INEOS polymer used to create world’s first sustainable gas pipeline

INEOS produced bio-based high-density polyethylene has been used to create the world’s first fully sustainable gas pipeline. Installed by French gas utility network operator, GRDF, the pipeline only uses the low carbon footprint polymer, said the company.

The new pipeline is installed in Clermont Auvergne Metropole, in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand, as part of a GRDF program to ‘green’ pipelines in parts of the region with a similar commitment to reducing their carbon footprint. One kilometer of pipeline will be laid across three sites in the Clermont Auvergne Metropole gas network.

The pipeline is made from bio-based, certified HDPE supplied by INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe. It’s made from wood processing residues from the paper industry, which are transformed into tall oil, a bio-naphtha. The tall oil is turned into bio-ethylene in INEOS Cologne and transported to INEOS’ polymer plant in Lillo, Belgium, where it is used to manufacture bio-based HDPE.

The result is a polymer with a significantly lower carbon footprint than conventional, fossil-based polymers and because of this it has been recognized by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (or ISCC), an independent, third-party organization. ISCC have certified that the production of the pipes laid by GRDF met ISCC Plus standards by replacing the use of fossil fuel-derived feedstocks to produce the new material.

Importantly the bio-polymer has the same technical characteristics as conventional polymers, enabling a partner like GRDF to meet the highest standards of safety while reducing the environmental impact of networks it operates on behalf of local authorities. It also creates the potential for the innovation to be repeated for other gas and water pipelines.

All polymers offered by INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe are also 100% recyclable, alongside the lower carbon footprint associated with the bio-based HDPE.

Rob Ingram, INEOS Olefins & Polymers North CEO, said: ‘Our congratulations to GRDF for this world first. At INEOS, we’re very proud to play a part in this game-changing innovation. Alongside the work we are doing to drive down emissions and reduce plastic waste in the polyolefins industry, it’s another example of our commitment to working with partners to develop efficient, lower emission solutions for transporting important utilities and goods around Europe’s cities.

We remind, INEOS Inovyn has today announced the expansion of its PVC portfolio - to offer new products that meet society's everyday needs, with a significantly reduced carbon footprint and increased recycled content. In the area of carbon neutrality, BIOVYNTM, the bio-attributed PVC launched by INEOS Inovyn in 2019, is designed to become carbon neutral and the net zero option. BIOVYNTM has been used increasingly across various sectors from automotive, building and construction, to medical and fashion applications, where fossil-free solutions with a reduced carbon footprint are needed.

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Singapore's middle distillates stocks dipped for the third consecutive week to hit a more-than-one-year low, of under 7 million barrels, due to robust net exports of gasoil/diesel, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Inventories of gasoil/diesel and jet fuel/kerosene at key oil storage hub Singapore slipped by 3% week-on-week to 6.903 million barrels in the week through Jan. 17, data from Enterprise Singapore showed.

Net exports of gasoil/diesel soared by almost 40% from the previous week, with total exports rising by almost 7%. Volumes mostly headed to regional destinations, led by Indonesia, which was in line with early expectations as fuel buyers there had stepped up purchases since the refinery maintenance season started in end-2023.

Exports to Thailand, albeit low, emerged for the first time in a long while, following an unexpected crude unit shutdown there since this week. There could be more reshuffling of cargoes by one or two traders back to Thailand if the trouble persists for more than the current state of two weeks, one source said.

Volumes to other destinations such as Australia and Malaysia remained prevalent. There were some exports to the United States as well, with LSEG and Kpler shiptracking data showing the destination as Long Beach and likely to be a biofuels cargo.

Imports declined by around 26% week on week, but China-origin cargoes emerged for the first time in almost a month, following the availability of export quotas since the new year started. More than 135,000 metric tons of China-origin diesel/gasoil will likely arrive in Singapore in January, LSEG shiptracking data showed.

South Korea-origin diesel/gasoil were also prevalent for the second straight week. However, the decline in stockpiles was slowed down by a 39% drop in net exports of jet fuel/kerosene, the data showed.

Total exports still grew, with exports to Indonesia and Malaysia being the most significant for the week. Arrivals from China were the key contributor, with the city-state receiving almost 40,000 tons of the aviation and heating fuel for this week.

We remind, Petrobras, opens new tab said on Wednesday that it plans to finish expansion works on Train One of its Abreu e Lima refinery in the first quarter of 2025, nearly a decade after the expansion was halted due to a massive corruption scandal. Work at the second train of the refinery, located in Pernambuco state, is scheduled to start in the second half of this year and conclude in 2028, said Marina Cavassin, executive manager of production development projects at Petrobras, during a press conference.

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Global naphtha markets will likely suffer from lower profit margins in 2024 as refining and petrochemical capacity expansions in China and the Middle East outpace plastics demand growth globally, traders and analysts said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This will force cracker operators to keep run rates low, while more naphtha could go into the global gasoline blending pool especially during the U.S. summer driving season and cap retail fuel prices. Naphtha is used as a key ingredient in making petrochemicals like paints, plastics, and fibers, as well as a gasoline blendstock.

Supply growth in global naphtha markets is set to outpace demand growth by 1.88 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, up from 1.83 million bpd in 2023 and 460,000 bpd in 2022, according to forecasts from Energy Aspects. Wood Mackenzie expects the global naphtha surplus to hold steady at 400,000 bpd this year.

The Asia-Pacific region is still expected to remain short of naphtha, but the deficit is set to shrink by about 17% to 1.037 million bpd, S&P Global Commodity Insights said. In the Middle East, the Al Zour refinery in Kuwait and the Duqm plant in Oman, which started operations last year, are expected to ramp up production and boost naphtha exports to Europe and Asia in 2024.

Margins for key plastic raw materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene have underperformed in recent years, at around $150 per metric ton in the second half of 2023, below the break-even margin of about $300-$350 per ton needed for standalone plants, industry officials said.

S&P Commodity Insights' Sanjay Sharma said there will be some rationalization of petrochemical plants in South Korea, Japan and China the next two to three years if demand doesn't recover.

We remind, Petrobras, opens new tab said on Wednesday that it plans to finish expansion works on Train One of its Abreu e Lima refinery in the first quarter of 2025, nearly a decade after the expansion was halted due to a massive corruption scandal. Work at the second train of the refinery, located in Pernambuco state, is scheduled to start in the second half of this year and conclude in 2028, said Marina Cavassin, executive manager of production development projects at Petrobras, during a press conference.

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Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co.’s (Petro Rabigh) accumulated losses amounted to SAR 6.41 billion, representing 38.34% of the company’s SAR 16.71 billion capital, according to the unaudited financial statements for December 2023, closed on Jan. 16, 2024, said Argaam.

Petro Rabigh explained that these losses were incurred as a result of challenging market conditions that had an adverse impact on margins for both refined and petrochemical products, as well as the planned turnaround of its Phase II units from Dec. 1, 2022, to Jan. 23, 2023, according to a statement to Tadawul.

The reasons also included the unplanned shutdown of the Ethane cracker unit during March 1-20, 2023, for necessary maintenance activities to enhance the plant’s reliability and the unplanned shut down of the High Olefins Fluid Catalytic Cracker (HOFCC) unit for necessary repairs and maintenance during Dec. 2023.

In addition, Petro Rabigh reported a one-off provision of SAR 365.7 million during the nine months period ended Sept. 30, 2023, relating to a claim raised by a third-party against the company.

The company also cited the significant increase in the financing costs because of rising interest rates among the reasons for losses.

Procedures related to Tadawul-listed companies, whose accumulated losses reach 20% or more of capital, will apply, the statement added.

We remind, Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) reported a net loss of SAR 2.16 billion for H1 2023, against a net profit of SAR 2.10 billion in H1 2022 due to unfavorable market conditions, which weighed on the margins of petrochemicals and refined products, said the company. Moreover, Petro Rabigh’s complex was partially shut down for scheduled turnaround of Phase II units starting from Dec. 1, 2022, to Jan. 23, 2023. The ethane cracker unit was also shut down starting from March 1-20, 2023, for necessary maintenance to enhance the plant’s reliability.

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Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras, opens new tab said on Wednesday that it plans to finish expansion works on Train One of its Abreu e Lima refinery in the first quarter of 2025, nearly a decade after the expansion was halted due to a massive corruption scandal, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Work at the second train of the refinery, located in Pernambuco state, is scheduled to start in the second half of this year and conclude in 2028, said Marina Cavassin, executive manager of production development projects at Petrobras, during a press conference.

"We are talking about several units in a very complex system. We are going to have partial deliveries," she said. The first train will boost RNEST's capacity by 15,000 barrels per day, to 115,000 bpd. When the second train is concluded, RNEST's refining capacity will reach 260,000 bpd, said the general manager of RNEST, Marcio Maia.

RNEST currently represents around 6% of the state-run firm's refining capacity, said Maia. The investment at RNEST is part of a wider push by Petrobras to boost fuel production and lower the country's dependency on imports, said the firm's President Jean Paul Prates in a statement.

On Thursday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will visit the refinery alongside Prates. Last year Lula has pressed the head of Petrobras to boost investments and generate local jobs.

Expansion at RNEST was halted in 2015 during the massive "Car Wash" corruption probe that started investigating contracts at Petrobras in 2014 and eventually led to Lula's incarceration in 2018.

Last year, when Lula took over the presidency, Petrobras shifted from its divestment strategy, renegotiating the terms of a deal with antitrust watchdog CADE that would lead to the sale of eight of its refineries - about 50% of its capacity.

In November, Prates announced a business plan with $102 billion in investments by the company for the 2024-2028 period, in which the RNEST expansion was already accounted for.

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