Ineos to resume Antwerp cracker construction after environmental green light

Ineos Group Ltd. has been granted a new environmental permit for its previously stalled ethane cracker project at Antwerp, Belgium, said the company.

The company said today that the €4 billion project was given the green light on Jan. 7 by Zuhal Demir, the Flemish environment minister, and that the minister’s “positive decision” ended uncertainty over the project and opened the way for construction and operation of the steam cracker. Ineos said it continues to target the end of 2026 for the start of operations at the 1.45 million metric tons per year ethylene plant.

Ineos said that it submitted a request in October last year to amend the permit application in response to the Council for Permit Disputes’ ruling of July 20, 2023, which annulled the company’s original environmental permit granted on June 7, 2022. Demir’s decision reconfirms on appeal the environmental permit for which Ineos’ initial application already dates from July 2021, it said. “Ineos thoroughly addressed the Council’s comments in non-evident circumstances,” it said, adding that it followed “a concrete, ecological and scientific approach” and delivered 800 pages as part of its assessment.

Ineos told CW on Jan. 4 that it was awaiting official confirmation of the permit’s approval after reports appeared in local Belgian media. Construction of the project has been stalled since July last year after a Belgian court’s decision to cancel its environmental permit due to concerns over potential nitrogen pollution from the plant. Ineos broke ground on the cracker in December 2022.

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PT Pertamina appreciates the government's support through the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, enabling the disbursement of fuel subsidy compensation for the year 2023 amounting to IDR 132.44 trillion (including VAT) or IDR 119.31 trillion (excluding VAT), said the company.

This compensation encompasses funds for the Quarters I-III 2023 amounting to IDR 82.73 trillion, 2022 totaling IDR 49.14 trillion, and 2021 totaling IDR 569 billion.

The fund represents compensation for the price difference between the formula selling price and the retail selling price at petrol stations for the distribution of Certain Types of Fuel (JBT) Solar and Special Assignment Fuel Types (JBKP) Pertalite, where the values have been reviewed by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia (Itjen Kemenkeu).

"We highly appreciate the government's efforts through the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia for expediting the fuel subsidy compensation payment that Pertamina has distributed up to the third quarter of 2023. The compensation funds have entered the company's coffers, manifesting the government's full support of Pertamina in maintaining the sustainability of subsidized fuel service operations, supporting working capital, and improving the company's financial ratios," stated President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, in a written statement.

Nicke also expressed gratitude for the government's unwavering support of Pertamina in ensuring fuel distribution continuity, notably through the One Price Fuel program.

We remind, Pertamina expects to complete the capacity upgrade at its Balikpapan refinery in April next year, Nicke Widyawati, chief executive of Pertamina, the parent company of PHE. Pertamina is expanding Balikpapan's capacity to 360,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from 260,000 bpd currently. The refinery would also be able to produce fuel to Euro V emission standards.

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MRC -- Chaired by Mikayil Jabbarov, the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), a pivotal meeting was convened to thoroughly assess SOCAR's operational performance over the nine months of 2023, said the company.

The session encompassed detailed analyses of oil and gas field development activities, production metrics, advancements in renewable energy, and initiatives taken in decarbonization. Additionally, a thorough evaluation of the corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) based on the nine-month was undertaken, and projection for the 2024 budget were discussed.

In alignment with the Presidential Decree issued on December 25, 2023, which designated 2024 as the ‘Green World Solidarity Year’ in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the establishment of SOCAR Green LLC was sanctioned. This initiative is aimed at bolstering the development of renewable energy sources in Azerbaijan and advancing SOCAR’s decarbonization objectives.

The meeting also featured a presentation on the current status of the ‘New Operating Model’. It was underscored that the operational model, deployed to fulfill strategic objectives, has significantly enhanced SOCAR’s corporate management efficiency, reinforced business sustainability, and expedited the progression of the company’s corporate culture within a notably short period.

The Supervisory Board’s agenda covered a range of other pertinent issues, fostering robust discussions and leading to the issuance of strategic directives for upcoming actions.

We remind, Romgaz said it signed the first individual contract for gas deliveries from Azerbaijan, with Azeri national oil company Socar. The contract allows for scheduled gas deliveries through the Southern Corridor starting January 1, using the transportation capacities of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector (IGB) , as well as those of the Bulgarian and Romanian transmission systems, Romgaz said in a statement filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange, BVB.

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TechnipFMC has been awarded a major integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (iEPCI™) contract by Petrobras to deliver the Mero 3 HISEP® project, which uses subsea processing to capture carbon dioxide-rich dense gases and then inject them into the reservoir, said Polymerupdate.

TechnipFMC, in partnership with Petrobras, has advanced the qualification of some of the core technologies needed to deliver the HISEP® (High Pressure Separation) process entirely subsea, several of which are proprietary and will be used in other subsea applications. These include gas separation systems and dense gas pumps which enable the injection of CO2-rich dense gas.

The Mero 3 project in Brazil’s pre-salt field will be the first to utilize Petrobras’s patented HISEP® process subsea. HISEP® technologies enable the capture of CO2-rich dense gases directly from the well stream, moving part of the separation process from the topside platform to the sea floor. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity, HISEP® technologies increase production capacity by debottlenecking the topside gas processing plant. These technologies are supported by Petrobras and its partners in the Libra Consortium.

Luana Duffe, Executive Vice President, New Energy at TechnipFMC, commented: “This is an important moment for our Company. With the HISEP® project, we will again demonstrate how our leadership in subsea processing, technology innovation, and integrated solutions can deliver real and sustainable benefits to our partners. We are honored to be trusted by Petrobras and its partners in the Libra Consortium to deliver this transformational project.”

The contract covers the design, engineering, manufacture, and installation of subsea equipment, including manifolds, flexible and rigid pipes, umbilicals, power distribution, as well as life of field services. The contract follows a tender process and aligns with research and development guidance established by the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP).

We remind, Technip Energies has been selected to provide Proprietary Technology, Engineering, and Procurement services for Dow’s net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions integrated ethylene cracker in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada. Technip Energies provided an Extended Basic Engineering Package for this new ethylene plant, including the cracking furnaces and the downstream separation section. This is the first ethylene plant worldwide to be designed to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions.

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Japanese refiner Toa Oil, a unit of Idemitsu Kosan, has shut a 70,000 bpd sole CDU at the Keihin refinery, near Tokyo, on Dec. 3 due to a system glitch, an Idemitsu spokesperson said on Friday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

It is not clear for now when the unit will restart, he said.

We remind, U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories posted large builds last week as demand slipped, while crude stocks fell more than expected, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday, news that sank prices for crude, gasoline and heating oil. U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 10.9 million barrels, the largest build since May 1993, to 237 million barrels in the week to Dec 29, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 215,000 barrel drop.

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