 metric tons per year after the upgrade, chief executive Taufik Aditiyawarman told parliament on Tuesday.

The plant, located in Tuban, East Java, produces products like paraxylene, benzene and light naphta, among others.

Elsewhere in Tuban, Pertamina is building a new petrochemical plant with Russia's Rosneft.

The project is preparing for a final investment decision, Taufik said. The plant is expected to have a capacity of 300,000 tons.

We remind, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, one of the world’s largest producers of recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) resin, announced the completion of the expansion of its recycling facility in Brazil.

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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Firefighters managed to put out a fire at Kuwait's Mina Al Ahmadi oil refinery with no injuries, state news agency (KUNA) said, adding that production and exports were unaffected, said Reuters.

Earlier on Friday, the Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) said in a post on messaging platform X that a fire broke out in the sixth district, unit No. 35 of the refinery.

We remind, 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. 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.

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