Belarus, Russia preparing new list of import substitution projects

A new list of innovative import substitution projects is being compiled within the Union State framework, while the previously approved 27 projects are being successfully implemented, Head of the Belarusian Presidential Administration and Co-Chair of the Union State Council of Ministers' high-level group Dmitry Krutoi said, as per Interfax.

"As part of implementing our 2024-2026 agreement provisions, we've adopted another package of sectoral plans comprising 310 measures, while 101 measures or one third have already been successfully completed. We are actively working on the Union State's economic model project," Krutoi was quoted as saying by the BelTA state news agency during a group meeting in Smolensk on Wednesday.

Since Sergei Glazyev's appointment as Union State secretary, several promising new ideas have emerged for developing the integration association in the near future, Krutoi said. During Wednesday's meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, "we indeed determined that the vision for the Union State's future, particularly regarding basic integration frameworks, needs to be developed now by all participants in their respective areas. A new list of innovative import-substitution projects will be compiled accordingly," Krutoi said.

"Of course, funding mechanisms will be selected to financially support these projects," he said.

Work has begun to implement the Union State Supreme State Council decree on unified industrial policy, he said. "In January, for the first time we signed an agreed list of programs for mutual access to state support instruments. We expect it to become operational for certain sectoral markets starting June 1," he said.

mrchub.com

Russia's Federation Council is prepared to facilitate a deeper mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Iran, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said in a telegram to chairman of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday congratulating him on his election to the post, as per Interfax.

"We highly value your warm attitude toward Russia and stand ready to facilitate a deeper mutually advantageous bilateral cooperation to the benefit of our nations and the development of a constructive inter-parliamentary dialogue based on principles of mutual respect, confidence, and consideration of each other's interests," Matviyenko said.

The Federation Council also looks forward to continued productive work between Russia and Iran on international platforms in finding effective solutions on key items of the regional and global agenda, Matviyenko said.

mrchub.com

Russian officials are discussing the idea of raising gas prices for industrial categories of consumers, including energy, by 10% in the first and fourth quarters of each year, as per Interfax.

"The Energy Ministry just yesterday announced that they are discussing raising the gas price to the FAS price by a factor of 1.1, namely by 10%, in the first and fourth quarters of each year," Dmitry Vologzhanin, director of the Council of Energy Producers, said on Wednesday during a meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) commission on energy.

Several Interfax sources familiar with the discussion confirmed that the idea is under discussion, and that it concerns a possible increase in prices for all categories except the population.

It is not yet clear from what period the decision could be reached.

mrchub.com

ExxonMobil's 250,000-bpd refinery in Joliet, Illinois (U.S.) brought the catalytic cracker unit back to full capacity, IIR Energy said, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The refinery ran its 98,000-bpd catalytic cracker unit at approximately 50% capacity after experiencing unspecified mechanical issues last week.

A spokesperson at ExxonMobil did not respond to a request for comment.

We remind, ExxonMobil France Holding has entered into exclusive negotiations with North Atlantic France SAS for both the proposed sale of its 82.89% majority shareholder interest in Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise SA as well as the proposed sale of ExxonMobil Chemical France SAS.

mrchub.com

Following extended technical, commercial and strategic evaluations UPM plans to discontinue the development of its potential second biomass-to-fuels refinery at the Port of Rotterdam, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

As a result, UPM plans to halt all engineering work related to the CAPEX investment in Rotterdam and to withdraw from all site-related commitments associated with the Rotterdam investment.

At the same time, UPM will continue to seek growth in biofuels by advancing the development of proprietary technologies enabling the extension of feedstock options to other forms of competitive and sustainable biomass and the work related to the qualification and commercialization of Crude Tall Oil (CTO)-derived UPM biofuels for jet engine fuels.

”Renewable fuels and renewable chemicals are the central elements of UPM’s long-term growth in decarbonization solutions. The Lappeenranta biofuels biorefinery will remain the nucleus of our growing biofuels platform”, says Harald Dialer, Executive Vice President, UPM Biorefining and Technology.

Aligned with this strategic direction, UPM is focusing on three targeted growth areas in its biofuels business:

Evaluating the potential to debottleneck the Lappeenranta Biorefinery in order to capture low capex expansion opportunities and further leverage the strong market performance of CTO-derived biofuels.
Enabling the qualification of CTO-derived UPM biofuels as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). This strategic direction is supported by successful SAF trials conducted with Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft using Austro Engine propulsion, and by continued progress in the technical acceptance process at the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), where results from trials and stakeholder reviews have been consistently positive.
Continuing feedstock technology development to qualify and enable the use of additional competitive and sustainable biomass, supporting the cost-efficient production of high-quality biofuels for both road and aviation applications.
“We continue seeing strong long-term market potential for biomass-based fuels, especially in Europe, where greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments continue driving the need for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels across transport modes but specifically in road and aviation”, says Harald Dialer. “Our biofuels portfolio is well-positioned through our access to strategic feedstocks, its superior GHG savings potential and strong regulatory acceptance. We are in an advanced position to deliver scalable commercial growth with sustainable biofuels.”

We remind, ExxonMobil's 250,000-bpd refinery in Joliet, Illinois (U.S.) brought the catalytic cracker unit back to full capacity, IIR Energy said. The refinery ran its 98,000-bpd catalytic cracker unit at approximately 50% capacity after experiencing unspecified mechanical issues last week.

mrchub.com