India to allow diversion of up to 1.7 MMt of sugar for ethanol

India has decided to allow sugar mills to divert up to 1.7 MMt of sugar for ethanol production, government and industry officials said on Friday, as New Delhi aims to reduce disruptions in its ambitious biofuel program, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As the world's second-biggest sugar producer, India had previously directed sugar mills not to use cane juice or syrup for ethanol due to concerns over production as drought hit key producing states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.

However, on Friday, the government opted to permit the diversion of cane juice and B-heavy molasses for ethanol production, capping it at 1.7 million metric tons for the 2023/24 marketing year started on Oct. 1, according to officials.

"A quota will soon be allocated for sugar mills and distilleries," said a senior government official, who preferred not to be named, following official rules.

The available sugar supply would still be adequate to meet local demand, even with the diversion of sucrose for ethanol production, the official added.

The government move will assist the industry, which has invested billions of dollars over the last five years to boost ethanol production capacity, said a senior industry official, also preferring anonymity.

Uneven rainfall in the primary sugar cane-growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka has sparked concerns about this year's output.

Anticipated production decreases have driven local sugar prices <SUG-MMZR-NCX> to their highest levels in nearly 14 years.

We remind, India's Russian oil imports in November rose to a 4-month high of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), up 3.1% from October, making up about 36% of the nation's overall imports last month, data obtained from trade sources showed. Russia became India's top oil supplier this year as the south Asian nation was drawn to Russian oil discounts after some Western companies shunned purchases from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

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Shell said it had agreed to sell its 37.5% stake in the PCK Schwedt oil refinery, which supplies most of Berlin's fuel, to Britain's Prax Group, attempting to draw a line under its co-ownership of an asset majority-owned by Russia's Rosneft, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell restarted efforts to sell the stake earlier this year after the German government put the local units of Rosneft, which owns 54.17% of the refinery, under trusteeship in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rosneft remains the legal owner of the stake but was stripped of its ability to exert control.

Shell said the planned sale of its stake was part of efforts to reduce its global network of refineries to core sites that are integrated with its trading hubs and chemicals activities. It expects the deal to close in the first half of 2024, pending regulatory clearance and pre-emption rights by Rosneft and Italy's Eni, which owns 8.33% in PCK Schwedt.

Privately-owned Prax, which describes itself as a "British multinational, independent global energy conglomerate", has been on a buying spree in 2023 which has included Hurricane Energy, the OIL! petrol station network, as well as a minority stake in a refinery joint venture in South Africa.

Owned by its founders -- CEO Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai and executive board member Arani Kumar Soosaipillai -- and their family trusts, Prax said it made core profit (EBITDA) of $147.6 million on sales of $10.5 billion in the year to Feb. 28, 2023, up from $77.2 million and $9.9 billion the previous year.

We remind, Shell sees a $5-B offshore oil investment opportunity in Nigeria and pledged to spend a further $1 B in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports, a presidential spokesperson said on Thursday, citing Shell's director of upstream operations.

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India will buy Venezuelan oil as some refiners in the country have the capability to process heavy crude oil, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Indian refiners have already resumed Venezuelan oil purchases, with Reliance Industries, Indian Oil Corp and HPCL-Mittal Energy securing cargoes of Venezuelan oil after the United States lifted sanctions in October. India last imported Venezuelan crude in 2020.

"Many of our refineries, including Paradip, (are) capable of using that heavy Venezuelan oil. And we will buy (Venezuelan oil)," Puri told reporters at a press conference. India is the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer, shipping over 80% of its oil needs from overseas. It wants to cut its crude import bill and is looking to expand its refining.

India is willing to buy oil from any country that is not sanctioned, the minister added. Puri said India currently refines 5 million barrels per day of oil and the country's refining capacity is rising. "...if Venezuelan oil comes to market we welcome it," he said.

The minister also said some Indian money is locked up in Venezuela, referring to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp , which has more than $500 million in dividends pending since 2014 for its stake in Venezuelan projects.

We remind, India has decided to allow sugar mills to divert up to 1.7 MMt of sugar for ethanol production, government and industry officials said on Friday, as New Delhi aims to reduce disruptions in its ambitious biofuel program. As the world's second-biggest sugar producer, India had previously directed sugar mills not to use cane juice or syrup for ethanol due to concerns over production as drought hit key producing states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.

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Solvay has successfully finalized the separation of its speciality businesses to Syensqo. While Syensqo will concentrate on speciality materials, Solvay will prioritize commodities, said the company.

The implementation of this partial demerger officially took effect on 9 Dec 2023. Both Syensqo and Solvay commenced independent trading on Euronext Paris and Brussels using their respective ticker symbols, starting from 11 Dec 2023.

Solvay is set to consist of specialized businesses, encompassing areas such as Peroxides, Soda Ash, Coatis, Silica, and Special Chem, generating approximately EUR 5.6 bn in net sales for 2022. Syensqo aims to explore unexpected perspectives, facilitate groundbreaking innovations, and discover the future of science.

The company will include advanced business segments such as Composites, Specialty Polymers, Aroma, Novecare, Oil & Gas, Technology Solutions, as well as growth platforms in green hydrogen, batteries, renewable materials & biotechnology, and thermoplastic composites. In 2022, these entities collectively achieved net sales of around EUR 7.9 bn.

We remind, Solvay will conduct a feasibility study into building the world’s first carbon neutral soda ash plant in NEOM, the city under development in Saudi Arabia. Following the completion of plans to split the business into two companies, with the core business still known as Solvay and the specialties operations now known as Syensqo, the firm is partnering with NEOM energy and water utility ENOWA on the project.

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Sumitomo Chemical has completed the construction of a pilot facility to establish a highly efficient process for producing methanol from CO2 at its Ehime Works, located in Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan, and has commenced operations at the facility, said the company.

This facility was built with the support of NEDO’s Green Innovation (GI) Fund. The Company aims to complete the demonstration of this technology by 2028, as well as start commercial production using the new process and license the technology to other companies in the 2030s.

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology is expected to serve as a game-changing solution to halt global warming and achieve a circular economy for carbon by recovering CO2 and utilizing it in products, and Sumitomo Chemical is accelerating the development and spread of various new CCU processes. Among them is a technology that uses CO2 to produce methanol, a raw material for a wide range of products, from plastics to adhesives, chemical agents, and paints. It is often cited as a key example of CCU technology. However, conventional CO2-to-methanol conversion processes have faced challenges, such as low yield due to the reversible nature of the reaction and catalyst degradation caused by byproduct water.

Sumitomo Chemical has resolved these issues through joint development with Professor Koji Omata of Shimane University Interdisciplinary Faculty of Science and Engineering, leveraging the internal condensation reactor (ICR), a technology that Professor Omata has been developing. The ICR enables the condensation and separation of methanol and water within the reactor, which is impossible with conventional technologies. This helps to improve yield, downsize equipment, and achieve higher energy efficiency, while it is also expected to prevent catalyst degradation.

We remind, Sumitomo Chemical has decided to close down its production facilities for cyclohexanone (also known as anone) at its Ehime Works located in Niihama City, Ehime, Japan and exit the business, said the company. The closure of the production facilities is scheduled for the end of March 2024.

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