Marathon forms JV with Archer-Daniels-Midland for renewable fuels feedstock

Marathon forms JV with Archer-Daniels-Midland for renewable fuels feedstock

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Marathon Petroleum Corp and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co announced a joint venture to produce soybean oil that will be exclusively sold to Marathon as a renewable diesel feedstock, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Refiners are on the hunt for secure access to feedstocks for renewable fuels amid supply constraints and soaring prices for fats, greases and oils.

The JV soybean processing complex in Spiritwood, North Dakota, is expected to produce about 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil annually, enough feedstock for about 75 million gallons of renewable diesel per year when complete in 2023, the companies said.

That is approximately 40% of the feedstock needed to supply Marathon's nearby Dickinson, North Dakota, plant, which can process about 180 million gallons of renewable diesel annually.

Marathon also plans to convert its idled Martinez, California refinery to produce 730 million gallons per year of renewable fuels, one of a number of refiners ramping up green fuel production.

The project creates a domestic buyer for the state's export-dependent soybean producers, who saw demand from top buyer China, evaporate during the US-China trade war.

ADM executive Ken Campbell said he believes renewable diesel demand may be as much as 5 billion gallons by 2025.

But Marathon told investors last quarter that soybean oil's economics were "challenged" because higher prices coupled with the relatively higher carbon intensity of the oil limits refiners' ability to profit on production.

The JV will be majority-owned by ADM with a 75% stake, while Marathon Petroleum will own the rest.

As MRC reported earlier, Marathon Petroleum, the largest US refiner, is "hopeful" that the US refining sector will recover as demand for gasoline and diesel picks up, but remains cautious about the impact of the spreading delta variant of the coronavirus.

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 1,176,860 tonnes in the first half of 2021, up by 5% year on year. Shipments of exclusively low density polyethylene (LDPE) decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 727,160 tonnes in the first six months of 2021, up by 31% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased. Supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) is a leading, integrated, downstream energy company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company operates the nation's largest refining system. MPC's marketing system includes branded locations across the United States, including Marathon brand retail outlets.
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India to force refiners and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions

India to force refiners and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions

MOSCOW (MRC) -- India plans to force refineries and fertilizer plants to use some green hydrogen, junior oil minister Rameswar Teli said on Monday, as Asia's third-largest economy strives to reduce carbon emissions, reported Reuters.

Governments and energy companies around the world are betting on clean hydrogen playing a leading role in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions, though its future uses and costs remain uncertain.

India's draft hydrogen policy will mandate a gradual increase in the use of green hydrogen instead of fossil fuels in refineries and fertilizer plants, Teli told lawmakers in a written reply to questions.

He did not give details, but noted green hydrogen is yet to be produced in India on a commercial scale due to the high cost of production.

Power minister R. K. Singh told lawmakers in early August that the draft National Hydrogen Mission policy, prepared by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, was under ministerial consultation. The policy aims to boost green hydrogen production and its use across multiple sectors, including transportation, he said.

India is already encouraging the use of hydrogen as a transport fuel, with some buses running on hydrogen blended fuel on a trial basis.

The draft policy wants green hydrogen to account for 10% of the overall hydrogen needs of refiners from 2023/24, rising to 25% in five years, a government source said. The respective requirements for the fertilizer sector are 5% and 20%, he added.

India is raising its renewable energy capacity, currently 92.97 gigawatts (GW), to meet about two-fifths of its electricity needs by 2030 under the Paris climate accord, compared with 36.7% currently. It wants to raise renewable energy capacity to 175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030.

India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp, top power utility NTPC Ltd and conglomerates including Reliance and Adani have announced plans to build green hydrogen projects.

Thus, as MRC wrote before, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will build the nation's first 'green hydrogen' plant at its Mathura refinery, as it aims to prepare for a future catering to the growing demand for both oil and cleaner forms of energy.

We remind that Indian refiners, anticipating a lifting of US sanctions, plan to make space for the resumption of Iranian imports by reducing spot crude oil purchases in the second half of the year. The world's third-largest oil consumer and importer halted imports from Tehran in 2019 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 accord and re-imposed sanctions on the OPEC producer over its disputed nuclear programme.
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Alexey Anischenko appointed CEO of SIBUR-PETF

Alexey Anischenko appointed CEO of SIBUR-PETF

MOSCOW (MRC) - Alexey Anischenko has been appointed General Director of SIBUR-PETF (Tver, part of SIBUR Holding) since 9 August, according to a press release from the enterprise.

Alexey Anischenko has been in charge of the HSE at SIBUR-Khimprom since 2017, and since 2018 he has been appointed Director for Labor Protection, Industrial Safety and Environment of the enterprise. He successfully implemented the NOM project at the enterprise, stood at the origins of its implementation in the part of the OH&S vertical: from building processes and piloting to implementing ready-made solutions.

One of the key projects is the Zodiac Remote Control System (SDK), which is being implemented jointly with the Rostekhnadzor Analytics Center.

It is noted that in 2020, Alexey Vladimirovich received a Commendation from the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation for his great personal contribution to ensuring the sustainability and continuity of production processes during the period of restrictive measures related to the spread of COVID-19.

Alexey Anischenko graduated from Togliatti State University with a degree in Machinery and Apparatus for Chemical Production. Received additional professional education in the field of labor protection and industrial safety.

Earlier it was reported that SIBUR-PETF in 2020 continued to work stably, despite the fact that the pandemic made its own adjustments to production processes. Thanks to well-coordinated actions, it was possible to maintain the stable operation of the plant last year. There is an increase in demand from manufacturers of medical devices. Global demand for personal protective equipment and other essential medical products has fueled a simultaneous rise in demand for medical polymers.

According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated PET consumption amounted to 411,200 tonnes in the first half of this year , which is 12% more than the same indicator of the previous year. In June, Russian companies processed 62,910 tonnes of material against 85,890 tonnes a month earlier.

JSC SIBUR-PETF is an enterprise for the production of polyethylene terephthalate granules. The construction of the plant began in 1992 on the premises of the former viscose fiber production facility No. 2 of the Tver production association "Khimvolokno" according to the technology and engineering supplied by Zimmer AG (Germany). The production capacity of the enterprise is 75.25 thousand tons of polyethylene terephthalate per year, and the design capacity is 70 thousand tons per year or 200 tons per day.
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COVID-19 - News digest as of 20.08.2021

1. US crude stockpiles down last week to lowest levels since January 2020

MOSCOW (MRC) -- US crude oil stockpiles dropped last week to their lowest levels since January 2020, reported Reuters with reference to the Energy Information Administration's statement. Inventories have been declining for several months as US fuel demand has rebounded with Americans getting vaccinated against coronavirus. Infections, however, are surging again and analysts are watching to see if fuel demand slackens, particularly across southern states where the number of people infected has surged. Crude inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 13 to 435.5 million barrels, exceeding estimates for a 1.1 million-barrel drop. Crude exports rose in the most recent week to 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd).


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Crude oil futures up in Asia on bargain hunting, but upside may be limited by delta variant outbreaks

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning trade in Asia Aug. 20 amid bargain hunting by investors after a sixth straight session of decline in US trade overnight, although the upside was expected to be limited as delta variant outbreaks in key oil-consuming economies and US Federal Reserve signals weighed on the demand outlook, reported S&P Global.

At 11:57 am Singapore time (0357 GMT), the ICE October Brent futures contract was up 32 cents/b (0.47%) from the previous close at $66.77/b, while the NYMEX September light sweet crude contract was 34 cents/b (0.53%) higher at $64.03/b.

"Crude oil prices rebounded slightly on Friday morning as the US Dollar retreated from an eight-month high. Yet the overall trend for oil remains bearish-biased," Daily FX Strategist Margaret Yang told S&P Global Platts Aug. 20.

"WTI has declined six days in a row, falling 8.3%. This may encourage some short-term bargain hunting," she added.

However, market watchers doubted the price rebound could be sustained.

"The delta variant is casting the biggest cloud over the oil market. The recent outbreaks have raised concerns about the sustainability of the economic recovery," ANZ Research analysts in a note Aug. 20.

"Although oil demand is expected to slow, it won't cut off the path to normalization... Demand in Europe and the US remains robust, as mobility continues to improve. Overall, this should see the market remain tight, with rising vaccination rates to lead to an improvement in sentiment in the latter part of the year."

Several analysts noted that crude futures last fell for six consecutive sessions in February 2020, in the lead-up to pandemic lockdowns across the globe.

"WTI crude's six-day losing streak seems a bit overdone but for it to stop, it might need a sign from OPEC+ that they might hold off on plans to ramp up output," OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya said in a note.

In addition, the US Federal Reserve has signaled it could start tapering bond purchases as early as September, which could spur a rise interest rates and add to downward pressure on energy demand in coming months.

As MRC informed earlier, crude oil stockpiles fell modestly last week, while gasoline inventories dipped to their lowest level since November, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Crude inventories fell by 447,000 barrels in the week to Aug. 6 to 438.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop. Overall crude inventories have been on the decline for several weeks due to increased demand.

We remind that US crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.12 million bpd, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report, a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bpd.
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