Belarus' Mozyr oil refinery restoring operations after outage due to storm

The Mozyr oil refinery, one of two large oil processing plants in Belarus, is getting back on track following outages due to a storm on Sunday, local media reported on Tuesday, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Belta news agency cited the plant's director general, Vitaly Pavlov, as saying the plant's electric power supply, disrupted by the storm, was being restored and production units were getting back to operation.

Belarus' energy ministry said electricity supplies in the Mozyr region were cut off due to the storm, which destroyed power lines and toppled trees.

Belarus has two oil refineries: Naftan in Novopolotsk and Mozyr.

Each has a capacity of 12 MMtpy (about 240,000 bpd), but they typically run at lower capacity, each refining about 9 MMtpy (about 180,000 bpd).

We remind, last year a fire broke out at night at one of the largest oil refineries in the Belarusian city of Mozyr. According to media reports, line 101 was informed about the release of hydrogen-containing gas and diesel fraction with subsequent flaring at section 200 of the combined heavy oil residue hydrocracking unit. The unit has not been put into operation yet and is undergoing adjustment and commissioning. It is noted that the fire was extinguished, there were no casualties, the causes of the fire are being established.

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Japan plans to increase jet fuel production and imports to address an increase in demand from flights amid a boom in tourism, according to a draft government plan presented on Tuesday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The initiative aims to tackle a recent jet fuel shortage affecting commercial flights, which has hindered the expansion of international flight capacity and the introduction of new routes.

Tourism to Japan has bounce back after visa-free travel resumed in late 2022 following strict COVID-19 border controls, with the yen’s slide to a 38-yr low increasing the country's appeal to overseas visitors.

The draft was presented by the industry and transport ministries to a panel of specialists discussing the fuel shortage issue.

As short-term initiatives, the draft proposes assessing fuel demand growth at each airport while ensuring sufficient supply by ramping up local production and increasing imports. The plan also includes strengthening transport systems by using the full capacity of lorries and ships.

For medium- and long-term initiatives, the draft proposes increasing the number of tanks at refineries and airports, securing more lorries and enlarging ships, and updating aging cargo handling equipment.

Japanese refiners have been reducing oil processing capacity in the past decade to reflect falling domestic demand due to an aging population, a decreasing birthrate, and a shift towards more fuel-efficient vehicles.

"Unlike other oil products, we expect jet fuel demand to increase further as the government targets 60 MM foreign tourists in 2030, so we have to take a long-term approach," an official at the industry ministry told reporters.

In 2023, just over 25 MM visitors arrived in Japan.
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French oil major TotalEnergies said on Tuesday its 2Q hydrocarbon production levels will hit the top end of its guidance range, while pressure on refining margins will be partly alleviated by higher refinery utilization, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

TotalEnergies quarterly earnings are due on July 25, and investors are closely watching the company and its peers as refining margins are dragged down by softening gasoline demand. London-listed bp earlier this month released a profit warning.

Total expects fossil fuel production to reach the high end of a previously announced range, at close to 2.45 mboe (thousand barrels of oil equivalent) per day.

Its Integrated Power business is expected to post earnings of around $500 MM, with quarterly cash flow seen in line with USD2.5 B to USD3 B guidance. LNG results are seen broadly in line with the first quarter.

TotalEnergies shares were down by around 0.8% in early trade on Tuesday, in line with the broader market.

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Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd.’s (Kolkata, India) sales rose 26.1% year over year in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, to 12.0 billion Indian rupees (USD143.5 million), led by higher volume, said Chemweek.

The company’s net income stood at 1.2 billion rupees, up by 40.8% year over year. Himadri said that “capital discipline” boosted profit.

Sales volume in the first quarter rose 37.8% year over year to 139,175 metric tons, driven by the addition of a new specialty product line.

Himadri’s product portfolio includes coal tar pitch, carbon black, specialty carbon black, advanced carbon material, specialty oils and sulfonated naphthalene formaldehyde.

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Neste and Mitsubishi Corporation (“MC”) have agreed to establish a strategic partnership focusing on developing value chains for renewable chemicals and plastics for and with Japanese brands, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The partners are targeting brands in industries such as food and beverage, apparel, and consumer electronics. Through the partnership, Neste and MC aim to accelerate their efforts to build defossilized supply chains for brand owners in Japan.

In the course of the cooperation, Neste will provide its expertise in sustainability and more sustainable materials, also in the form of renewable Neste RE, a bio-based raw material for plastics production. MC will provide its strong experience in business development and supply chain management of petrochemical products and derivatives in the region. Together, the partners will offer comprehensive solutions for Japanese brands looking to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reliance on fossil resources in their supply chains.

Neste and MC have already cooperated on several individual projects in the past, including a collaboration with other partners to enable the production of renewable PET bottles for Suntory Holdings Limited as well as a multi-party collaboration to produce apparel from bio-based materials for Goldwin Inc.

“Through this partnership, we will be able to provide sustainability-minded companies in Japan with a full package to reduce their plastics-related GHG emissions,” says Carrie Song, Senior Vice President, Commercial at Neste Renewable Products. “Together, we can provide the materials and the know-how. Together, we can also get the materials into the value chains, making it easier for companies to make the switch to more sustainable solutions.”

“Our strength lies in our capability to establish supply chains and access a wide variety of brand owners in Japan,” says Yoshiyuki Watanabe, Division COO, Business Development Div. at Mitsubishi Corporation. “We have cultivated this strength over many years through traditional trading and strategic investments in collaboration with trusted partners. Recognizing that these achievements cannot be made alone, we are eager to strengthen our relationship with Neste. We are thrilled to expand our network to include partners who share similar values, thereby generating economic, societal and environmental benefits to meet the needs of society.”

Moving forward, Neste and Mitsubishi Corporation will accelerate the transition from fossil to renewable plastics under this strategic partnership, contributing to the early realization of a defossilized society in the materials sector.

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