Pursuing a 2°C pathway: the climate challenge - ExxonMobil & Stanford

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Many uncertainties exist concerning the future of energy demand and supply, including potential actions that societies may take to address the risks of climate change, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The analysis featured here is intended to provide a perspective on hypothetical 2 degree C scenarios.

Considerable work has been done in the scientific community to explore energy transformation pathways. A recent multi-model study coordinated by the Energy Modeling Forum at Stanford University (EMF 27) brought together many energy economic models to assess technology and policy pathways associated with various climate stabilization targets (e.g., 450, 550 ppm CO2 equivalent or CO2e), partially in support of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The chart to the right illustrates potential CO2 emission trajectories under EMF 27 full technology scenarios targeting a 2°C pathway (Assessed 2°C Scenarios) relative to the 2018 Outlook, and baseline pathways (Assessed Baseline Scenarios) with essentially no policy evolution beyond 2010. The 2018 Outlook incorporates significant efficiency gains and changes in the energy mix, resulting in a projected CO2 emissions trajectory that resides between the pathways illustrated by the baseline and 2°C scenarios.

A key characteristic of the Assessed 2°C Scenarios is that energy-related CO2 emissions go to zero, or potentially negative, by the end of the century.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- CB&I has announced it has received a letter of award from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the national oil company of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the parent company of ADNOC Refining, to build a Crude Flexibility Project (CFP) valued at more than USD500 million in Ruwais, UAE, as per NBC-2.

CB&I is part of a joint venture led by Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd., that will execute the USD3.1 billion CFP, which will upgrade the Ruwais Refinery to process heavier offshore crude oil from Upper Zakum fields. CB&I's scope of work includes the engineering and procurement for two atmospheric residue desulfurization units, which were previously licensed by Chevron Lummus Global, a joint venture between Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and CB&I. Additionally, CB&I's scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction for 14 flat-bottom tanks and ten process heaters. Approximately 40 percent of the value of the project is expected to be spent in the UAE supply chain.

"This award builds on CB&I's proven experience in the refining industry," said Patrick K. Mullen, CB&I's President and Chief Executive Officer. "CB&I and Samsung have a history of successful collaboration and safe execution, and we look forward to working with ADNOC Refining to supply these units that will reduce sulfur, enhancing the ability of Ruwais petroleum products to compete on the world market while meeting stringent international environmental regulations."

As MRC informed before, in March 2017, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, announced that it had been awarded a contract by Dongguan Grand Resource Science & Technology Co. Ltd. to develop a new propane dehydrogenation unit in cooperation with CB&I. The project includes the license and engineering design of the unit, which is to be built in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China.

CB&I is a leading provider of technology and infrastructure for the energy industry. With more than 125 years of experience, CB&I provides reliable solutions to our customers around the world while maintaining a relentless focus on safety and an uncompromising standard of quality.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- SRF has received capex approval for setting up of a BOPET film line in a new entity to be incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the company in Europe at a cost of 58 million euro to be financed by loan and/or internal accruals, as per Indian-Commodity.

The new capacity is being set up to serve customers in Europe, Russia and other markets. The board of directors at its meeting held on February 7, 2018 has approved for the same.

SRF is a leader in refrigerants, engineering plastics and industrial yarns in India. The company also manufactures polyester films and fluoro specialties. Besides India, SRF has a presence in Dubai, South Africa and Thailand.

Equipped with state-of-the-art production facilities, SRF is one of the largest manufacturers of a spectrum of standard and speciality Bi-axially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) and Bi-axially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films. SRF exports packaging films to around 70 countries. Conforming to the global standards, SRF’s packaging films are predominantly used in flexible packaging of soaps, detergents, tea, shampoo sachets, food packaging, cable, insulation, ducting tape, textile etc.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Linde Group announced the launch of its Asia Pacific Digitalization Hub, a strategic initiative to rapidly identify, develop and trial emergent digital technologies for industrial applications in the region and beyond, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

In partnership with Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Linde will invest over USD23 million in the Hub, which will expand the company’s digital capabilities and further extend its lead in the digital transformation of the gases and engineering industries, improving safety and process efficiency, and delivering better value to its customers.

At the Asia Pacific Digitalization Hub, Linde Digitalization teams will work alongside engineers and lines of business on projects and technology trials across the region. Though the Hub will be decentralized to better take advantage of the diversity and opportunities around Asia Pacific, Singapore will serve as a nexus for the Hub.

Prof. Dr. Aldo Belloni, Chief Executive Officer at Linde AG, said, “Linde has had a long and proven history of innovation and technological excellence that continues to this day. Digitalization is central to our global strategy for growth and provides opportunities for Linde to differentiate by delivering better solutions and convenience for our customers. The Asia Pacific Digitalisation Hub builds on the successful Digital Accelerator at our Munich headquarters, and is an affirmation of our continued commitment to innovation."

Mr. Sanjiv Lamba, Member of the Executive Board, Linde AG, and Chief Operating Officer for Asia Pacific, said, “Asia Pacific is Linde’s fastest growing market, and the region is especially open to new technologies and innovative gases applications. The Asia Pacific Digitalisation Hub will capitalize on the tremendous innovation coming out of the region, allowing Linde to extend its lead in digitalizing the gases business. With its forward-thinking approach and openness to innovation, Singapore is a natural choice of partner for Linde."

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The Forties Pipeline System (FPS) of Ineos is safe, as per Rigzone with reference to an Ineos spokesperson's confirmation.

The declaration follows the discovery of a crack in the FPS at Red Moss, south of Aberdeen, which resulted in a controlled shutdown of the pipeline Dec. 11.

"Ineos takes its responsibility for ‘safety, health and environmental’ very seriously and is fully committed to delivering a continually improving performance across all its operations," the Ineos representative told Rigzone.

"We have recently acquired the FPS but have already implemented a strict and regular inspection regime," the spokesperson added.

Christopher Haines, head of oil and gas at BMI Research, supported the spokesperson’s claims, stating that the pipeline monitoring system did its job and prevented the crack from turning into a larger issue.

"While most infrastructure in the North Sea is aging, I think it would be unlikely that this becomes a regular occurrence," Haines stated when asked if he thought similar structural weak-points could be found in the system in the near future.

The FPS was offline for a total of 17 days in December. According to Genscape’s oil markets and business development director, Hillary Stevenson, around 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of North Sea production was shut-in during this period.

"Ineos also reduced rates at the Grangemouth refinery due to the FPS shut down," Stevenson said.

"The 110,000-bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) remained offline as of Dec. 27 after being shut since Dec. 15, and the 65,000 bpd CDU was briefly offline Dec. 13 to Dec. 14. Also at the refinery, the 39,600 bpd catalytic reformer was shut at 11:16 (GMT) Dec. 24," Stevenson added.

Ineos revealed that the FPS had been shut for a second time in two months Feb. 7, due to an unexpected closure of the feed control valves on the pipeline supplying the Kinneil gas processing plant. The company said, however, that it aimed to restart the pipeline overnight.

Production from more than 80 North Sea fields is moved onshore via Ineos’ 1.15 million bpd FPS to the Kinneil crude stabilization plant, where oil and NGL combined flow is stabilized in three processing trains for consumption at Ineos’ 210,000 bpd refinery in Grangemouth, or exported via the Dalmeny, Scotland, storage terminal and Hound Point port.

The pipeline outage in December affected several oil and gas firms, including BP plc, Total SA, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Eni, ConocoPhillips, EnQuest and Premier Oil.

Following the discovery of the crack, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. HSE declined to comment on the expected completion date of the investigation but confirmed that it was still ongoing as of Jan. 4.

A recent Bloomberg article highlighted that these types of investigations are not automatically triggered by the UK Health and Safety Executive. Incidents must be severe or unusual enough to meet the regulator’s criteria for a probe, Bloomberg quoted Martin Wayland, a member of HSE’s gas and pipeline team, as saying.

As MRC informed before, in early November 2017, Ineos completed its acquisition of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS) and associated pipelines and facilities from BP. The 235-mile pipeline system links 85 North Sea oil and gas assets to the UK mainland and the Ineos site in Grangemouth, Scotland, delivering almost 40% of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production.

Ineos Group Limited is a privately owned multinational chemicals company consisting of 15 standalone business units, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland and with its registered office in Lyndhurst, United Kingdom. It is the fourth largest chemicals company in the world measured by revenues (after BASF, Dow Chemical and LyondellBasell) and the largest privately owned company in the United Kingdom.
MRC