Neste, Borealis and energy companies in the Helsinki Metropolitan region to study heat recovery at two industrial facilities in Kilpilahti

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Neste Oyj and Borealis Polymers Oy, in co-operation with the energy companies Fortum Power and Heat Oy, Helen Oy, Vantaan Energia Oy and Porvoon Energia Oy - Borga Energi Ab, will conduct a preliminary study on recovering and utilizing excess heat generated at the Neste and Borealis industrial manufacturing facilities in Kilpilahti, as per Neste's press release.

The study will focus on the technical and economic impacts of recovering excess heat at these facilities and recirculating it into district heating systems in Porvoo and the Helsinki metropolitan region.

The two facilities located in Kilpilahti produce a significant amount of low-temperature excess heat, but no cost-effective solution exists to recirculate the energy. As technologies keep developing and companies are looking for solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of their heat generation, it is the right time to research the feasibility of heat recovery.

The preliminary study will be conducted by Neste Engineering Solutions Oy in co-operation with Gaia Consulting Oy, and the two parties expect to release study results in spring 2019.

As MRC wrote before, in March 2018, Borealis and United Chemical Company LLP (UCC) signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of a world-scale polyethylene project, integrated with an ethane cracker, in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates sustainable solutions for transport, business, and consumer needs. The company's wide range of renewable products enable our customers to reduce climate emissions. The company is the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, introducing renewable solutions also to the aviation and plastics industries. It is also a technologically advanced refiner of high-quality oil products.

Borealis is a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers. With its head office in Vienna, Austria, the company currently has around 6,600 employees and operates in over 120 countries. Borealis generated EUR 7.5 billion in sales revenue and a net profit of EUR 1,095 million in 2017. Mubadala, through its holding company, owns 64% of the company, with the remaining 36% belonging to Austria-based OMV, an integrated, international oil and gas company. Borealis provides services and products to customers around the world in collaboration with Borouge, a joint venture with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
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PGNiG and Port Arthur LNG sign agreement for the sales and purchase of LNG from the US

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The agreement defines basic terms and conditions of a 20-year contract to be finalized between the parties for the sales and purchase of two million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG, which equals about 2.7 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year of natural gas following regasification, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Cargoes will be supplied starting in 2023 from the Port Arthur LNG facility being developed in Jefferson County, Texas. The documents were signed today during the current World Gas Conference in Washington, D.C.

"The Port Arthur liquefaction project is one of three major LNG export projects Sempra Energy is developing in North America to meet the demand of global markets, including Poland," said Joseph A. Householder, president and chief operating officer of Sempra Energy. "This agreement along with PGNiG's financial strength and experience in delivering natural gas to customers are important to advancing the Port Arthur liquefaction project."

"We are pleased to have PGNiG as a foundation customer of the Port Arthur LNG project," said Octavio Simoes, president of Sempra LNG & Midstream, a subsidiary company of Sempra Energy. "We look forward to working with PGNiG to finalize the LNG supply agreement that will provide low-cost, flexible and reliable U.S. LNG to PGNiG and bring competitively priced natural gas to the Polish and other European gas markets."

"The signed agreement paves the way for finalizing a contract that will help PGNiG to develop our LNG portfolio in the near future," commented Piotr Wozniak, CEO and President of the Management Board at PGNiG. "Starting in 2023, LNG deliveries from the Port Arthur terminal can not only help us to further diversify our import structure, but will also help us in strengthening PGNiG's activities on the international LNG market. PGNiG is constantly looking for market offers to purchase natural gas at competitive prices. We are pleased to be able to cooperate with such an experienced partner as Sempra Energy."

Deliveries have the flexibility to allow for further trading by PGNiG on international markets and are contemplated to be supplied on a free-on-board (FOB) basis whereby PGNiG is responsible for transport of the cargoes from Port Arthur LNG.

Today's announcement represents another step in the ongoing development of the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project. In 2017, Sempra LNG & Midstream signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) providing a framework for cooperation, including engineering and construction, operations, equity ownership in the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project, and offtake of LNG. The ultimate participation of KOGAS and PGNiG in the project remains subject to finalization of definitive agreements.

The Port Arthur LNG liquefaction facility is planned to export approximately 11 Mtpa of LNG starting from 2023. Last week Bechtel was selected by Port Arthur LNG to be the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC) contractor. Development of the Port Arthur LNG liquefaction project is contingent upon obtaining customer commitments, completing the required commercial agreements, securing all necessary permits, obtaining financing, incentives and other factors, and reaching a final investment decision.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2018, ExxonMobil said that production ofLNG had safely resumed at the PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea following a temporary shutdown of operations after a severe earthquake occurred in the region on Feb. 26.
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Dow Chemical wins legal dispute against Nova Chemicals over Alberta plant

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A judge has awarded Dow Chemical Canada USD1.06 billion in damages against Nova Chemicals Corporation in a dispute over a massive ethylene plant in central Alberta, as per The Star.

The dispute centred around the operation of a production facility in Joffre known as E3. E3 started operating in 2000 as a joint venture, with Nova running the facility.

Dow Canada alleged breach of contract over the E3 joint venture agreements, claimed that Nova took part of the ethylene and other products that belonged to Dow and failed to run the facility at full production.

Nova said it faced an ethane shortage and ran the facility as full as it could subject to mechanical issues that constrained production.

Justice Barbara Romaine of Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench ruled in favour of Dow and against a counterclaim filed by Nova in a case that included claims and counterclaims for damages between 2001 to 2012.

“Dow has established these facts and has proved on a balance of probabilities that Nova has breached the joint venture agreements both as Operator and as Co-owner and has converted some of the ethane that Dow was entitled to from E3,” Romaine wrote in a lengthy redacted judgment released.

“I also grant Dow a declaration that the conduct of Nova as Operator constitutes Wilful Misconduct and Gross Negligence.”

Romaine said Dow established that there was no ethane shortage, that Nova always had enough ethane to fill E3 and had the ability and freedom to acquire additional ethane.

She also said Dow showed that Nova failed to operate E3 to maximize production and that the facility had more capacity than Nova submitted at trial.
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ADNOC, Saudi Aramco sign deal to invest in $44B mega refinery and petrochemicals complex in India

MOSCOW (MRC) -– ADNOC, Saudi Aramco sign deal to invest in $44B mega refinery and petrochemicals complex in India, as per Hydrocarbonprocessing.

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, witnessed the signing of a framework agreement, between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Saudi Aramco (Aramco) and a consortium of three Indian oil companies, to explore a strategic partnership and co-investment in the development of a new USD44 billion mega refinery and petrochemicals complex at Ratnagiri, on India’s west coast.

The framework agreement was signed by His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, Sanjiv Singh, Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, M.K. Surana, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, D Rajkumar, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. B Ashok, CEO of the Ratnagiri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd also witnessed the signing.

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah said: “This agreement strengthens the already close ties between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and between the UAE and India. The UAE is unwavering in its commitment to its strategic multi-lateral relationships with both Saudi Arabia and India, as well as being a reliable partner in India’s energy security. We look forward to exploring further opportunities to expand our energy partnerships and to collaborating on new, broader, opportunities that will further strengthen and deepen the long-standing economic links between our three countries."

The agreement defines the principles of the joint strategic cooperation between Saudi Aramco and ADNOC to jointly build, own and operate the complex in collaboration with a consortium of Indian national oil companies currently consisting of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. Saudi Aramco and ADNOC will jointly own 50% of the new joint venture Company Ratnagiri Refining and Petrochemical Company Ltd, with the remaining 50% owned by the Indian Consortium.

His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, said: “This project is a clear example of our expanded downstream strategy, where we will make strategic, commercially-driven, targeted investments, both in the UAE and abroad. By investing in this project, we will secure off-take of our crude to a key growth economy, as well as one of the world’s largest and fastest growing refining and petrochemical markets.
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Mitsui Chemicals wins ASJ Technology Award

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. was honoured with the 40th Adhesion Society of Japan (ASJ) Technology Award for the development and commercialisation of the isocyanate 1,5-Pentamethylene diisocyanate (PDI) - a plant-derived isocyanate - and the Stabio polyisocyanate curing agent, reported GV.

The product is used in automotive and plastic coatings and adhesive products, offering improved chemical resistance, abrasion resistance and gloss. According to the company, the high reactivity of Stabio allows for curing at lower temperatures and shorter times, leading to increased energy efficiency. Being plant-derived (PDI 70 % biomass) also makes the material environmentally friendly.

Development is now advancing for new applications to create materials with unique textures, including a product with light weight but strong transparent and a gel with unique softness, said Mitsui Chemicals. Going forward, the company aims to develop new uses with a focus on its Mobility, Health Care and Food & Packaging business sectors.

As MRC wrote earlier, in March 2016, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Hankuk Carbon Co., a company listed on the Korea Exchange, entered into a strategic alliance agreement to engage in collaborative business activities relating to the processing of composite materials.

Mitsui Chemicals is a leading manufacturer and supplier of value added specialty chemicals, plastics and materials for the automotive, healthcare, packaging, agricultural, building, and semiconductor and electronics markets. Mitsui Chemicals is a Japanese Chemicals company, a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. The company mainly deals in performance materials, petro and basic chemicals and functional polymeric materials.
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