U.S. oil industry lobby sets greenhouse gas disclosure guidelines

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The biggest U.S. oil and gas trade association released new industry guidelines for energy companies to track and report greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to address the sector's carbon footprint, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The American Petroleum Institute, which includes Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, said the framework aims to standardize the way companies log emissions, including flared natural gas, and prompts them to voluntarily disclose those details publicly. "The template aims to provide a consistent and uniform set of core GHG (greenhouse gases) indicators to enable greater comparability in climate-related reporting," API said in a statement.

API's guidelines follow plans by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to introduce new climate-mitigating rules as it steps up environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures.

The API in March said it would endorse carbon-price policy, easing its previous resistance to regulatory action on climate change amid a shift in the oil industry's strategy on the issue and the new U.S. presidency.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that a consortium composed of its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbaibased Tecnimont Private Limited has been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) Lump Sum contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of a new polypropylene plant and the related product logistics 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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sulzer Chemtech has renewed and extended its licensing agreement with Shell Catalysts & Technologies for the development and distribution of high-capacity tray and phase separation technology, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The enhanced global licensing contract will provide customers with greater access to advanced mass transfer components, supporting their manufacturing and processing operations.

The first strategic agreement between the two industry leaders was signed in 2000 and renewed in 2011. For over two decades, Sulzer and Shell have partnered to provide state-of-the-art mass transfer technologies to businesses in the manufacturing and processing sectors. In this time, the licensed technologies have supported over a hundred projects every year. Under the terms of the new agreement, Sulzer Chemtech will continue to be the worldwide licensee for Shell Catalysts & Technologies’ high-capacity tray and phase separation technology. In addition to this, the companies have committed to expanding the joint development of new advanced mass transfer and separation technologies.

Andy Gosse, President of Shell Catalysts & Technologies, says: “We are very excited to renew and expand our partnership with Sulzer Chemtech. Working even more closely together will strengthen our ability to support current as well as future market needs. By combining our engineering resources, technologies and knowledge we will continue to deliver market-leading, highly efficient mass transfer solutions to our customers."

Torsten Wintergerste, Division President at Sulzer Chemtech, comments: “We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished together with Shell Catalysts & Technologies and are thrilled to extend our partnership. The new licensing agreement will allow us to further grow our portfolio of processing equipment, helping us to deliver the solutions of the future for mass transfer. This ultimately strengthens our ability to support customers in the manufacturing and processing industries with cutting-edge technologies to improve their operations. We welcome all cooperation agreements that focus on the development of solutions to increase the sustainability of manufacturing and processing operations as well as the reduction of their carbon footprints”.

As MRC informed before, Royal Dutch Shell plans to reduce its refining and chemicals portfolio by more than half, it said in July 2020 without giving a precise timeframe. The move is part of the Anglo-Dutch company's plan to shrink its oil and gas business and expand its renewables and power division to reduce greenhouse gas emissions sharply by 2050.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

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) -- Indian refiners' crude throughput slipped to its lowest level in seven months in May as a raging second wave of coronavirus drove a slump in domestic fuel demand and crude imports, government data showed, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Refiners processed about 4.5 million barrels per day (bpd) or 18.97 million tonnes of oil last month, data from the country's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas showed. That was 7.7% below April levels but still 16% higher than a year earlier.

"We're expecting to see runs dip in June before ramping up towards the end of the year on a combination of seasonal demand strength post-monsoon and recovery from the impact of the second wave of the pandemic," Natixis commodities strategist Joel Hancock said. The dip in refinery processing comes on the back of a 5.5% slip in India's crude oil imports from April and May's fuel demand in the third biggest oil consumer slumping to its lowest since August last year.

Demand bottomed in May and will be ramping up steadily through the second half of this year and will rise sharply in the last quarter, Hancock said. Analysts noted that refiners remain optimistic over a rebound in oil demand as vaccinations have ticked up and COVID-19 cases eased this month.

"We've seen this story play out in the U.S. and the UK, as the virus gets under control and vaccinations go up, you're probably going to have a tremendous amount of pent up demand (in India) that's going to be unleashed onto the market," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. Indian refiners operated at an average rate of 92.37% of capacity in May, down from April's 96.82%, the government data showed.

Natural gas output rose 19.1% to 2.74 billion cubic metres, while crude oil production eased 6.2% to 580,000 bpd or 2.44 million tonnes, data showed.

As per MRC, Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announced that a consortium composed of its subsidiaries Tecnimont S.p.A. and Mumbaibased Tecnimont Private Limited has been awarded an EPCC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning) Lump Sum contract by Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), for the implementation of a new polypropylene plant and the related product logistics 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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- INEOS' manufacturing sites in Texas and California have been awarded ISCC PLUS certification from ISCC (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification), said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

This certification supports recent successful, commercial-scale trials of Advanced Recycling technology for the production of ethylene, propylene, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and Polypropylene (PP). Advanced Recycling converts waste plastic, which was destined for a landfill, back into a liquid raw material for use again in next generation plastic production. Also known as Chemical Recycling, this technology can be used for many types of plastic including mixed plastic waste streams that are normally difficult or impossible to process with traditional recycling.

The new technology enables plastics to be recycled back to a raw material stream and returned to the market as new product from recycled material. The product properties are identical to virgin plastics made from oil and gas. Advanced Recycling creates a closed-loop system for plastics management, helps reduce landfill, prevents plastic from ending up in the environment and reduces the use of fossil-fuel based raw materials.

Mike Nagle, CEO of INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA said, “Plastic waste is an important problem that INEOS is committed to addressing. Using difficult-to-recycle waste streams as a new raw material is a step-change. This investment is beneficial to INEOS and our customers but also for the overall global issue of plastic waste and the management of essential plastic products. I applaud the team and the business for reaching this important milestone as part of our Circular Economy program."

INEOS is committed to contributing to a Circular Economy where materials are re-used and recycled to the maximum extent possible through both Mechanical and Advanced Recycling in a broad range of applications. INEOS Olefins & Polymer USA has received strong customer interest in polyethylene and polypropylene products derived from recycled plastics. The ISCC PLUS certification supports the success INEOS has achieved in the commercial-scale trial and lays the groundwork for INEOS’ commercial offering for a next generation of polymer products.

Phil Fusco, Vice President of Polymers for INEOS Olefins & Polymers USA said, “The certification by ISCC continues the journey of building a sustainable business for the future with our customers, employees and neighbors. We are committed to the transparency and challenge that certification such as ISCC PLUS brings to our organization and our industry. The response to both this certification and our success in processing advanced recycled feedstocks from our high-density polyethylene and polypropylene customer base has been overwhelmingly positive. We now have Advanced Recycled HDPE and PP available for sale."

As per MRC, INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth, INEOS FPS and Petroineos, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Acorn CCS Project to work together to develop Scotland’s first carbon capture and storage system linking Scotland’s industrial heartland to the Acorn CO2 transport and storage system in North East Scotland by 2027.

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 744,130 tonnes in the first four month of 2021, up by 4% year on year. Shipments of all PE grades increased. At the same time, PP deliveries to the Russian market were 523,900 tonnes in January-April 2021, up by 55% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas shipments of PP random copolymers decreased.

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

MOSCOW (MRC) -- South Korea’s LG plans to invest USD5.2bn to start producing the chemicals and materials used in electric vehicle batteries, as the global industry leader urgently tries to cut its dependence on China, reported Financial Times.

The four-year investment by the world’s biggest EV battery maker comes as plans by countries and carmakers to pivot away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles are complicated by the industry’s heavy reliance on refineries and factories in China. The country is by far the planet’s largest processor of most of the minerals needed for battery production.

LG Chem, the parent of the conglomerate’s battery group LG Energy Solution, said on Wednesday it would diversify its production of important materials including those used in cathodes, anodes and separators.

“We will reinvent our company as the world’s largest battery material producer,” said Shin Hak-cheol, LG Chem’s chief executive.

South Korea is home to several of the world’s leading EV battery makers such as LG Energy Solution, as well as units of conglomerates SK and Samsung. LG Energy has battery production plants in China, Poland and the US, and in Korea. In March, the group announced a plan to invest USD4.5bn by 2025 to expand its battery production in the US. The company supplies automakers including Tesla, General Motors and Volkswagen.

The battery materials market is forecast to more than double to about Won100tn (USD87bn) by 2026 from Won39tn, LG said.

Analysts expect LG’s move to help reduce global dependence on China for the processing of battery materials. Korean companies have been wary of relying too much on one source since Japan imposed export controls on semiconductor components in 2019. Beijing in 2010 cut off exports of rare earth elements to Japan.

As MRC informed earlier, in 2018, LG Chem announced plans to spend USD2.4-billion to expand its naphtha cracking center (NCC) and polyolefin (PO) plant in Yeosu, South Korea. The new cracker will supply feedstock to new PO plants with the capacity of 800,000 t/y each.

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 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.

LG Chem Ltd., often referred to as LG Chemical, is the largest Korean chemical company and is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It has eight domestic factories and global network of 29 business locations in 15 countries. LG Chem is a manufacturer, supplier, and exporter of petrochemical goods, IT&E Materials and Energy Solutions.
MRC