Royal Dutch Shell has to significantly deepen planned greenhouse gas emission cuts due court orders

MOSCOW (MRC) -- A Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell to significantly deepen planned greenhouse gas emission cuts, in a landmark ruling that could pave the way for legal action against energy companies around the world, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Shell immediately said it would appeal the court ruling, which comes amid rising pressure from investors, activists and governments on energy companies to shift away from fossil fuels and rapidly ramp up investments in renewable energy. At a court room in The Hague, judge Larisa Alwin read out a ruling which ordered Shell to reduce its planet warming carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.

"The court orders Royal Dutch Shell, by means of its corporate policy, to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 with respect to the level of 2019 for the Shell group and the suppliers and customers of the group," Alwin said. Earlier this year Shell set out one of the sector's most ambitious climate strategies. It has a target to cut the carbon intensity of its products by at least 6% by 2023, by 20% by 2030, by 45% by 2035 and by 100% by 2050 from 2016 levels.

But the court said that Shell's climate policy was "not concrete and is full of conditions...that's not enough." "The conclusion of the court is therefore that Shell is in danger of violating its obligation to reduce. And the court will therefore issue an order upon RDS," the judge said.

The court ordered Shell to reduce its absolute levels of carbon emissions, while Shell's intensity-based targets could allow the company to grow its output in theory. "This is arguably the most significant climate change related judgment yet, which emphasises that companies and not just governments may be the target of strategic litigation which seeks to drive changes in behaviour," said Tom Cummins, dispute resolution partner at law firm Ashurst.

Shell said that it would appeal the verdict and that it has set out its plan to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050. Shares in its London-traded stock were down 0.7% at 1427 GMT, compared with 0.8% gains in the broader European energy sector.

As per MRC, Royal Dutch Shell agreed to sell its controlling interest in a Texas refinery to partner Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) for about USD596 million, the latest move by the European oil major to cut its global refining footprint. The deal ends a 28-year partnership between Shell and Pemex, Mexico's state-run oil company that processed up to 340,000 barrels per day of oil into gasoline and diesel. The deal was significantly revamped three years ago in a move to halve its purchases of Mexican crude beginning in 2023.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

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.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in India has led to various travel restrictions, which reduced the consumption of transportation fuels such as gasoline and diesel. As a result, EIA revised down its forecast for petroleum consumption in India in the May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

EIA estimates that petroleum consumption in India declined by 0.4 million barrels per day (b/d) (8%) to 4.7 million b/d between March and April.

India’s petroleum consumption data, released after the May STEO’s publication, revealed a similar decline of 0.3 million b/d (6%) over the same period. Reduced travel in India will likely continue, so it also revised down petroleum consumption in May and June from the April STEO. EIA expects India’s consumption of petroleum and other liquids will return to previously forecast levels by July.

Data from India’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) of its Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas indicate that consumption of gasoline and diesel returned to pre-pandemic levels by September 2020 and continued through March 2021. Gasoline and diesel consumption, however, declined in April 2021, reflecting the increases in COVID-19 cases and the country’s responses to limit its spread.

Real-time mobility indicators suggest even larger declines in travel in India through mid-May. The Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports provide data on the change in the number of visits to various places compared with a baseline from January 3, 2020, to February 6, 2020. As of May 21, 2021, the data indicate that travel in India to every category of destination has declined significantly over the past several weeks, likely reflecting the country’s response to the outbreak.

Similarly, Google data indicate that the percentage of time spent at home increased 25% in mid-May 2021 from the baseline period. Time spent at home in mid-May 2021 was similar to the amount of time people spent at home in April 2020, when travel in India was also significantly low. The May 2021 drop in mobility is consistent with large declines in gasoline and diesel demand, but the extent of the decline will depend on how long these conditions last and how severe the country’s responses to the outbreak ultimately become.

As MRC reported earlier, Indian Oil Corp, India's top refiner, cut crude processing to average at 84% of overall capacity from 96% in April as a devastating second wave of COVID-19 dented fuel demand, reported. Domestic sales of gasoil and gasoline by Indian state refiners plunged by a fifth in the first half of May from a month earlier, preliminary data showed, as lockdowns to curb COVID-19 cases hit industrial activities and consumption.

We remind that Technip Energies has been recently awarded a significant Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (EPCC) contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for its BR9 Expansion Project in Barauni, Bihar, in the Eastern part of India. This EPCC contract covers the installation of a new Once-through Hydrocracker Unit (OHCU) of 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) capacity, a Fuel Gas Treatment Unit (FGTU) and the associated facilities.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Following the successful start-up of the 1.1 MTA FLEXICOKING unit at the end of 2019, Hengyi Industries has selected FLEXICOKING for a second time to upgrade the heavy feeds of its 16-MTA capacity for the New Crude to Aromatics Phase II expansion project, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Since the Alliance Agreement signed between ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing (EMCL) and Axens to provide FLEXICOKING technology in January 2020, it has been a great success as can be seen in the new license granted to Hengyi Industries' integrated complex in Pulau Muara Besar, Brunei.

The FLEXICOKING unit will upgrade the 2.1 MTA blend of Vacuum Residue, FCC Slurry Oil and Steam Cracker PyOil into valuable distillates and Flexigas. Start-up of the unit is foreseen in June 2024.

Since the Alliance took effect, the Process Design Package developed for the first time by Axens was delivered as per schedule in early May 2021, proof of Axens’ robust process engineering capability and flexibility to handover new technologies.

As MRC informed before, in February, 2021, Hengyi Industries selected Univation's Unipol polyethylene (PE) process for a new world-scale PE plant that will be built at Hengyi's site in Palau Maura Besar, Brunei. The 600,000-t/y PE unit will be integrated into a larger refinery and petrochemicals project, which includes a 280,000-b/d refinery and downstream production of ethylene, benzene, paraxylene, ethylene glycol, purified terephthalic acid, polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Eastman is increasing capacity for its Naia-brand cellulosic filament yarn at its plant in Barcelona, Spain, said the company.

Eastman is increasing its capacity to produce Naia cellulosic filament yarns at its plant Barcelona, by 30% by mid-2021, and by more than 50% by the end of 2022.

Naia is responsibly sourced from sustainably managed pine and eucalyptus forests and plantations. Eastman holds FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification, and all suppliers also hold internationally recognised forestry certifications. The yarns are produced in a safe, closed-loop process in which solvents are recycled back into the system for reuse. It is OEKO-TEX Standard 100 Product Class I certified and made with no hazardous chemicals listed on the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List.

Key benefits of fabrics based made with Naia are dimensional stability, odour management, easy stain removal and pill resistance, along with natural breathability and quick drying properties.

“The growing importance of sustainability and circularity are accelerating the adoption of sustainable fibres,” said Burt A. Capel, Eastman vice president and general manager of fibres. “As a result, Naia cellulosic filament yarn is gaining a lot of traction among our customers,". "Our vision is to make sustainable fashion accessible to all, and we have a very committed team at our Barcelona site actively working to bring this expansion onstream as soon as possible to serve our customers across the globe."

The expansion will support new brand adoptions of Naia in womenswear fashion. Details about the expansion's costs and about capacities in terms of tonnes or pounds per year were not disclosed.

As per MRC, on 1 May, cracking unit No. 3 in Longview (Longview, Texas, USA) of the American company Eastman experienced a technological failure, which led to the release of substandard products. In particular, the failure occurred due to the blockage of the feed line to the heat exchanger of this enterprise (HCC-3A) with a capacity of 280 thousand tons of ethylene per year, which caused emissions of chemicals into the atmosphere for 12 hours. The company did not say when it will be able to resume production of conditioned ethylene.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.

Eastman is a multinational chemical company serving customers in approximately 100 countries. Sales in 2015 amounted to around USD9.6 Billion. The company is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA. The company employs approximately 15 thousand people around the world.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US oil and natural gas companies are preparing for this year’s forecast of an above-average Atlantic hurricane season, reported Reuters with reference to a security and emergency expert with the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Last year’s record 30 named storms forced shutdowns of offshore oil production that reached, at one point, 90% of 1.9 million barrels per day in production and idled refineries for weeks. Two refineries in hard-hit Lake Charles, Louisiana, were shut for months.

“We’re trying to be as prepared as possible in 2021,” said Suzanne Lemieux, API’s operations security and emergency manager, said on a conference call with energy industry experts to discuss hurricane season preparations.

Oil and gas companies have increased the number of drills and exercises, she said.

US Gulf Coast refiners have revised plans after widespread storm-related outages, said Jeff Gunnulfsen, director of security and risk management for trade group American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.

Refiners have increased communication with government agencies and other industries as well as hardening refinery units and repositioning equipment to avoid floodwaters, Gunnulfsen said.

As MRC wrote previously, Dow said in late August, 2020, its sites along the US Gulf Coast reported no major damage from Hurricane Laura. Dow’s sites in Sabine, Beaumont, Deer Park, La Porte, Bayport and Texas City, Texas shut down operations prior to Laura making landfall. Dow's Freeport, Texas site continued operating as did facilities across Louisiana. Dow said it has not identified any significant structural damage or flooding at any of the facilities.

Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.

According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 576,270 tonnes in the first three month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) shipments increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market totalled 410,890 tonnes in January-March 2021, up by 56% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased.
MRC