Linde to build green hydrogen plant at Leuna chemicals complex, Germany

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Linde says it will build, own, and operate the world’s largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer plant for the production of green hydrogen at the Leuna chemical complex in Germany, reported Chemweek.

The 24-megawatt electrolyzer will produce hydrogen from renewable sources to supply Linde’s industrial customers at the site through an existing pipeline network. Liquefied green hydrogen will also be distributed to refueling stations and other industrial customers in the region, it says.

The electrolyzer will be built by ITM Linde Electrolysis, a joint venture of Linde and ITM Power, with the plant scheduled to start production in the second half of 2022. No investment figure was given.

Clean hydrogen “is part of the solution to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions across many industries, including chemicals and refining,” says Jens Waldeck, president/western Europe West at Linde. “This project shows that electrolyzer capacity continues to scale up and it is a stepping stone towards even larger plants,” he says.

Linde has the largest liquid hydrogen capacity and distribution system in the world and also operates the world’s first high-purity hydrogen storage cavern, it says. It has installed 80 hydrogen electrolysis plants worldwide.

As MRC informed earlier, in late 2019, the TOTAL refinery in Leuna awarded Bilfinger two further major contracts worth roughly EUR30 million: the first involves exchanging the reactor systems; the second, performing the turnaround for the plant’s POX methanol facility.

We remind that Total is evaluating new gas cracker project in South Korea as part of petchems growth strategy.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC is in talks to raise around USD1 billion in a prepayment with trading firms to refurbish its largest refining complex at Port Harcourt, seven sources familiar with the discussions said, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

If the financing is concluded, the long overdue rehabilitation of the refinery should reduce Nigeria’s hefty fuel import bill. It would also mark Nigeria’s second oil-backed financing since the COVID-19 pandemic that has added to the difficulty of finding investors as fuel demand is sapped by lockdowns and renewable energy is gaining ground over fossil fuels.

The money would be repaid over seven years through deliveries of Nigerian crude and products from the refinery once the refurbishment is complete, the sources said. Cairo-based Afreximbank is leading the financing. "Afreximbank is looking into a facility for the refurbishment of the Port Harcourt Refinery. However, the borrower is yet to be determined,” a spokesman for the bank said.

NNPC declined to comment. The sources said discussions were taking place with a range of foreign and Nigerian trading houses, including some who have previously worked with Nigeria, and who asked not to be named. Apart from the problems of the pandemic and increased investor preference for carbon-free energy, defaults and fraud in commodity trading, mainly in Asia, have reduced the appetite of foreign banks for exposure to commodity trade finance.

A source at one foreign bank, also asking not to be named, said it was unlikely to participate in Nigeria’s latest effort because of lower credit availability and increased reluctance to take out exposure in a high risk country.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has four refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd): one in the north at Kaduna and three in the oil-rich Niger delta region at Warri and Port Harcourt. The Port Harcourt complex consists of two plants with a combined capacity of 210,000 bpd.

In 2019, the refineries lost some 167 billion naira (USD439.47 million), and only Warri processed any oil. In April 2020, they were all shut pending rehabilitation. Nigeria has struggled with the poorly maintained units for decades. Successive NNPC chiefs and politicians have announced a series of unsuccessful plans to revamp, privatise or expand the refineries.

NNPC abandoned a similar attempt in 2019 to partner with oil traders, producers and engineering firms to fund refinery revamps after more than a year of talks, saying it would fund the projects itself. The barely functional plants leave Nigeria completely dependent on imports, and subsidy schemes also cost the country billions of dollars. Nigeria says it eliminated subsidies, but the state’s NNPC is effectively the sole gasoline importer, using some 300,000 barrels per day of oil to swap for fuel.

In December, NNPC opened a bid round for a contract to rehabilitate the Port Harcourt complex. NNPC chief Mele Kyari also said last year that private companies would run the refineries once they were rehabilitated. In July, global energy trader Vitol and Nigerian firm Matrix backed by banks agreed to lend NNPC USD1.5 billion to support its upstream arm NPDC, although the discussions that led to the deal predated COVID-19.

As MRC informed previously, global oil demand may have already peaked, according to BP"s latest long-term energy outlook issued in September 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic kicks the world economy onto a weaker growth trajectory and accelerates the shift to cleaner fuels.

Earlier last year, BP said the deadly coronavirus outbreak could cut global oil demand growth by 40% in 2020, putting pressure on Opec producers and Russia to curb supplies to keep prices in check.

And in September 2019, six world"s major petrochemical companies in Flanders, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and the Netherlands (Trilateral Region) announced the creation of a consortium to jointly investigate how naphtha or gas steam crackers could be operated using renewable electricity instead of fossil fuels. The Cracker of the Future consortium, which includes BASF, Borealis, BP, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Total, aims to produce base chemicals while also significantly reducing carbon emissions. The companies agreed to invest in R&D and knowledge sharing as they assess the possibility of transitioning their base chemical production to renewable electricity.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Henkel Adhesive Technologies strengthens its capabilities for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions by investing in Feelit, Haifa, Israel, said Chemweek.

The start-up has developed a unique sensor technology for predictive maintenance for various applications in manufacturing. With the investment Henkel aims to further expand its leading MRO portfolio for its broad customer base in industrial markets.

"As part of our venturing activities we are looking for novel and scalable technologies complementing our existing portfolio in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings”, explains Paolo Bavaj, Head of Corporate Venturing, Adhesive Technologies. “We also focus on digital business models that help innovating our traditional businesses towards the increasing demands for novel and efficient industrial IoT solutions. The investment in Feelit perfectly fits to our business strategy and underlines the value of our long-standing engagement in Israel as a major global hub for materials and technology start-ups."

Henkel Adhesive Technologies is a leading provider of MRO solutions in more than 800 different industry segments. Adhesives and sealants under the well-known Loctite brand improve the maintenance of production machinery and equipment for example in steel mills, car factories, mining equipment or power turbines around the globe. The products are designed to help manufacturers limiting cost-intensive unplanned production line stops.

"As a global leader in the MRO markets we aim to implement Industry 4.0 solutions to expand our offering beyond materials,” adds Michael Honne, Head of MRO 4.0 at Henkel Adhesive Technologies. “The global market for predictive maintenance is expected to significantly grow over the next years as digital technologies have a huge potential to further reduce unplanned asset downtime and help preventing serious damages across multiple industries. Based on our leading market position and expertise of our Loctite portfolio we aim to leverage the technology of Feelit to develop innovative solutions providing additional value to our customers improving the day-to-day life of maintenance professionals."

Founded in 2017, Feelit has developed a highly sensitive, flexible, printed nanomaterial sensor that is applicable on static and rotating machinery parts. This sensor can measure strain in ultra-high resolution, as well as other parameters such as temperature, vibration, and pressure. Based on an industrial IoT platform for real-time remote sensing of structural changes in mechanical assets, the system serves as an ‘electronic skin’ that alerts on critical structural and operational anomalies in advance. With a 50 times higher sensitivity compared to current standard market applications it allows condition monitoring and predictive maintenance of industrial assets, like valves, pipes and pumps, and prevents unplanned and cost intense downtimes of machineries.

"We consider this a major leap in our ongoing financing and strategic efforts,” says Feelit CEO Gady Konvalina. “Henkel is an exceptional strategic partner, and this collaboration is sure to yield significant opportunities for both companies. With Feelit’s growth potential and Henkel’s industry expertise and market reach, our unique nanotechnology will be able to benefit a broad relevant client base. The partnership has already begun opening up new opportunities in the oil and gas industry and working with Henkel’s MRO unit will help us to develop even more verticals and applications."

As MRC informed earlier, Henkel has provided a business update for the third quarter and says that, based on preliminary figures, its adhesive technologies business unit achieved positive organic sales growth of 1.3% in the quarter. All business areas in adhesive technologies showed a recovery in demand compared with the second quarter, the company says. Henkel notes that in the first nine months of 2020, adhesive technologies recorded a 6.8% decline in organic sales.

We remind that Russia's output of chemical products rose in November 2020 by 9.5% year on year. At the same time, production of basic chemicals increased in the first eleven months of 2020 by 6.6% year on year, according to Rosstat's data. According to the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, polymers in primary form accounted for the greatest increase in the January-November 2020 output. November production of polymers in primary form rose to 896,000 tonnes from 852,000 tonnes in October. Overall output of polymers in primary form totalled 9,240,000 tonnes over the stated period, up by 17.1% year on year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Shell will have a 40% interest in the plant using technology developed by Enerkem, a leading Canadian clean tech company. Enerkem announced the project in December 2020, subject to finalization of commercial agreements, as per Shell's press release.

The approximately CD875 million commercial-scale facility will be constructed in Varennes, Quebec, and will produce low-carbon fuels and renewable chemicals products from non-recyclable waste using Enerkem’s proprietary technology. Commissioning of the first phase of the facility is scheduled for 2023. Critical investment in the plant comes from Shell, Enerkem, Suncor, Proman and Hydro-Quebec, as well as from the Quebec and Canadian governments.

“Building a commercial-scale low-carbon fuels plant is one of the ways Shell is advancing cleaner fuels and evolving to meet the changing expectations of our customers,” said Michael Crothers, Shell Canada President and Country Chair. “Canada is well suited to capitalize on the energy transition thanks to the ingenuity of Canadians and our willingness to work together. We’re grateful for the collaboration between industry and government that has been instrumental in making this project a reality.”

Once completed, the plant will treat more than 200,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste and wood waste per year with an annual production of nearly 125 million litres of low carbon fuels.

“The Varennes Carbon Recycling plant demonstrates our commitment and ability to use wastes as a feedstock to provide our customers with low carbon, high quality and affordable products,” added Crothers.

Shell has been a significant producer of ethanol as a low carbon fuel for the last ten years through Raizen, our joint venture in Brazil. Bioethanol is an effective way to reduce road transport emissions today, without the need to invest in new vehicles or infrastructure and already play a significant role in helping to decarbonise road transport in the Americas and in Europe.

Shell’s ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society, includes reducing the carbon intensity of the company’s energy products. Shell’s low-carbon fuels production strategy is anchored around its access to competitive feedstock, commercialization of advanced technology and the building of internal capability.

In addition to diverting waste from landfill sites, the Varennes Carbon Recycling plant will expand the overall supply of alternative fuels and increase low-carbon fuels production in Quebec, accelerate greenhouse gas reduction in the transportation sector and increase Quebec's leadership in renewable energy and innovation.

As MRC wrote before, Royal Dutch Shell has reported an outage at its olefins plant in Deer Park, Texas, on 5 January, 2021. The plant flared for 16 hours last Tuesday following unspecified process upset. Maximum steam cracker operating rate in Texas falls to 89%.

Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and polypropylene (PP).

According to MRC's DataScope report, PE imports to Russia decreased in January-November 2020 by 17% year on year and reached 569,900 tonnes. High density polyethylene (HDPE) accounted for the greatest reduction in imports. At the same time, PP imports into Russia increased by 21% year on year to about 202,000 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2020. Propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) accounted for the main increase in imports.

Royal Dutch Shell plc is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading.
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1.Orion raises fourth-quarter guidance on higher volumes, inventory restocking

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Orion Engineered Carbons has raised its fourth-quarter guidance for adjusted EBITDA earnings to a range of USD64-67 million from the previously issued range of USD44-55 million given during its third quarter results on 5 November, said Chemweek. The upwards adjustment by the carbon black producer is predominantly attributable to our specialty carbon black business unit, driven by considerably higher volumes, which rose low-double digits sequentially, says Orion's CEO Corning Painter. The company also experienced 'slightly less' seasonality than anticipated in its rubber carbon black business, where volumes declined mid-single digits sequentially, he says. "We believe both of these trends are an indication that our customers restocked their inventories, to some degree during the quarter, to better manage their supply chains," he adds. The temporary nature of restocking, combined with broader uncertainties in the economy, make it difficult to forecast how demand will develop from now on, according to Painter. "However, our current order book indicates a strong January and we expect robust demand as the global economy recovers," he says.

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